Britbike forum Forums British motorcycles in general The triple forum Front Brake Light Switch for T160

It is generally acknowledged that the standard front brake switch fitted to T160s is a very poor design---and that is being kind!
As an improved reliable modification I used the later T140 components to give a reliable out of the way front brake switch on one of my T160s.
I attach some photos which hopefully show the installation clearly.
I made a dog leg bracket out of aluminum with a hole in each leg.
One of the ends was bolted to the hydraulic manifold.
The other was bolted to the lower bolt holding the headlight ear to the stanchion cover.
The bracket is not in much stress but you need some support to prevent the hydraulic pipe taking the stress.
One of the T140 pipes needed a bit of judicious bending to fit without leaking.
I made a bending former from a small piece of 4" X 2" wood by sawing and filing a semi circular end and then filing a groove in the semi circular end the size of the hydraulic pipe.
HTH

Attached Files

TM, if you are still using the Lucas SPB401 3/8 unf threaded switch then even by making it accessible the switch still fails as it is unreliable but it is easier to change.

Luckily it's also unreliable in Morgans and the owners club has found a more reliable alternative.

The Brake Light Switch on traditional Morgans seems to be a component that 'regularly' fails.

https://sites.google.com/site/morganatica/06-electrics/switches-and-relays/brake-light-switch

The Intermotor 51610 (Lucas SPB401) with 3/8" UNF thread fitting Morgan 4/4 and Plus 8 1975->

So do both fixes, better location and the better quality Intermotor 51610.

The author of that posts states it regularly fails, but admits (s)he has never had one fail. I too had that part fitted onto 2 T140Ds between 1983 and 2011 and of the various parts that failed, the brake switch was never one of them on either bike

Hi John--- many thanks---was not aware of that---but I am now so noted for future use.
Thanks again.

I have had 3 fail over the years, hence why I went looking for an alternative that worked. One day they were working, next just nothing and I do not use the rear brake much.