early 80's style cb1100f signal conversion...hard?

[misterprofessionality]

Been looking at getting a set of authentic signals like so:

https://www.ebay.com/i/263818152743?chn=ps

and I'm wondering, is there anything super difficult about this? in my mind it's just, buy a new signal harness, buy the signals, splice the signals onto the spare harness, and plug in. do they bolt on significantly differently from the OEM signals? has anybody ever tried this? I think it'll bring me a step closer to that "F" style i'm chasing bit by bit.

[misterprofessionality]

well then, not to create an echo chamber here, but i guess by the lack of interest/response here i'm really in uncharted territory. Here's what my solo research has uncovered so far:

The front and rear signal stalks do not have the same mounting setup as the '14 CB1100 Std. by any stretch. even the wire connectors are different. The good news is that the wiring setup runs from the signal to the harness, and isn't a permanent part of the harness, meaning i would not need to buy a spare harness. However, I would have to get ahold of some spare connectors and splice them onto the 80's signals in order to connect them at all. This is quickly becoming the kind of thing that makes me very nervous.

That said, I've found a couple of reasonable alternatives right here: https://www.amazon.com/i5-FULL-SIZE-SHOR...B01DJNK76Q and here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K00UV18/ref...01DJNK76Q. They're not "authentic" in the real sense, but they are heavily evocative of the time period. These signals are called "short stalk" and apparently "not DOT approved." but the signal stalk on the CB11 mounts on a rubber bumper which effectively makes it longer. I can only assume that this cancels out the issue of them being too short. The bolt seems to be roughly the same, as does the wiring connection. I think there's a strong chance that these could work, except that I'm worried about the price being so low. It seems like i'm buying something outrageously cheap and totally not a quality product. Does anybody have any input on "speedmetal" as a brand?

edit: there's also this one : https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Indicator-f...2061475438 which appears to be an aftermarket replacement for the authentic signals from the 80's. I have basically no information about the electrical connections what type of bulb it uses, or anything else, so I've posted a question.

[PowerDubs_imp]

I think these are the best out of what you showed by far- https://www.amazon.com/i5-FULL-SIZE-SHOR...B01DJNK76Q

BUT-- it will take a very purposeful design of the rest of the bike to pull that off.

What else do you have in mind?

[misterprofessionality]

i like those all right from the front, but the authentic ones were flatter on the back. i'm probably being too picky.

what do I have in mind? hoo boy....lots of pipe dreams probably, but at least I have a direction. Let me start by saying I don't have the know-how, money, or tools to actually make it really super accurate. I'm going to take what's available to me, and try to make the best aesthetic choices to give my CB a look that is unmistakable evocative of the style.

Already have a tail cowl/seat that is reminiscent of the period. it's not exact, as there are some marked differences, but it's a really good starting point.

Some particulars that I am certain are attainable: black rectangle signals as discussed, Square headlamp/cowl with hard lines (not the curvy round chicdesign ones a lot of people use), 17" aluminum wheels (the original bol d'or had 17" in the back and 18" in the front, but i'm not sure what the benefit of that would be...), raise the rear a bit and lower the front a bit ( the old bikes were a bit more aggressively stanced than the modern CB11), swap out to more of a "Racing" style exhaust-- cat free-- i'm leaning toward titanium, change the side covers to the '14 DLX covers which more closely resemble the old "F" style side covers, and of course Black long stem rectangle mirrors (potentially cb1100F originals)

some particulars i think will cost too much, or be too drastic to do, or just not worth doing at all: have the tank, side covers, and tail cowl repainted to resemble the smooth flowing paint job on the old F bikes, perhaps with more subtle colors, have an F style front fender fabricated or an original retooled to fit the mounting positions on my modern CB11, and replace some engine covering bits to more accurately match the silver/black color scheme of the original engines from '83.

Some intentional inaccuracies: i'm not going to change the tach/gauges because they're shaped the same and I don't want to give up the modern tech. many of the old Bol D'ors had black 4-2 exhausts, and i'm not so interested in that. It seems like quite a lot of them were also fitted with 4-1 racing exhausts too, so I decided to go with that since it's more attainable and just not black. Obviously, my CB11 is never going to see the kind of horsepower the originals had, but if I follow the sages who've come before me, I might be able to make some improvements.

That's all I've got in my brain for now. I'm not an expert on these bikes, just responding to what i see and read as it comes to me.

[PowerDubs_imp]

TLDR

Sorry, I am heading out to the garage to install my new ECU- so how about you post a bike of whatever bike you want to style after and we can all throw out ideas once we bounce it around in our heads.

[SCCBrider_imp]

I don't think it would be terribly difficult. You might have to get them and then check it out.

[misterprofessionality]

TLDR

Sorry, I am heading out to the garage to install my new ECU- so how about you post a bike of whatever bike you want to style after and we can all throw out ideas once we bounce it around in our heads.

lol! that might really require its own thread. I'm not the best, or even passable, with a wrench, so i'm really trying to take these little upgrades one at a time. the signals are what i'm trying to work up a plan for at the moment. Primarily, how to make sure i don't buy something that's physically impossible to bolt onto my bike.

some photos that strongly represent the aesthetic i'm going for:
the black one I know is a highly customized bike, and not representative of the Original CB1100F, but i posted it because i'm absolutely in love with the color scheme.

[PowerDubs_imp]

That’s really easy- a mouse click away, have your credit card ready.




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[misterprofessionality]

not so easy as you think! the dimensions of the modern CB are quite different from those old ones, i've discovered. I can't just bolt on original parts, but I can get myself closer and closer over time. honestly, the headlight, signals, mirrors, and suspension adjustments are 60% of the battle, now that I have the tail. The headlight, I imagine, will be the absolute worst one.

[PowerDubs_imp]

https://www.samurider.com/?p=27986


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If you want the naked look, somebody on this forum already did it, I just don’t know their name.


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