I started this as a response to a question elsewhere, but thought it should be a separate thread.
I replaced the stock front signals on my Rebel with generic signals from a local retailer. I wanted to lower the stock signals, but found that unpractical unless I found clamps that would fit the stalks.
If you notice the two screws in the yellow circles, they keep the stalks from rotating on the forks. In the lower position, they would have to screw into the plastic logo cover deal, and I don't trust that for a permanent install. I thought about cutting an aluminum plate to fit there, but I was concerned about vibration. There are other lights available besides the ones I chose. I may eventually swap them for something bigger with running lights. For now, I'm happy with these.
I did the wiring part one signal at a time, so my brain wouldn't hurt too bad. There are way more wires in the front junction box than I would have thought possible. Each front signal light has two wires. The right has a blue and a green; the left has an orange and a green.
The green wires have bullet connectors, and can be unplugged. The orange and blue are connected to the wires for the rear as well as the wire from the turn signal switch. I decided that the easiest way to deal with them was to cut the wires with enough left to splice using bullet connectors.
The three way connections are in the fat clear hoses.
As you can see, the wires on the new lights are not the same colors as the stock lights. Mine happen to be red and black/white stripe. No telling what each manufacturer may use.With only two wires each, there's only two ways they can go. I used a meter to determine which wire goes to the hot contact on the lamp holder , and wired the second one accordingly. When I was sure I knew what wires went where, sealed the ends of the threaded tubes where the wires come out with shrink tubing, and put everything together. Had I been more organized, I would have put the shrink tubing on before I started. It would have saved me doing everything twice. Riding is supposed to be an adventure; modding should be too.
Stuffing all the wires back into the junction box is probably the hardest part of the whole process. Be sure that the edges line up to keep it water resistant, as the connections inside are not.
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