Save those broken signals!

[bradleymaynar]

Some of you may not have caught my whiney tirade on having a grocery cart being pushed into my bike and breaking my rear left signal. But what I found was that you are stuck in having to replace the entire signal unit (stem to lens) at a pretty penny. Fortunately, I was able to get an assembly from a member and disassemble it. In doing so I was able to replace four parts in the assembly and make the original whole again.

So, if you're bike is victim to a broken signal, don't throw the whole thing away. You may be able to purchase a less than desirable unit and replace the broken parts without having to buy the whole signal.

In the case of what I had to deal with, was that the threaded stem (covered by a plastic cover) had broken at the mount. All I needed was the metal stem. Unfortunately, all the parts stores wanted $30 for the entire replacement. I was lucky enough to have a GSR member (thanks again Dom) send me a used signal. When it arrived I took it apart and was able to get the parts I needed to fix the original. In fact, I found that I needed a couple extra parts from it to make the original whole again. Well, I replaced it today and it works great!

So, don't throw out that signal unit until you're able to determine that it's completley shot. It may save you a couple $.

Brad tt

[MissFabulous]

Some of you may not have caught my whiney tirade on having a grocery cart being pushed into my bike and breaking my rear left signal. But what I found was that you are stuck in having to replace the entire signal unit (stem to lens) at a pretty penny. Fortunately, I was able to get an assembly from a member and disassemble it. In doing so I was able to replace four parts in the assembly and make the original whole again.

So, if you're bike is victim to a broken signal, don't throw the whole thing away. You may be able to purchase a less than desirable unit and replace the broken parts without having to buy the whole signal.

In the case of what I had to deal with, was that the threaded stem (covered by a plastic cover) had broken at the mount. All I needed was the metal stem. Unfortunately, all the parts stores wanted $30 for the entire replacement. I was lucky enough to have a GSR member (thanks again Dom) send me a used signal. When it arrived I took it apart and was able to get the parts I needed to fix the original. In fact, I found that I needed a couple extra parts from it to make the original whole again. Well, I replaced it today and it works great!

So, don't throw out that signal unit until you're able to determine that it's completley shot. It may save you a couple $.

Brad tt

The packrat in me thanks you for this advice! I'd rather have a barn full of parts if I know I can really re-use and recycle or help someone else out than dump parts and look for new stuff, knowing that it can work. I think I'd better start setting up some big pegboard inthe barn for my upcoming projects!

[maxpower_hd]

I have two brand new amber lenses that were for a 1979 GS750L if someone would like to trade a working petcock for them. I got them as extras with the new directional assemblies.

[Dexx]

Or make friends with a fellow GS'er who is a pack rat. One of my signals broke the same way last year, only due to my inherent klutzy-ness, not a shopping cart. The replacement wasn't a ridiculous price, but it was back ordered and I needed it a lot quicker than two months. Contacted a fellow GS'er and had it in a week. sometimes it's all about your "resources".

[Hoomgar]

Very good tip Brad. I would say that this applies to most any GS parts at this point. I don't throw out anything until it is down to a single part and that is broken beyond repair. Even then, if it is a hard to find piece ( like the gold trim off the tail piece of a 78/79 GS1000 ) I still wont throw it out. A rigged part can still be better than no part in some cases.