Do you have any pictures of how you mounted the turn signals back there?

SimonTuffGuy wrote on 01/28/09 at 18:20:28:


Maybe this will help.  I made it out of 16 ga steel.  It can't be a 90 degree bracket or else the tail light will have a slight but certainly noticeable downward angle.  It will look funny.  Of course that is especially so if you do the fender spacer mod that lowers the rear of the fender. On a stock fender you might be able to get away with a 90 degree bracket but I'd still put a little bit of an angle on it to make it look right.  I shaped the bracket so that very little of it shows and is hidden by the light and turn signal stems.  It think shaping the bracket to the contour of the light gives the whole mod a cleaner,  more custom look.  I'm kind of picky about those little details.  

Thanks, Jay.  That bike was cool.  I love modding.  I modded that M50 til there was nothing left to mod.  My favorite mod on that bike was the custom made intake/airbox, which was fun making and experimenting with the dynamics of air intake at different riding speeds and matching the fuel ratio for best performance at all speeds via an adjustable aftermarket fuel injection manager.  I know some of the motorcyclist around my town, but it seemed all of them new that bike.  If I was in my car and described the bike to another biker, they always seem to remember seeing it on the road or parked somewhere.  However, I like modding the S40 better because everything is metal.  The M50 has a whole lot of plastic as do most bike nowadays which makes it more difficult to mod in many aspects. Here's another pic of the bike with the custom intake before I painted the bike flat OD green.
   

Two members have asked me about the brake light.  I used this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LED-Cat-Eye-Harley-custom-taillight-plate-hold...


However, I modded the license plate mount.  I changed it so that the plate is raised up and snugged right up under the light.  I did this because, in this position, the plate doubles as a mud flap and keeps rain/dirt off of the light.  Otherwise, if used as it comes, there is a gap between the top of the plate and the bottom of the light.  I don't ride much in the rain but occasionally can't help it.  I like the fact that I'm helping protect the tail light from excessive water from the rear tire.  


Here is a close up of the LED strip that I put around the light.  I have it set up so the LED strip only lights up (red, of course) when I brake.

SimonTuffGuy wrote on 01/29/09 at 05:27:16:


Yeah, the saddlebags sat right on top of the plate.  I did have enough room that I could rotate the side mount tag to near vertical and not touch the bottom of the saddlebag but it looked funny to me, was kind of hidden and was just asking for a cop to stop me and say something.  You could only see the tag if you were a good distance behind the bike.  Standing 5 feet behind the bike you still had to bend down to fully see the tag.  In the past on other bikes I've mounted the tag on the back of the saddlebag itself.  I thought about doing that here but decided not to.

SimonTuffGuy wrote on 01/29/09 at 05:52:35:



I absolutely agree.  I hate compromises but I need storage space so I've got to compromise.  I tried figuring out a way to mount a single solo bag on the right so I could keep the side mounted plate on the left but couldn't really come up with anyting that both worked good and looked decent.

They are River Road Slant bags.  I just looked online and saw some like mine on a few bike sites except they have the additional pocket on the back to hold small things like glasses.  I love mine.  I'd describe them as medium size.  I'ce seen smaller and I've seen bigger.  Out of all the saddlebags I've had on various bikes these are my favorites.  They have the hidden quick release strap which is an option I've never had before.  Very well made and run about $110 a set.  

I moved the rectifier and am using the bolt holes, where the rectifier mounts to the rear fender from the factory, as anchors for the yoke.  Essentially, two bolts go through the yoke and into the rectifier mounting threads.  

Any shots of where you moved the rectifier to? I've heard of people relocating it so that the bags don't sit on top... And I've heard of people putting their bags over it anyways (or cutting the bags in that area to go around it).

There's not a whole lot of extra space under the seat.