Sidecar fender lite lens

[RR2]

Was the original red bee hive lens glass or plastic? Thanks

[c.o.]

I don't have one kicking around to reference but I'm pretty sure they were glass.

[Rubone]

Originals were always glass. Repops are plastic.

[Sargehere]

I once owned an original, too: Glass. With a steel coil spring band around the base to hold it in place.

[Panuckle]

I once owned an original, too: Glass. With a steel coil spring band around the base to hold it in place.

Gee Sarge ,it sounds like you really miss it.The tail light you had is now bringing crazy money. John

[Sargehere]

Gee Sarge ,it sounds like you really miss it.The tail light you had is now bringing crazy money. John

Heh. Lost it in a divorce almost 30 years ago. I left it in the house tha 'she' got. Ya win some, ya lose some.

That's the last "real" sidecar fender lamp I ever laid hands upon, and I know I didn't pay more than ten bucks for it back in the ol' days, the 1970s, it must have been. Stuff was cheap, before BIG $$$ discovered antique motorcycles through the 1984 Steve McQueen Las Vegas estate auction. I blame Steve for ruining everything for us. We used to trade OEM fenders and major components for twenny, twenny-five bucks. Sheesh!

[Rubone]

Sidecar fender lights are different in every aspect from fender lights. The base is completely different in that the bulb holder faces backwards instead of forwards in order to better light the top lens. The top lens was part of most countries regulation to have some light visible from the side. The lens was ruby glass and had high visibility to comply.

In 1984 the AMCA had around 2000 members. Many knew each other. And many non-members participated in the swap meets and gatherings. Today there are 10 ten times that many and the outsider non-member group is proportionate if not larger. Simple math tells the tale. Blaming the state of current values on an individual event is like blaming Hurricane Katrina for the New Orleans disaster. Convenient, but not the whole story.

[exeric]

I had a sidecar fender light on the front fender of a '41EL I had. I recall hitting a pot in front of a church on a Sunday morning, and the red dome popped off. I stopped the bike and got off cussing. A very nice church lady came over, asked if I was okay, and found the red lens for me. I apologized for my rudeness, and she just smiled and told me to have a nice day.