SKOGDOG
One of the old ones.
So--the license plate light on my K9 went dark a couple of years ago. I didn't worry about it because I don't willingly ride at night, and figured nobody needs to be paying attention to that tag anyhow.
Last week Blacktopper and I put the bike on the lift to replace my rapidly balding tires. It needed both front and rear, so that means it's also time for all new wheel bearings (and check the brake pads) too. My front brake has been pulsing a bit, and sure enough, the damn rotor is warped. Fortunately I have a couple of spare rotors on the shelf. I also would up replacing the rear rotor too, because the buttons are worn out and I think maybe the buttons have wallowed out the button holes.
Anyhow, back to the license plate light--when the rear wheel is off is a good time to fix it. The light is an LED mounted in an after-market vertical license plate bracket. It's a valuable bracket because when in Texas or Florida, all I have to do is casually hang down my left arm and my hand covers the license tag, frustrating those pesky toll road cameras.
I fiddle with the wires, and no way I can get it to blink, so I'm figuring the damn thing must be burned out. I took it all apart and found the wires had broken....probably from weather, sun and age. So I pulled out the LED unit itself and had a good look at it. There was only about 1/8-1/4" of wire sticking out of it, and I knew there was no way to solder short wires like that. So I took it to a local car stereo shop (Creative Car Audio--Pittsburg, KS) and the tech Justin successfully soldered longer wires onto it. I think that kid should be a dentist or maybe a neurosurgeon.
Anyhow, I go back to the shop for the install, and was disgruntled, when after my heavy handed manipulation, the wires promptly broke off at the base of the LED unit. I drew cold comfort by convincing myself it wouldn't have lasted very long anyhow---POS wires.
So--back to the audio shop I go, hoping to find an LED light that I could somehow glue or epoxy into the bracket. Justin takes a look at the light, shakes his head and mutters "Come with me". He gets a little pick and opens the LED unit and takes this nifty little gas soldering iron and proceeds to remove the old stubs of wire and solder in new wires......he then waterproofed it, and sure enough, it lit up like a beacon.
In both cases, he said, "No charge--happy to help." In both cases, I stuffed money into his pocket, the first enough for a cheap lunch or a couple of beers, and the second time, double that amount.
Install is tomorrow--And to think I almost threw it away twice!
Living in a small town is great!
Last week Blacktopper and I put the bike on the lift to replace my rapidly balding tires. It needed both front and rear, so that means it's also time for all new wheel bearings (and check the brake pads) too. My front brake has been pulsing a bit, and sure enough, the damn rotor is warped. Fortunately I have a couple of spare rotors on the shelf. I also would up replacing the rear rotor too, because the buttons are worn out and I think maybe the buttons have wallowed out the button holes.
Anyhow, back to the license plate light--when the rear wheel is off is a good time to fix it. The light is an LED mounted in an after-market vertical license plate bracket. It's a valuable bracket because when in Texas or Florida, all I have to do is casually hang down my left arm and my hand covers the license tag, frustrating those pesky toll road cameras.
I fiddle with the wires, and no way I can get it to blink, so I'm figuring the damn thing must be burned out. I took it all apart and found the wires had broken....probably from weather, sun and age. So I pulled out the LED unit itself and had a good look at it. There was only about 1/8-1/4" of wire sticking out of it, and I knew there was no way to solder short wires like that. So I took it to a local car stereo shop (Creative Car Audio--Pittsburg, KS) and the tech Justin successfully soldered longer wires onto it. I think that kid should be a dentist or maybe a neurosurgeon.
Anyhow, I go back to the shop for the install, and was disgruntled, when after my heavy handed manipulation, the wires promptly broke off at the base of the LED unit. I drew cold comfort by convincing myself it wouldn't have lasted very long anyhow---POS wires.
So--back to the audio shop I go, hoping to find an LED light that I could somehow glue or epoxy into the bracket. Justin takes a look at the light, shakes his head and mutters "Come with me". He gets a little pick and opens the LED unit and takes this nifty little gas soldering iron and proceeds to remove the old stubs of wire and solder in new wires......he then waterproofed it, and sure enough, it lit up like a beacon.
In both cases, he said, "No charge--happy to help." In both cases, I stuffed money into his pocket, the first enough for a cheap lunch or a couple of beers, and the second time, double that amount.
Install is tomorrow--And to think I almost threw it away twice!
Living in a small town is great!
talk about salt in wound