LED lights on the rear of TriGlide

GoSlo

GoSlo

Oct 29, 2012
556
110
Centennial, CO
Name
Barry
I've got a 2013 TriGlide and have added Kuryakyn LED tail lights (run/brake/turn) and now want to add more/better lighting to the rear. I'm not a big fan of the LED bar in the tourpak rack, because I don't think it's that visible. I do like the H-D tourpak spoiler with the LED light.

My question is this...is it worth it to put LED lights in the turn signals on the tour pack? I just found some LED bulbs that have lights on the face and going around the bulb so in theory, it would light up the side part of the tail light lens. The are 1157 style bulbs, so they would pop right in where the OE ones are now. Has anyone tried these before? Are they really bright enough? Maybe I should go with the LED wrap around tail light. I know they're really visible because I put one on my Limited (right before trading it in....DUMMY!!)

Thanks!
 
Good question, I also am looking to add more lights. I have added the HD Aerowing rack LED light. Waste of money. Thinking of LED 1157 lights but not sure how they will work since the tour pak is not straight and LED's are kind of line of sight. They also make a 1157 halogen bulb which is much brighter but don't last long.
 
I've tried the 1156/1157 style plug-in LED lights on my FLST. It was a fairly expensive endeavor which did not work out favorably. Believe it or not, the LEDs were dimmer than the incandescent bulbs I had removed. I think the lens diminishes the LED light and makes the bulb less effective. From my experience, LED lights need to be made as a purpose-made unit to be considered. I've got a set of '39 Ford LED taillights on my CSC Daytona that I really like, and are very bright. I'd go with the LED wraparound lights.
 
Thanks Rick. That's exactly what I was concerned about...the LEDs actually being dimmer than the stock bulbs. I've found a few different ones, but they don't say how bright they are (only list the number of LEDs used) to compare against each other or the OE bulbs. Looks like I'm going to go to the wrap around LED, which leads to another question....

The one from H-D is $469. I've found some aftermarket ones on Ebay that are only $125 and look to be the same (mounting plate, plugs for wiring, etc). Has anyone tried one of these aftermarket ones and if so, did they fit and did they work? I've got four friends that would like to put that style light on the tourpaks and we're thinking of splitting the cost of one, deciding who's bike will be the "guinea pig", and install one. If it works, then we'll all get one. If it doesn't, then we're only out about $25 each (plus the cost of plugging a few holes back up and re-installing the original lights).

As usual, thanks for everyones feedback and help.
 
Hey GoSlo...I have the HD wrap around led lites you are talking about on my 11' tourpack, And I am very happy with them. Somewhere on here there are photos of of 'em,,Search under LED lights and you should be able to find 'em. Or maybe Nana can locate them...She posted them for me. They work great, and are very bright. You do have to change the inner liner too, cuz the stock liner will not accomodate the plug in's inside. So there in another $89.00...And...you have to saw out the stock lights...and once you do that, there is no turning back,,and you cannot re-install the stock lights after you make the cuts. It involves a lot... It is not an easy job. I had my favorite tech at the HD dealer do mine and he installed them flawlessly. I would not have tried that myself.

I have LED lights all the way around my TG now. 8 on the front & 8 on the rear. I have two Kury amber LED running lights facing forward mounted on the front of my crash bar too, right where the highway pegs are mounted...like them a lot too.. Oh..I have all smoked lenses and they are plenty bright. The only red lens on my Trike is the HD rack light on the tourpac..
 
My stock 3157 brake bulbs lasted 55k miles On '10 TG. Just bought the replacements in auto parts store for $6. They even list as slightly higher wattage than stock. Why give HD undeserved dollars?
 
Because some of us are hooked on more lights, chrome, accessories, goodies, speed, handling, ...It is a sickness. We can't help it Bozo.

If Harley made a snowplow to fit the front of a Tri-Glide, you would be the first person to buy one and drive across the country making use of it!!!!
 
I have this mounted under my tour pack Show Bike Lights plus Led's in the tour pack and brightasslites, the brighter police ones, on the fenders. No one wants to ride behind me. Can not blame them
 
Thanks for all the input.

