How to Fix Motorcycle Headlights? (Professional Advice)

Written by Mihael in Motorcycle repair

A headlight is a crucial part of your motorcycle because it makes your bike visible to other traffic participants, especially during nighttime. A functional headlight will keep you safe, so you need to take care of it. If you want to know if you can replace and fix your headlight yourself, the answer is yes, you can.

Replacing a headlight is not something complicated to do; as a matter of fact, it may be one of the easiest maintenance things to do. Doing it on your own can save you some money that you would have to spend on paying a skilled technician.

So how do you fix and replace your headlight? Remove the headlight first. After that, remove the bulb and place a new one into its place. It is important not to touch the bulb with your bare hands because it can damage the bulb, use a paper towel instead. After replacing the bulb, take the headlight and put it back into place.

If you want to know more and get in detail steps involved in replacing and fixing headlights, please continue reading as we will explain in more depth all the problems possible and what kind of tool you need to do this kind of work.

Changing the Headlights (The Bulb)

Step 1: The Motorcycle Maintenance Safety Preparation

While replacing a bulb may look like a usual thing to do, be aware of putting your safety in the first place. Make sure to do these couple of things before you start working on bulb replacement:

  • Clean your workspace and remove all unnecessary things
  • Stabilize your motorcycle using a kickstand
  • Make sure the visibility of your workspace is proper (proper lighting)
  • Protect your hands with gloves
  • Use eye protection

Step 2: Use the Correct Motorcycle Headlight Replacement Tools

Tools are essential in doing replacement correctly, so having the right one can help you a lot in the process. Breaking bolts, scratching paint, or stripping screw heads can all be avoided if you follow maintenance instructions.

The service or owner’s manual will let you know what tools are required, but we are going to give you the list of most likely needed tools and materials, so here we go:

Step 3: Select a New Headlight Bulb for Your Motorcycle

There are many types of motorcycles, from sportbikes to cruisers. This means that their headlights are different along with their bulb types. Look into your service or owner’s manual to find specifications and part numbers of your motorcycle’s bulb.

Most of the time, the best replacement bulb is the factory-recommended one. Brands like Sylvania, GE, or similar are known for their quality headlight bulbs.

Thinking about putting a brighter bulb, consider these things:

  • Vehicle laws in your state: Some states have legal limits on bulb wattage
  • Electric power capacity of your motorcycle: Are your stator and wiring output capable of handling the electric load?

Step 4: Disconnect Your Old Motorcycle Headlight Bulb

Burnt Head Bulb


The classic individual headlight nacelle and the integrated fairing mount are the two most frequent motorcycle headlight-mounting types. If there are fairing-mounted headlights on your motorcycle, you will find out in your service or owner’s manual how to reach the headlight bulb. On the other hand, if there are external nacelles on your motorcycle, there is probably a trim ring with screws that holds the headlight in place.

Follow the next steps for disconnecting your headlight bulb:

  1. Fold back the rubber dust cover carefully
  2. Disconnect the plug out of the headlight bulb
  3. Open up the bulb retaining clamp
  4. Take away the bulb
  5. Recycle the old bulb or discard it in its intended place

IMPORTANT: Don’t touch the new bulb’s surface

Halogen bulbs are capable of handling the high heat released by the light. The oil on your fingers will contaminate the bulb’s surface; therefore, do not touch a new halogen headlight bulb directly. It can also lead to uneven heating, resulting in premature failure.

Wear powder-free nitrile gloves so you don’t contaminate the quartz halogen bulb. Take a fresh paper towel, soak it lightly in alcohol, and clean the bulb before installing. Put it on a dry paper towel and let it dry.

Step 5: Connect Your New Headlight Bulb on Your Motorcycle


Make a quick check for corrosion if you notice any sign of corrosion on electric bulb tabs or the electric socket:

  1. Brush off corrosion on the external area of the socket and the old bulb tabs
  2. Use an aerosol electric contact cleaner and spray it into the socket
  3. Place and remove the old bulb and repeat the process a couple of times to clean the contacts
  4. Spray the socket one more time and leave it to dry

TIP: Once you have finished these steps, or if there wasn’t any corrosion, take a dielectric grease and put a light coating to the new bulb’s electric tabs before connecting it in. Keep the quartz clean.

For installing the bulb, you need to do the same steps you have done to disconnect the bulb but in reverse order.

Troubleshooting Guide!

Checking headlights on my Kawasaki Z750

If your headlights don’t work after you replace the bulb, there could be other problems responsible for this. We are going to give you a checklist of things to follow since some issues are easier to troubleshoot than others.

  1. Inspect your fuses and see if there are any signs of blown fuses responsible for your light problems.
  2. Check your wire connections and look if all the wires are connected correctly, and there are no gaps or barriers.
  3. Make sure you bought and reinstalled the correct bulb. Use your manual to be 100% sure it fits your motorcycle model. You need to check the ANSI Code (3-4 numbers written on the bulb)
  4. Check the cover seal and see if there are any holes that may let the water enter, which eventually leads to wiring damage.

Have Spare Headlight by Your Side

Like any other motorcycle part, headlights can also wear out or fail, so there is a possibility that they malfunction in the worst possible time, in the ride. It is always wise to carry these accessories with you while on a ride:

  • A replacement headlight, wrapped in packaging that will protect it from vibrations and other damaging elements
  • Alcohol wipes
  • A flashlight
  • The tools for bulb changing
  • Dialectic grease in a small packet

Here you can watch a video that describes How to Replace Your Headlight Bulbs:

Conclusion

Looking after your headlights and having a replacement bulb by your side is a very important thing. Imagine yourself being on some distant ride, and even worse, it is night time and suddenly your bulb malfunctions, and you have no place to go. This is where a replacement bulb comes into play, and you realize the importance of the headlight system during this kind of situation.

We hope that this article has given you the necessary knowledge and you learned how to fix motorcycle headlights.

Mihael

Hello there fellow motorcycle enthusiasts; I’m Mihael. The first motorcycle I had was a scooter Gilera vxr 200 from 2003. This is the motorcycle I fell in love with, which brought me into the moto world. Since then, I have been riding many kinds of bikes, from dirt bikes to race bikes. At the moment, I have a Kawasaki Z750 from 2004, and all I can say is that it is a hell of a bike. I have been riding motorcycles for the last 10 years, and during this period, I have been to many locations where I would probably not be without my bike. My goal is to give you the best advice and tips possible that I have been using myself and that all of my biker friends find helpful to them as well.

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