Re-wire signal lights to always be on

This Seca 750 is my first Yamaha; my other two bikes were both '84 Honda V's. On both of them all 4 turn signals were always illuminated and then flashed when activated. I really liked this, especially in the rear as it made me more visible to drivers.

On my '82 Seca the turn lights only activate when they're flashing. The rest of the time they are dark. I guess DOT passed a law sometime after 1982 for lighting safety? Or maybe Honda was just that far ahead in thinking. Who knows. Anyway, has anyone wired their Seca so that the turn signals are always illuminated?

 

My GPz has running lights for the front turn signals, but I'm pretty sure it's using 1157 bulbs, which have much lower wattage elements (8W?) for the always on part than for the turn signal part (27W).

You'd need to set up something like that on your SECA if you don't want a dead battery after a bit of riding. So, in short, the way I'd do it, if I were you, would be to replace the sockets, or the entire turn signals, with ones that support a two-pin 1157 bulb, then wire up the low power element off of the same circuit that feeds the tail lamps.

 

That's what I was thinking but then would they still flash when I activated the signal switch? I know nothing of circuit design.

 

Yes everything would be the same signal-wise. You simply need three-wire, dual element bulb signals rather than the stock ones (2 wires, single element bulb.)

Then the wire for the "extra" (running lamp) filament is simply tapped into your headlight or instrument circuit.