new tail/brake light w/ pictures!

[EX LONERIDER]

so i got a heck of a deal on a LED tail lamp from a yamaha R6 this past week and got to work. made a little bracket to adapt the tail light, ran some wires and turned out pretty trick. its diffrent then any other tail light im gonna see out there and once i get my new white plastics it should set it off real nice.

heres some shots of it.

05 Yamaha R6 tail lamp
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/7801/440exprojecttaillamp003ad5.th.jpg (http://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=440exprojecttaillamp003ad5.jpg)

here's what the bracket started out as.
http://img165.imageshack.us/img165/8194/440exprojecttaillamp006hl6.th.jpg (http://img165.imageshack.us/my.php?image=440exprojecttaillamp006hl6.jpg)

using a brake, drill press, and a rotary gun and the braket is almost finished.
http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/9008/440exprojecttaillamp008rp8.th.jpg (http://img146.imageshack.us/my.php?image=440exprojecttaillamp008rp8.jpg)

install the bracket to the tail with some stainless nylock harware.
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/2747/440exprojecttaillamp012xj5.th.jpg (http://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=440exprojecttaillamp012xj5.jpg)

install to the stock rubber mounts with more stainles nylock.
http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/2747/440exprojecttaillamp012xj5.th.jpg (http://img220.imageshack.us/my.php?image=440exprojecttaillamp012xj5.jpg)

ooooh!! ahhhh!
http://img329.imageshack.us/img329/6395/440exprojecttaillamp019ms9.th.jpg (http://img329.imageshack.us/my.php?image=440exprojecttaillamp019ms9.jpg)

running light.
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/5261/440exprojecttaillamp017el4.th.jpg (http://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?image=440exprojecttaillamp017el4.jpg)

brake light.
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/7357/440exprojecttaillamp018mi2.th.jpg (http://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?image=440exprojecttaillamp018mi2.jpg)

now for night time... running light
http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/4218/440exprojecttaillamp021np5.th.jpg (http://img65.imageshack.us/my.php?image=440exprojecttaillamp021np5.jpg)

brake light... i could barely stand behind it it was so bright!
http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/1773/440exprojecttaillamp022zq1.th.jpg (http://img65.imageshack.us/my.php?image=440exprojecttaillamp022zq1.jpg)

i still need to wire in the interrupter switch for the brake light on the front master but that'll come in this week. i think its a pretty cool mod. i like how it came out too... almost looks factory.

[HondaEXrider22]

Loving it. How much in total have you spent on it? Was it hard hooking up the brake light part?

[EX LONERIDER]

thus far ive spent $20 on the tail light, and 15 on the front brake switch. the bracket i made myself.

hook up was easy. just needed a test light to find out what power was from the two original plugs for the tail lamp off the bike. i then cut the stock plug off the R6 tail lamp, stripped the wires and found wich was running light power, wich was gound and wich was brake light power. hooked em up accordingly with a couple of sealed spade connectors and done.

the switch will be easy. ill connect a hot fused lead from the battery (so theres always power to the brake light whenever the brake is applied) and hook up the power lead from the switch to the power lead from the tail lamp on the brake connector. ill post some more pictures of it once i get the switch to wire in.

[sevans]

That turned out really nice. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[Honda#4]

That is by far the coolest mod, great job on installing it looks like a factory job to me very clean.

[EX LONERIDER]

thanks guys. compliments much appreciated.

[tar]

That looks like it comes like that good job..thta like is bright as he11

[EX LONERIDER]

that was my biggest issue was making it look stock. i measured how much drop the stock light had and tucked it up 1/2 inch.

there was no lights on in the patio and it is about 30x20 feet..... it lit up everything and i could see everything in the patio perfect. should be bright enough for out in the middle of no where.

now, im thinking i may also do another similar mod. heres the idea..

im going to be getting some new race cut fenders here soon and also run some trailtech lights up front. being i wont have a stock headlight, im only going to use one power plug out of the 3 there (high beam, low beam, and ground) im gonna hook up my trailtechs to my high beams. now, with the low beam plug, im thinking im gonna go to the local bike shop and snag a set of some cat eye turn signals like the stubbie one's you see on the crotch rockets like these
http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/8079/turnsignalsiu0.th.jpg (http://img63.imageshack.us/my.php?image=turnsignalsiu0.jpg)
and place em near the front as "running lights". these will work off the low beam plug. being they will only use 194 type bulbs or LED's (if i can find the right one's), they are pleanty bright yet low enough amp draw that it would be fine while parked at the top of a sand dune to light the front of the bike up some. kinda the same idea behind a lighted whip. when i go to ride, i flick the high beams and my headlights turn on.

