Aw crap... busted headlight bulb...

[flux]

So, I got home today and realized I somehow managed to break the left headlight bulb.  Great!  I JUST got the bike back together!  

So, before I get to replacing... any recommendations?  Don't think I have ever come across a thread here on TT about a bulb breaking.  Musta rattled it apart offroad today.   :mrgreen:

[matttys]

I think Stretch did a write up, but you: take out two screws on each turn signal, four screws for windscreen, four screws for fairing, three screws (right, left, underneath) for headlight assembly, change bulbs as normal.

[HappyMan]

While you've got it apart you might want to adjust the aiming of it as well.

[EvilBetty]

The bulb or the lens/housing?

[flux]

It was the actual bulb, not the lens.  Thanks for the tips, just wanted to make sure it wasn't anything too weird.  And to make sure there is not a magical better bulb which draws less wattage than stock...

[HockleyBoy]

Not sure about less wattage but there are quite a number of bulbs that are brighter than the standard out there.

[atokad]

I just had my whole fairing off to get access to wires that need to be loosened a bit to do a handle bar riser install.

While putting the whole headlight/fairing assembly back together I managed to "smash" the left headlamp wiring socket up against the main wiring harness too tightly, and bent a prong on the bulb just enough to ruin the bulb too.

I'd had it all out before and remember it is a tight fit to get room inside the instrument cluster housing to allow for the two headlight bulbs with their wiring sockets attached.  Seems the main wiring harness runs just behind the left headlight and there wasn't much slack in the main harness to get it out of the way of the headlamp socket when installing the headlight assembly.

So just make sure you have room cleared before you put it back in there. Maybe when you get it apart you will find that it is "smashed tightly" up against the main wiring harness and that could be what caused the failure??

PS - I have an '06.

[flux]

I just had my whole fairing off to get access to wires that need to be loosened a bit to do a handle bar riser install.

While putting the whole headlight/fairing assembly back together I managed to "smash" the left headlamp wiring socket up against the main wiring harness too tightly, and bent a prong on the bulb just enough to ruin the bulb too.

I'd had it all out before and remember it is a tight fit to get room inside the instrument cluster housing to allow for the two headlight bulbs with their wiring sockets attached.  Seems the main wiring harness runs just behind the left headlight and there wasn't much slack in the main harness to get it out of the way of the headlamp socket when installing the headlight assembly.

So just make sure you have room cleared before you put it back in there. Maybe when you get it apart you will find that it is "smashed tightly" up against the main wiring harness and that could be what caused the failure??

PS - I have an '06.

Good tip, thanks for that.  I'll take a look when I get around to pulling it all (back) apart.   8)