Second Tail Light

A while back I bought a Perfect Connector made up by Cosmic_Jumper for a project I wanted to do this winter.  Today, I finished the project.  I have added a 48 diode brake light (including a 19 diode running light) to the underside of my Swing spoiler.

I really like my '02 Swing.  I bought it with the HID low beam headlight conversion.  I was not satisfied with the tail/brake lights.  They are low and angle downward.  I thought I could modify this and improve my visibility from the rear.

After a lot of Google work, I found a LED light from etrailer.com that satisfied all my requirements.  The Optronics STL70RB light was $25.00 and the mounting bracket, grommet and pigtail cost another $5.00.  I spent about $10 on miscellaneous hardware.  Most of which I still have!

I mounted it to the underside of the spoiler on my Swing.  The two rear bolts that would be used to mount the anchoring frame for my Givi topcase were positioned really close to where I needed them to mount the bracket for the tail light.  I had to elongate the predrilled holes in the bracket about 1/4-inch and use 2-inch bolts to penetrate the spoiler.  I added lock nuts, and the mounting position was perfect.

I drilled a 1/2 inch hole through the rear body cover into the underseat storage and another through the removable panel to in the seat storage to feed the wires to the Perfect Connector.  I had removed the left side body cover to install the Perfect Connector.  It wasn't too difficult to remove left rear body cover and removing the spoiler is really easy.   The spoiler had to be removed to mount the bracket.

I connected the wiring with 18/22 butt end shrink wrap connectors and covered all the wiring with 3/8-inch black plastic flex tubing.  The flex tubing fit snuggly into the 1/2-hole in the rear panel and I sealed the penetration with clear latex caulk.  The mounting bracket was black powder coat, the grommet was black and my scooter is black, so it looks pretty professional.

I have some photos of the running light and brake light, but I can't get the "Host an Image" function to let me insert them in the narrative. I can send you the photos if you want to email me.

 

This should be a photo of the tail/brake light in running light mode...

This should be a photo of the tail/brake light in braking mode...

I have the Honda topbox,it has a large area in the centre that is red plastic. I wired a "tigers eye"  light into the upper sectiion from the brake lightThis is more or less on a motorists eyeline,so I feel a bit safer.

It is, we see it twice.

Care to share a link to what you've got there? thats pretty nice!

I detailed the installation and links related to the hardware under "Second Tail Light". If you do a Search for that phrase it will bring up the narrative. Thanks.

Thanks!

Can we see what the housing looks like from the side?

I put a set of Admore led strip lights behind the reflectors in my Honda top box, wired in for running and stop lights, using one of DerekB's connector. Option was there for turn signals also, but red turn signals are illegal in the UK, so didn't use that wire. As Old Limey says, the lights are in the drivers eyeline, just makes you feel a bit safer.

Pics are in my album

This is a photo of the Second Tail Light from the left side.

This is a photo of the Second Tail Light from the left side and below the spoiler showing the mounting hardware.

Old Limey wrote:

I have the Honda topbox,it has a large area in the centre that is red plastic. I wired a "tigers eye"  light into the upper sectiion from the brake lightThis is more or less on a motorists eyeline,so I feel a bit safer.

I have a Givi top case that looks like it could be modified for a second tail/brake light. I don't plan to ride with it unless I'm on a multi day trip. I have one planned for June. I thought that the second tail light mod would work with or without the Givi case. I agree that having the elevated tail light will improve safety.

As a winter project I also bought a perfect connector II from Cosmic_Jumper and added a Admore LED light bar.  Easy to wire in with the connector and just mounted it under my Givi plate and made a small hole to run the wire under the plastic spoiler cap.  I also updated the taillight/brakelight bulbs with some Phillips LED bulbs so I hopefully won't have to worry about changing them anytime soon.  The LED lights don't appear any brighter but the lightbar at a higher location seems to make the brake light and turn signals more visible. Between the Admore warning flash when brakes are first applied and the Vololight license plate deceleration light, lots of flashing going on when stopping to catch the attention of following cars. Need to have someone follow me and let me know how it all is working and looks when coming to a stop.

That's a good one, bicyclenut ! One of my main concerns has always been that someone will rear end me. ( It has happened twice to me whilst driving a car and once whilst driving a 50 tonne mobile crane. It's one of the few risks that are hard to control and this might just make me a bit more visible. It is also not expensive and within my mechanical capabilities. Ordered the parts already, thanks.

If you look in my Gallery you can see how I fitted an Admore Light Bar to my Silverwing.

https://www.silverwing600.com/gallery/Personal-album-of-MikeO/Personal-album-of-MikeO-cat_u308.htm

MikeO, thanks for the link to the photos for your light bar. That is my preferred mounting point too.

Pleasure!

I mounted the bar under the spoiler so it would still be on the bike if I rode without the top box.

I have the Silverwing to Admore colour 'code' if anyone needs it.

Admore make an LED kit to fit into the Honda top box, I imagine it would also fit into the Givi box.

MikeO,

I mounted mine same as you did, think I saw your photos previously and that helped.  I previously was looking at mounting to the plastic under the spoiler but no drilling needed to use the Givi plate, just remove the top and fit with some bolts.  That also brought it up a bit higher and further back. Drilled a small hole to hide the cable as the mounting fasteners would not adhere in the cold and that ended up hiding the cable. Can still be used with the Givi box off as I leave the mounting plate on all the time. I have solid LED's in my Givi box that I run at night off a Lithium Ion battery pack. Don't have a photo of the all the lights working together yet.

Admore make specific kits for several of the Givi boxes:

http://www.admorelighting.com/