Good cheap tail light mod!

Ok, So I've been pulling my hair out trying to find a good set of LED's. I've tryed most all of them! I've tried the 24 count, 54 count, 60 and 105 count. I've tried the 12 watt and the Cree's, 5050's, superFlux and 1210's.

They all sucked big time when compared to the stock incandescent bulbs. I was trying to off set the higher draw of the 55/65 headlight bulbs. I also wanted a brighter(safer )tail/brake light. I like the look of the hard red light output of LED's but with the VFR lens and the lack of yellow (or too much blue) in the LED's I ended up with a red/orange color. part of the problem is LED's only fire light left, right and forward. They need to shine light at the reflector(they dont).

So I found a way to get a hard red light with more output! The VFR reflector is a flat silver and does not reflect as much as a chrome reflector would. Welcome contact cement and tin foil!

I was able to do this because when I cut down my fender, and cut a hole in the tail light for the licence plate light. The tail light is now brighter and has a LED type look with the stock bulbs.

 

nice one- is it too bright for motorists behind you im wondering?

 

who cares... as long as they can see it better !!

 

Wait-a-min
So all you did was glue on some tin foil to the reflector?:lol:
If so, this must qualify as one of the cheapest mods ever!

Benny, I notice you're in Oakland, just like me. But IMHO such a mod tilts you over toward Rednecksville:biggrin:

 

Nope! GhettoVille in the East.

 

I was thinking of maybe taking some Hyperlites and sticking them in there... Your mod seems easier definitely (and cheaper).

 

OK, they aren't cheap, but try a set of these. They work GREAT !

 

you can also get mylar material at craft stores. almost a mirror finish much better than foil. i used it to line a 3 foot sattelite dish to make a solar cooker and you could burn a piece of paper in about 5 seconds on a sunny day where as foil did nothing at all. also gave me an instant sunburn the one day i adjusted it from the wrong side

 

An Opthamologist may correct me here, but it really should not matter how bright a red light is....within reason I suppose. Red does not affect your eyes ability to see in the dark. You should be able to see past a red light. And once you turn the red light off, your eyes should immediately adapt back to your previous night vison ability wihtout the need to wait I think it is 20 or so minutes. Often you will see emergency vehicles with a red interior light for this very reason.

But back to the thread. I have been hunting high and low for tail lights mods for the 6th gen and have not found any..nana...squat. I like the LEDs because they are bright and more of an attention grabber. When I hit the brakes, I want that MoFo following me to drop the cell and pay attention

 

1QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_2074wt_1165"]these[/URL]. They work GREAT ![/QUOTE]

Tried a set from Sixty .com, and they were ok but not anywhere as bright as stock. I've tried every LED I could find and the all suck! There not designed to emit light in the correct way for a reflector system.

 

NICE!:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

 

Wow, I had absolutely fantastic results with those exact lamps from Sixty.com, I demo'd them to a bunch of people at a bike meet who all commented how incredibly bright they were.

 

They have a hot spot in the middle, but dont use the reflector. I did AB test for a group of riders and everyone thought the stock bulbs were brighter.

 

I just ordered LED's from my company that I've been using for several years now. I'll post up photos once I get 'em installed. They have ALWAYS been brighter than the stock application in which I was replacing. Latest use was on my Hawk GT and WOW what a massive difference.

 

Got my LED's installed. They are brighter than stock. Not a "ton", but they are. Plus the instant on/off of LED's is quite nice to have. Gives those behind me those extra milliseconds to hit the brakes!

 

Where did you buy them, please?

 

Currently on backorder. I will post vids and photos later. Link here: 2 RED 7443 V-LEDS 7W HIGH POWER 20 LED BRAKE LIGHT BULBS 7440

 

The main reason red is used is because it travels farther (long wavelengths), as far as constricting your pupils the brighter it is the greater the affect. Red light will illuminate well with low ambient light, allowing you to see without affecting your eyes as much.

 

I've been down this road myself, trying desperately to find an LED replacement "bulb" to fit in the rear of motorcycles. My main reason is for conspicuity and to be sure the cages behind me know I am braking. Especially since a motorcycle can stop in a shorter distance than a car. You want to give them the warning as soon as possible.

The goal was to modulate the brake lamps with a 3rd brake light flasher so that when the brakes are first applied they would strobe quickly and then go solid. You cannot do that with an incandescent bulb as it takes too long for the bulb filament to get hot enough to broadcast light. So what happens if you try and strobe the light is you just get a pulse width modulation effect that reduces the light output of the brake light during the "strobe". I do have one of tehse flashers installed currently on my Triumph Trophy, but with the flash rate set slower for the incandescent light bulbs. It is better than nothing, but not what I was after.

All of the replacement bulbs that I have tried, and seen direct comparisons of, do not have even as much total light output as the stock incandescent tail lamps. This can only be be confirmed by replacing one lamp and looking at the two light sources simultaneously. So I eventually gave up on that idea and purchased an auxiliary high power LED unit made by Whelen called their LIN3. These can be bought online for about $50 shipped.

I am using it as a 3rd brake light, in addition to the stock incandescent lamps. Being LED allows me to strobe it with the above linked 3rd brake flasher in a wide variety of patterns. The pattern I have settled on is 5 strobes and then solid with no "lockout". That way if I'm sitting at a light and see a car approaching from behind I can release and pull the brake lever to strobe the light at them as needed. Here's a short video of what the Whelen LIN3 looks like on the back of my FJR. Clicky for Video

The video capture rate doesn't allow you to see all of the strobe flashes. There are actually 5 flashes each time I pull the brake lever. And the light is actually even brighter if you are directly behind (as an approaching car would be). It is the most effective aux brake light tset-up that I've ever seen. Total cost was $70 for LIN3 and Flasher module.

 

I think the strobe idea is a good one. I just wanted to add that you guys should not discount the effectiveness of 2 lamps running 3 Watt luxeon LEDs. I have 2 in the back of my Blackbird and in the back of my VFR800. They are so intensely bright that they's leave a spot in your vision for several seconds if you look at them without a diffuser. I have noticed at night that the entire area behind me for a good distance if lit up when I brake (far brighter than with the incandescent bulbs).

I bought my first pair from superbrightleds.com and my second set from a seller called "sixity" on ebay (who also sells sintered pads that are 99% as good as the EBC HH pads for a fraction of the price)
I'll be buying a set from "sixity" for my Hayabusa next.