If the clip is metal, try using a flexible nut magnet retrieval tool to snake down into the bulb hole to see if you can retreve it.

 

No room for a magnet. With Tracys tiny hands she was able to get the wire tie in there. I would have bet good money that clip wouldn't fit. Steve

 

It's bizarre BMW hasn't already fixed this ridiculous hold-down mechanism. I replaced one at 14K miles (wasn't out, just was heading on a long trip) and for me it was the left side (from the front of the bike) got stuck somehow between layers of sheetmetal. I was able to get it out and fortunately I knew not to force anything so the wire clip still works. I need to do this again w/ an exposed receptacle so I actually see at point blank range exactly how the spring tabs are to be reentered into their housing. So easy to come up with a smarter design it seems to me.

Good luck with it what a drag...

 

It is. Several things bother me about the design of this bike. This and the location/accessability of the coolant reservoir are amongst the top. There is plenty of room for am automotive type twist lock in that housing. This would be a 5 min procedure for anyone.

 

Well Good loves me and he sent me Tracy. She came in carrying the clip a few minutes ago so I shall try again when I can. I have to work all weekend so I missed my only opportunity to ride this week. Snow forecast for Sun. I will still pay someone with the expertise to do this but I aint dead yet. I do still need an idea of how the top of that clip attaches. Surely I am not the only one ever to have this nightmare.

 

To make matters even better I tangled with a feral cat the night before that got a few good bites into my right hand

I learned my lesson a few years ago. Cat bit me but I was fortunate that I was able to capture it. Problem is that you don't know if they have rabies or not so if you get bitten, you either need to capture the cat and watch it for 30 days or go ahead and have it killed and the brain sent off for examination. That is unless you want to get the shots........Not. Many are very friendly but friendly or not, if they bite you, you are in a pickle.

In GA it is now against the law to handle "wild" animals - you have to call a specialist to capture them.

 

I learned my lesson a few years ago. Cat bit me but I was fortunate that I was able to capture it. Problem is that you don't know if they have rabies or not so if you get bitten, you either need to capture the cat and watch it for 30 days or go ahead and have it killed and the brain sent off for examination. That is unless you want to get the shots........Not. Many are very friendly but friendly or not, if they bit you, you are in a pickle.

In GA it is now against the law to handle "wild" animals - you have to call a specialist to capture them.

Yeah, I have to deal with 3 or 4 feral cats per year and about 1 out of 4 eats me alive. It was my time I guess. I usually just let them be when at home and my dogs handle it but this one got into the building where I work so he had to go. I would say we live and learn but I havent learned and figure odds are in my favor now for the next 3. Steve

 

I had to remove my headlight assembly to retrieve a part. Not fun. There is a pocket knife in there again, after an attempt to change a bulb in Montana....

This picture might help. Not sure how the clip could come loose. Might be just as easy to remove the headlight housing to replace the clip.

 

THANK YOU! That is the pic I was looking for. It doesnt look easy but may be doable. Steve

 

Looking at the pic supplied by realshelby and thinking about what I went through trying to reattach that clip last night I dont forsee me being able to reinstall that clip with the headlight in the bike. I guess I will schedule it to go back to the dealer whenever he can get it in. This bike is also now FOR SALE! I hate to give it up as I do like the bike but this is a deal killer. I stepped up and bought a top shelf touring machine I really couldnt afford so I could ride without aggrevation and this is UNACCEPTABLE. They knew this lamp would eventually blow and need replacement. My old bikes were old and did break but I could usually repair them in a few hours. A bulb replacement should be no more than a 5 minute procedure able to be performed by the rider in a parking lot.
Steve

 

This bike is also now FOR SALE! I hate to give it up as I do like the bike but this is a deal killer.

WOW ... you are seriously going to get rid of such a great bike over a bulb change being a pain? There must be other factors at play here, since this seems like a major overreaction to a small frustration (in the grand scheme of life).

 

Steve-

I am sorry to read about your woes with your bike. There is no question that BMW service is costly and to the extent that one (who is more capable than I) can do their own servicing, one can save quite a few bucks. There is also no question that some of the engineering of the bike makes what should be a routine job (eg. replacing a headlamp) a PIA, if even possible by the mortal being.

As I have owned several different BMW bikes, this is not unique to this particular bike. But each iteration does seem to become more complex (at least to me).

