Riding old bikes without indicators (my Norton)

I have been riding my Norton for over 40 years without indicators and have never had any problems, although my 850 had indicators when I brought it new but converting it to the 57 Wideline Featherbed in the early 80s its not set up for indicators and in my home state bikes under 82 don't need them if they came out without them, with the JH maggie I can ride it without a battery, I have just recently set it up for a small dirt bike battery so I have a good brake light at all times, I share this battery for the Norton and my Honda dirt bike.

I like to know others who run without indicator and any experiences they have had while using hand singles etc or any funny stories, this happened to me back in the late 70s when I first got my licence at 17, I had a Honda TL250 and it didn't have indicators and one day while riding I got pulled up by a smart arse cop who booked me for taking my hand off the handle bars to use my hand single, this cop was just being a prick and me being young I was being a smart arse back at him hence the ticket, a few years later I was riding the Norton and I stuck my leg out to indicate which way I was turning unknowing to me the car behind me was a cop car and got pulled over for using my leg as a indicator LOL the cop was not bad to talk to and asked me why the leg and why I didn't use my hand instead to indicate, I told him, isn't it illegal to take your hands off the handle bars while riding, he had to think about it for some time before letting me go without a ticket, to this day I still use the leg trick every so often, mostly for right turns.

Ashley

My P11 does not have indicators never did. Rode it all over California in the 70's without them. I just put it back on the road a couple of months ago up in Seattle and have ridden it a few times. No issues with the law, but they have their hands full with professional BLM protesters trying to take over Seattle. I have made left hand turns in the left lane stopped with the clutch pulled in and had people nearly hit me from behind intentionally. The guy was right behind me when the light changed and I had signaled prior to pulling forward.

Anywho, now I plan my routes so all my turns are right handers at signals or left handers with turn lanes.

10 years driving the 70 convinced me the next Norton(s) would have indicators. 72 , 76 now. Believe me I use them on the cages approaching and following.

I have two Norton’s without indicators and use hand signals with the assumption that other drivers may not know what they mean - and some really do not know . I don’t know if they have dropped hand signals from driver education here in the Garden State ( which ,by the way needs it Garden weeded IMHO) .
You must ride very defensively - on more than one occasion I have had drivers go around me on the right while I had my left forearm pointing skyward signaling a right turn .
The biggest problem with motorcycles is cars .

I haven't got indicators on the three old bikes I ride most often (Norton Mercury, 70 TR6C and a 69 Velo) but I'm thinking of fitting them. I find in some situations it's pretty much impossible to use hand signals - on a roundabout for example when my right hand is fully occupied with the brake, throttle and steering, and when I want to merge or change lanes and need to accelerate to do so. Apart from the safety aspect I also think it's a courtesy thing for other motorists - to let them know what I'm doing. I've ridden with riders who use their legs, as Ashley suggests, but to be honest I doubt if that means much to most car drivers.

My 70 commando didn't have turn signals, because they weren't required in the USA back then. Eventually I wired up rear directionals since I felt like I could not anticipate problems that were behind me from drivers who's motion I could not observe. Eventually when I mounted the fairing, I decided to surface mount pyramid shaped directions on the fairing to have forward directionals too.

It's just an extra measure of safety to have them. People today are so clueless to handsignals so having directionals lights is probably safer than not... So I do...

I call the stock directionals, "lollypops". They are hideous, I wouldn't have them on any bike I own.

Well at lease I don't forget to turn off my indicators while on the Norton, but riding my late model Triumphs I always forget to turn them off and sometimes for sometime even with the flashing light on the dash as I am to busy watching where I am going, I think that is more dangerous as when you do turn and your indicators have been on for a few corners before you do turn is more confusing for the drivers behind you, as I have said I have had no problems with using hand and leg singles, well I haven't had no complaints yet lol.

Ashley

I always use my blinkers dusk to dawn, but in the day time I rarely use my turn blinkers, I just use arm signal, especially when moving to the right.
Changing to right lane or taking a right turn while still rolling I just arm signal right and do it, I'm heads up and can see its safe and fine and don't really care if some twit behind me understands the arm signal or not.

Left is different, turning left is probably the most dangerous thing a person does on his ride.
Blinker signal, arm, oh I didn't see the bike as they T-bone you.
LOL, I actually think a rider with their arm sticking straight out for left may be more visual than a blinker.
If I'm sitting in a line of traffic waiting like everyone else to turn, that's when I flick on a turn blinker.

I’ll second what’s mentioned above... fewer and fewer drivers today actually understand what hand signals mean.

