New signals on VN900 Classic LT

[Thunder Lizard]

So.. a little while back, I was eyeballing my ride, and it struck me that the turn signals were... well, kinda not so pretty. I got curious and went on the 'web.. and found some that really intrigued me. CREDIT CARD!.. and they arrived.. in November.. in Alberta.... during one of the snowiest/coldest winters we've had in years.
Now it's March.. and the weather finally warmed up enough to dig in.. since explanations and pictures are always requested, I'll include both, along with what I hope will be an amusing description of the process, starting wayyy back in October last year...
1- as the weather turns to crap, begin staring at photos of your ride, wishing and hoping for just one.. ONE.. more week of nice weather... DENIED.
2- as you stare, notice the immensity of the turn signals..


wow, those things really stick out there.. and although the rubber mounts are handy if you drop it.. hmm.. do I LIKE the look?.. time to surf... THE INTARWEB!
3- after agonizing for days, finally make up your #$^^()#$@#$ mind, and order the $%^&@ things.... explain to fiance why you NEED these, hoping to convince her that it was "necessary"..... EPIC FAIL.. but they're ordered... go fix the washer, the dryer, the light you haven't repaired, and put up Christmas lights to mollify the annoyed love of your existence. Buy approximately 3 dozen roses- it does nothing for the bike, but it really makes life better around the house.
4- When the package arrives, dance, sing, leap about, and holler "I can haz new signulz!" like some fool who's been staring at the internet too long. Rush out back to the bike to install the new toys... at -32C... EPIC FAIL.
5- return to pictures of the bike, attempt to photoshop pictures of the new lights to replace the old.. this should take 3-5 days and end up with ... EPIC FAIL.. dangit!
6- Wait
7- Wait
8- WAIT... GRRR
9- wake up one March morning to find.. SUNSHINE! Melting! Warmth! Grab the box of lights (including the pages that you HAVE printed off from the service manual explaining how to remove the stockers.. you DID print those off, right?) and head out to the bike.. remove cover from bike... remove battery tender...
10- grab the tools you will need... too many screwdrivers, all your allen wrenches, all your metric wrenches, wire cutters, soldering tools, knife, electrical tape, heat shrinkable tubing, a hammer, a wood saw (you never know), ratchet set, heat gun, tube of silicone (this should be in the house, not outside in the shed frozen), 1.25 gallons of coffee in an indestructible mug, five sets of different pliers, wire cutters, wire strippers, fifteen kinds of electrical connectors, electrical test meter, fifteen chickens and a tamborine.
OF THESE.. you will require.. one #2 phillips screwdriver. two 10mm wrenches, one 14mm wrench, soldering tools, heat shrink tubing, heat gun, wire cutters/strippers, and one allen key. OH CRAP.. the camera.
11- return to house. Find the camera. Find the memory card. Find batteries. back outside
12- start reading the pages you (DID, right?) print off from the service manual.. hey, the back ones look easy, let's start there.
13- remove the license plate light cover. Drop one of the screws in the leaves you didn't rake up last fall. (dang, she DID tell me to do that.. I shoulda listened)... search for fifteen minutes. Go into house, disassemble one stereo speaker.. take speaker outside and use magnet to magically pull the screw out of the leaves.
14- back into house, reassemble speaker before she notices. EPIC SUCCESS
15- back out to the bike.. HEY.. look at THAT.. it's EASY.. one 14mm wrench removes the old lights. clip wires (you may choose another method of wiring, this is mine), and bare 1/4" of wire
16- bolt on the new lights.. WOW, are those ever SMALL.. trim wires, connect them together using the black/yellow wire as ground and the green wire with brown dots as positive (put the heatshrink on first, then connect and solder the wires, cover with heatshrink, use the heat gun... um.. the heat gun... remember that the heat gun is busted and use your lighter to fasten the heatshrink.... I personally siliconed the connections after the next steps)
17- test the lights.. yay they.. um.. hmmm...
18- resolder the one that didn't work properly
19- test lights again.. HEY! They work! EPIC SUCCESS
20- waterproof connections how you choose (I used silicone over the heatshrink)
21- reattach license plate light cover... and admire!

22- Keep repeating "WOW, what a difference!"

