Light Bulb Replacement

[Seaking]

Well that was fun.. Running down our local curvey road late at night and having your head light low beam go out on ya.. oops..

 

All I could find in any documentation about replacing the bulb on this 2006 Midnight is "replace bulb with..."

 

Thanks, I knew that (derrrr) but do I have to remove the fairing or is this simply down by taking the chrome ring from the front of the fairing to access the light bucket? Right now I'm riding with High Bean with the bucket aimed low but need to get this fixed soon.

 

Thanks in advance..

[SaltyDawg]

If you have small hands it can be done without taking the fairing off. You have to turn the handlebars to the right as far as they will go then reach in and pull the rubber boot off of the back of the HL, pull the power connector. Then you have to release the spring clip to remove the light bulb. Try and keep the bulb in the same position so you can see where the keys go for putting the replacement back in. I suggest getting a Sylvania Silver Star H4ST I could have the numbers and letters backwards, but the Bulb is an H4. The Silver Star is much, much brighter than the stock one.

 

The other way to do it and it's easier for me since I have big hands is to remove the fairing and turn HB's to the right, then loosen completely the HL Beam adjuster. You have to loosen it completely in order to remove the HL bracket. Then there are two hex bolts that hold the HL bracket in, just remove them and pull the bracket out, remove the boot and spring clip take old bulb out and replace. "DO NOT" touch the new bulb at all or you will be doing this again in short order. Handle it by the tines that the connector hooks up to.

 

Not a hard job, takes about 40 min from start to finish if you pull the fairing.

[ahoutzer]

The headlight bulb can be changed without removing the fairing if you have hands that are small enough and nimble enough, and if you are good at working on things that you cannot see while you are working on them. My RSV's bulb has been replaced twice this way -- once to upgrade from the stock bulb to a SilverStar and once when the SilverStar's low beam failed (after about 35,000 miles -- reasonable life in my opinion). I've done it on a trip, when I didn't want to disassemble the fairing in a Comfort Inn parking lot.

 

Turn the wheel fully to the right and kneel by the left side of the bike, looking into the back of the fairing with a flashlight. There is a plug going to the back of the headlight bulb. The plug just pulls off. Put down the flashlight, reach in blindly (you won't be able to watch what you are doing at this point), carefully moving other wires and cables out of the way, and pull the plug off. Next there is a round rubber piece on the back of the headlight housing, surrounding the bulb. Pull that off and take it out. Next there is a spring clip holding the bulb in place. It is attached to the back of the headlight housing with a hinge, so it will not fall out. You must squeeze the ends together like a clothes pin and pull to swing the clip out. Then just pull the bulb out.

 

Reverse the whole process to install the new bulb, being careful never to touch the glass part of the new bulb. It only goes in one way, and you have to work without seeing it.

 

If your hands are too big or not nimble enough, find someone else to do it for you. Many women and teenagers would be better equipped to do it than big burly men with calloused and/or arthritic hands (don't have any idea whether that describes you -- just trying to be helpful). I'm a relatively thin guy with long fingers, and I can do it with only minor discomfort.

[Seaking]

If you have small hands it can be done without taking the fairing off. You have to turn the handlebars to the right as far as they will go then reach in and pull the rubber boot off of the back of the HL, pull the power connector. Then you have to release the spring clip to remove the light bulb. Try and keep the bulb in the same position so you can see where the keys go for putting the replacement back in. I suggest getting a Sylvania Silver Star H4ST I could have the numbers and letters backwards, but the Bulb is an H4. The Silver Star is much, much brighter than the stock one.

 

The other way to do it and it's easier for me since I have big hands is to remove the fairing and turn HB's to the right, then loosen completely the HL Beam adjuster. You have to loosen it completely in order to remove the HL bracket. Then there are two hex bolts that hold the HL bracket in, just remove them and pull the bracket out, remove the boot and spring clip take old bulb out and replace. "DO NOT" touch the new bulb at all or you will be doing this again in short order. Handle it by the tines that the connector hooks up to.

 

Not a hard job, takes about 40 min from start to finish if you pull the fairing.

 

 

MANY thanks Wayne.. Looks like the fairing will be coming off for this job lol.. I have big hands. I'll try the Silver Star bulb you mentioned, as well.

 

Cheers M8

[V7Goose]

The Silver Star bulb is absolutely a great choice, but make sure you buy the SilverStar ULTRA - it is specifically designed to last in vibration and high shock situations like a motorcycle.

Goose