How many Balisada's does it take to change a lightbulb?

None.

Balisada doesn't change lightbulbs on her motorcycle. She takes it to the dealer and says "change my headlight." They smile and say "Sure."

But there is a wait in the summer so I had to change my own headlight.

In doing so, I have discovered that there is really no instructions on the internet, on how to do so.

I did run across this dude from Arizona's page, and he says that there is really nothing on the internet (yeah, I figured that out too) so he posted his instructions. I really do appreciate that he did so because I needed them. Here are his instructions.

So, first a disclaimer:

This posting on how I changed the headlight for a 2006 HONDA REBEL, is for entertainment purposes only. You need to seek the services of a qualified mechanic, and Auntie Balisada is not responsible for any injuries to you, your vehicle or the universe in general because you took this post as an actual guide on how to change a lightbulb.

Next an FYI:

Before you get started, locate the headlight. Should be easy.

Now, put down the screwdriver or wrench and find the two holes in the bottom part. These should be the ones that have little screws nestled inside them.

Now that you have found them:

DO NOT TOUCH THESE!

These are the screws that adjust the aim of the headlight, and have nothing whatsoever to do with replacing a headlight, so it behooves you to not mess around with them.

To remove the outer ring, there are bolts that stick out from the assembly (at least on mine).

First the instructions called for removing the cover of the black box just above and behind the headlight. I did that with a screwdriver.


Next, I was supposed to unhook three wires (I think one was blue and the other was green), but there were a lot of wires and I didn't know which ones, so I didn't.

Then I found the bolts on the bottom sides of the headlight. I found them at the 5 o'clock and 7 o'clock positions. I removed them with an 8mm socket, and put them on my saddlebag in the order that they were in on the assembly.


Next, I spent a lot of time trying to get the outer ring off. My book that I had purchased addressed the older Rebels, but not the newer ones, and there had apparently been a change in headlights. After a phone call to the dealership, I did what they said.

"Stand in front of the headlight and grab the bottom. Pull it up toward you and then pull straight up." Or did they say straight toward me? Oops. My bad. It will suck to be me when I have to do this again. They probably said toward me, since it's a lip sort of thing that comes up and over.

After some pain and suffering, it came off.

This is why I had pain and suffering. See the little lip on the ring? Yeah, it grabs the assembly and you have to lift up enough to unlatch it, but not up so much that you break the assembly. Which means that I probably pulled toward myself.


My next problem was in removing the wire from the lamp. I had a dickens of a time and eventually got it, but it sucked.


I then removed the rubber cover and found that a wire was keeping the bulb in place. If I removed the wire, I could take out the old bulb and put the new one in.


Then I put the whole thing back together in reverse order and was presented with a working headlight.

Off:

On:

Off:

On:

Off:

On:

Off:

On:

Well, I am now off to the coast.

Ta!

Balisada