Front turn signals on an 81 Goldwing

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henrytm82
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Front turn signals on an 81 Goldwing

#1

Post by henrytm82 »

I have an '81 Goldwing that still has all the stock stuff on it, and I want to change things up a bit. I'm looking at taking off the enormous front fairing, the trunk, and possibly changing out the seat, but we'll see about that last one.

Anyway, my first order of business is going to be the front fairing. From everything I've read, removing it seems fairly straightforward, but one thing that I haven't seen addressed specifically are the front turn signals. Since the indicators are built into the fairing, I won't have any on the front once I remove the fairing. How do you folks who are more experienced with this handle that? Do you just purchase a new set, or is there a way to salvage the ones on the fairing? Is there already a bracket for turn signals under the fairing, or do I need to be out looking to purchase brackets?
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brianinpa
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Re: Front turn signals on an 81 Goldwing

#2

Post by brianinpa »

The stock headlight bucket mounting ears provide the turn signal mounting points, but those are getting harder and harder to find in good condition. It would be far easier finding a decent set of aftermarket signals that you like looking at.
Brian
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If you aren't having fun doing it, find something else to do.

1984 Standard - 18,000 miles - Naked... the way it should be
1987 Interstate - 62,000 miles - Resurrected from the rust bucket
henrytm82
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Re: Front turn signals on an 81 Goldwing

#3

Post by henrytm82 »

I can see the headlight mount underneath the fairing - it looks like it's still functional (I'll know for sure once I get the fairing off). So assuming that big bracket is in decent shape, I can just attach turn signals to the sides of that without having to purchase a new bracket? That's handy. I'm assuming I still need to purchase the turn signals themselves, though? I guess my main question is whether the ones already in the fairing can be taken off the fairing and attached directly to the bike, or are they more like a car's signals with inconvenient plastic housing all around them?

I *just* purchased this bike, so I'm pretty new to its customization options.
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TNTbefree
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Re: Front turn signals on an 81 Goldwing

#4

Post by TNTbefree »

Pics would help. I have an 81 and I took it from a full dresser to naked. I had to buy the headlight, headlight bucket, fork ears, and signals. If you end up having to do the same, do your best to go OEM. The new "cheap" aftermarket bucket/headlight I found on eBay was junk. The first set of fork ears I bought didn't have the turn signal mounts on them anymore. Then I had to find a set that did. Also, the fork ear gaskets are not easy to find. Made a makeshift set of those out of electric tape. Also, I used a fork tool bag to stuff all the extra wires in. Cut a hole in back bottom, ran wires up into bag, and ran the upper wires down into the top hole of the bag and reconnected them. Good luck.
henrytm82
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Re: Front turn signals on an 81 Goldwing

#5

Post by henrytm82 »

I'll post some pictures when I get home, but this is the kind of advice I was hoping to get. I want to change quite a bit about it, so it's going to be a bit of a project while I get it cleaned up.
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Re: Front turn signals on an 81 Goldwing

#6

Post by henrytm82 »

Here's what I'm dealing with. 81 GL1100 with what looks to me like a full Vetter setup. My goal, at least to start with, is to get the front fairing off, the trunk box, and maybe even the plastic saddle bags. I'll decide on that once I see it without the other stuff. It already has rear blinkers installed separate from the trunk box, so that part is easy. I'll need to remove the front fairing to see exactly what I have to work with. I'll probably do that tomorrow or this weekend.

In the "eventually" column, I'd like to swap the seat out for something a little narrower and maybe slightly lower profile to help my feet reach the ground - this is a tall bike, and I'm 5'10", and while my feet sit flat on the ground, it's only just. I don't have a great deal of extra leg for walking the bike.

But, first thing's first - gotta get the headlight and blinkers sorted out.
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Re: Front turn signals on an 81 Goldwing

#7

Post by brianinpa »

I'm afraid that no matter how you try, those fairing turn signals would never look good mounted to the bike. Take the fairing off and if the headligh bucket mount is there, buy a cheat pair and mount them to it. Mount likely the stock mounting ears were cut off by a previous owner or the original dealer.
Brian
ADC(AW) - US Navy Retired 1983-2003
If you aren't having fun doing it, find something else to do.

1984 Standard - 18,000 miles - Naked... the way it should be
1987 Interstate - 62,000 miles - Resurrected from the rust bucket
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Re: Front turn signals on an 81 Goldwing

#8

Post by henrytm82 »

Yeah, that's about what I expected to hear. Any advice on a lower, narrower seat? Does anyone sell a good aftermarket seat, or am I looking at a custom project?
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Re: Front turn signals on an 81 Goldwing

#9

Post by Track T 2411 »

You're most likely going to find that you need to do some wiring once you pull the fairing. Vetter used their own plug into the fairing, and depending on the installation, the wiring could be pretty messed up. On my 1100, they had completely removed the headlight ears, too.
"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

"He that is good with a hammer tends to think everything is a nail" - Abraham Maslow

"If you can't take the time to do it right the first time, how are you ever going to find the time to do it over?" -Unknown

Current Rides:
'Grumpy' - '81 Standard, now fully dressed.
'Layla' - '81 Standard w/dealer installed fairing and Hondaline bags.
'Scarlett' '76 'Survivor' nekkid as a j-bird!

Under Construction:
The 'Jalopy' '78-'79 Mash-up
'Quikie' '81 gl1100I back on the lift, project with the step-son!

