Changing the headlight bulb in an "S" fairing

[oldRNineTguy]

I'm sitting here planning tomorrow's adventures which may include changing the bulb inside my "S" fairing. I'm trying to avoid removing the turn signals and thus the fairing, because I am a devout self-preservationist ("Lazy" is SUCH and ugly word) Could I loosen/remove the top bracket, and rotate the fairing DOWNWARDS and then loosen the headlight mounting bolts and rotate the light slightly UP to gain access to the screw at the bottom of the headlight ring? Has anyone here tried this before/ Am I starting something I will never want to do again?

[khittner1]

So how many airheads will it take to change a light bulb? . . .

[Bamboo812]

...it depends on what you want to change it into.

[Chuey]

I can't remember if there's a hole to allow access to the headlight ring. If so, try that. If not, I do get that removing the signal housings is a pain but it's not really that bad. I don't like stretching the fairing over the turn signal mounts.

That's not to say that I haven't spent two hours saving myself time from a job that only takes forty minutes in the first place.

Chuey

[2valve]

Hi to all, is the headlight globe that you'd like to change is it fitted to the R90/6(S) ? , if so theres no need to remove the fairing at all maybe you might have to loosen the two bolts that hold the rod arms on so you can align up the headlight with the centre of the S /faring. Before you start find a very large soft towel and place it in between and in front of the fork legs directly under the headlight that way you cannot damage your paint work if you let slip the headlight onto the guard , please dont ask me why i know this ! I use a large screwdriver (carefully not to scratch the paintwork ) to pop open one of the sides of the headlight shell , headlight will then be off it mounts as such , lift up the headlight itself to clear the top anchor point and there you go , sounds easy hey ! takes a bit of jiggling to clear everything. Works for me this way for a very long time.

[Ken in Oklahoma]

My '77S headlamp ring is "snap off" as opposed to requiring a screwdriver to loosen a clamp on the bottom of the ring. That makes things a whole lot easier dealing with the headlight bulb.

But having said that, I agree with Chuey that pulling the "S" fairing off the bike isn't that big of a deal. I used to do it on an occasional basis when I needed to transport my S bike in my old Aerostar. One thing that made is easier for me, though, was that I installed a connecter in the harness leading to the voltmeter and clock. Like Chuey, I hated stretching the fairing over the turn signal stalks. I was always afraid I was going to crack the paint. As it was I did ding up the flat black paint a little where the stalks go through the fairing holes.

At least it wasn't an RS/RT fairing!

If I were taking the fairing off an S bike for the first time I would simply cut the wiring harness to the voltmeter and clock and install a connector to put it back together. At the time NAPA had a nice little cylindrical weather proof rubber connector that was the perfect solution.

Ken

[Crunch]

You should be able to simply disconnect the rods from the shackles and gently lower the fairing. I hate that small Phillips head screw that tightens the headlight ring. I replaced mine with an allen bolt. Be careful of scratching the paint though. And like Ken says, a quick disconnect is a good idea.

[She'llbe]

I don't have a screw on my S's headlight, it simply slips on the catch at the top and clicks onto the bottom of the headlight bucket. I would like to neatly move the fuses to the outside of the shell as nighttime access to the fuses is a hassle. I also release the top mount bolts and pivot the fairing down to gain access.

[oldRNineTguy]

Thank you gentlemen. I'll advise success/failure at a later date

[oldRNineTguy]

Worked out pretty easy, everything works and no parts left over!! Actually, I will probably have to wait until dark to properly congratulate myself, because I suspect that the headlamp is probably rotated a few degrees off vertical/axis; hard to tell in broad daylight. I'd suggest to anyone doing this that they mark the headlight bucket and the headlight chrome ring before disassembly, to avoid dropping tools etc. at night. Thanks again.