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Tail light swap
Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2023 9:41 pm
by jimbo
What tail light can I use on a gl1100 and take off the big stock tail light
Re: Tail light swap
Posted: Thu Nov 09, 2023 12:29 pm
by kerryb
You can put on anything you want!, But, if you have a thing for good lighting, the dual brightnes LED turn signal lamps for a harley are super bright. I made a pvc socket to put one in for my cafe racer. You might look for a ready made housing to put them in.
Re: Tail light swap
Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 3:27 pm
by tory
Use any light you prefer. I used a basic Lucas on this one to try to keep with the minimalist theme.
Re: Tail light swap
Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2024 1:42 pm
by Sidecar Bob
Amber tail lights aren't legal in North America (that's why the front turn signals are marker lights but the rears aren't).
Whatever tail light you decide on make sure it doesn't give some brain dead cager (or worse his lawyer) an excuse to claim he didn't see you because of it.
FWIW, Both of my bikes have sidecars and I wanted matching tail lights on both sides (with license plate light on the bike) so I used LED trailer light sets on both. They may look a bit "industrial" but nobody can claim they didn't see me

Re: Tail light swap
Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2024 7:58 pm
by Whiskerfish
And make sure it is visible in full sunlight. Have followed too many custom jobs and could not tell the difference during the day when they hit the brakes. Came very close to rear ending Sagebrush on one of his 1100's years back due to a small tail light.
Re: Tail light swap
Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2024 8:40 pm
by CYBORG
I'm a believer in big rear lights. Especially brakes. To many distracted drivers on the road
Re: Tail light swap
Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2024 8:15 am
by redglbx
Re: Tail light swap
Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2024 10:31 am
by Old Fogey
CYBORG wrote: ↑Mon Jan 08, 2024 8:40 pm
I'm a believer in big rear lights. Especially brakes. To many distracted drivers on the road
100% agree.
In addition, for night time use I have another two rear lights, making a triangle. The closer a vehicle behind gets, the larger the triangle becomes.
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Re: Tail light swap
Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2024 1:27 pm
by gregforesi
If you decide on integrated brake/turn indicator system keep in mind that you may need a 5 wire to 4 wire adapter. I think the one I have is a "Hopkins" (I'm too lazy to pull the saddle to look).
Re: Tail light swap
Posted: Tue Jan 09, 2024 2:50 pm
by Sidecar Bob
It used to be a requirement to have 4" between a turn signal and any light that is on when the signal is flashing. I've always felt that was a good regulation because it becomes too hard to tell what's being signalled if they are too close.
I know that a lot of vehicles now have turn signals right next to tail lights but I don't know whether the tail light turns of or the law has been changed. Either way I still think it is a terrible idea to do anything that makes your intentions less obvious to the driver behind you.