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Message started by IslandRoad on 08/26/17 at 04:43:59

Title: New brake light and turn signals
Post by IslandRoad on 08/26/17 at 04:43:59

Hey guys, just sharing my new brake light and turn signal setup.

I wanted to move the brake light to under the fender and to slim the bike down a bit. The tail light is a Zodiac Cat's Eye (halogen) and the turn signals are LEDs with billet aluminium housings. The tail light fitted into the existing slots in the stock bracket. I had to make a bracket and some spacers to fit the rear turn signals. I bought P-Clamps for the front turn signals, but had to make some spacers for them too. I also bought a new flasher relay which simply plugged into the existing plug, and also slotted into the existing rubber mount.

I'm trying out a new (to me) image hosting site, so we'll see how this goes!

Here's the front view:

http://i.imgur.com/KrmaneB.jpg

Rear view:

http://i.imgur.com/UtpelNP.jpg

Side view:

http://i.imgur.com/YkVwm0y.jpg

Close up - front:

http://i.imgur.com/VLp3D1k.jpg

Rider's view:

http://i.imgur.com/tDE1dYR.jpg

Rear- top:

http://i.imgur.com/Y4WJVzI.jpg

Rear Close-Up:

http://i.imgur.com/TqCCDva.jpg

Comparison to stock (with prototype bracket):

http://i.imgur.com/4BcqKX9.jpg

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 08/26/17 at 08:51:37

That's a good setup.
How about a shot of the rear bracket?
How hard was it, can ya see them in the daytime, and how much Munneee did it cost?
Hafta have a flasher?

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by Ruttly on 08/26/17 at 10:41:10

I/R , Very nice , I'm about shapes & lines and that's a home run , relocating the tail light & changing t/s improves the profiles. Dramatic difference just removing stock tail light , gives the side profile smooth low line that flow from front to back. There was a guy here who had a creatively cut piece to cover the holes in the fender but can't remember his name.

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by IslandRoad on 08/26/17 at 13:02:19

143332322A3F460 wrote:

Thanks Ruttly, that's exactly what I was going for (shapes and lines), while keeping visibility in mind. I gave a lot of thought to the positioning. That meant literally having a friend hold the lights in different positions and photographing it first!

I saw that plate over the holes that you mention. He made a letter 'T' for his wife's name. I'm gonna do something similar. Except I'm gonna have a go at engraving the plate as well. I've got a couple of designs drawn but none I wanna go with just yet. I'll probably do something similar to cover the holes left by the fender rail, near the seat.

Next step is to work more on the seat. I've already modified it slightly. I reduced the height of the pillion seat and reduced the angle between front and back seat. While I was moving the lights I also moved the rectifier, to the tool box, so now I have more room to work on the seat.

Then, some 4" forward controls to come, and I should be about done :)

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by Ruttly on 08/26/17 at 13:15:10

Removing the eye brows and adding the bags helps a lot too. Your bags are proportioned perfect for the size of the bike, too small looks cheesy , too big makes the bike look small.

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by Ruttly on 08/26/17 at 13:20:55

You could fill those holes with some stainless or chrome button head allens similar to the seat bolt,easy & cheap.

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by IslandRoad on 08/26/17 at 13:26:33

5F4046415C5B6A5A6A52404C07350 wrote:

That's a good setup.
How about a shot of the rear bracket?
How hard was it, can ya see them in the daytime, and how much Munneee did it cost?
Hafta have a flasher?

Thanks JoG,

It wasn't difficult but took some time.

I made working drawings before making the bracket. However, the placement of the lights was a pretty tight fit, and bending the aluminium produced about a 5mm variation in two directions, in practice, so it was a bit hit and miss (I had about five goes at it, including breaking two of them). In the end I made the arms on the bracket longer than necessary and fitted it so I could mark the length and the mounting holes for the lights in situ. The spacers were made on a lathe at work from aluminium bar.

Once I had all the parts it was easy. My son's an electrician so he gave me a hand. However, it was just splicing wires so I probably could have done it myself but it would have taken a lot longer. I got the electronic flasher because I read on here that the LEDs would blink too fast without it. I don't think I tried it myself with the old flasher.

As for cost, the lights weren't cheap. I didn't want to skimp on lights.

Tail Light: $45
Turn Signals: $100 a pair
Flasher: $12
P Claps: $14
Spacers: Scrap
Bracket: Scrap

The indicators are not as visible in daylight as I had hoped. I thought, at that price, I should have been ok. I could have got a set of "E-Rated" signals for another $50 a pair but they weren't quite the style I wanted so I went with these ones. From the front and back they're ok, but from the side they're not (like when you want to move to the middle lane and someone in the far lane wants to as well). I'm going to see if I can get some brighter bulbs for them. They're OK, but if I can brighter ones, I will.

