RestoCycle How-To: Replace the headlight in your Prolink CBX...with an LED!

[NobleHops]

Hat tip to JoeInTus for breaking trail on this at RestoCycle. The LED upgrade on a CBX in the headlight and running lights is a significant upgrade, lowering the draw on the already-challenged charging system, improving performance from the rider's point of view on the road, and DRAMATICALLY improving your visibility to other road users. We've had success with lamps from SuperBrightLEDS.com and also a brand called Auxito, found on Amazon.

Here's our patient, the headlight installed in a nice Hondaline fairing that was used on the 1981-1982 Honda CBX "Prolink" motorcycles, and also the Honda Sabre of the era.

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JoeInTus turned this part up for installation in his own 1992 Honda Gold Wing, as his headlight had become dim and yellow. These are found at SuperBrightLEDs(.com) and feature a lifetime warranty IF and only IF you return it to them in the original packaging. We bought a set of two so I'd have one for my own bike, however they are also sold singly.

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Step First, we need to get behind that glass lens to be able to remove the headlight.

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We just used a spray detailer for lubrication, anything similar would work fine, spray it around the rubber moulding that holds the lens in place.

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Autobody panel tools are perfect for this job - start slowly, the moulding gets pretty stuck to the glass at first, you might want to take the tip and just run it around the moulding first so the spray detailer can get down in there and help free things up.

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[NobleHops]

Little wiggle, little pry and you're in. Chase that moulding around a little carefully till the lens is free and hang onto it, it's glass.

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Inside the fairing we need to remove the adjuster knob and the 12mm nut to the right.

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Get the nut and washer...

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Loosen the crosshead set screw on the adjuster knob and pull it off...

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Remove the nut and washers beneath the adjuster knob.

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[NobleHops]

Back at the front of the bike you may now remove the headlight and its bracket. Ours was a little stuck after 39 years, took a little coaxing to free up.

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Unplug the H4 bulb from the wiring harness.

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On the bench, ready for surgery.

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Look at this a little carefully, and within the bulb you'll see that it is asymmetrical.

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The replacement LED is too, in a similar way - this is hard to describe, will be apparent in your hands. You must maintain that orientation when you install the LED.

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Side by side.

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[NobleHops]

With the old bulb removed, install the furnished black plastic adapter in place of the bulb base. You might like to take this opportunity to clean the inside of the glass with a swab of alcohol on the end of some skinny pliers. Beware touching the reflective coating on the back of the reflector housing though, those are getting very fragile at this age.

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Reinstall the wire clips that holds it in place.

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Install the rubber boot around the base of the LED making certain it is pulled far enough back that it won't interfere with proper installation.

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Turn it into the base 90 degrees and it locates very positively. Note the pigtail for connection to the wiring harness, also note the orientation of the writing on the LED in case you get confused about how to orient yours.

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Small but important point, See those two lighter circles within this recess? Those are rubber plugs installed in holes in the plastic housing. One has a hole through which the headlight pigtail passes, the other is solid, but flexible. We need that flexibility.

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Make the connection from the LED to the pigtail and position the two connectors against that left-hand rubber plug. When we install the headlight and bracket it is going to capture that against that plug and that is going to give us the crucial space we need. You could certainly skin both of these and install smaller connectors, but that would make this non-reversible in a pinch, so this is how we do it.

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[NobleHops]

Reinstall the headlight and bracket, hold it in place...

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Reinstall both sets of washers and nuts...

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Reinstall the adjuster knob and the set screw...

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There's your grommet on the inside post installation, you can see it is slightly bulged out from where we located the external pigtail.

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Clean the glass lens well. We love this stuff because it is antistatic when it's dried and buffed.

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Note the "Honda" imprint on the glass of the lens for proper orientation.

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[NobleHops]

STOP

This would be a really good time to test things. We were doing this with the failing off the bike, and could have rigged up some power to the light to test, but it is arguably EASIER to do this with the fairing installed. Flip the ignition on, test the high and low beams before you button things up.

NOW...

Clean out the channel of the moulding with a RestoSwab with maybe a smear of dielectric grease to ease installation and keep the moulding pliable. That's silicone dielectric grease we're using to lube that channel before reinstallation of the glass, and you want to use just enough to make it slippery, but not enough that you make a mess. This might be overkill.

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Place the glass in the lower channel of the moulding and use one of the autobody tools to start to work the moulding back over the edge.

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Patience.....

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Almost done, haven't torn it...

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And done.

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Great product (link updated - Thanks Larry!), works really well. https://www.superbrightleds.com/vehicle ... Wh3mlqoADy

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[Larry Zimmer]

Excellent. Quick note: It appears the HLV7, used here, has been replaced by the HLV8. If you go to the link, it will give you a 'no longer available'. Try this: https://www.superbrightleds.com/vehicle ... Wh3mlqoADy

[JoeInTUS]

We have been using Auxito H4 bulbs with good results instead of the Superbright LEDs with the large heat sink. The Auxito bulbs will work in the twin shock headlight also.

This model works well
https://www.auxito.com/products/9003-l ... motorcycle

Auxito has other models with built-in fans that are generally more powerful.