But, having said that, I can only attest to how much I have enjoyed over the years to be able to ride such well built and functioning bikes. I have owned others (eg. Triumph) and ridden others (eg. HD's) and none comes close to the pleasure that I at least can take from either the K1600GTL or the R1200RT. NONE.

We will be sorry to see you leave the family!

 

Well I do learn and I tied a string to the clip before I dropped it this time. At this point the headlight housing has to come out for us to ever have a shot at putting this thing back together. I cannot stand the thought that this clip is going to beat me so I am getting ready to search for an online manual with good, DETAILED step by step instructions to remove the headlight housing and all the bits that must come off in order to pull said housing. Any suggestions as to which I should purchase? I have NEVER been afraid of working on my own bike but must admit this one intimidates me mostly due to the potential costs of any errors. I am just hoping at this time we havent already broken something in the housing that cant be replaced. The dealer called back today and said the clip was only available as part of the assembly. I found a link to one at Beemer Boneyard but havent checked the website yet. We did recover the original one and I think it is still OK if we can just get it back in. Steve

 

Looking at the first photo posted, it doesn't look like the spring clip can completely separate from the housing (and fall inside the housing assembly) - is it really that easy for the spring clip to separate at the top and fall inside?

I haven't changed my bulb yet but I definitely have learned something from this thread. Must be a trick or tool that BMW uses because I cannot imagine that the dealer would disassemble the front bodywork just to change a light bulb.

 

I don't know how Steve ended up w/ a disconnected clip because it seems to be housed in a metal hinge as it were. My F800GT's clip was horribly designed and everyone ends up with either the clip coming out or as bad the clip was made to be retained by plastic, not the metal design w/ the RTW's, and the plastic would crack and chip away making it impossible w/o a gerry rigged solution to make it work again.

I'm tempted to let the dealer routinely swap in a new long life bulb (BMW sells them now for about $10 over the standard OEM replacement) at the every 12K mile valve checks etc.

 

I've replaced several headlight bulbs in my RT, it can definitely be done but it takes a lot of patience.
Two things I've learned:
1) the clips have to be finessed into place, when you get everything lined up just right they just slide right in. Extra force on the clips doesn't help.
2) The bulb can feel like it's in place when it's not, quite there, then the clip won't clip and you cant figure out why. I found it helpful to look at the bulb through the headlight lens to be sure it's 100% to place as I clip it in.

You can remove some plastic and loosen the gauges to get better access to try and replace that clip, it's pretty easy and straightforward to do, just keep close track of which screw goes where because there are several lengths of screws that look alike. I take pictures with my phone as I take things apart so I'm sure I put it all back in the right order.

 

Ya see.. you have to think like a German... "Bulb Never Burn Out!!!!" It only has the appearance of low light.:grin:

 

Might be worth having something like this if it could help you see what you are doing.

 

I may go buy one of those. I have a microscope that connects to the computer from my coin dealing days that I tried but couldnt get a good enough angle to convince me it would work and it would not connect to my tablet so I would have to move the computer to use it. Didnt get an opportunity to look at it today at all. I had to be at work at 7AM and should be leaving here in the next hour. Might get a chance to look again tommorrow night when I get home. Work schedule says to 5 PM but I have been told not to expect the event to end that early. Could go several hours later

 

I have a Haynes manual which gives good enough instruction to remove the headlight assembly. I too do NOT see how the clip could have come loose. But having had the headlight assembly out I will tell you that it is not that bad of a job at all. I would advise a manual to guide you however.

As for servicing this generation of RT, I will say it is one of the least labor intensive and straight forward bikes I have had for many years. Meaning it is easier and cheaper than a new Super Tenere, Suzuki V Stroms, etc. Yes, the headlight bulb replacement could have been better engineered. Yet once you have the knack of it, I can do it in a few minutes. From the front of the bike, never needing to look into the bulb housing. Bugger up the clip using force, and the nightmare begins.

 

Bugger up the clip using force, and the nightmare begins.

Yes this and the tabs on the upper front fairing panels have not been sufficiently idiot-proofed! Same with the tabs once you understand how to remove and replace the panels it's very easy to do w/o snapping them.

