If you’ve ever been stranded on a country road, late at night with failed motorcycle headlights you’ll know what a nightmare it is. What’s your best option? Trying to find your way to the nearest garage without lighting? Checking into the nearest 5 star hotel and waiting until morning? Neither are very practical solutions, so this is where learning to change your own motorcycle headlight bulbs comes in!

Different makes and models have various bulb-changing methods and will in fact, use different bubs, so use this as a basic guide only and read more about your particular bike, either online or in your user manual, for the complete low down

1. First thing’s first: consult your user manual, see what type of bulb your bike’s headlight uses and make sure you have at least one spare before you set out on a journey – even in daylight. Some headlights take more than one bulb so being fully prepared is essential. If you need help identifying the bulb type, take it to your local garage or dealer. It’s also well worth learning to ID your bulbs by touch. You don’t want to find yourself in the dark, fumbling around for an hour only to find you’ve replaced your blown headlight bulb with your motorcycle tail light.

2. Next, read up on the actual changing procedure and try and commit it to memory. (Or at the very least take a torch and the manual with you when you ride). Have a practice run: waiting until your bulb blows at midnight in the middle of nowhere is NOT the ideal time to try and figure out how to change it!

3. Ok, so the inevitable has happened, but don’t panic – you’re prepared. You read steps 1 and 2!

So, let’s get down to action. Try and ensure your bike is parked on an even surface, grab your screwdriver and remove the screws on your headlight’s lens unit (taking care not to lose them in the dark – you’ll need them later!) Open the headlight casing and disconnect first the coupler, then the bulb cover.

Unhook the bulb holder, unscrew the burnt out bulb and replace with your brand new one. Hook the bulb holder back up, reconnect the bulb cover and the coupler then screw the casing back in place.

Crisis avoided.

If that’s not as tricky as you expected and you’re now filled with confidence and feeling really motivated, why not use the same tips to go a step further and upgrade your existing bulbs to LED or HID motorcycle headlights? You’ll need to read up further as you’ll likely need a bulb adapter and the process may not be quite as simple, but this is a great way of customizing your bike.

So, be prepared. Check online as there are loads of stores selling biking parts and accessories, find the correct bulbs (don’t forget to stock up on spare tail lights and indicator lights too) and you’re good to go. Just don’t forget your screwdriver.