How do I change a headlight on my 83 Honda Nighthawk Motorcycle?
There's a single screw on bottom /center of the headlight case on the Rectangle lights.
On the Round lights,,,
there's 2 screws positioned at about 4 O'clock and 8 o'clock,,on the headlight case.
On either type light,,,
remove those screws,
then pull headlight out at the bottom first.
Its a sort of Tilt motion,,,tilts out at bottom.
The Upper edge of the Beam Assembly %26quot;hooks%26quot; into the upper area of the headlight case.
You will probably have to Pry the light's Chrome Trim Ring from the Case to get it started
Be careful,,,it all come loose rather suddenly and will fall free.
To RE-INSTALL,,,,Look at the detail of the Inside of the Case's Upper Head,,,you can see how it hooks in.
Hook it in to Upper Edge first,,,then %26quot;swing %26quot; the bottom edge in towards the case.
The assembly Faintly %26quot;snaps%26quot; into place.
Re-install the screw/screws.
TRY to get screw holes lined up before snapping beam assy into place.
Tuff %26amp; tedious to get it positioned exactly right ,,,usually.
You should be able to turn the beam assy on the Round Light(cb750's) if needed.
The Rectangle 550/650 lights %26quot;naturally%26quot; go into position.
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The BULB is a 55/60watt H-4 Halogen Bulb.
(The 450 Nighthawks have a sealed beam unit vs the separate bulb/beam assy of the bigger bikes.
Best/easiest source is usually a Honda Dealer,unless you want to mail order one)
That's a Common type of bulb....H4
Bike Shops,Autoparts,even places like WalMart have them.
Phillips Brand is generally overall %26quot;best%26quot; bulb.
Phillips models %26quot;Power2Night/GT150%26quot; or %26quot;Vision Plus%26quot;
are Excellent Replacements if you're interested in upgrading.
There's a BUNCH of brands,,,,power ratings,,light colours,etc.
%26quot;Standard%26quot; or %26quot;Long Life%26quot; or %26quot; PLUS%26quot; type wording is usually best choice.
All the more exotic options are not what they're cracked-up to be,,in my opinion.
They get expensive,,,and are not very durable.
Phillips,,G.E. and Sylvania are commonly available at most AutoParts,Walmart,etc.
Hella and Bosch are also very good bulbs if you happen upon those.
They are all good choices,including their upgrade/hi-performance versions.
Original Honda Bulb from the Dealer is a good bulb also.
Dont get romanced by the Advertising Hype on the bulbs you may see.
Bulbs seem to be a big Fad lately,,,especially the %26quot;Blueish Ones%26quot; which try to mimic Hi Intensity Discharge%26quot;HID%26quot; Bulbs.
Colour ratings beyond 5000~6000 become %26quot;Tricky%26quot; to the eye......even though they SEEM Brighter.
Especially for most folks older than 35~40 years of age %26amp; the natural changes in Human Vision which begins around that age.
%26quot;Your Age%26quot; is Weird Thing to mention about Light Bulbs,I know,,,,
but nobody ever tells ya about that,,it's seldom Ever mentioned.
LOTS of bulbs on the market SOUND like the greatest thing since Sunlight,,,and bike riders are usually interested in getting best illumination as possible.
60~70 MPH on a Dark ,unfamiliar road is a bad time to learn about the quirks of Depth Perception Optical Illusions of Hi-Bandwith Light.
Most all the Glorious -sounding bulbs,,aren't such a bright idea.
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Whichever bulbs you chose....
It's VERY Important to Bulb Life to Not Touch the Glass of the Bulb.
Fingerprints will create hot-spots on the bulb,and cause premature failure.
Wipe them with some common rubbing alcohol and clean tissue...
and handle them with tissue while installing.
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It's really rather simple %26amp; quick job.
The 'TRICKS%26quot; are
* getting the beam assembly %26quot;snapped%26quot; in/out, it's not difficult at all,,,just be aware
*the beam suddenly %26quot;pops free%26quot;
*Keep the Bulb CLEAN while installing it,,,even of fingerprints.
Good Luck
How do I change a headlight on my 83 Honda Nighthawk Motorcycle?
not sure what part No.. manual is probably available to download free here
http://hondatech.info/downloads/Moto/
once you get it out you should be able to find one at the auto elactricians....
Many motorcycle headlights have a trim ring around the front of the bulb that must be loosened in order to get the bulb out. ask your honda dealer, and pick up a bulb there at the same time.
Go to the nearest Honda repairs/parts because you will find that the headlight is a sealed unit and you will have to replace the entire headlight.
To do this; remove the headlight from the housing that holds it (a couple of screws and you should be able to lift it out) and unplug. Replace with new unit and tighten screws complete.
If you wish to not pay for a complete unit, cut carefully the old globe out of the lens, purchase a new standard car globe, if need be, enlarge the hole to fit the new globe snugly and silicon in (making sure you put in the correct way so low beam is at the top of the lens), make sure bottom glass of globe sitting flush with the bottom of lens (so you don't throw the focus of the light beam out), allow to set over night before you replace in the bike.
Good luck