 

Well it must not be that difficult if you have been there before. Dropped the bike with Touring Sport at 12:30 for my appointment which was either 2:00 or 2:30. The guy that writes the service tickets took the clip and dropped it in the bag with the work order and said they would let me know if there was a problem. I don't know when the mechanic (Johnathon Hazinski) actually got the bike in/finished but the call came at 2:50 that the bike was ready, bill was done and I could come get it any time. Looking at the bill I only have a labor cost, not broken down into time, but based on the total they charged less than an hour plus the bulb (I chose not to use the one we had since we had handled it so much already).
I have vented a lot during this thread and do get aggravated with the demands of both the bike and the dealer but I will also admit that I have had great service from both. Every time I have scheduled a service they were ready for the bike at/near my appointed time, did a first rate job on it and got the bike back in my hands quickly. The bike itself has been nearly bulletproof and with the exception of the water pump weep would score a 10/10 on that front. I expect to replace things like tires, brakes and bulbs so I don't even count that stuff. Owning this bike has not been a terrible experience. Steve

 

Looking at the bill I only have a labor cost, not broken down into time, but based on the total they charged less than an hour

So they probably were able to snap it back in place without removing many (if any) of the fairing pieces.

Glad the bill was minimal and you are back on the road.

 

so have you changed your mind about putting it up for sale?

 

Unfortunately no I havent. It was/is a hard decision but it is the correct one. When I bought this bike it did not fit the budget. I made it work by allocating nothing for repairs and barely enough for routine service, gambling the farm on BMW's legendary reputation and leaving NO safety net. My reasoning was anything that went wrong would be covered by either warranty or insurance and though uncomfortable I was able to accept this arrangement. So far the bike HAS lived up to that reputation. I further reasoned that I would have the dealer do the first few servicings and I would then take over myself to alleviate some of this burden. All was well until I decided to add coolant. While researching what type coolant to use I discovered a number of owners that had made an $800 mistake removing/reinstalling the panel. That made the ramifications of the lack of a safety net become all too real and seeded this inane fear of touching this motorcycle in me. Several times each year that lack of a safety net causes a non-issue to send me into a great and unhealthy panic. This time it was a simple blown headlight bulb. In reality the bike was fine, out of service only due to my own overbearing hard line rules (implemented due to my girls penchant for dashes that look like she has driven over a Christmas tree). But then I touched it as I would have any other bike I have ever owned. I spent the next week with literal nightmares that I had destroyed the headlight housing, followed by a true concern that something in this Canbus system (of which I remain blissfully ignorant) would turn to fairy dust if I tried to start the bike since I now could not put a bulb back in (it didnt). Once again all was fine and my panic was unwarranted but that panic was also very real. If I HAD broken the housing and had to replace it my financial guy would have simply declared the motorcycle is parked for the year, there is no budget left to actually operate it. It IS a great machine and I WILL have another very soon but I bought this one a few years too early. Ive gotta let it go and breathe now. Steve

 

Get a friend or fellow riding buddy to show/help you with the service. It is no problem at all. I have owned several Harley's and always serviced them as well as my R1200RT 2014. Nothing to it.....Get you a Torque wrench that reads Newton Meters and get with it.....

 

Working on this bike terrifies me. Ive built jap bikes, Harleys, British bikes, helped Dad with old Indians and brands many have never seen/heard of and it never bothered me. I think nothing of tearing expensive equipment at work apart and seeing what makes it work and I can usually fix it when it is broken. This bike terrifies me. I KNOW I am capable of changing fluids and filters, have dealt with a similar valve setup on older Porsches and have no doubt I can at least check them (which seems to be all they have ever needed) and little I could get them in adjustment if it was required but opening anything up on this bike scares the crap out of me. It seems there is an expensive booby trap at every turn. I have always been the guy my friends brought their bike to when they couldnt fix it and there have been very few I couldnt fix. I dont like to but I have split cases on several jap bikes and was able to get them back together and riding. I am terrified to pull the plastics on this bike. Steve

 

Big thanks to those who went before me. Especially RealShelby's picture. I just did my first ever low beam bulb replacement on any BMW. 5 minutes flat.

Luckily I have small hands. Only 7.5 ring size. I was able to un-do everything from the bottom. Get the new bulb in without issue. I found it easier to do the clips reaching in from the top. But like I said, I have small enough hands/forearm that I was able to get to the clips. Put the cap back on from the bottom.

Rear tire replaced and low beam replaced, all at 12,700 miles. Original tire and bulb...

 

It really isn't bad once you understand it. I didn't quite do 5 minutes on the last try because I was confused still on where to push the retention clip. I was flatly wrong about the picture above where the blue arrow points--instead it's just a case of pushing on the part of the clip extended down under the tabs, so a little below where the red line points.