hello there, I finally changed my headlight. Thanks to you all. I am a 52 year old women riding a police st. 1300. after 52,00 kilometers in almost 2 years. I have paid 75.00 for them to change my light as I could not get the clip to release. Following your advice I changed my headlight for $13.00 I think the most important thing is to get as close as you can to the seal thats where the release clip is. Sorry I am no machanic. I just do oil changes and air filters. I did put a 12 V 55 and 45 Took it for a test drive and all is well. Now to get on the road again.lol
changing headlight bulbs
- Thread starter krotchrocketgrampa
- Start date
Thank you very much I have changed my head light!!! much cheaper then the 75.00 labor charge. I did have to bend the tabs on 2 of them to fit. Also brighter then the 45 45 honda light. The most important to get the connector off is to sqeezee the tabs,:bow1: trick get closer to the rubber seal thats where the connector tab is. I am a 52 old lady reading the st sight you guys are amazing thanks a million. Now I am off to continue my vacation best of luck deb
Thank you for this advice. It is so true.
I had all of the plastic off yesterday and decided to try and change a headlight bulb so I can do it easily while on the road. You are right, the clips on each side of the electrical connector are easy to reach, easy to compress, and make the connector slide off like it was on greased rails. The key is to push your fingers as far up the sides of the connector as you can before pushing the clips in. If done correctly, no pulling force should be necessary to get the connector off.
I'm now confident that I can change out a bulb on the road, in the rain, in the dark in less than 5 minutes. :bow1:
John Anthony
Moderator
Smart move to do this under ideal conditions. Now that you've got the first one under your belt, you'll be pleasantly surprised how easy it is to do next time.
John
John
i changed my st headlight bulbs by turning handlebars to one side and i could just squeese my hand in to remove main bulbs and replace them .then i went on an anger management course . then the 2 front side lights i had to knock my mirror covers off and you can squeese your hand in were you had to change the head light bulbs and you can just about pull the side light out and push it through the gap were your mirror covers clip in then put new bulbs in and push back through hole and push back into its housing happy days. no need to strip anything down to do it .
Shadowfax-ST
As ridden by Pat
One of my (burned out) trial 4-point LED 501s is now happily rattling around inside the lamp assembly. Joe warned it could happen last year: it did and I removed the whole front end chasing it; shaking the headlamp upside down to retrieve it.
This sucker can just wait (darn it).
This sucker can just wait (darn it).
The trick to getting it out is to get some double stick trim take and a metal wire - make a small loop/footprint in the end of the wire and put a piece of the tape there... if you're careful, you can fish the wire through the headlight via the main bulb opening and just touch/stick the bulb and carefully pull it out... all without taking the headlight assmby apart.
I know this works... please don't ask how.
Shadowfax-ST
As ridden by Pat
After reading most all of the posts here - I tackled my own headlight bulbs on my ST1100. Piece of cake. Removed no Tupperware. Did it all by touch... The left bulb was first. No glitches. The right bulb was next. A bit more difficulty with the bulb clip but eventually it all fell into place and I've now got new Sylvania Silver Stars and can see all the way into tomorrow.
One note: I used a couple of dabs of super-glue to hold my adapter rings to the new H4 bulbs after removing the two lower tabs. It worked fine and helped keep my variables to a minimum in this first ever bulb change. Just two teeny dabs. Should be easy enough to remove the adapters if/when I need them in the future for the next bulb change...
Thanks to all who went before me in this thread. You really made it easy for me.
One note: I used a couple of dabs of super-glue to hold my adapter rings to the new H4 bulbs after removing the two lower tabs. It worked fine and helped keep my variables to a minimum in this first ever bulb change. Just two teeny dabs. Should be easy enough to remove the adapters if/when I need them in the future for the next bulb change...
Thanks to all who went before me in this thread. You really made it easy for me.
CoastieKarl
Ride like they don't see ya!
My lights came in from CA Sport touring and I did the install. Thanks for all of the advice.
The connector came off pretty easy, the boot was no problem and getting the clamp off was not a problem, but the install was another story. One of the ring adapters for the new bulbs did not want to seat (spent 1/2 hour on this),
so I installed the light without the adapter. Also the ring adapters fit the new bulbs very loosley, so they have a tendency to fall off while you are attempting to install them. Took a while to get the retaining clamps back on once the lights were installed. Yes the fingers are sore. The process from start to finish which included running back to the computer was about 1 hour. Now I should ge able to do it in a 1/4 of that.
Ride safe,
The connector came off pretty easy, the boot was no problem and getting the clamp off was not a problem, but the install was another story. One of the ring adapters for the new bulbs did not want to seat (spent 1/2 hour on this),
so I installed the light without the adapter. Also the ring adapters fit the new bulbs very loosley, so they have a tendency to fall off while you are attempting to install them. Took a while to get the retaining clamps back on once the lights were installed. Yes the fingers are sore. The process from start to finish which included running back to the computer was about 1 hour. Now I should ge able to do it in a 1/4 of that.Ride safe,
I had to take the plastic off to replace my headlight bulbs. I also replaced the positioning bulbs too since the plastic was off.
