Backwards controls???

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Whiterabbit

Whiterabbit

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Feb 8, 2019
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Ok, what's up with the handlebar controls being on the wrong ends according to the Riders Manual I downloaded ??? :confused::)
I thought I was loosing my mind while messing around with my "new to me" Jan 1971 750. My eng kill is on the right lower, Hi/Low flip switch on the left, horn on left lower, and dip button on the left upper. Also the bike has no flip switch for turn signals but a center yellow indicator in the headlight shell but as far as I can tell didn't come with turn signals. Is this an "indicator" of things to come with Nortons? LOL!!! (ya' see what I did there??):D

Backwards controls???
 
The factory changed this from your setup to the one in the riders manual sometime 71 to 72/73, they are easy to swap over and lots of dealers and owners have moved either way over the years. Get hold of the 71 riders manual and it will match you 71 closer. 71 could have come without indicators as they were mandatory for 72 onwards, should be easy to add if you want them.
 
Last edited:
The direction (turn signal) switch would, FOR ME, be easier to operate on the left side as opposed to the right, where it is on my bike. I usually reach across with my left hand to activate the turn signals. I had never thought about moving the switches...DUH! ;)
 
My '70 switch clusters are backwards to that diagram too. I have late model switch clusters, not the early model ones. I added directionals to my bike because car drivers are clueless to hand signals since directional lighting has been required in the USA since '72. It wasn't that hard to add the directionals to the bike. If you decide to do that, I would run the grounds on the light fixtures back down the stalk of the fixture and bolt it to the frame itself. Those chromed plastic fixtures make poor contact to the frame and half the time when they don't work it's because of that poorly grounded set up. I didn't like the classic "lollypop" directional fixtures and swapped them out for a cleaner looking aftermarket fixture.

The reversed switch clusters are something I've become accustomed to using. I could easily swap them to the other sides, but they work fine as they are. I don't have a kill switch wired into my bike, just by chance and it seems that they are problematic anyway so I don't care that it's missing.
 
I also installed after market signals rather than stock because of looks. I like the bullet design better anyway, and it never hurt to save a few bucks on stuff you may break off doing something you shouldn't. Kill button was bypassed ages ago when it malfunctioned once at night, so I now reach down for the key by the inner left thigh....been thinking of relocating that for convenience also. The remains of the clusters I kept as issued being as they work well enough, though they're considerably light duty & dated.
I skip over the early schematics in my Haynes book because when I glance through them they give me brain cramps.
 
To be honest I only use the indicator switches. I have no idea what the other ones do and that level of ignorance seems to have worked since 1975
 
I've moved my turn signal switch cluster to the left side....too hard to manage flipping it on/off while balancing throttle and/or handbraking all with the right paw! Easy enough to migrate (the whole cluster needs to flip top to bottom to keep the inboard/outboard sides correct to handle the cable entering the casing). This placed the horn button in a hard to reach upper right position. My '74 850 has an unused button normally on right lower position (now on left upper after left/right swap)...so took a look and found it was already wired to the switch and just had the wire ending near the battery compartment. Running an extension from there down to the horn...bingo...all good!
 
The unused button was in preparation for the starter being added, the first scheme failed, if it had worked the starter would have been introduced years earlier than 75 model year.
 
I'm in the middle of removing the EI/re-installing the OEM ignition system so I have the tank off/wiring exposed. I'm going to use the opportunity to swap the switches. I have to admit that I'm used to lighting controls being on the left since they seem to be that way on every moto I have ever owned but hey, if I can manage the right-side shifter (gear lever reversed to 1 down, 2,3,4 up), surely I can manage the light switches on the "wrong" side! ;)

Agree that the horn button position won't be great but nobody can hear it anyway! Only time I use it is to check/see that it works! :)

Re ignition switch relocating - I read on the NOC years ago that one guy dramatically simplified the wiring and removed the ignition switch completely, used the switch on the headlight shell to turn the bike "on" with a relay.
 
MexicoMike said:
Agree that the horn button position won't be great but nobody can hear it anyway!
Click to expand...

With the direction indicator cluster fitted on the LH side the 'Spare' (lower) button (white/red, WR wire) could be used for the horn (or have both buttons operate the horn).
 
L.A.B. said:
With the direction indicator cluster fitted on the LH side the 'Spare' (lower) button (white/red, WR wire) could be used for the horn (or have both buttons operate the horn).
Click to expand...

Was just thinking the same thing, using the unused button to do horn duty. Probably won't be a concern to me, I'm not planning to add signals...........for now.
 
For me that spare is used as Norton designed it originally - for the E-start (Alton)! But I could rewire the disconnected kill button to operate the horn. Or I could leave it as is since, as I said, I never use the horn anyway!
 
MexicoMike said:
For me that spare is used as Norton designed it originally - for the E-start (Alton)! But I could rewire the disconnected kill button to operate the horn.
Click to expand...

That would require a relay as the kill button switch is 'normally closed'.


MexicoMike said:
Or I could leave it as is since, as I said, I never use the horn anyway!
Click to expand...

Or, use the original horn button for the start button and the spare as the horn button?
 
I installed turn signals on my 73 MK1 as well as a horn. I used the left side 3 position switch for the turn signals , wiring in a flasher unit and connecting to the amber light indicator. The horn button I used is the left side lower, wired in a relay to a AC Delco horn off a Chevrolet car. It is very loud high note horn. I also ran a seperate fuse for the horn. :)
 
My '71 came in a crate without the bars mounted, so I used the riders manual to orientate the controls. I did end up moving the choke lever over to the left side as it was easier to adjust that while keeping the motor running with the right hand during cold starts. It took awhile to warm up and idle reliably. As far as directionals, as long as I have a left arm, that will do. The stock one's were so ugly. I took them off the '73 too. None of the inspectors are old enough to remember when Norton put them on. :)
 
Can't say I like the idea of having only hand signalling on a motorcycle. Maybe it's OK if you only ride in rural areas, but in the urban "warzones" I'm in 90+% of the time, just seems unwise. Hoping a driver actually sees/underdtands a left hand wave for a moment or two before it needs to return to clutch duties etc seems optimistic at best.
 
I rode for a lifetime sans indicators. Well even I eventually changed. The problem is that I forget and leave them on all the time. No doubt
even more unsafe than hand waving.
No, nobody has a clue as what you are doing with your arms.
 
Onder said:
I rode for a lifetime sans indicators. Well even I eventually changed. The problem is that I forget and leave them on all the time. No doubt
even more unsafe than hand waving.
No, nobody has a clue as what you are doing with your arms.
Click to expand...
Yes, leaving them on can be a real concern esp in urban situations. My first bike (2013 T100 Bonneville) I fitted with a automatic signal canceler (Kisan SignalMinder) and it has no doubt saved my butt numerous times. Has a settable delay (10-30 sec) and the shut-off is prevented while the brake light is on (so while at a traffic light waiting to turn etc). Thinking to research if positive earth is compatible with it. There is a new option (though at 2x the price) call Safe Turn System (https://safer-turn.com/product/smart-turn-system/) using accelerometers/motion detectors/gyros to determine when your finished your turn etc.
 
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