In The Shed:
'81 gl1100I barn find aka "Josie, the farmer's daughter." (almost comatose build)
'77 gl1000, roller parts bike.
'82 gl1100I, 'Old Crusty' titled roller parts bike (free!)
'82 gl1100I, My first 'Wing, and an expensive lesson!
New2U Bike? Read Me.
henrytm82
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Re: Front turn signals on an 81 Goldwing

#10

Post by henrytm82 »

The headlight bracket is there, I can see it underneath the fairing. Whether or not it's bent or still any good is anyone's guess - I'll find out this weekend when I pull the front off. The wiring is attached to the front fairing with a single connector - it'd be awesome if I could find a headlight/blinker package that'll let me just use that same connector, but I have a feeling I'll be doing some custom wiring, yeah.

I'm less concerned about the wiring on the front than the wiring on the back - there's a cluster of cables that runs into the trunk box for the box's ridiculous multitude of lights, and I expected to find another nice connector in there - instead, I found a bunch of wires spliced together with crimp connectors. So I've got a good weekend project ahead of me!
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TNTbefree
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Re: Front turn signals on an 81 Goldwing

#11

Post by TNTbefree »

henrytm82 wrote:I'm less concerned about the wiring on the front than the wiring on the back - there's a cluster of cables that runs into the trunk box for the box's ridiculous multitude of lights, and I expected to find another nice connector in there - instead, I found a bunch of wires spliced together with crimp connectors. So I've got a good weekend project ahead of me!

I doubt it's going to be all that bad... Pull the seat off and I bet you will find they just spliced into the rear light and break light lines. Repair at the source and I bet all the stuff in the box can be ignored.

You got lucky, that is a vetter aftermarket kit put on a naked wing. Mine was factory fairing and I had a lot more work to do to get her to naked.
henrytm82
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Re: Front turn signals on an 81 Goldwing

#12

Post by henrytm82 »

TNTbefree wrote:
I doubt it's going to be all that bad... Pull the seat off and I bet you will find they just spliced into the rear light and break light lines. Repair at the source and I bet all the stuff in the box can be ignored.

You got lucky, that is a vetter aftermarket kit put on a naked wing. Mine was factory fairing and I had a lot more work to do to get her to naked.
Thanks for the reassurance :)

I think you're right about it not being as much work as I expected - the bags and trunk are simply mounted to a rail system that is bolted on to the bike in a few places. Looks like about twenty minutes of work will get everything off. I have a question about the front fairing - it's held in place by four bolts, and is resting on/mounted to two horizontal rails that, as far as I can tell with the fairing still attached, are a permanent fixture on the front forks. Can those rails be removed in a simple way that isn't readily apparent to me, or am I going to be looking at taking a cut-off wheel to them? If you need pictures of what I'm talking about, I'll post some later when I get home from work.
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Track T 2411
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Re: Front turn signals on an 81 Goldwing

#13

Post by Track T 2411 »

Vetter made only a few styles of fairing, and many mounts for different bikes. The mount 'should' bolt onto the front frame with u-bolts on top, and a hose type clamp below. I say should because one never knows... I suggested wiring issues in the front for the same reason. I'm not a fan of the crimp or add-on/splice type connectors, which is what you'll probably find. My 2 cents...
"I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein

"He that is good with a hammer tends to think everything is a nail" - Abraham Maslow

"If you can't take the time to do it right the first time, how are you ever going to find the time to do it over?" -Unknown

Current Rides:
'Grumpy' - '81 Standard, now fully dressed.
'Layla' - '81 Standard w/dealer installed fairing and Hondaline bags.
'Scarlett' '76 'Survivor' nekkid as a j-bird!

Under Construction:
The 'Jalopy' '78-'79 Mash-up
'Quikie' '81 gl1100I back on the lift, project with the step-son!

In The Shed:
'81 gl1100I barn find aka "Josie, the farmer's daughter." (almost comatose build)
'77 gl1000, roller parts bike.
'82 gl1100I, 'Old Crusty' titled roller parts bike (free!)
'82 gl1100I, My first 'Wing, and an expensive lesson!
New2U Bike? Read Me.
henrytm82
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Re: Front turn signals on an 81 Goldwing

#14

Post by henrytm82 »

Thanks. Hopefully it turns out to be as simple as removing a few U-bolts, and I didn't get some knucklehead welding things to the forks. I'll keep you guys updated!
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Re: Front turn signals on an 81 Goldwing

#15

Post by mcgovern61 »

The fairing and brackets will come right off. The Vetter wiring plug normally was connected directly to the Honda wiring using the same type of bullet connectors so re-connecting the headlight and turn signals will be pretty straight forward. The headlight brackets will accept another GL1100 bucket. The unfortunate thing about the headlight turn signal brackets is that the ears that were on the brackets for the original turn signals most likely were cutoff to fit the fairing. There is no way around that when they installed the faring.

However, if you can see the headlight brackets, you may be in luck that the rubber gaskets at the top and bottom of the headlight brackets will be intact. They are very hard to come by. When I converted my '82 Standard from a Vetter fairing to just a windshield and re-installed the original Honda type headlight and turn signals, I was able to get the whole thing from Ebay, but they actually came from a CB750. (Same parts).
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Gerry

Current ride: 82' GL1100
1st ride: 81' Suzuki GN400
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