Changing headlight on 1981 honda silverwing gl500

SOURCE: i have two loose hoses coming off my petcock? where do they go

On your silverwing you have a "vacuum operated petcock" which means that the carbs draw a vacuum and allow the fuel to flow from the petcock. The front hose is the vacuum hose that should run to the center of the carbs. The second is a drain hose - it's advised that you do have a small hose connect here, so that dirt does not find its way into the petcock. This hose will simply run down past the swing arm to the ground. This would prevent any gas from dumping itself onto the engine if your petcock fails. If your bike runs without the vacuum hose attached, your petcock has failed and will need to be rebuilt.

SOURCE: Need a downloadable version of repair manual

You can check out www.trainwiththom.com - he's got all of the stuff that you'll need

Here's the link straight to his 'manual' page

Kelly

• 3740 Answers
• Posted on Feb 14, 2010

SOURCE: 1981 Honda GL500 interstate bulbs

If your doing a restore you may want to browse the links on this page: (not just chopper stuff)

http://choppercharles.com/cs/forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=88078

Incredible amount of info on Honda GLs all sizes.

As for the lamps.. Take the old ones as samples with you to "any" reputable brand name auto parts store including the likes of Walmart or Sears and walk up to the parts counter. They will walk you to the isle and hand you the correct light bulbs. It is a whole lot cheaper than going to any HONDA any dealer.

Brake light is an 1157 for sure.

Thanks for using FixYa.

Kelly