Tail Light Broken

[kierran87]

Hi all,

Got pulled by the police yesterday as my Tail Light was out, and i hadn't noticed. Anyway, i went through my Haynes Manual and it advises to replace it with a 21/5 W bulb.

Just checking if anybody had any other tips or recommendations before i replace the bulb?

 

[greg]

not had to replace the tail light, my rear indicator broke once, found out the inside was completely rusted and fell apart when I tried to replace the bulb (which ended up not being the problem)

hopefully the tail light is a weatherproofed a bit better

 

[turbid]

if the taillight is not broken,(in which case you would have to replace the whole assembly) its best to replace the bulb for a motorcycle spec one. the bulb has a central bridge that handles vibrations better and will not blow as easily as a normal bulb. normal bulbs work fine, just stock a bit because they will blow much easier for sure.

if you go the LED route be sure to choose a fairly expensive led bulb with square leds, these tend to have superior light output than the round type ones. the cheaper ones last less than a normal bulb and are much less reflective and visible. do keep in mind that the taillight assembly is designed to reflect incadescent light, so the best performance out of a standard assembly is to use a bulb, LED light tends to remain concentated in the middle with little dispersion.

 

[lrojasma]

I replaced my stop light with a LED smoke light and looks awesome, althought i dont know really how good could it be to the electrical system, i think is ok as LEDs consume less power, but i have a situation right now, blowing fuse from time to time since i put the LED

Anyone has experienced this?

 

[TownsendsFJR1300]

Yamaha's factory bulb (1157) two filiment (at least for the FJR) has a separate, EXTRA POST that supports the larger brake light filiment(THREE POSTS TOTAL on the longer brake filiment).

Its not much more expensive and is noticably brighter than a standard 1157.

I know that as I had a standard 1157 next to this Yamaha bulb with the brake light on and it IS INDEED VERY NOTICABLE. Its also a bit more rugged for vibrations.

The Yamaha part # when I bought mine (may have changed) is:
1A2-84714-41

I also strongly suggest some di-lectric grease (very lite coating) inside the socket/on the base of the bulb to prevent any corrosion, bad connections, etc. Of course, make sure your current ground (the base) and the wire ends are nice and clean...