Hi,
allow to introduce myself; I am Maurizio from Trieste, Italy and I am a proud Harley Davidson bike owner since 1996…
but let me cut short the story....
In 2010 at Laughling's, Nv "River Run" I saw the CVO Street Glide and it was love at the first sight. I really hit me was the beauty of the tail lights. I've got an immediate desire to make the "crazy" change on my Road King.
Upon returning to Italy I went to visit an Harley dealer to materialize my project but.. disappointingly, the HDI lights, the part that lured me into this adventure, was completely different and the fender was too busy.
In the “domestic” US version the smoked lenses on both sides of the fender, perform all the necessary functions, running, stop and turn lights and the fender is smooth and clear.
In the “HDI” EU version according to traffic rules and regulations which states that the turn signal MUST emit an orange light.
Here comes the horrible side of the picture (according to me and numerous fellow riders) the two lights are transformed in two orange plastic strips with the solely function of turn lights adding the classic monumental tail light in the middle of the fender for running and stop light…..
Domestic...HDI...the look is quite different...As result to this I kept my old King and put my dream in the dower but, without giving up and hoping that the MO CO will propose a different innovative solution for the HDI but nothing happened, so armed with patience I decided to give it a try by myself.
I bought 2 domestic (US) lamps, opened them (it was anything but easy) and then I started to look for a solution....the inside lamp has 9 high efficiency LEDs the Franzi lens and the electronic components all embedded in resin.
Taking a closer look to the circuit I've noticed that all the LEDs were connected in series and....
solution found....
the top 3 LEDs could be easily insulated by removing a bridge and cutting a track, I installed a resistor to make the electronics believe that the 3 leds were still there, replaced the 3 red with 3 yellow/orange of equal power, cut the track carry the turn signal input and switched it by a circuit that regulates the current to the nominal values directly to the new 3 LEDs.
Then divided the host compartment separating the reds by the yellows so the 2 colors will not interfere with each other when lit and VOILA....
the firt “domestic – HDI” was born…What do you think? I am excited
Ps; Dear MO CO if you read this post you might want to consider these easy changes ( if done in the factory), for the European market
It would be a low-cost change that would make very happy all the HDI Owners…
See you on the road...
Maury