Last time I had the plastic off a month ago, I practiced replacing the headlight bulb so that I could do the replacement with the plastic on. It seemed very easy and after some practice I thought I would have no problem. Then, it came time to do it last weekend. I couldn't. My hands, fingers, and especially thumbs were too big even while turning the front wheel and facing towards the back of the bike. I took off the plastic and the change was a breeze.
Last time I had the plastic off a month ago, I practiced replacing the headlight bulb so that I could do the replacement with the plastic on. It seemed very easy and after some practice I thought I would have no problem. Then, it came time to do it last weekend. I couldn't. My hands, fingers, and especially thumbs were too big even while turning the front wheel and facing towards the back of the bike. I took off the plastic and the change was a breeze.
The clips are tough on some bikes but a good squeeze on the sides and some wiggling, pulling, cussing, swearing usually gets it off. A little dielectric grease in the connector helps.
Here's a post I did on headlamp replacement that "might" help, YMMV:
http://www.hard-core-ware.com/howtos/index.php?page=headlamp
Curt
Here's a post I did on headlamp replacement that "might" help, YMMV:
http://www.hard-core-ware.com/howtos/index.php?page=headlamp
Curt
CoastieKarl
Ride like they don't see ya!
The photo that Mellow posted showing the plastic socket clips made all the difference. Thanks Mellow.:bow1: I released the clip from the top by pinching it as close to the bulb as I could between fingers and it slipped off. Whew. From the bottom release the bail (it is attached to the outside so you don't have to worry about dropping it and the bulb comes right out. You can look though the headlight lens and watch as you install the bulb and bale by feel. The socket is a lot easier to press back on and it clicks into place. Stock bulb, no shims, no bending tabs. No tupperware removal either. OEM works just fine, a bit pricey but fits right, and no shop costs.
I needed (wanted) to install a headlight modulator and read everything I could on various ways to get to the back of the bulbs ('02 ST1100 w/o ABS). I decided NOT to try it by removing the lower, front & center fairing section (behind the front tire) and coming up from underneath, which is what the shop manual suggests. INSTEAD-
I DID go the route of removing the windshield (5 screws), then removing the shiny black "Honda" piece (2 screws & 1 snap rivet), then removing the gray plastic panel over the light area (4 screws). It was a breeze, took about 5-minutes to take it all off and I had open access to the back of the bulbs (still a little tight though).
While I was in there to plug in the modulator I decided to pull one bulb to see how that would go. Not too bad. The hardest part was snapping the bulb retainer spring back into place.
I put in a Comagination modulator---EASY. Just plug it in and tape it to something so it doesn't jiggle around. Done.
Some modulators require splicing into wires. No thanks. It's working awesome and people seem to notice me much better...and, no angry looks (or gestures) and no one pulling over or anything due to the flashing light. STay safe!
I DID go the route of removing the windshield (5 screws), then removing the shiny black "Honda" piece (2 screws & 1 snap rivet), then removing the gray plastic panel over the light area (4 screws). It was a breeze, took about 5-minutes to take it all off and I had open access to the back of the bulbs (still a little tight though).
While I was in there to plug in the modulator I decided to pull one bulb to see how that would go. Not too bad. The hardest part was snapping the bulb retainer spring back into place.
I put in a Comagination modulator---EASY. Just plug it in and tape it to something so it doesn't jiggle around. Done.
Some modulators require splicing into wires. No thanks. It's working awesome and people seem to notice me much better...and, no angry looks (or gestures) and no one pulling over or anything due to the flashing light. STay safe!
Silver Bullet
Retired
That Mellow is the man, and always posting the good pics when needed .Thanks Joe for the all that you do for the site !
MIKE
MIKE
Yes, I'd like to see that. I have tried several times now to get the clip off. Fingers getting sore.
Okay, finally got the plug off. I was trying to get both tabs to disengage at once which wasn't happening. I got one side to click and then went for the other. Slid off easily.
A trick that seemed to help with the rubber boots was to let them sit in direct sunlight for a bit to soften them up.
1st bulb took an hour, second bulb about 15 minutes.
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PopJack
Die young, after a long life.
I want to admit that I could not remember the secret to changing my bulbs. One burned out yesterday.
I had to go back and re-read this thread. As others, it was Mellow's photo that reminded me of the "push and rock" to get the plugs off. After that it was a piece of cake.
I always look like my hands have been in a cat fight when I do this, however, and this time is no exception.
I had to go back and re-read this thread. As others, it was Mellow's photo that reminded me of the "push and rock" to get the plugs off. After that it was a piece of cake.
I always look like my hands have been in a cat fight when I do this, however, and this time is no exception.
sherob
Old Herder of cats.
If you could just shrink your hands a little bit... it would make changing bulbs so much easier... on any bike 