I was hand signalling to turn left recently, a guy in a car was waiting to pull out of the same junction I was turning in to. So I signalled clear, he looked at me, I got closer, he didn’t move, I got closer, he started to pull out, then panicked thinking I was going straight and stopped half in half out of the junction. I looked at him, shook my head and deliberately pulled my arm back in and theatrically thrust it back out. As I started to turn in, he got it, and carried on.

I’ve had other similar occurrences, but that was the most graphic, I could actually see his face and see he didn’t have a clue.

Cos I live in a city, it made me fit indicators to my most regular ‘town bike’.

Re hand signals for turns... NOBODY except old farts/fartresses will have any idea what you mean. And they've probably forgotten. My 28 year-old niece who rides motos, told me about being out recently and seeing some guy raise his left arm (indicating a left turn). She asked me if it was some sort of 'greeting' (like the old-days 'wave' between bikers that she was also unfamiliar with). I told her he was indicating a left turn. Her response was, "How would anybody figure that out?"

So...put some turn signal blinkers on the bike if they aren't there already!

As I've always set my throttle to close on the return spring , sticking my right arm out is just not convenient in some situations, I regard it as good manners before doing a motoring manoeuvre to give a signal to other road users as I don't expect them to be mind readers, impossiable whilst say, riding along the motorway and wanting to change lanes, etc. On my bikes, I try to fit the biggest indicators I can lay my hands on- never those mini indicators available on the market now.
As for other car drivers not understanding hand signals, sometimes it's a clear case of not being able to see the woods for the trees, they are looking for those flashing lights turn signals, on roundabouts I sometimes use both lh indicators and left hand signals when I want to turn left , if they don't understand my intentions, then they are the one who has a problem, and should not be on the highway.

To ride in the UK now without indicators would be folly IMHO. Traffic density and driver density means even with them there are no guarantees they'll be seen or understood.
No brownie points for 'originality' when you're trussed up in the back of an ambulance...

EstuaryBoy said:

To ride in the UK now without indicators would be folly IMHO. Traffic density and driver density means even with them there are no guarantees they'll be seen or understood.
No brownie points for 'originality' when you're trussed up in the back of an ambulance...

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Who uses indicators in the UK? Most drivers including the police just aren't bothered or lazy. For example trying to join a round about can be very problematic these days. Least where I live. I use my indicators but hell if they can't see a bike I doubt they would see a small flashing light.
Rant over.
Dave

Well 40 years without indicators on my Norton and I haven't ended up in a ambulance yet from using hand singles, but maybe us Aussies are a bit smarter and know what hand and finger singles are all about, a lot of schools run cycle (push bike) road safety courses where hand singles are taught and where to use them while on their bikes to the kids.

Ashley

It's all about shortening the odds, no? Agreed, every BMW seems to have indicators as an optional extra, and as a semi-professional driver in the UK I can attest that driving standards here are appalling..
But when it's my neck at risk I'll do all I can to keep it in one piece.
Best piece of advice I had was to expect every other road user to be an idiot..

You know you're getting old when you post consecutive messages here
As a snapshot: My sister and niece visited from NZ last year, big talk of off roading back home, driving for days to the middle of nowhere...
They planned to hire a car while here, took one bus ride, saw the traffic and bottled...

ashman said:

Well 40 years without indicators on my Norton and I haven't ended up in a ambulance yet from using hand singles, but maybe us Aussies are a bit smarter and know what hand and finger singles are all about, a lot of schools run cycle (push bike) road safety courses where hand singles are taught and where to use them while on their bikes to the kids.

Ashley

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I don't think Aussies are any smarter, I have seen a few close calls on the various rallys over the years, and I have spoken to quite a few of the younger generation and they didn't even know about hand signals, to this end I have fitted binkers to my 650SS that turn off after a while just in case I forget .
Foot signals are good on rallys as you are in amungst like minded soles who remember what hand and foot signals mean.
Better to be safe than sorry I reckon.

Burgs

I've had the same experience of signaling for a right turn and having someone wave at me. I don't think hand signals are taught anymore.

I find indicators are like most road rules , practically useless , ride like they are all morons & they are all out to kill you & you stand half a chance of surviving .

No signal lights on my 72 Norton, which is legal for a bike of this age is Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada). One year younger and they are required. I haven't had any issues so far.

I get the impression that the vast majority of people on the roads have no idea what any hand signal means, however, hand signals do seem to freak people out and confuse them to the point that they give me space. "What the heck is that guy doing!?! I'd better back off, he's probably nuts"!