[400ex_rider13]

look's awesome man, how much did the light cost you? did you get it off eBay or right from a yamaha dealer?

[EX LONERIDER]

actually bought it from cragslist.com. i was looking around on ebay though to see what looked good. bought it for $20.

[TWISTED DINLI]

looks good.

[rdsiler]

Thanks EX LONERIDER!

Thanks to you I had to get on ebay and win a R6 brake light! I had to go to the local HONDA shop and buy the two brake light switches you spoke of!

Seriously, that is way cool!!!!!

Now I am waiting for all the parts to arrive so I can get started. I can hardly wait. Is there any other tips you can share with me that I might need to know before I start?

Since I am new here I should say I have a 2002 TRX400EX with a few add on improvements.

[EX LONERIDER]

your welcome buddy. best tip i can give you is dont rush through it. measure it 20 times if you have to in order to cut and drill in the right spots. once you are done it almost looks factory and 2 times cheaper than the 450R upgrade.

the front brake switch should just bolt right on and you can run the wires fairly clean along side the wiring harness of the bike.

if you need any more help just reply to this thread and ill help you with anything you might run across.

[ti2ibal1]

The light looks awesome!

Is your next mod going to be installing a chain? :p

[EX LONERIDER]

nah...... chains add weight and slow you down :D

[rdsiler]

Hey EX LONERIDER

Just got my brake light installed. It took some time, just because I'm like you and wanted everything to look factory. It looks really great! I cut the top tab off of my R6 light just to clean it up. I hooked up both the front and rear brake light switches. Thanks for sharing your mods with us. Here is some pics of my 2002 400EX and the new light...

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp27/rdsiler24/100_2021.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp27/rdsiler24/100_2022.jpg

http://i394.photobucket.com/albums/pp27/rdsiler24/100_2023.jpg

[EX LONERIDER]

yo, looks awesome man!! nice job :cool:

your welcome. anytime.

[ae13291]

i wanted to ask, so how was the wiring done? did u use the existing 2 wires from the quad? how many wires are coming out of the brake light and did u have a pigtail connected to the light or did u direct soldier them?

[ae13291]

btw will you sell your stock rear tail light? thanks

[EX LONERIDER]

Originally posted by ae13291
i wanted to ask, so how was the wiring done? did u use the existing 2 wires from the quad? how many wires are coming out of the brake light and did u have a pigtail connected to the light or did u direct soldier them?

for wiring i used 16ga. i connected one wire from the battery, directly up to the switch on the front brake. from there, i ran 1 wire from the switch all the way back out to the til light to power the brake light. there are 3 wires that come from the tail light itself.

1) tail light
2) brake light
3) ground

2 of those wire connect to the original wiring harness of the bike where your stock tail connected to. ((this will power the tail light just like it did for the stock one))

the extra one is the one you have to run for the brake light to light up. ((extra power source))

[ae13291]

well thanks bro i just got my tail light for $15 shipped. cant wait till it comes in. which 2 wires did u use to connect to the factory running lights?

[EX LONERIDER]

ill check for you tomorrow.....i dont quite remember.

[ae13291]

thanks alot for this great write up and please let me know. happy new year

[EX LONERIDER]

no problem.... glad this could be of use to other people :D

[morrisbeer]

Hey man, I now have my tail light! Gettin ready to do this and was wonderin what each of the wires go to. Is it red for the running light, white for the brake light, and of course black for the ground? What are the blue and yellow wires for? Thanks for the help.

Tyson

[yellow416ex]

hey ex lonerider, how is your brake light holding up? I put that same light on my 400 last summer and I broke the plastic tabs off jumping at the dunes. I figured with the stock rubber mounts it would be fine but I guess there was still too much vibration...

[EX LONERIDER]

mine's holding up just fine......... i race it through the whoops at the dunes and its still on there.... i also used bigger washers to hold the tabs in place.... mine doesent move all that much.

if anything, these are cheap finds on ebay since everyone gets rid of them for the integrated ones? might need to fabricate a top brace fo yours if you are slamming the ground hard enough to snap the tabs? if so, i'd fab up a bracket that ties in the rear cross mount with an upper bent mount to tie the top tab in....