23- haul all the tools around to the front of the bike.
24- try for no less than fifteen minutes to get the 14mm wrench in alongside the headlight bucket .. EPIC FAIL
25- disassemble the headlight (#2 phillips screwdriver) and CAREFULLY set aside the headlight assembly.
26- remove the headlight bucket (2 10mm wrenches) remember to bash, gash, or smash at least one knuckle, and cuss.
27- NOW you can get the @#$%^&$ wrench in there.. sorta... (if you have a deep split socket, this MIGHT be a good time to go get it)
28- loosen the nuts that hold the front signals on (14mm wrench)
29- say "holy crap.. there's this grey covering all the way down the wires".. gently, gently push it back along the wires until you have enough room to work.
30- clip the wires (hey, there's 3 here, by the way). watch as, simultaneously, the signal falls to the ground, and the grey covering SPRINGS back out to cover the ends of the wires. That was amazing!
31- spend at least ten minutes fishing the #(^$)#!@) ends of the #$^#)@#%^ wires out from inside the )$()__#^@! grey covering.
32- repeat for other side. exactly. you'd think you'd learn after the first one, but NOOOOOOO....
33- bolt the new lights on.. hey, that part was pretty easy!
34- connect the wires. If you've purchased 3 wire lights, then it's the same as the rear, plus the blue one for running lights. I had 2 wires on the new lights... cap off the blue one, it's now a turn signal. (it's always bugged me that the front were running lights and the rear weren't, anyhow.. now they match, I'll add something later...)
35- TEST THE LIGHTS.. hey, they work! I'm getting better at this!
36- YAY, done!
37- oh crap. the headlight.
38- reattach the headlight bucket with the 3 bolts (that you haven't, like I did, lost in your pocket for ten minutes)
39- reassemble the headlight itself... and NOW YOU'RE DONE! H'RAYYYY
40- admire your handiwork


41- put away all those tools you used.. and the hundreds you didn't.
42- haul the loved one outside to admire the new lights! Aren't they COOL honey? WOW!..
43- observe her, observing the yard you didn't clean up last fall
44- quietly clean the yard before going inside to login to the motorcycle forums and tell everyone how you spent sunday morning.. and then take that loved one to a movie...

- All in all, it was pretty easy. About 1.5 hours, including finding tools and stuff. I think they look awesome, and I'll post night shots in the future.. after the snow melts so.....

45- CURSE SNOW, ICE, and WINTER.. and go back to browsing the intarweb, champing at the bit for the day you get to take your newly modded ride out on the road.

[Thunder Lizard]

UPDATE... they're also very bright.. great visibility in the daytime.. and nearly annoyingly bright at night.. PERFECT.

[Beeker]

Thunder Lizard, loved your epic tale! They look great. What are they?

[Thunder Lizard]

I wish I knew, Beeker. The packaging and instructions, the housings themselves, nothing has a brand name on it at all. I got them from biker's planet on Ebay, but I haven't been able to discover where they came from originally

[Belrix]

What kind of bulbs in them?

[socalmarcus]

Do I HAVE to start with step 1?

I'd kinda like to just buy 'em and install.

[Thunder Lizard]

They're just a generic 12v 23w push/turn/lock type. No brand name.

[Thunder Lizard]

LOL... nah, don't start all the way at step 1... and as one additional note.. when I went to check the bulbs, I noticed that the things have "drain holes" at the juncture of the lens and the housing.. which I neglected to observe yesterday.. and of course, I've got them at the top. I'll have to swap them left to right to put the holes at the bottom.. *sigh* Maybe clear silicone is the answer. Fortunately I covered it last night before it snowed again

[Belrix]

Originally Posted by Thunder Lizard

They're just a generic 12v 23w push/turn/lock type. No brand name.

Just standard 1156 & 1157 incandescents, then?

[Thunder Lizard]

Originally Posted by Belrix

Just standard 1156 & 1157 incandescents, then?

No, those are much larger bulbs. An 1157 would never fit in that housing. they're more like the 193 type of size (maybe 1" long, 3/8" dia).

[Thunder Lizard]

Well, the long and the short of it is.. they're a 12 volt bulb.. and I have NO idea who makes the ones I have. There are plenty of "bayonet" bulbs out there that would fit.. these seem to be somewhere on the order of 20 watts? Quite bright and very noticable.. the (future.. and almost) wife followed me home the other day and said it was almost amusing.. you don't know they're there until they come on.
Just what I wanted.

[Thunder Lizard]

UPDATE.. the signals are actually a discontinued Road Iron piece. 22 watt bayonet style bulbs. Still available in Canada thru RoadKrome dealers.