Gottagetone Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Is it normal not to have the brake light running dim as running light? I am working on a tidy tail projects and realizes the the only light that is constant-on on the back end of my bike is the license plate light. The brake light and turn indicators work great but shouldn't the brake light run dim all the time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docc Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 The tail light is a separate circuit, separate filament in the 1157 bulb. Make sure the bulb is good. It's also common in the factory tail lamp that the contacts get flattened out. Pushing rather hard in on the bulb may light it. If so, remove it and reshape the contacts. Inspect the solder contacts on the bulb itself to be sure they are both prominent enough to make good contact. Finally, the tail light, instrument illumination, tag light and "city light" are all on a common circuit that bypasses all relays and runs through Fuse 6. Since your tag light is burning, I would suspect the contacts or bulb in the tail lamp itself. (You can look in the bottom of the headlamp to be sure the low-watt city lamp is burning). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gottagetone Posted February 21, 2015 Author Share Posted February 21, 2015 Doh, didn't realize it was a dual filament bulb....one of the filaments is fried. Thanks Docc! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docc Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 Gotta love it when it's easy! Still take a good look at those flat metal contacts in the housing. As they flatten out and loose good contact, the intermittent connection from the vibration will fry the bulbs. Really common fail point on the V11. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gottagetone Posted February 21, 2015 Author Share Posted February 21, 2015 I put a new bulb in it for now and all works just fine. Not too worried about the contacts as I am about to take all that crap off and put LEDs in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gstallons Posted February 22, 2015 Share Posted February 22, 2015 The LEDs will last forever and emit a better light . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewgnu Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Can one fit an LED into the stock unit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rossi46 Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 http://www.autobulbsdirect.co.uk/LED-Brake-light-bulbs/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi_Roy Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 For anyone over the pond considering the same www.superbrightleds.com they have a motorcycle section. The type 194 is my favorite for the dash, throw away the old holders and glue them in place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewgnu Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 sssmashing. The contacts are buggered on mine so sometimes I'm invisible at night! Ninja style! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pasotibbs Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 sssmashing. The contacts are buggered on mine so sometimes I'm invisible at night! Ninja style! Tail light from old Ducati Monster fits and looks stock but is much better quality. The unit is slightly curved at the mounting so lenses can't be swapped but any aftermarket Monster LED replacement should also fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docc Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I would swear that Ducati part is the exact same CEV part that is on my Sport . . . no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scud Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 That taillight does look similar - it's tempting to assume that it's a bolt-on replacement. I found one that looks pretty good quality on US e-bay. I like the darkness and simplicity of it. Some pictures of other, similar lights show a license plate light. One has a triple flash at initial braking too - good safety feature. Maybe I could get a dark taillight that is the same size - AND brighter when lit - AND ditch the turn signals - AND the license plate light - AND cut some more off my stock fender? Is this too good to be true? Given that it is all LED and does not come with instructions, does anyone know if some other electrical mods would be required to make the LEDs work where there are currently standard filament bulbs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi_Roy Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 It looks like it might be a straight swap but you will need a LED rated flasher. I assume you are going to change the front also, you may have a slight problem with the cross feed from the idiot light, nothing you can't fix though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pasotibbs Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I would swear that Ducati part is the exact same CEV part that is on my Sport . . . no? They look identical but as well as being much better made the Ducati part has a slight curve to the main assembly(and thus lens) but the Guzzi one is straight. you can see the curve on the picture here (the chrome bit is concave left to right not top to bottom) its not a lot but it means the Guzzi lens won't sit flush if fitted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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