I had put the H-D version on my Limited and loved how bright the back end lit up when I hit the brakes, and would like to do it on the new Trike, so I'm looking to do the same thing or find other ways to wake people up in cages in back of me. I've replaced the tail lights with LEDs from Kuryakyn and they are a big help. Looked at the BAL ones, but too much money for me since we need two.

I found some wrap around LED lights on Ebay that looked like the Harley ones, but only cost $125!!! Too good to be true, right? Depends. If you have a tourpak with no lights in it these will fit. If you're replacing the OE lights, this piece is too narrow to cover up the holes left by the stock lights. Looking closer, these lights don't come with hardware or any wiring, but if you're handy, I guess you could get around that.
 
As you know, I have a V-Rod with a MotorTrike conversion. Right after buying I installed LED's on my wheel fenders. They Really light up. Tail lights, break lights and on the front are turn signals. I LOVE them because when off they are invisible. This pic is after
 
I added the Ridetime LED boards to my tourpack lights and also added these LED strips under the bottom of my tourpack to operate on Brake and Turn functions. I think they add a good amount of visability when braking. The bottom bumper LED lights are from Custom Dynamics and operate run & turn function
 
AzDaven....I really like the looks of the lights on your fenders. I actually wondered about doing the same thing, but a shorter run of LEDs. Curious how you put the m on.
 
flatfrog said:
Hey Gorilla, thanks for the link to show bike lights.
That is exactly what I am looking for.
I called them and after a short discussion, I have a strobinator on order.
thanks again
Click to expand...

Your welcome. everyone that rides behind me says its nice.
 
GoSlo said:
AzDaven....I really like the looks of the lights on your fenders. I actually wondered about doing the same thing, but a shorter run of LEDs. Curious how you put the m on.
Click to expand...

It was surprisingly simple.... I gave a friend and mechanic some money and came back 3 hours later, miraculously they were installed.... LOL

(They are glued on)
 
Since I converted the taillights on my TriGlide to LED, including the addition of a high-mount third brake light, I wanted to do something about the bulbs in the tourpak. The OEM tourpak bulbs are just your standard run-of-the-mill 1157 bulbs, acting as additional running lights and brake lights but lacking the performance and brightness of LED bulbs.

Researching this a bit, I found you can buy specially-designed boards consisting of an array of LEDs. Although they are nice, they have several drawbacks in my opinion: (1) They are quite expensive, (2) they require a bit of disassembly (removing the lenses from the tourpak which can be messy), and (3) they don't provide much light when looking at the bike from the sides.

So I looked around for a plug-and-play replacement and found these on eBay. These bulbs have 27 high-intensity "surface-mount device" (SMD) LEDs with six facing directly to the rear and the other 21 arranged in layers around the bulb. This produces light that's visible from all angles.

Although they took a while getting here, being shipped directly from China, I'm very satisfied with them. They produce very bright red illumination to the tourpak, especially from the sides, and being LED technology they provide that "instant on" performance as expected from an LED bulb. They are true plug-and-play and have no clearance issues whatsoever. They cost $23 for two bulbs with free shipping. You may be able to find similar bulbs in your local AutoZone, Pep Boys, or other automotive parts retailer but I never took the time to drive all over town to see.

I think this is a good bang-for-your-buck way to go without going overboard on cost.

Tourpak_Bulbs_01.jpg


Tourpak_Bulbs_02.jpg


Tourpak_Bulbs_03.jpg


(click on photos to see full-size image)
 
JohnC.....those look great. Wondered if that type of light would work and it looks like its really bright. Thanks for the heads up. Any problem with the turn signals "flashing" because of the low draw?
 
Go Slo,

I do not have a turn signal module on my tourpak lights so they only operate as running / brake lights.

The fender LED lights (from HD) came with a new module that installs in place of the existing one, preventing the hyperflash problem.
 
It would affect the secuirty system too if the resister was not built into the LED or load equalizer installed..I was looking at the superbright LED bulbs down the road..
 
flatfrog said:
I just installed the Show Bike Lights strobinator on my 2012 TriGlide and all I
can say is Wow.
The install instructions were right on and easy to follow.
Click to expand...

Please post pics of your install, where and how you mounted it. I saw a Wing 2 wheel had it mounted with the license place, but that may not work for us. So, please, please, please. And maybe a side view to show the details of the mounting brackets...:Excited:
 
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