Turn signals deleted?

Q

quawk

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I have questioned in a previous post if my '73 Hi-Rider would have originally been equipped with turn signals, and the response was yes. It does look like the wiring connectors may be there, but the signals were apparently deleted by the po. I am currently looking at purchasing replacement signals. They look to be readily available and reasonably priced, but I have noticed that the majority of commandos listed for sale do not have turn signals, so just wondering if everybody deletes them just for aesthetics. I do admit they do look sleeker without them, but if you're going to actually ride them to any degree, it does seem to me that letting traffic know you're turning goes a long way toward being seen and riding more safely. Do the front signals have shorter stems than the rears? It looks like on bikes that do have them that that is the case.
 
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My commando is a '70 model. They did not have signals. I put signals on it because people on the roads are young and were not alive when hand signals were common for motorcycles. Looking cool isn't worth getting killed by a driver who tells the ambulance guy, "I thought he was waving to someone..."

When you do install them, they are made to bolt up as the mounting point AND the ground. Don't be fooled by that baloney. Add a ground inside the fixture (which is chromed plastic) to where the metal bulb holder screws into the plastic shroud, then run it down the stalk with the hot wire and find a good place on the frame to ground it. (I ran mine all the way to the plate on the frame behind the battery... My directionals always worked reliably after I did that. Previously, without the dedicated ground occasionally the blinker would not blink. As I said, it would suck to die because of a blinker that didn't blink.....
 
Agreed , you need to install those turn signals . Road safety .
There are aftermarket ones as kits if you don't like the originals sticking out so far .
Also be careful with the 2 screws that hold each amber lens . Too tightly screwed in and the lens will crack , or the screw will strip out the chromed plastic body at the screw tip .
All 4 will need a better dedicated ground , to the frame is good .
Good luck on your project .
 
Many folks removed them cause they thought they look big and kind of ugly.
The plastic housings on the long stocks are vulnerable the chrome housings are usually cracked.
Some folks install smaller after market units that are more compact and look nicer.

When you really want them on the bike is when you are turning left in an intersection with the clutch in and the cars coming at you from the front and rear have no idea what you are doing. Particularly at night.
 
Also, new owners seem to have a difficult time adjusting to the original turn indictor switch. It is commonly found on the right cluster and if original Lucas type. Will be and up and down toggle rather than left right toggle.

It is easy to migrate right clutster to left side and re-work connections to give horn function on lower left, like most modern bikes. Red kill switch moved to upper left. Main/Dip beam toggle, flash to pass and unused starter button on right cluster.
As a mental aid, I swing my left thumb upwards with a leftward swing for left turn. Downward for right turns.

Also, be aware there are Lucas branded turn lamps and unbranded (EMGO ?). The Lucas ones look a bitnicer to the trained eye but do run rpughly 2x the price at the places I have checked.

Be careful when tightening up the stalks to the headlamp shell or rear bracket, do not try to hold the fragile plastic chrome painted shell to stop stalk turning when doing the nut up...it will crack the plastic. Gotta hold inside shell/bracket nut while tirning outside to firmly clamp stalk.
 
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I bought red lenses from British cycle supply for the back. When the single tail light burns out at night, you will be hard to see until the brake light is used. Replace the pigtail in the socket with the double for a 1157 bulb. Red taillights are required. Directionals can be amber.
 
franko said:
I bought red lenses from British cycle supply for the back. When the single tail light burns out at night, you will be hard to see until the brake light is used. Replace the pigtail in the socket with the double for a 1157 bulb. Red taillights are required. Directionals can be amber.
Click to expand...
Run an LED 1157 brake/tail bulb and it will never burn out. In Canada I believe there is a requirement for turn lamps to be amber.
 
quawk said:
I have questioned in a previous post if my '73 Hi-Rider would have originally been equipped with turn signals, and the response was yes. It does look like the wiring connectors may be there, but the signals were apparently deleted by the po. I am currently looking at purchasing replacement signals. They look to be readily available and reasonably priced, but I have noticed that the majority of commandos listed for sale do not have turn signals, so just wondering if everybody deletes them just for aesthetics. I do admit they do look sleeker without them, but if you're going to actually ride them to any degree, it does seem to me that letting traffic know you're turning goes a long way toward being seen and riding more safely. Do the front signals have shorter stems than the rears? It looks like on bikes that do have them that that is the case.
Click to expand...
The front and rear were the same length, but the front, if screwed into the headlight, require long threads that the current Lucas do not have so at least the fronts must come from AN (only place I know). Some like shorter on the front as that makes the front and rear about the same width, but short stems with long threads are really hard to find.

