I want to put flush-mount flashers on the front

The most popular flushmounts for the Ninja 250 come from Keith at AsianCycle.com. Keith lives in Thailand, but it's a small world these days. Shipping times are always reported as very good.

These flushmounts fit the Ninja 250 better than other models. They were purposely designed for the bike, in cooperation with members from this board.

Pretty much everyone who has gotten these signals has been satisfied with them. He has a very good customer service rep, too. The flushmounts come in a variety of colors, and are color-matched to your bike. Sometimes, if you're looking for something a little out of the ordinary, you can drop him an e-mail and he may be able to get it.

Keith's store used to be on eBay, but he is now moving away from there as much as possible. He says they keep increasing their rates, and he can't keep passing that added cost on to the customer. "The product quality on eBay is dropping, and people are buying junk parts from China without knowing what they are getting. I don't want to be associated with that marketplace as it becomes over-run with those cheap parts." (Quotes are from a nice (quick) response your editor received from Keith in February, 2007.)

"Also, I can't list everything on eBay, as I would like, so some products don't look like they are available, when in fact they are. My site can display all that I have at no daily cost to me or to the customer."

Most people on the board will refer to the company as Keith in Asia, so if you're searching, use that name. AsianCycle is now the business name.

The new site is AsianCycle.com. It's up and running, and has most of the parts on it that are of interest to Ninja250 riders. The prices and shipping costs are lower on the new site than on eBay.

Wiring: The black wire gets connected to the yellow/black wire (ground), and the red wire gets connected to the green wire (hot). Yellow and black wire is ground throughout the bike.

There have been a few changes to Keith's Ninja 250 product recently.

Base plate: The base plate material has been changed from PVC over to fiberglass. This should make the new plate look nicer. Right now they are available in flat black and gloss black. Flat is marginally cheaper, but gloss should look good longer, and is more waxable. In Spring, 2007 they will start painting them to match the bike color.

These base plates are only .4 mm thick, so they contour easily to the fairing and are inexpensive to ship.

Bulbs: In the past it has always been the recommendation of the FAQ for riders to change out the bulbs in the AsianCycle flushmounts. However, the company has improved the bulbs to an extent that this may not be necessary any more. The new bulbs are 17 watts, compared to the 8 watts they used to have. Keith says: " To my knowledge, everyone has been happy with their brightness. These bulbs were a special order of a heavier filament in a smaller bulb. We purchased 10 thousand, and the factory made a special run for us. They don't run very hot, so I believe they do last quite a while. We normally provide an extra bulb with each set of signals, and no one so far has requested new bulbs."

The new bulbs also work well with the stock flasher, so you shouldn't have to replace your thermal flasher with an electronic one, as many have done in the past.

Should you want a different bulb, here are our recommendations:

• Number 1156 (27 watt) bulbs work well, although they touch, or come very close to touching, the lens. This is fine if you're using them for turn signals only, as they aren't on for very long, but 1156's shouldn't be used in a Daytime Running Lights setup.

• Sylvania now makes a Silverstar bulb in #1156A (A=amber). They look blue/orange/chrome and light up amber.

• If you have DRL's, you should put #1003 (12 watt) in. They are smaller, but don't come in amber, which you need if your lenses are clear. Well, they're not supposed to come in amber, but one of our members found the TRUCKNVANS website. They have them (and other bulbs, too) in many different colors. Check your local regulations, though. You'll probably be required to have amber.

• There is also an optional LED kit available now at the AsianCycle site.

Mounting instructions: After you purchase the AsianCycle flushmounts, see the FAQ instructions to attach them to your bike.

Other Options

There are other flush-mount signals available. They won't fit your Ninja exactly, though. Try looking around your local bike shops or auto parts stores. You might find something you like.

Before the availability of the AsianCycle lights, Blazer truck running lights from Autozone-ish stores were the way to go. They may be somewhat better than the OEM signals, but they aren't beautiful, and they don't fit very well.

One place to look is Lockhart-Phillips. As their site is nearly impossible to use, you'll have better luck going to a dealer and looking at a catalog. Keep in mind that these won't fit the fairing recess as well as the asiancycle purpose-made ones. Most of the units that you'll find at Autozone or similar stores will leave a bit (or a lot) of space at the back.

Note: You will have to drill or trim your fairing a bit no matter what model you get. Be careful when doing this. It doesn't take much force to go through the plastic.