Spend Spend Spend – What, Some More?

The left-hand front indicator on my fabulous Yamaha had always waggled slightly in the 85MPH breeze. I had attempted to attach it more firmly with superglue, but to no avail. So it came as no surprise when this happened…

My first reaction was “Gonna need some better glue.” So I spent a few pounds on some Araldite, which (if you’re unfamiliar with the name) is one of those adhesives that combine two tubes of goo together to make a fast-acting glop that sets like iron. Well it worked: the indicator was back on and not going anywhere. Unfortuately it didn’t work either. Obviously something must have broken inside the indicator whilst it had flapped around like a startled duck as I rode home. Why didn’t I check that the light actually illuminated before I spent money on expensive glue? Duh – stupid old duffer!  

Two days later…

Not the genuine ‘Yamaha’ article, but an excellent ‘pattern’ part that matched the ‘real McCoy’ perfectly. 

But when I placed it beside the right-hand indicator, I realised that the abortionist who had converted the standard XJR1300 into a semi-street fighter had, for some unaccountable reason, swapped out the original indicators for some half-sized inferior kind…

Two days later, and now fifty Pounds poorer, Tooty the Wrench Wielder is happy again…

Fitting them to the machine couldn’t have been easier. One spanner and some cable snips was all it took. But discovering the cables to which they needed to be attached was another story. They were nowhere to be seen. Conspicuous by their absense, I think they call it. The new lights should have been ‘plug and play’. But, as I was to discover, there were no plugs – at all…

But eventually I was able to locate some spindly wires protruding from beneath the fuel tank. So taking some block connectors (that I always seem to have somewhere in one of my tool boxes – don’t know where they come from), I relocated the electrical unions inside the headlight shell. Luckily there was just enough room inside there to allow me to reassemble the headlight and refit it to the bike without stressing or breaking anything. Et voila…

Bigger. Brighter. Safer. So then it was just a matter of chucking some fuel in the beastie’s tank…

…and taking it for a test ride that, somehow, managed to last three times as long as it needed to. But that’s bikes for you: once you’re on-board, you don’t really want to get off again.