upgrade this light bulb to an LED light?

TotaledTL said:
I guess that's a start.
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It's more like the middle, not the easiest bulb to change with the the plastics on. You will have to see with your fingers if you don't pull plastics. It is a rubber compression socket that pushes into the headlight assy. You gently wiggle it loose, pulling it out of the assy. Now the hard part, pull the old bulb, insert the new (check to make sure it works). Press back into the assy. You will have to fiddle around a bit to see how or if you can get your hand in there. With the plastics off you just reach in and pop it out... just like the picture, good luck.
 
Looks like I'll add this to all my Watched Threads, for my eventual LED project.
I "need" more projects,... he says with deep sarcasm.
 
take off the windshield, take all the fastners that hold the gauge cluster in, take the mirrors off, then you can get your hand back there and pull the rubber socket out. It's just a push fit.
 
Willsmotorcycle said:
It's more like the middle, not the easiest bulb to change with the the plastics on. You will have to see with your fingers if you don't pull plastics. It is a rubber compression socket that pushes into the headlight assy. You gently wiggle it loose, pulling it out of the assy. Now the hard part, pull the old bulb, insert the new (check to make sure it works). Press back into the assy. You will have to fiddle around a bit to see how or if you can get your hand in there. With the plastics off you just reach in and pop it out... just like the picture, good luck.
Click to expand...
I'm going to wait until my hand heals from repeated gouging from replacing the headlight bulbs. Ugh...:censored:
 
Being a rubber compression socket has two caveats. The First Caveat is removal and installation of the socket. I've never removed anything when replacing the bulb. So pulling the socket out may not require in special care. But when reaching in with all the plastic still in place the socket is difficult to pry out. In doing so it's possible to squirt the bulb out of the compression socket and into the the position light reflector. Fishing out isn't really difficult but it could be time consuming. Like a Coney Island claw machine just not quite that easy. A coat hanger and some tape sticky side out seem to work. So I'm told.

The Second Caveat is fitment of a bulb. It's entirely possible to push the bulb so/too deep in the socket that it no longer makes proper electrical contact. Gorilla strength is not required. Simply putting the bulb in until it feels seated is enough to be too much. So check that it lights up before putting in back in the headlight shell.

A Corollary to The First Caveat is reinserting the compression socket. Pushing it in with a thumb can put sufficient pressure on the center of the socket to again eject the bulb in the position light reflector. Fun ensues. In either case of The First Caveat or its Corollary the bulb ejected into the position light reflector may fall into the headlight reflector. It may be easier to extract if a headlight bulb is removed affording larger egress. So I'm told. Removing and installing a headlight bulb can be its own source of entertainment for the uninitiated.

1680888414898.png

I like the look though the bulbs are amber and not my preferred yellow. It also doesn't take much distance between vehicles for the amber to be overwhelmed by the headlights. So this wasn't a safety move on my part but just wanting some contrast and "call back" to the original light scheme.
 
ST Gui said:
Being a rubber compression socket has two caveats. The First Caveat is removal and installation of the socket. I've never removed anything when replacing the bulb. So pulling the socket out may not require in special care. But when reaching in with all the plastic still in place the socket is difficult to pry out. In doing so it's possible to squirt the bulb out of the compression socket and into the the position light reflector. Fishing out isn't really difficult but it could be time consuming. Like a Coney Island claw machine just not quite that easy. A coat hanger and some tape sticky side out seem to work. So I'm told.

The Second Caveat is fitment of a bulb. It's entirely possible to push the bulb so/too deep in the socket that it no longer makes proper electrical contact. Gorilla strength is not required. Simply putting the bulb in until it feels seated is enough to be too much. So check that it lights up before putting in back in the headlight shell.

A Corollary to The First Caveat is reinserting the compression socket. Pushing it in with a thumb can put sufficient pressure on the center of the socket to again eject the bulb in the position light reflector. Fun ensues. In either case of The First Caveat or its Corollary the bulb ejected into the position light reflector may fall into the headlight reflector. It may be easier to extract if a headlight bulb is removed affording larger egress. So I'm told. Removing and installing a headlight bulb can be its own source of entertainment for the uninitiated.

1680888414898.png

I like the look though the bulbs are amber and not my preferred yellow. It also doesn't take much distance between vehicles for the amber to be overwhelmed by the headlights. So this wasn't a safety move on my part but just wanting some contrast and "call back" to the original light scheme.
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I will confirm all of these possible scenarios exist and it is easier to remove the loose bulb through the headlight hole if it falls in. I have done all including replacing the harness that ripped on extraction.
 
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ST Gui said:
In doing so it's possible to squirt the bulb out of the compression socket and into the the position light reflector. Fishing out isn't really difficult but it could be time consuming. Like a Coney Island claw machine just not quite that easy. A coat hanger and some tape sticky side out seem to work. So I'm told.
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BTDT. I used a length of clear plastic hose taped to the end of my shop-vac through the position-light socket hole and retrieved my fallen bulb.
 
While I'm told the headlights and side bulbs can be done with all the Tupperware on, there was no way I was able to do it. Perhaps it's just my meaty hands and arms, combined with not being able to see. I tried from the "top" through the handlebars, from underneath up above the radiator and through the opening with the side mirrors removed. In the end taking the headlight out and doing both headlight and marker bulbs at the same time was the easiest for me. For those of you who didn't have to do that and were able to do it with everything still assembled - kudos to you all!
 
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