Long story, short… they worked perfectly, and I love having a quick and easy solution to turn signals on my vintage bike when I’m riding at night. Click on the image below (affiliate link) to buy them:
Longer story… 2022 was my third time to participate in the Hoka Hey Motorcycle Challenge. It’s hard to describe beyond lots of miles in a short time on the most challenging paved roads in the country. I have a couple of other stories on this website about my experiences and why I chose to ride a Panhead in 2022. I wanted turn signals originally to pass inspection since I use hand signals even on my Road Glide. But when I got thinking about it, people can’t see hand signals at night. I hadn’t ridden the pan a lot at night, but on the Hoka Hey, you’ll never finish if you stop when the sun goes down. I was looking at fancier bluetooth options that put lights on your helmet, but those require turn signals on the motorcycle. I saw the signals for bicycles and thought I’d give them a try. I could always return them.
We were happy to see that they hook up easily. The rear signal mount they provided that attaches to the seat post on a bicycle worked perfectly on my tall sissy bar. Willie added a couple of zip ties for extra security. The front signals were even easier to mount. They’ll move around if you push on them for some reason, but they never traveled on the handlebars unexpectedly while riding.
The only problem I have had is when I’m taking them off to charge. I’m getting better at it, but I manage to cut myself every time. Kind of like changing the oil on my Softail – can’t do it without bleeding. I scraped a knuckle up pretty good a day before the Hoka Hey started, and I knew it was going to become infected and be this stupid little thing that irritated the Hell out of me. Sure enough… on day 1 or 2 (they all run together) I was stopped for construction in North Dakota. The flagger had me come to the front of the line and noticed I was bleeding when I took my gloves off. She got her first aid kit out and gave me a bandaid with antibiotic ointment on it. Those things are the best. I know it sounds trivial, but I really needed it and am grateful for her kindness. Small things like are big things on the Hoka Hey.