I'll post a couple of photos of the bracket, and of the lights when flashing.

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by IslandRoad on 08/26/17 at 13:30:57

1F38393921344D0 wrote:

You could fill those holes with some stainless or chrome button head allens similar to the seat bolt,easy & cheap.

That's a darn good idea!!

As for the bags, I'm glad you like 'em. They also took a lot of research. I had to buy online so it was all theoretical until they turned up. I used OEM Suzuki brackets, but I've bent them to attach through the old turn signal hole. I also cut them and welded them to bring them closer to the bike, because man those brackets were wide!

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by Ruttly on 08/26/17 at 13:33:05

Where did you get those front t/s mounts ? After staring at your bike I now want to change the mounts for my front t/s. :o

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by IslandRoad on 08/26/17 at 13:45:02

This is the bracket. I made it from some aluminium angle. Mostly just cutting and drilling, but I had to bend the arms up. I also polished the arms at the end.

http://i.imgur.com/jacbFhJ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/5V0W3pd.jpg

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by IslandRoad on 08/26/17 at 13:49:45

And ... the spacers:

http://i.imgur.com/uE2pUPa.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/GiGnZ7m.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/9luJpim.jpg

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by IslandRoad on 08/26/17 at 13:52:48

7D5A5B5B43562F0 wrote:

Where did you get those front t/s mounts ? After staring at your bike I now want to change the mounts for my front t/s. :o

https://www.thirdgear.com.au/indicator-clamps-chrome/

They come in black too :)

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by Ruttly on 08/26/17 at 14:02:05

Thanks, I'm gonna order a set in chrome !

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by IslandRoad on 08/26/17 at 14:08:56

496E6F6F77621B0 wrote:

Thanks, I'm gonna order a set in chrome !

;D ;D ;D

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by Ruttly on 08/26/17 at 14:37:55

Are you familiar with "the divine proportion" ? Some builders live by it , I tend to skip the math and go by eye. I usually get it really close to the math , when building my bikes I consider it my form of art. Shapes & lines are good , but this is another way to design a bike. Some bikes need no body mods while others need a complete makeover , its all just a personal preference. Shapes & Lines , build it so when step back and just glance at it and your eyes do the double take and your mind thinks That's it ,Sexy, it qualifies as Motorcycle Porn !

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by IslandRoad on 08/26/17 at 14:49:34

Yeah, I'm familiar with it :) I have a background in photography and a bit of graphic design. I work in a similar way to you. I go by feel, but I'm aware of the math in the back of my mind.

Things catch my eye like that all the time. They either make me feel calm, or they jarr me ... the tall risers and the tail light used to jar me :)

The first time I took the seat off the bike, I thought "now that looks great!" ... except the fender is too high, and long, and the bottom is too straight for that look. For a long time I wanted to chop or replace that rear fender, but I don't have the skills to go that far, and I ride the bike all the time so I don't wanna lay it up for long while I learn how to. I decided to work with the lines that are there and just tweak what I could.

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by Ruttly on 08/26/17 at 16:32:34

On my sportster I used a slash cut tail light and a angled lic plate mount to follow the lines on the fender and the lines were perfect took away the straight up & down lines. But then I changed the seat to a Corbin and the rear section is cut flat , I love the seat but the flat area is the only thing I see at a glance,totally upset the sexy sweeping lines it had with the stock seat.

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by engineer on 08/27/17 at 09:03:48

Nice job on that seat, you did a little sculpting that improves appearance and it looks like you were able to use the same cover. I'm thinking of doing something similar with my seat so that I can slide back just a little more when I am riding. But I didn't know how it would look and I didn't know if the same cover would fit so I've hesitated to do it. But now that I've seen the picture of your seat I'm going to do it.

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by zipidachimp on 08/27/17 at 10:48:04

Divine Proportion = Golden Ratio? I use it building stereo speakers! 8-)

Title: Re: New brake light and turn signals
Post by IslandRoad on 08/27/17 at 14:37:27

717378737A737F65160 wrote:

Thanks Engineer :) . There's actually even more room than it looks in the picture. The cover fits pretty well but it does 'float' a touch over the new curve between the front and rear seats. It doesn't show when looking at it but it gives a little when you sit on it.

A couple of other things that might be useful: the seat pan itself is deep so I've actually only left a very thin layer of foam on the rear seat. I don't normally carry a passenger so I wasn't worried about that. However I did take a passenger once on a short ride and she said it was comfortable enough. The same goes for the transition between the seats. The foam is very thin. I was worried about that but have found it all very comfortable.

I'm planning on either making a new seat or modifying a different seat. But this one has worked out well so I'm not in a hurry to do that.

I posted some photos of the work in progress, in a thread a little while back. I'll see if I can find it.

Here it is:

http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1483651560/15