Pig9r

One of the things I hate the most about a new bike is all the junk that hangs off of the back. Triumphs are some of the worst because of plate holder is large to accommodate plates from around the world. So here is my plate and turn signal mod. Not sure if this is legal where you live so beware it may cause you to attract even more attention.

New Parts Needed:

Side mount license plate holder
Side Mount License Plate Bracket for the New Triumph Rocket III

Kuryakyn LED bullet turn signals (I used the smooth ones)
Product Page

Kuryakyn lens kit (optional)
Product Page

Electronic Flasher (must be 3 pole IC type)

I removed the four nuts the attached the license plate mount to the rear fender support. Problem is the license plate mount is in between the fender and support so some gentle prodding and pulling is needed. Try removing one side then the other, very carefully. Then snip the turn signal wires as close as you can to the stalks. Make sure to mark which is left and which is right prior to cutting. Remove the license plate light socket from the light housing. I removed the bulb and heat shrunk the license plate light socket and neatly wire tied it above the tail light to the fender support frame to ease return to stock set up if necessary. Replace the four nuts that mount the fender to the frame mount.



You will be removing this:



I noticed that the rear strut cover bolt had enough threads poking through the other side to allow a bracket and nut threaded over. So I had a bracket made with an offset. The bracket goes over not only the threaded bolt but the stud just to the rear to aid in stability.

The turn signal wires are spliced (you can solder or crimp) and sealed with heat shrink tubing. The turn signals come with a fair amount. Don’t forget to thread the tubing and the wires through the bracket prior to splicing. And don’t forget to test to make sure you have right to right and left to left. Mount the brackets and use some locktite on the nut since there isn’t much thread to bite onto. Mount the turn signals to bracket. You can wire tie the wires to the frame under the fender which happens to run to the area I mounted the signals.





You will also notice that the turn signals flash fast now because of the drop in the load require to light the LEDs. The mechanical flasher thinks that there is a bulb burned out so it flashes fast. I preferred the slower flash speed so I replaced the mechanical flasher with an electronic one that can run both incandescent and LED lights. The flasher is located behind the right side cover. Just remove the cover, unplug it and plug in the new flasher. If you have a hard time figuring out which one is the flasher just turn your signal on and follow the clicking noise. Make sure you use a 3 pole flasher.

The side mount license plate holder is very simple to mount. Just remove the bottom shock bolt, mount, adjust to the desired angle, replace bolt and tighten. There is a stud that the bottom of the shock mounts to so there is no tension on the bottom bolt and no need to support anything when removing it.

Pig9r

Now you can show off that big fatty



The lenses that come with turn signals are tinted and are hard to see in sun light. Kuryakyn offers a lens kit that comes with nice bezels and red, clear and yellow lenses. I order it later. I found the yellow lenses show up a lot better in the day light.

Toystoretom

Fantastic Post!! I can't believe you crawled up under your rear fender for that one pic

Toystoretom

I just rediscovered this link I had on my old browser from back "in the old daze"..

http://www.customdynamics.com/

There is a ton of stuff on here that a creative Rocket Owner could use...

Hondax

Thanks Pig9r for the great mod. Sure cleans up things in the rear end. You really gots to search for those rear turn signals.

Pig9r

Thanks Hondax. I changed to the yellow lenses in hopes that they would show up better however they are still hard to see from behind during the day. I may have to go to a bigger size signal.

Hondax

Yes, I've played around with LED bulbs for turn signal and brake and am experiencing dimmer rear visibility with much less side visibility. Perhaps if the LED's were mounted on a sphere, then the brightness or at least perpendicular visibility could mimic incandescent.
Recently I've seen a screw-in 120V LED replacement bulb, incredibly efficient, yes, brightness great, when standing directly under bulb. You could have 15 bulbs on a circuit but would need to add an incandescent just to get a dimmer switch to draw enough amps to work. Again this type of bulb would benefit from spherically mounting the LED's I think.

Pig9r

Hondax, you are on to something. I have been considering trying one of these as a drop in for the taillight. Those "bulbs" (type A) contain 32 "super bright" LEDs on a sphere. I converted the taillight of my '70 Bonneville to LEDs and was very happy with the results, less juice needed and definitely brighter. The time is coming soon where all new vehicles, two and four wheel, will have LED headlights and taillights.



http://www.kuryakyn.com/products.asp?bn=metric&ci=2951

Hondax

Yes Pig9r, the type A would be the ticket. Type C won't do cuz I've tried them. Looks like you are well ahead of the curve here. Good job!!

Prophetic? You bet and I'm in total agreement.

travelguy

pig9r, i just got some kury.. led's for the rear and it comes with a load equalizer. i'm not going to run them as driving lights so can i forget about wiring it in and just use a heavy duty flasher /
thxs
tg