Modern Vespa

I use a cover on my MP3, and it constantly gets caught on my front turn signals. Has anyone tried these yet?

http://www.customdynamics.com/truflex_flexible_led_lighting.htm

These are Truflex LED from Custom Dynamics. They were only $10.99 each and seem like a viable solution.

They look like they're SMD LEDs. You can find them on eBay for a couple bucks a strip.

I use sets of white ones as my under seat and top box lights. They don't stick very well using just the pre-attached adhesive. I've had to use Gorilla Glue to get it to stick. But they put out plenty of light, even during daylight.

The problem with replacing the stock lights with LEDs is that the lowered load to the system causes the signal to blink quicker.

If you end up putting these on in place of your stock blinkers, I'd love to see where you place them and hear how you do it.

Mark

I, personally, am OK with the faster turn signal. I feel it better grabs the eye of other drivers.

Faster than twice a second is illegal in many jurisdictions, and will get a vehicle declared unroadworthy.

I've never seen the point in rep[lacing the original turn signals with LEDs, with the one proviso that they turn on and off a few milliseconds quicker. It doesn't save any electrical power, and the original lamps tend to last the life of the bike anyway.

Now *extra* LED turn signals are another matter.

They may technically be illegal, but unless they are being extra-anal here, it's not likely to be an issue. Since we don't have yearly inspections here, it's a non-concern for me, and I have no fear of being pulled over by a cop just because my signal blinks faster.

As for power use, how does it not save power? The bulbs are using somewhere between 60-80% less power, albeit in momentary bursts, granted. But the primary reason I did it was visibility. The LEDs I used are signifigantly brighter, and a much more vibrant color, which improves the ability to be seen - same reason I went to the LEDs in the running, tail, and brake lights.

Ok, they save some insignificant tiny amount of power if you don't add load resistors to get the frequency correct - and even if so it really is insignificant as the turn signals are only on for a fraction of the time the engine is running.

Adding extra LEDs makes far more sense to me, but hey.

Maybe this leds fit well along the mp3 "jaw bars"...

If the wiring can be properly hidden/sealed, would be a cool turning light mod.

Jim, Mike's point in the original post was that he keeps catching the stock turn signals with the cover, so he wanted to streamline the bike. I'm guessing he wanted to know about those LEDs because they'd be easier to surface mount.

Mike, I've added LEDs to my front and rear signal array, if you want/need any advice on how to do that. I spliced in. If you're completely replacing the signals, you may want to look at using the same tiny connector that Piaggio used instead.

Canopus, I think they'd have to be mounted somewhere on the cow catcher, but I could be wrong. That's why I said I'd be curious to see/hear how Mike was thinking about doing it...

Like the name, cowcatcher (new term for me, thanks).

Always learning: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/cowcatcher

Since I have the mp3, am wondering about any cool mod for this part... thinking in leds, reflective tape, or something similar...

Yes, I acknowledged that the power draw is momentary...as I went on to point out however, power is not the only concern. They are still much brighter and much richer in their color, making them more visible. That alone is more than enough to justify the change.

As originally stated, I use a cover every day at work. The side lights are catching on the cover, so replacing them with low profile LED's seem like a good solution for this catching problem. I don't know if removing the original light, and replacing them with LEDs will cause my signals to flash faster, but there are units out there that can solve that issue.

With the massive amounts of mods that people do to their MP3's, this one should be pretty simple