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On the pre Rushmore Ultra Classics the reflectors were built into the front fender, and looked like they belonged there. Like a piece of well designed art.
When they eliminated the fender tip assembly they just slapped a cheap *** reflector like you get on a Walmart bicycle. Its an affront to the Harley Gods.
My Road King is a fair weather bike, so I took the red reflectors off the bag guards, and the orange off the front down tubes. I also put red turn signal lenses on the rear with run/brake/turn module, and clear on the front to minimize the number of colors on the bike. The orange lenses and reflectors clashed with the red. On my other two bikes I left the reflectors alone.
I just recalled when I took the rear fender struts off the 85 FXRS, as well as all the engine and trans casings to be sent to Browns for chrome way back then, when they returned, I put reflectors back on those fender struts.
The horror.
There is a blank spot on the struts, and on the lower front fork legs for reflectors, so thats what I had in there. That said, I dont think the reflectors are nearly as noticeable on a red bike, if at all, as they are on every black Harley on the road.
Dang good lookin FXRS. You still own it?
'86 isn't it?
The reflectors are there to meet DOT standards for it to be road safe. Basically if you remove your reflectors, your bike is not road safe any more. So if you like living on the edge, then by all means remove them.
Oh really, not road safe... I bet you also wear knee pads, elbow pads and a helmet when you walk to the mailbox too...
Until I read this thread a few years ago, it never occurred to me that anyone would think the reflectors were intended
to prevent a scooter from being hit while moving. That would obviously be a difficult, if not impossible, result of someone
seeing them while a scooter was moving.
I have always thought the purpose of reflectors is to make a scooter more visible, because of cage headlights,
while parked in a dark place.
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