Hi guys...I did a search and can't find an answer to what I'm looking for. I want to clean my rear fender up on the 2010 fxdc and take the plate as well as the brake light off. I know the safety concerns as far as losing light visibility in the rear. And I know that brightasslights makes the brightest brake lights. But since I want to take the brake light off my fender, I'm wondering who makes the brightest conversion turn signal brake light kit? If I take off the brake, I want to remain as visible as possible. And if you've done it, what are your thoughts?

Thanks.

 

I know I still have my plate on the fender but I used the HD brake/turn module to do away with the rear light and there's plenty of light back there using the turn sigs as brake lights and signals. I've actually had a couple buddies comment how bright they are. Might be an option for you.

 

bry,

what did you do with the circuit board that the sigs plug into when you got rid of the tail light?

 

I'm still using it actually. I mounted it to the inside of the fender to the bolts from the laydown LED license plate. This allowed me to plug in the LED license plate using the auxiliary plug on the circuit board, and keep all the existing wiring/plugs from my turn signals in place. I then went to a hobby shop, picked up some of that large battery pack heat shrink, and sealed everything up to keep water out. The aluminum plate is there to keep rocks and other debris out. It's not beautiful but it's hidden and works well.

All the wiring harnesses are held to the underside of the fender using the same sticky conduit HD uses on their fenders.




Here's the end result:

 

Cool. I wasn't sure how well the HD one worked. Sounds promising. I wonder if they have an option to where I could keep my clear lenses and get red bulbs for the conversion kit?

 

I just ordered the badlands rear turn light kit also the front turn lights, in smoked lenses w/the led light bulbs...will let u know how I like them. The whole kit cost me $209 to my door.

 

Just added the Custom Dynamics LED clusters and module to convert my rear turns to RBT. Super bright & a little spendy, but they have a lifetime warranty.
www.customdynamics.com

 

Did the same gig, but bought the $100 run/brake/turn signal module from J&P part #380-215-01 and the $50 Radiantz LED inserts from Biker Hiway on Amazon.

My signals now work as brake and running lights and are a lot brighter now. This is allowing me to totally redo my rear fender, remove my bulbous tail light and clean the clutter up a lot.

I'm still working on the conversion, bought a new Jesse James fender blank that I narrowed and modified, so I can still keep my bike on the road. My new fender will be a plug in replacement. I bought extra bullet signals on ebay, bought shortened stand-offs on ebay, a new wiring harness from HD, etc. I frenched in my license plate and will use tiny Radiantz LEDs from Cruizer Customizing to illuminate it. A 40 LED flexible tube light will replace the now unnecessary tail light, just for added safety.

I just want to add that LED's, the good ones, are worth the expenditure. I even bought the HD LED headlight. It was $325 through Zanotti's, but good lighting can save your life. I'll save the dollar pinching for other mods.

 

Go with the Radiantz LED clusters, mentioned above, from Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Intensity-Sign...310659&sr=8-13

Be sure and select the red cluster, rather than the amber cluster before you add it to your cart for checkout.

They're very bright, plug into stock 1157 run/turn/brake light sockets, and will fit in your stock turn signal housings. If your turn signals are only turn signals (no running lights), then you'll have the 1156 sockets, and you'll need to replace them with 1157 sockets or simply remove the sockets and route a third wire to each housing for your running lights. The Wide Glide doesn't have a brake/running light on the fender, so the turns are the turn/brake/running lights, and come stock with 1157 sockets.

I had to trim flat spots, 90-degrees apart, on two sides of the circuit board, in order to have clearance for my stock lenses. I have the smoked lenses at home, but haven't seen them yet. The red LED clusters work fine under the smoked lenses, and they're very bright. Much brighter than a red 1157 incandescent lamp.

Search something like "LED replacement lamps for 1157", and you should find a thread with some pictures showing the brightness of the LED clusters beneath smoked lenses.

You'll also need to get either an equalizer module or some 6-ohm 25 watt resistors (the kind built into a heat sink) in order for your flasher unit to function normally. Since the LED's pull such a small load, the flasher unit behaves as though you have a bulb burned out (quick flash rate). The equalizer or resistors will make your flasher operate at the normal flash rate.

You can find the "load equalizer" resistors on eBay for about $10 a pair. Minimum 25 watts each, but it's OK to use 50 watt resistors, provided they're 6 ohms each. The resistors are only used on the brake/turn wire, so they're not in the circuit all the time. Only when braking or using your signals. The 50 watt resistors simply handle more heat than the 25 watt resistors.

These resistors will generate heat, so keep that in mind when you're planning where to mount them. They'll heat up pretty good if you're sitting at a stop light with your hand on the front brake for a while. Look at Bry's aluminum plate under his fender. You could use some small self-tapping screws to mount your resistors on an aluminum plate, or just use your imagination. Maybe behind the struts, maybe the bottom front of the rear fender. Pretty much anywhere. They're very simple to wire into the circuit. One side is wired to ground wire, the other to the brake/turn wire.

I'm gonna try mounting mine inside the hollow of the turn signal housing, though I'm not sure if they'll fit. If they do, I'll probably just bond them in with a blob of silicon adhesive.

Your running lights will pull much less current than they did with the standard incandescent lamp. Your brake/turn lights will pull about the same as before. I was actually hoping to avoid the resistors, because I was looking to reduce the load on the battery and alternator as much as possible.

I plan to convert the front turns to running lights/turn signals using the dual intensity amber LED clusters and smoked lenses. I already have the resistors and lenses, along with amber 1156 lamps, but I'd rather have them serve as running lights and turn signals, so I'll get the amber Radiantz LED clusters for the front as well.

I hope all of that makes some sense to you.

 

Wow...thanks for all the info. It makes sense, although I'll have to read through that a good one or two more times to make sure I got it all straightened out and see if it's worth it to do that as opposed to just getting the HD conversion kit. Wish I had a way to compare the light output from the two. I'll definitely look into it more. Thanks again!