AFAIK, they were introduced in 71 and by at least 73 all had them from the factory.

See service release N34: https://gregmarsh.com/MC/Norton/Info/SR/N34.aspx

Also, service release N3/03, IMHO made the silliest change of all: https://gregmarsh.com/MC/Norton/Info/SR/N3_03.aspx
 
Stephen Hill said:
Most 1157 LED bulbs are polarity sensitive and won't work.
Click to expand...
Depends on what you buy...there are polarity insensitive types available. I actually prefer the LED light board array type, which I have in ,y 850 tail lamp. The board array gives a better light spread than a bulb type LED unit. Got it from Classic Dynamo Conversions in the UK, but I think Paul Goff also has a similar unit on offer. Available for 6v or 12v, -ve or +ve earthed.


Turn signals deleted?
 
When making a tweaker for my LED turn signal indicator light I tried a little experiment. I found out that by installing a resistor in line with one of the diodes I can dim the turn signal bulb enough to made a running light out of it. So I made a couple of them and have running/flashing lights on of my turn signals with a 1156 bulb. These are separate from the tweaker

Turn signals deleted?
 
Stephen Hill said:
Many folks removed them cause they thought they look big and kind of ugly.
The plastic housings on the long stocks are vulnerable the chrome housings are usually cracked.
Some folks install smaller after market units that are more compact and look nicer.

When you really want them on the bike is when you are turning left in an intersection with the clutch in and the cars coming at you from the front and rear have no idea what you are doing. Particularly at night.
Click to expand...
I think that 72 was the first year we got nortons with turn signals. In the 90s I took mine off mostly because the rear bracket stress fractured and left a turn signal dangling and bouncing off of the rear tire. I liked the bike better without the turn signals. About three years ago I decided to completely rebuild/restore the bike and added the turn signals back. I ride a lot of older bikes, pre turn signals and agree that no one today knows what hand signals mean. Still I am not putting turn signals on a bike from the 50s or early 60s. just doesn't look right.
 
I christened the stock directionals, "lollipops" because I think they are hideous looking. I'm one of those heretics who changed the lollipops to "less ugly" hardware. I mounted these Emgo black mini stalks on the rear tail light fairing and some small pyramid directional lights on my fairing. They take some special bulb so they flash extra bright which helps them be a little more visible, being that they are quite a bit smaller than the lollipops...

Turn signals deleted?
 
You also need to be aware that the stems on the front ones must have the correct thread to screw into the headlight shell. I bought some short stem ones that had a finer thread and so would not fit.
 
quawk said:
I have questioned in a previous post if my '73 Hi-Rider would have originally been equipped with turn signals, and the response was yes. It does look like the wiring connectors may be there, but the signals were apparently deleted by the po. I am currently looking at purchasing replacement signals. They look to be readily available and reasonably priced, but I have noticed that the majority of commandos listed for sale do not have turn signals, so just wondering if everybody deletes them just for aesthetics. I do admit they do look sleeker without them, but if you're going to actually ride them to any degree, it does seem to me that letting traffic know you're turning goes a long way toward being seen and riding more safely. Do the front signals have shorter stems than the rears? It looks like on bikes that do have them that that is the case.
Click to expand...
Form
Follows
Function




Sleek?




Hand signal for a right turn, to a youngster is just "he's waiving to a friend"



Conspicuity is paramount to motorcyclist survival.


Most sleek/smaller/tucked in turn signals that barely meet legal criteria are safetywise a joke, and look cheesy.


Ford Explorer rear turn signals nestled in a horseshoe shaped stop light are a good example of how NOT to do it.
The separation of signal lights was long ago determined to be visually most conspicuous. Yet, the styling weenies are occasionally allowed to do stupid shit.
 
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Quawk,
You can’t go wrong with checking with Paul Goff. He has a variety of signals and can set you up with proper bulbs,flasher units, etc.
Mike
 
YING said:
Quawk,
You can’t go wrong with checking with Paul Goff. He has a variety of signals and can set you up with proper bulbs,flasher units, etc.
Mike
Click to expand...
Have went to the Paul Goff website and looked at his products. They look interesting and seem reasonably priced for an improved product. I'd imagine all of us still using the old style incandescent bulbs ought to consider upgrading to modern, brighter lighting. I've got no problem ordering from the U.K. but just wondering if there is a vendor here in the U.S. offering the same or similar LED upgrade lighting products. Having just recently gotten my project bike to the point of being able to ride it, haven't been too concerned with its' not so great lighting, but will be seriously considering upgrading to modern LED replacement lighting.
 
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