Motorcycle turn signals

What motorcycle blinker should I buy?

The blinker is a type of accessory that generates many doubts. If you are not familiar with this topic, you may not know exactly what you need to choose your blinkers. Let's see some of the points that you should know and keep in mind:

Should I buy LED or incandescent bulb blinkers?

The first question that arises is whether to choose LED or incandescent bulb blinkers. It is not a simple aesthetic consideration, but depending on the type you choose, your installation will vary:

Incandescent bulb blinkers

The most common is for your motorcycle to already have incandescent bulb blinkers, so, as long as they are of the same power, changing them should not present any problems. If they are not of the same power, you should buy a spare bulb of the same power as the standard ones. If you do not, you may notice changes in the frequency of flashing or that the bulbs burn faster than they should.

If you want to have transparent crystal or laser style blinkers (transparent with reflections) you must buy an orange bulb. But the light that will emit will be white instead of amber, which can give you problems in the ITV.

LED Blinkers

The LED blinkers are characterized by providing a more modern look to your bike, even if your bike is a few years old. They have a lower consumption than those of incandescent light bulb and that alters the amperage that circulates through the circuit. As a result, the frequency of the blinkers is accelerated, which can give you problems in the ITV. It is necessary to clarify that this problem only occurs in motorcycles which blinker relay is bimetallic (which are the majority of motorcycles, especially if it is a few years old). If, on the other hand, your motorcycle has an electronic flasher relay, you will not have this problem, as it will regulate the circuit current automatically.

Note: If you have no idea what type of blinker relay your motorcycle carries, the manufacturer recommends trying to install the turn signals and check the frequency of flashing. If it is normal you will not need anything else, if it is very fast you will need to take an extra step.

To solve this problem there are two solutions, you must choose one of them (not both):

• Change the blinker relay: You can buy a special blinker relay for LED turn signals, which must replace the original of your motorcycle. A relay can have two, three or fourpins, so before buying it you should see how many pinsyour relay has on your motorcycle. To do that you can either search for it on the internet (looking for "blinker relay + model of your bike") or look it up on your bike it (you usually have to disassemble several fairings).
• Put resistance: It is the simplest but least "clean" option. It consists of adding resistances between the blinker cable and its connector. We mustadd them in each blinker that we change, for example, if we change the forwards we must add two resistances, one on the right side and the other on the left. This resistance is to increase the blinker consumption, making it adapt to the consumption of the original turn signals. Before buying the resistors you should check that they are to change two blinkers or all four. In many models of motorcycles include resistances in the blinkers makes thewarning indicator not work properly.

Approved Blinkers

As a second point we have the approval of the blinkers. Most of the acmotos blinkers are approved, and if not, you will see it clearly marked on the product sheet. Carrying blinkers that are not approved can give you problems to pass the ITV.

Adapter Plates

The original blinkers are considerably larger than those you can acquire in acmotos. When removing the original blinkers it may happen that they leave an excessively large gap where you cannot put other flashing lights. The shape of this "hole" is standard for each brand of motorcycles, and there are adapter plates to fill that gap and be able to install the turn signals you want. This adapter is normally required to change the front turn signals and, in the case of having theoriginal license plate holder, also the rear ones.

Connectors

The blinkers have a cable with a universal connector. When you remove the blinkers from your motorcycle you will see that the connector is not the same, so you will not be able to connect it without adapting it previously. There are three ways to adapt it, depending on whether you are willing to cut the connector of your motorcycle or want to keep it intact:

• Buy the connector for your motorcycle: We have available the connectors for each motorcycle brand. This way you only have to cut the standard connector of the blinker and connect the cable with the connector of your motorcycle. With this you would already have the blinker with the original connector of your motorcycle and you could connect it and disconnect it without cutting anything else. This is the best option, since you do not cut any original cable of your motorcycle, but you cut the blinker cable.
• Change the connector of your motorcycle: If you cut the connector of your motorcycle and you put a standard connector like the one that takes the blinker you will be able to connect it without problems. You can connect it and disconnect it whenever you want, but you'll have to cut an original cable from your bike.
• Direct connection: It consists of cutting both the blinker connector and the motorcycle connector and splicing them directly. It is the least recommended option because you will have to re-cut the cable when you want to change the turn signals or simply disassemble the piece that holds it.

Blinkers with Position and Brake Light

Some blinkers include the position and brake light. These lights accompany the position and brake lights of your motorcycle. If you want to acquire a pair of blinkers with these other integrated lights you must choose if you want the front or rear pair. The forwards include only the position light, while the rear ones include the position and brake (or stop light).