Phase one of my mods is the BC Lucas FEK and turn indicator changeout, Thruxton gel seat, and Sixty8 seat cowl. I decided to go with the BC small bullet indicators with clear lenses. The front was straightforward – just use the BC front bracket and indicators and solder the wires together.
For the rear I wanted to be able to use my Triumph soft bags. I guess I’m not the only one with this requirement, because there have been a few threads about the turn signal/saddlebag interference problem. Though I don’t use the bags much, I did not want to render them useless by using the commonly-seen shock mount rear signal brackets. I knew I had to do a custom bracket of some sort. When I started looking at the BC front bracket, I started thinking that I could make it work on the back with some mods.
First I cut off the additional ears protruding from the main bracket. Then I did a mock up mount with the Lucas light in its rearmost position and marked where I needed to drill holes. Photo 1 show the bracket with ears removed and additional holes drilled. These holes are so the same bolts holding the FEK and Lucas taillight can also hold the indicator bracket. Photo 2 shows how these will fit together under the FEK plate.
Here is where I made my mistake. When the bracket is in place under the seat, it interferes with the seat bolts. Since the seat was not on, it was not apparent to me at the time. I got the whole thing assembled and was proud of myself until I tried to put on the seat and bolts. DOH! Had to disassemble it and cut out a couple notches in the bracket about a half inch long by a quarter inch wide to let the bolts clear (not shown in photos). This was easy to mark because I already had the bracket in place and could mark it with an awl through the seat bolt holes.
After that hiccup it was smooth sailing. I did the connections and buttoned everything up with heat shrink and tape and it looks pretty good. (photos 3 – 5). Now I have symmetry in my front and rear indicator mounts.
Phases 3 and 4 will be new exhausts and some minor paint mods. Looks like a fun winter in the garage!
For the rear I wanted to be able to use my Triumph soft bags. I guess I’m not the only one with this requirement, because there have been a few threads about the turn signal/saddlebag interference problem. Though I don’t use the bags much, I did not want to render them useless by using the commonly-seen shock mount rear signal brackets. I knew I had to do a custom bracket of some sort. When I started looking at the BC front bracket, I started thinking that I could make it work on the back with some mods.
First I cut off the additional ears protruding from the main bracket. Then I did a mock up mount with the Lucas light in its rearmost position and marked where I needed to drill holes. Photo 1 show the bracket with ears removed and additional holes drilled. These holes are so the same bolts holding the FEK and Lucas taillight can also hold the indicator bracket. Photo 2 shows how these will fit together under the FEK plate.
Here is where I made my mistake. When the bracket is in place under the seat, it interferes with the seat bolts. Since the seat was not on, it was not apparent to me at the time. I got the whole thing assembled and was proud of myself until I tried to put on the seat and bolts. DOH! Had to disassemble it and cut out a couple notches in the bracket about a half inch long by a quarter inch wide to let the bolts clear (not shown in photos). This was easy to mark because I already had the bracket in place and could mark it with an awl through the seat bolt holes.
After that hiccup it was smooth sailing. I did the connections and buttoned everything up with heat shrink and tape and it looks pretty good. (photos 3 – 5). Now I have symmetry in my front and rear indicator mounts.
Phases 3 and 4 will be new exhausts and some minor paint mods. Looks like a fun winter in the garage!