What I learned about breaking a turn signal...

[IanInTheUsa]

What I learned... don't break them!

I needed to replace the front right turn signal. What a pain in the a$$! Hopefully this is in order:
1. Remove right cowling (black plastic)
2. Remove right upper cowling (painted plastic)
3. Remove windshield
4. Remove headlight surround
5. Loosen headlights in order to remove turn signal wires (what's with the rigid part of the turn signal wires fastened under the instrument cluster?)
6. Loosen bolts holding the right side fuse panels in order to...
7. Remove 2 hex screws that are holding the plastic panel that the turn signal is mounted on
8. Wait, there's a bolt hidden under the edge of the gas tank. so...
9. Remove left side plastic cowling
10. Remove two hex screws holding the gas tank in place
11. rotate gas tank up about 2 inches to get to hidden bolt in step #8
12. Remove that bolt and unplug wires by right turn signal
13. Fight with the old turn signal to remove it from the plastic panel it's mounted on
14. Fight more with the new turn signal to get it mounted on the plastic panel
15. Put everything back together

Time taken; about 2 hours.

I took a couple of cell phone photos, but the lighting in them is really poor so I haven't uploaded them.

The most time consuming part was the final few small hex screws that attach the left side cowling. It took me about 15 minutes to get 6 or 7 screws to find their thread and tighten.


The moral of this story is don't try to squeeze past your bike and slightly lose your balance near the turn signal!

 

[bob dirt]

Sooo, how many extra screws did you have when you were done? I have an old coffee can that I put all my extras in ;D

 

[IanInTheUsa]

Sooo, how many extra screws did you have when you were done? I have an old coffee can that I put all my extras in ;D

Surprisingly enough, all screws were used (a few of mine were loose by the time I got everything buttoned up!) I don't think I remembered to fully tighten the zip-ties that hold the weird turn signal wires under the instrument cluster. That can be a job for another day!

 

[Britt]

Thanks for this - I have to replace the same one on my Tenere due to a broken lens. It didn't look like a quick and easy swap and your post confirms it. It'll come in handy though when I dig into it!

 

[IanInTheUsa]

Thanks for this - I have to replace the same one on my Tenere due to a broken lens. It didn't look like a quick and easy swap and your post confirms it. It'll come in handy though when I dig into it!

I'm not that experienced with tearing down motorcycles, until this job the most I'd done was oil & filter changes and removing the wheels off my Kawasaki C14. It was a relatively simple job, but was time consuming due to the amount of items to be removed just to get to the plastic panel that the turn signal is mounted on. The only tools I used was a cross-head screw driver for the windshield, 4mm & 5mm hex wrenches, 10mm & 12 mm sockets.

Keeping track of which bolts and fasteners went where was my main concern.

When it came to lifting the gas tank I removed the left and right bolts, but didn't bother loosening the central mount (under the front of the saddle). Have a tennis ball handy to use to prop the front of the gas tank up against the air box - having something about 2 inches tall does the trick, a tennis ball was perfect and with it being soft I didn't need to worry about damaging the paint on the tank.

All told, it was about 2 hours and I just figured out the process bit by bit. Best of luck with your signal replacement!

 

[AVGeek]

I like the tennis ball under the tank, I've used a tie-down strap from the front lip of the tank back to the rear rack when I've needed to tilt my tank...

 

[burnoil]

On my 2012 I was able to remove and replace the entire turn signal stalk without removing any panels whatsoever. It is tight, but not terribly difficult. I converted over to full LED.

 

[SilverBullet]

Thanks for this - I have to replace the same one on my Tenere due to a broken lens. It didn't look like a quick and easy swap and your post confirms it. It'll come in handy though when I dig into it!

??
The lense removes with a single Philips screw doesn't it? 2 minute replacement versus 2 hours. Yamaha parts fiche shows it available separately for half the cost of entire signal assembly.

_

 

[IanInTheUsa]

??
The lense removes with a single Philips screw doesn't it? 2 minute replacement versus 2 hours. Yamaha parts fiche shows it available separately for half the cost of entire signal assembly.

_

My bike's a 2015 with LED signals. As far as I can remember there wasn't a phillips screw. I needed to replace the whole turn signal, not just the lens.

 

[RonH]

Yea, the 2014 and up with LED signals, you replace entire signal for about $70.00 if anything happens to it. On the 2012-13 you can buy the lens for $14.00, bulb ect separate.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Super annoyed to have broken my left turn signal yesterday moving the bike around the garage. Reading this thread doesn't make me feel any better.

 

[VRODE]

Whoa. Had no idea it was this much of a pain. Now I'll be paranoid about tweaking them. ???

 

[Sierra1]

Whoa. Had no idea it was this much of a pain. Now I'll be paranoid about tweaking them. ???

::026:: I haven't inspected them closely....do they not flex? I thought it was cool that they had switched to LED, but now I'm worried.

 

[Ramseybella]

It's bad enough to get the dam left side completely off getting it ready for tune up and Rad fluid change.
Altrider bars are no help being in the way and since I laid my steed down a couple times them bars are hard to get the holes lined back up to bolt them back down.

 

[Dirt_Dad]

I broke my left one this weekend and stripped down the bike in anticipation of the new one arriving. It is a considerable hassle, but on my '15 I did not need to go as far as was described here.

Yes with the Altrider bars it so far seems impossible to take off the left side cowl. Fortunately it did move out of the way enough that I could squeeze my hand in to remove the two bolts holding the side of the cowl where the flasher attaches to the bike. Not ideal, but not horrible. I did have to loosen the headlights to get behind them, but my plug for left flasher is directly over top of the fuse panel. The full right cowl did need to come off, but for me there is no need to mess with the tank. My plug is easily accessed above the panel.

Don't get me wrong, it's still a big hassle. I think I spend about 45 minutes getting ready for the part. Expect it to take about the same amount of time to put it all back. Not looking forward to the fight to fasten the flasher back into position. Expecting that to be a fight.

Thanks for the tread IanInTheUSA, you helped me set my attitude before I tackled this job.

 

[trikepilot]

Super annoyed to have broken my left turn signal yesterday moving the bike around the garage. Reading this thread doesn't make me feel any better.

Hey DD... you know there are more "appropriate" ways to break stuff on a Tenere! DAMHIK?

 

[snakebitten]

And I suspect sometime in early May you are willing to assist in SHOWING him how? Eh trikepilot? ::013::

Ima gonna be a witness!

 

[Dirt_Dad]

Hey DD... you know there are more "appropriate" ways to break stuff on a Tenere! DAMHIK?

I know, I know...having your wife push you around the garage and letting a tiedow strap get hooked to the turn signal then fling it across the garage is not exactly earning a battle scar. It's downright pathetic...and highly irritating.

 

[trikepilot]

Ha!! Ive got more zipties than plastic fasteners at this point.

Battle scars to come soon. Romney is only about 6 weeks away.

 

[Checkswrecks]

I know, I know...having your wife push you around the garage and letting a tiedow strap get hooked to the turn signal then fling it across the garage is not exactly earning a battle scar. It's downright pathetic...and highly irritating.

Now THAT sounds like a story worth sharing!
LOL