Tail Light Conundrum

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morganid
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Tail Light Conundrum

Post by morganid »

I have recently made my '03 220 street legal. Just got the final details finished up this week. I went out on a mayden street-voyage to the hardware store and I realized that the stock tail light is burned out. It's not a big deal since it is not wired up as my brake light. I have the tail/brake light from RMATVMC that I radically cut down to fit under the stock fender. I put a bulb in the stock tail light a year ago. I honestly thought it would last longer that just a year especially since I haven't done tons of ridding. Since I'm working on it anyway, I'm thinking of upgrading the sock tail light to a dual filament stop/tail light.

Where can I get a dual filament socket? What sockets fit in the bike, (or can be modified to fit)? I went down to O'Rilley auto parts and the only socket they had was a massive General Motors socket. I didn't buy it because I don't think it'll fit. I also want the new bulb to not be as fragile so I'm thinking LED bulb. Any recommendations? Brand, where to buy?

Any pictures of past projects would be awesome.

Thanks.
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diymirage
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Re: Tail Light Conundrum

Post by diymirage »

the way I used to have it set up was a generic 1157 socket I bought off ebay (pretty sure I paid less the a dollar for it)
I ran the low wiring through the regular light and then branched off a positive from the coil to a mechanical brake light switch hooked up to the rear brake (there actually was a mount welded to the frame already)

nothing to it ;)


but if I had to do it again (and I did) I would go with the same style under fender tail/brake light set up with a maier fender
newbbewb wrote:DIYmirage has it right.


-1996 KDX 200 woods weapon (converted to 99 green body)
-1996 KDX 200 plated street toy (barney edition)
-2003 Yamaha TTR125-L (wifeys bike)
-1997 KDX 220 project bike
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6 Riders
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Re: Tail Light Conundrum

Post by 6 Riders »

I did the same as DIY. Generic 1157 set up, but I used an electric brake light switch. To hold the socket down I used a thin piece of metal strap that I got from the hobby section of lowes.
newbbewb wrote:^what he said.
masterblaster wrote:Man 6 riders you rock.
*side note...I'm drunk, so try to read what I'm trying to say, instead of what I actually type
morganid
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Re: Tail Light Conundrum

Post by morganid »

diymirage wrote:but if I had to do it again (and I did) I would go with the same style under fender tail/brake light set up with a maier fender
Yeah, I agree. I really like the look of the maier fender. But when I was doing this, I didn't have the cash for a $60 fender when the one I had was perfectly fine. The tail light I won as a part of a kit from a drawing a local off road club did.

I also used the same mount for the brake switch you used. I used a piece of wire and a spring to connect the brake lever and the switch. The wire's path is across my swing arm mount. I'm slightly worried about the wire digging in to the mount. Have you had any problems with it?
morganid
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Re: Tail Light Conundrum

Post by morganid »

6 Riders wrote:I did the same as DIY. Generic 1157 set up, but I used an electric brake light switch. To hold the socket down I used a thin piece of metal strap that I got from the hobby section of lowes.
What do you mean "electric brake switch?" The types of switches I know about are mechanical (pull a spring powered pin to activate the light), hydraulic, and I've heard of a gravity switch (I guess the force of braking tips the switch causing it to activate the switch).

I would really like to have a hydraulic switch on the back, but I couldn't get it to fit.
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6 Riders
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Re: Tail Light Conundrum

Post by 6 Riders »

IT's the hydraulic switch. I've installed them on both my E and H bikes. Just put them in and run the wiring up the frame.
newbbewb wrote:^what he said.
masterblaster wrote:Man 6 riders you rock.
*side note...I'm drunk, so try to read what I'm trying to say, instead of what I actually type
morganid
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Re: Tail Light Conundrum

Post by morganid »

6 Riders wrote:IT's the hydraulic switch. I've installed them on both my E and H bikes. Just put them in and run the wiring up the frame.
What year is your H? Where did you mount it? My front brake works great, but when I tried to replace the banjo bolt on the rear brake line, the switch was too tall and would not fit underneath the reservoir mount.
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diymirage
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Re: Tail Light Conundrum

Post by diymirage »

I added a hydraulic switch to my front line later on and kept the mechanical switch for the rear (both of which are electric switches by the way)
newbbewb wrote:DIYmirage has it right.


-1996 KDX 200 woods weapon (converted to 99 green body)
-1996 KDX 200 plated street toy (barney edition)
-2003 Yamaha TTR125-L (wifeys bike)
-1997 KDX 220 project bike
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