3, 2, 1...Ignition!

The Triumph Twins (Bonneville, Thruxton, Scrambler, etc.) have an oddly-positioned ignition switch.  It is located on the left-side headlight mount/fork shroud.  To me (and a lot of other people, apparently), that just doesn't look right.

I say that a lot of other people must not like it, because there are a number of adapter kits that you can buy to relocate the switch.  Recently, I bought a Joker Machine relocation kit for my Scrambler.  Today, I decided to install it.

The JM kit is kind of pricey, to me, particularly in light of the fact that it doesn't include all of the hardware that you will need to install it.  I had assumed that I would be reusing the allen bolts which hold the switch in the stock mounting bracket, in order to mount it into the JM bracket.  But, the new bracket is drilled and tapped for a smaller bolt.  Luckily, that smaller bolt is commonly used as the water bottle mounting bolt on bicycles, so I had some lying about.

Other than that, the installation was very straightforward.  And this is good, because the entire wording of the installation instructions was, "Use blue Lock-Tite on all hardware."

Once it was done, the installation was very neat and clean.  It puts the ignition switch in the same place as the switch on my Honda CL-450, so it seems familiar and convenient to me.

Unfortunately, I don't have my new headlight, yet, so I can't pull my fork shrouds off.  That means I still have the ugly mounting bracket hanging off of the fork.  After thinking about it for a minute, I figured out what I believe to be a pretty good temporary fix.

I pulled my British tax-disc holder off of the Trident, inserted a picture of Bettie Page, and bolted it to one of the ignition-switch mounting holes on the bracket.  The disc is just the right size to cover the bracket.  I was looking for a way to stick a little cheesecake on the bike, and I think this works well, for now.

The new front brake fluid reservoir, which I installed last week, and the relocated ignition switch really make a difference in the look of the bike, to me.  I am almost through with the planned modifications.  I am waiting for the new headlight to arrive, before I can do anything else.

Slowly, but surely, she is becoming mine!

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