I’ve been intending to replace the headlight on my bike for a few months now but never quite managed to find the time to strip off the fairings and have them back on again ready for the next morning’s commute. Sure enough, half way home on Friday the bulb went and I had to limp home on just the aux light. Luckily I was almost home anyway and I’d taken an unusual route home so I was in decent streetlights all the way but it got me thinking - if it’d gone in the middle of nowhere, what would I have done? Wouldn’t fancy riding far on just the aux light, especially if there were no streetlights around and I certainly wouldn’t want to be stripping off the fairings by the road side to replace the bulb.
In the car I carry a spare bulb but it’s not such a problem because a) you can change the bulbs in 5 minutes, even in the dark and b) there’s two of them so losing one isn’t a show stopper.
I’ve replaced the aux light with a bright LED now so at least I’ll have a decent ‘be seen’ light if the headlight goes again, won’t help me see where I’m going though. I guess the solution is to replace the bulbs regularly and hope that means a bulb never blows?
Any thoughts, tips or suggestions that I stop procrastinating with my bike maintenance?
Yamaha XJ6 diversion - I did wonder if it might be possible to replace it with the fairings in place with a bit of contortion but I wanted to change the Aux light as well and that’s pretty well tucked away so I didn’t really give it much of a go and just followed the Haynes manual.
It certainly wouldn’t be easy with the fairings in place, especially getting the new bulb in and the cover back on.
Don’t you have low and high beams? On mine, they are separate bulbs so if the low blows, I’d use the high beams in an emergency.
Also, when I fitted a LED ‘third eye’ on my 06 CBR and also new Philips Xtreme Vision, the first time I used the high beam, both bulbs blew. I’m not sure if the bulbs were defective but I’ve not had issues for 3 years until I fitted the LED. I’ve promptly removed the LED and went back to a halogen T5.
Oh poor you. If it’s anything like the naked you’ll have to not only take the fairing off but also have to remove the head light unit and clocks to change the light bulb. The high beam does work even if the low beam bulb blows if you are in a pickle.
Good point Shaun, if I’d thought about it I could have used high beam - they’re not separate bulbs but are separate filaments and the main beam was fine.
When I blew the HID bulb on the 250 70 miles from home I sorted it out on Mrs J’s drive in the dark thanks to the loan of her table lamp, screwdriver, 8 mm socket and ratchet. Fairings off, ballast by passed, regular H7 bulb fitted and back on the road to the far side, 45 minutes down time
Carry a spare bulb, torch and the tools to do the job.
I carry the necessary allen keys etc under the seat but the chances of me getting the fairings off, bulb replaced and fairings back on again without losing a few bolts in the process are somewhere approaching zero. I need a selection of magnetic bolt bowls to hand for even the most minor of jobs or I lose bits within seconds.
Those table lights almost ended up in the bin but have been reprieved in case of further mechanical emergencies.
It’s sheer madness that the design of some vehicles means disassembly is required for basic things (try putting jump leads on a Rav battery)
Hows that Curtis? Way way back c’67 or '68 I fell fowl of Mr Plod for having no lights on me off roader after hours contrary to…, had to go before The Beak an all who relieved me of a of a handful of red beer vouchers for me troubles. Pater said I got off lightly, some folk had been deported for less!
Can ride on 30mph streetlit road without any lights (not that I'd recommend it) although will still fall foul of construction and use regs
Curtis
Rule 113
You MUST
ensure all sidelights and rear registration plate lights are lit between sunset and sunrise
use headlights at night, except on a road which has lit street lighting. These roads are generally restricted to a speed limit of 30 mph (48 km/h) unless otherwise specified
Night (the hours of darkness) is defined as the period between half an hour after sunset and half an hour before sunrise.
Think the answer is in the definitions
Headlamps and sidelights being two seperate entity’s so yes you can ride/drive in streetlit area with only sidelights showing (look at most black cabs ) but out of street lights you must have a combination of sidelights and headlamps
