Aftermarket tail lights

Fossil wrote:

I have the red Tri Light from them - super bright, good quality and it's e marked. Mine doesn't have a license light, but a white led hanging above the plate took care of that.

Here's a poor pic of that taillight tucked up under the tail...

I'm using a light from a ZX6. Going to use as turn signals also.
Mark

riverroad wrote:

Biquetoast wrote:
Biquetoast, apparently you have different model twin cateye light than the one shown on the above website. I just recieved mine yesterday and it does take 1157 bulbs. Seems to be fairly well built except for the chrome plastic housings. But for 25 bucks, not too shabby.

riverroad - I have to admit, I got mine off eBay, but I thought it was the exact same thing! Here it is mounted on my bike (below). To clarify, mine has the correct socket for 1157s, but not enough room for a full-size 1157 with the red lense screwed on. I admit I didn't try the Luxeons in the cateyes, I put the Luxeons in my side bullet housings (see pic)....

This all started from here:
click on this -> 750Turbo.com

That guy showed pics of them being brighter than the standard, so I gave them a try. Nope! Just the opposite. Glass surface area is my conclusion.

Hey Toast,
Did you by chance get your's from a seller called TunerXFactory? They are in Canada. Just curious about the fit and finish quality.

Biquetoast, to tell you the truth, when I removed the red lens and pulled a bulb out, it just looked like an 1157 bulb. I couldn't actually read the numbers on it because I'm getting older and my arms seem to be getting shorter. But unless I've been a total moron gearhead all these years, the 1157 bulb is the only dual filament automotive bulb with staggered retaining pins and dual contacts available. Am I wrong?
And I didn't have a known 1157 bulb on hand to compare. I only guessed that they are of the same dimensions. I'll check it out later. Right now I'm feverishly working at getting my bike back together from this winter's tear down, putting the tail lite/fender eliminator on the back burner for a bit.

riverroad wrote:

...when I removed the red lens and pulled a bulb out, it just looked like an 1157 bulb....

Just to clarify, ours could be completely different, but in mine, the bulbs were just as you describe - dual-filament, etc - except they are like "mini" 1157s, and they don't say 1157 on them. They are just a tad smaller. In fact, I think I remember reading the watt rating on the side and being disappointed. I don't remember now... gosh I hope I'm not misleading people... I'd better check this later and update this post...

Draco wrote:

Did you by chance get your's from a seller called TunerXFactory?

Nope, it was speedmotoco. And to summarize, the light housings and lenses are plastic, and the plate holder is apparently aluminum. I had to bend mine significantly for a better angle, and it's pretty sturdy. I think the light sockets are a bit cheap, but good enough... My only real complaint is the lack of room for real 1157s... I wonder if the shotgun ones (in the link above) would have more room for bulbs... I like the look of those better anyway... oh well, too late for me...

CoreyClough wrote:

...That guy showed pics of them being brighter than the standard, so I gave them a try. Nope! Just the opposite. Glass surface area is my conclusion.

You know what? I'd seen the same thing over and over about people saying regular LEDs are brighter, even though I know better. So one day I did some testing with all my lights and my camera. I found that, depending on the camera angle and how the surrounding lighting was, I could make *any* bulb appear brighter than *any* other.

I have quite a few different kinds of LEDs at this point, most sit on my shelf for comparison. I also still use those regular cheap ones in some of my turn signals, but I will use NOTHING BUT the Radianz 1.85" clusters or the Luxeons in my tail/brake lights... or else I stick with stock...

Got my "custom taillights" today.
Total piece of sh!t. Cheap a$$ plastic housings, poor fitting lenses, and the previously mentioned dwarf 1157's
Auction said the item was in Canada, Postage was from TAIWAN! now I can't be certain, but isn't that against some kind of fleabay rule?
I've decided to just find a way to use my stocker taillight, at least I KNOW it's a quality piece!

The infamous Dwarf 1157....

Wow Draco, that IS a tiny 1157. The ones that came in mine look to be full size 1157's compared to that one.
Admittedly, the light is cheap plastic, and yes, the lenses don't seem to fit very well, but for 25 bucks, I really wasn't expecting chromed billet either.
I haven't installed mine yet, but when I do, I'm definately going to keep my original tail light and fender handy.

Another and even cheaper option I found yesterday is a plain old round trailer light from any auto parts store. Not chrome, but at least it has a steel housing.
If mounted flush with the end of the duck tail, no one would see the black housing anyway. Plus, you could always scuff it up and paint it with aluminum paint.
And they're DOT legal too.

Just looked on buykawasaki.com, and the front turn signal bulbs on my bike, are the same 1157's as in the tail light. The rear turn signal bulbs are single fillament. I wonder if those dwarf bulbs were for places that require smaller space. If you put a standard 1157 in it's place it probably would hit the lense and a little melting would happen.

A dwarf light bulb in a married man's hand. Hmmmmmm :huh: :blink: No scars, not blisters, clean too. You work indoors? Just joshin' with you. :laugh: