I recently purchased a used 2008 Concours 14 and have really enjoyed it. I had been riding cruisers so this is quite a change. I liked my V-Rod but the Concours is in a different class by far.
However, one thing I miss from my V-Rod is self cancelling turn signals. I am an old guy but don't want everyone to confirm that by seeing my turn signals on for miles down the road. To remedy that, I purchased the Kisan Signal Minder SM-3. My first bike was a Kawasaki cruiser on which I also installed this system some years ago.
Making this job much easier was the CD service manual I recently purchased on EBay. First up was finding the original turn signal relay. It is under the right side plastic lower seat cover. After removing the seat, the topside screws are removed followed by three plastic retainers on the bottom of the panel. Also remove the plastic panel under the luggage rack. Once the panel is off, unplug and remove the original relay and replace it with the Signal Minder unit using the original relay plug. There are three dip switches on the unit which allows a 10, 20 or 30 second delay on turning off the signals. I set it for 20 seconds but after riding the bike, that is too long. I will set it back to 10 seconds.
There is another plug out of the bottom of the unit that is an optional setup.
Hooking up these wires makes your turn signals double as running lights and causes the rear turn signals to flash four times when the brakes are applied. Since the rear lights now come on with the brake light, I changed out the amber bulbs to red LED bulbs that I found at AutoZone. According to what I have read, any running or brake lights on the rear must be red, which makes sense.
The white wire goes to the green wire on the right rear turn signal, the black wire goes to the green wire on the left rear turn signal and the red wire goes to the blue wire coming from the brake light. For the right rear turn signal connection, I tapped into the wire just behind the turn signal. I traced the green wire from the left turn signal and tapped into it where it crosses over near the center of the bike at the rear. I tapped into the blue wire from the brake light in this same general area and soldered all connections. I then wrapped them with electrical tape to avoid shorts.
This completes all of the wiring connections. Now the turn signal will turn off after the programmed interval, but to re-engage the turn signal, you must first press in on the turn signal button to disengage the previous signal. Obviously, while you now have turn signals that automatically turn off, you have to remember this extra step before you can use the turn signals again. To get around this issue, you take the turn signal assembly off of the handlebar by removing the two screws that hold it in place. Once you have it off, take the half with the turn signal switch, turn it over and you will see a white plastic center section that moves from side to side when you engage the switch lever. The kit comes with two very small springs and two small pieces of foam rubber. The idea here is to insert either the springs or the foam rubber pieces on both sides of this sliding white piece so that the lever returns to center and the electrical connection is dis-engaged. For the Concours 14, they recommend using the foam pieces. In this case I began by cutting one of the foam pieces in half and inserting a section on each side. Once you have them in place, test the switch to make sure the turn signals turn on and off automatically. I had to trim the foam pieces a bit more to make this work correctly. Once you are sure everything is working correctlly, re-install the switch assembly on the handlebar. And you are finished.
Once you have completed the wiring, the two green turn signal lights on the instrument panel stay on all the time. They do flash when you have engaged the turn signals.
The other side effect is that when you turn off the ignition switch, the turn signal lights and the dash kind of go beserk for a bit before everything shuts off. I came across the reason and the solution. The answer back system for the KiPass causes this. By simply removing the fuse for the answer back system, everything shuts off normally. The person who had discovered this solution said everything else worked fine when this fuse is removed. I rode the bike today and discovered no ill effects in removing this fuse. It ran and started normally. I placed the 10Amp fuse in a holder for extra fuses in the fuse case so it would be handy.
Here are some photos showing the bike with the red rear turn signal lights and the front running lights. The other photo shows the rear lights with the brake engaged. In riding the bike today, everything worked as it should and my buddy said the additional rear brake lighting was a definite improvement.