[yellow416ex]

I will have to try that. I've rigged up a new light for now, it's actually a trailer brake light so its kinda big but it has a clear lense and 56 LEDs so its pretty darn bright. I really like the way the R6 light looks though

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q181/wheeliebob/09220815341.jpg

[EX LONERIDER]

yea, if you are gonna go with big air, you'll need to brace or find a way to support the R6 tail..... its a fairly small one but as more leverage than the stock one did..... you'll need to finda way to support the upper or bottom portion of the light.

[camaromitch]

Just something to add to this. My brother and I did this last night to his 400. The one problem I was having was that his brake had some slop in it and there was going to be a chance of the brake lever not tripping the switch to kill the brake light. I was hesitant to hook that straight up to the battery even after tightening and shimming his brake lever, so what I did is found the black wire that comes out of the key switch and that is the wire that gets 12V after you turn your key on and soldered our hot wire into that, so when the key is off you can't turn the brake light on, but you also can't LEAVE your brake light on. Just something to think about, I just couldn't think of why we would need the light to come on when the key was off.

Also, has anyone done anything neat with the turn signal lights? I just have the wires taped up but they are too cool not to do something with.

[tri5ron]

Originally posted by camaromitch

Also, has anyone done anything neat with the turn signal lights? I just have the wires taped up but they are too cool not to do something with. how about using the turn signals as a pair of strobes ? kind of a "anti-collision/flashers" setup.

I installed a set of Xenon strobes on my 400ex, and my daughters trx90.
My intention is to run them during the daytime, when riding on trails where there is a high posibility of having someone coming the other way. (Head-on collision Avoidance).

I have not yet installed a brake light, but I have considered it, and will use this thread as a guideline for ideas when I do a install on my quad.
(heck, I'll probably end up doing it to my wife and daughters quads too).

I would guess, that the driver used on the strobes, could be pigtailed into to drive the rear turn signals.
(although it may also need to have a resistor installed "inline" to reduce the voltage, for an LED application). just a thought.

here is a link to a thread I made on the strobes install on my 400ex.
http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=409535&highlight=strobes

maybe it can spark some ideas for you. enjoy.

BTW- I'd like to nominate this thread, for tail/brake light mod, to be considered for addition, to the "most popular threads" , in Pappy's top sticky.

[camaromitch]

Originally posted by tri5ron
how about using the turn signals as a pair of strobes ? kind of a "anti-collision/flashers" setup.

I installed a set of Xenon strobes on my 400ex, and my daughters trx90.
My intention is to run them during the daytime, when riding on trails where there is a high posibility of having someone coming the other way. (Head-on collision Avoidance).

I have not yet installed a brake light, but I have considered it, and will use this thread as a guideline for ideas when I do a install on my quad.
(heck, I'll probably end up doing it to my wife and daughters quads too).

I would guess, that the driver used on the strobes, could be pigtailed into to drive the rear turn signals.
(although it may also need to have a resistor installed "inline" to reduce the voltage, for an LED application). just a thought.

here is a link to a thread I made on the strobes install on my 400ex.
http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=409535&highlight=strobes

maybe it can spark some ideas for you. enjoy.

I was thinking about a strobe, but I never knew what you wired inline that would make it strobe. I put some electricity to the turn signal wires on my tail light (it's different than lonestar's because my LEDs are vertical all the way across) and when the turn signals light up yellow the red leds go out, might look cool. Thanks for the link. Time to scour your thread


Originally posted by tri5ron BTW- I'd like to nominate this thread, for tail/brake light mod, to be considered for addition, to the "most popular threads" , in Pappy's top sticky.

x2

[camaromitch]

I used the R6 tail light and I just thought that anybody else that used this might want to think about mounting it with rubber washers. Maybe the aluminum that EX LONERIDER used was more flexible than my 1" box steel but after a couple hours of riding and jumping the LEDs on the right side all went out (possible a poor quality) and the plastic mounting tabs on the back broke off. There is a third top mount that I would recommend trying to use.

We took the light apart and tried to solder things back together but couldn't get it to work. It is now held on by the top mount with rubber washers.

Just thought you might want to know.:D

[knott89]

ya i agree good idea man im thinking of doin somethin similar

[Thumpin440ex]

This thread is over 3v years old..


John

[swagracin]

For some reason i can not see any of the pics in your original thread i know its an old thread but is there any way you can help me out with some pics of your bracket im trying to mount a light like this one on my ex