Tail light - tried the cheap way but.......

[Bert2006]

OK - tried the cheap way to upgrade tail light to leds. Went to Canadian Tire and purchased 1157 Eurolites 360 led for $14 and it ended up being about half as bright as standard bulb.

 

Looks like i will need to cave in and go with the Custom Dynamics 100 light unit.

Those of you who have that one, have you noticed if they improve brightness over standard bulb? Also,any other options out there? Thanks.

[Kirby]

Yep, it is a lot brighter!

[djh3]

I tried a simular type deal. It was a round replacment 1157 bulb that had like 40 or so LED's. I didnt think it was near as brite in daylite. Night time shows up, but a candle would show up at night. Looks like this.

[KeithR]

You can't go wrong with the CD led light worth every penny.

 

Keith

[stroker ace]

They have the 32 led for $29 and it's a lot brighter than stock ever was.

 

http://www.customdynamics.com/Yamaha_tail_retro.htm

[Guest tx2sturgis]

I have the 32 LED board in my tailight and it works great...for over 5 years now.

 

I paid full price back then, and its been worth every penny.

 

 

[hubbsfd]

Love the CD 100 LED tail light. Very very bright. You won't regret it.

[farm1810]

I have the CD 100 LED taillight / parking light. It is GREAT! I have changed the rear turn signals to the dual filament units off of the front. So I now have rear turn signals and parking lights together. I purchased a GW trunk and Venture bracket for a member here already painted the color of the RSTD. I hooked up the lights in the trunk. This was really good. But, my TS / PL in the rear looked like they had a bad ground or something, at least in the daylight. So, knowing that I had the resistance of the turn signal bulb in the trunk plus the front turn signal, I switched to the CD dual intensity LED for the rear TS / PL. WOW! Boy do I have some rear lights now! And not lots of additional amps with the trunk standard bulbs. I also put all LED's in the trailer that I recently built, but that is another story. R.

[IronMike]

I just installed the 100 led custom dynamics crisp and bright. Was plug and play 3 min install.

[VentureFar]

I have the 100 led AND the 16 led hyper lites mounted just under the trunk rack- up as high as possible.

Now that is a lit up rear!

VentireFar...

[rwven]

I bought the 32 light CD LED taillight and it is far brighter than the stock 1157. It creates a really cool looking star-burst pattern in the taillight lens too.

[oldfaithful]

I 2nd the LED tail lights.

 

I bought 2 of the Radiantz 48 count, dual intensity, red LED lights that fit the 1157 socket. Their OD is 1.85" and just barely fit inside the stock lens...I think they actually contact the lens slightly. But, boy are they bright! My riding buddy refers to them as my "afterburners". Even in the daylight they are so bright that it looks like my brakes are ON, until I actually hit the brakes and you can really tell it then. Excellent product.

 

I fixed the blinking light with a piece of black electrical tape, for now...

[Bert2006]

Just installed the CD 100 light brake unit and WOW what a difference. Expensive but it works.

 

Need to install the HD license plate bracket lights now. Just finished cleaning them and installing the CD leds. Will follow Freebirds instructions to do so (Thanks Freebird). Will also add a bracket to secure them to the trunk as i am not sure that just two bolts will do the job.

 

 

Here is a link to instructions for the extra bracket. Link may be blocket by their site, so look under tech library, 2nd gen - miscellaneous

 

http://www.venturers.org/Tech_Library/index.php?action=article&cat_id=002011&id=342

Edited January 16, 2014 by Bert2006

[garyw]

Put on the 100 led from custom dynamics. The running light is brighter than my brake light used to be! Worth every penny!

[vzuden]

Which is the most economical way to add more running/brake/turn signal visibility to the rear: the Harley bracket or replacing the stock rear turn signal assemblies with used front turn signal assy's?

They appear to be interchangeable. Assuming one could find used ones on eBay, red LED's could be added, and splice in the wires from the taillight circuit and brake light. Would this provide decent rear running lights, additional brake lights, and brighter turn signals with LED's?

[rickardracing]

You get what you pay for. You go the cheap way out, you get cheap parts. They beez cheap for a reason..............

[djh3]

Vzuden: depends on how much work your willing to put into it, and what your capable of doing. I added some LED marker lights for like a trailer for a few dollars each. Made brackets and made up a resistor circuit with some help from others here and they look pretty good and work as marker and turn signals. I added a light bar under the trunk that works as a brake and marker light like quite a few other here. Teh light bar was under $20 off e-bay. Disregard the really brite strip on the bags and directly under the trunk as that is the reflectors.

[Trader]

I posted about some I got from EBay in another thread.

 

There was next to no difference between the running light and the brake light.

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=81878

 

Don't waste your money on these!

[kevin-vic-b.c.]

the CD 100 LED was the first thing I bought for my 2nd gen.... it is the best way to go by far.

[jaybo]

I have seen where everyone that has the CD 100 Brake light...Loves them.

Anyone changed out their signal lights and if so, did you need the load stabilizers?

[XV1100SE]

Here is a link to a write up I did on the installation : http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=63006

[IronMike]

http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d139/usmcxterra/9147e4fd-a407-4d19-927e-68833dc76bc8_zps0f463be7.jpg

 

Yep its gigantically better than stock. HOWEVER! I ordered about $500 woth of lights from them to include their Turn signal kit THEY discribe FITS the Venture. IT DID NOT FIT! It required additional Parts even though they SAID it was a complete kit.

 

When I found I needed to use heat producing equalizers and mess with other stuff and hack my wire harness i returned JUSt the turn signal Kit Unopened.

 

THAT is when I got charged a 15% restocking fee and had to pay for the shipping I got for free. PLUS my costs to return and insure the cost to order from the was $75

 

When I called to complain they said they would turn it over to the CS rep for review, it was like 7 seconds later they charged my card. I work 70 Hours a week, I didnt have time to fight them over such a small amount. They did what they wanted to do.

 

If it's available somewhere else where you can escape their Return policy do it.

 

Im just about sure it's Made in China. The license plate light I have on the back is also from them, about a month after instal one of the White LEDs quit working. Needless to say IM not dealing with them anymore.

 

The Light bar on the top I made myself to get light up high, the center one flashes then goes solid brake.

 

Anyways, READ their return policy. I will never order from them again. And they lie about the Turn signal kit being made for Venture, its a generic crap kit. It even includes resistors you won't even need. How custom is that?