I have searched thread after thread on replacing my headlight bulb on my 09 SE Road Glide but couldn't find one about my issue.
I have the black plastic cover that goes around the headlight lens off BUT can't seem to figure out how to get the lens out, I know there are adjustment screws at the bottom and I thought you released them somehow and the lens and all falls out?? Am I missing something or going about it wrong?

thanks

 

I've found it's easiest to just remove one of the headlights by removing the 4 small phillips screws, that should allow access to remove the whole assembly or you can probably replace both bulbs without removing anything else.

 

I still cant seem to get the trim piece off........How did you get yours off??

 

I may be way off here, but on my SE RG ( 2000,) you have to pull the fairing to get to the headlights. Did they chage somthing in the past 10 years?

 

ok, let me clarify further, the outer black plastic cover that is kind of like a visor at the top is what I have off, the inner black molded piece is still on.....wasn't that clear in my first part.

 

Starting in 09 HD started putting a trim piece around the Road Glide Headlights instead of the clear plastic. The Trim piece has four tabs around the outside that you have to depress ( or so I have been told ) I have a 2011 and I cant figure out mine. Once you get the trim piece off you can remove the whole headlight assembly once you unplug the harness........

 

usmc,,,,,yeah I got the trim piece off, it does have 4 tabs around the top and bottom side, depress the bottom tabs with a small screwdriver and the pull it out and the top tabs release theirself. Then on my 09 model it has a hard black molded piece that surrounds the headlight lens......thats what I can't figure out how to release. I know its easier IF you have the inner fairing apart BUT not interested in going that route YET.....have done it tiwce now for the apehangers & amplifier, XM and J&M 7.25's.

Stiggy.......I doubt they (HD) have but I thought maybe somebody knew a trick. Surely you still don't have to do it that way???

 

If I am not mistaken, you need to take the outer fairing off to get to the back side of the adjustment screws to release them so the headlight housing comes free. The reflectors are mounted to the back of the housing. The 2010 model changed that, the reflectors mount to the front of the housing and it uses shorter adjustment screws since the housing sits further back into the fairing. With this set up, you can change bulbs by removing the bezel and unscrewing the four screws that mount the reflector to the housing and get to the bulbs. I just installed the 2010 headlight housing in my 07 for just this reason, I thought it was ridiculous that I needed to pull my outer fairing off to change the bulbs. I think any model before 2010 the bulb housing/reflector is mounted to the back side of the housing. One other thing I did, which I saw somewhere here on the forum, was to drill a hole in the housing where the top adjusting screw mounts and cut a slot in the ball head of the screw. Now I can adjust the top screw with a screwdriver by only removing the bezel and still adjust the two bottom screws from the lower back side of the inner fairing. Hope this helps some...

 

HD, only way I've ever done it was through the fairing removal. I always thought the headlight assembly was too big to service from the front. I really hope I'm wrong as my older fairing is showing some "thread fatigue" from having been taken apart a half dozen times over the years.

 

Thanks Marvin, that explains it for me