Rear light LED on Givi Top Box

[Farky]

Ive recently been toying with the idea of somehow lighting up the rear of the top box for some better visability for the daily commute especially the bit on the dual carriageway as I toddle along and the idiots pretend that 90mph makes a real difference over 5 miles!

Ive got a E360 which has a red reflector wrapped around the middle which I originally thought would offer some visability but after seeing other riders from behind its actually worthless.....so how about putting small led's inside it?

First thought was drilling the box and inserting something every couple of inches, maybe using the Givi own rear light fitting kit as a doner for connections etc.

Main problem being I dont know what to use as led lights this small. Xmas decorations would probably fit inside the reflector without drilling apart form the start and end of the loop, could even offer decorative flashing lights with the relays they come with. Outdoor models would give some weather proofing too....but how bright would these be in use?

Whats your colective thoughts on a cheap mod?

[Snaphappy]

I have got the givi top boxes (2 of 'em) the givi own lights are not sold in Germany they are illegal over here ('kin stupid) due to the red plastic cover not having a E mark to say it has been tested as a light

The cheapest mod you can do is placing 3m reflective tape behind the red cover, there is no reflective element in that bit at all. It works a treat box stays waterproof and your done in five minutes and you wont forget to connect the cables

I still want lights on the back but more for the brake light, I'll wait till the kraut TÜV pulls its its head out of their arse

[tramp]

hi farky,
I`ve had the givi converson for 2 years now self fitted to top box . BUT the givi self release connector is CRAP!!! kept on failling to contact so removed and inserted a couple of bullet connectors fro removal if required.

Dont ask me how I did it but mine stays on all the time with lights on , like a high viz fog light when i brake it goes off.

Without lights on it works as intended as high brake light , took a feed from rear brake light must be honda`s wiring or my stupidity

If you want something flush fitting then okay for the money but otherwise very expensive just get flush mounted rear led`s light and run feed from brakes .

[rssenna]

Another cheap fix would be to attach a couple of cycle rear lights, you would have to switch them on/off manually but simple option to trial it. Cateye make a quality range from £10 up to £35 and are bright with a flashing option, they are also waterproof.

[Kymmy]

Just remember that it's illegal to have a flashing red light on a motorcycle

[Lutin]

I had the same idea about fitting a high level brake light to my Givi Maxia top-box and went Googling to find out more. The general consensus of opinion was that the connector was not great, as Tramp has said, and one reason put forward was the amount of current that the connector has to take.

I bought the Givi light kit for the Maxia top-box and set about "experimenting". What I found was that the two light clusters (6 small filament bulbs each) take 1 amp apiece - a total of 2 amps flowing through the "dodgy" connector whenever the brake light comes on.

So, me being handy with a soldering iron, I replaced the filament lamps with LEDs. This dropped the current to about 80 mA, if I remember correclty, something that the "dodgy" connector should have no trouble with coping with. However, even though I sourced some VERY bright LEDs for the project, I'm still perfectly satisfied with the results. The prblem being the reflector is designed for filament lamps that through light aroiund with gay abandon and, therefore, is not idela for the light output from LEDs that are very much more directional in their light output.

It looks okay in dim light and at night, but not spectacurly bright in day light.

[Kymmy]

You could always use a couple of coils (one on the rack the other inside the base of the top box,) then use a small bridge rectifier and whatever current limitting resistor you need to light up a few LED's Mind you wouldn't work to well on DC so you;d have to wire it into one of the 3 phases on the reg input

Oh I do love experimenting

[Lutin]

Originally Posted by Kymmy

You could always use a couple of coils (one on the rack the other inside the base of the top box,) then use a small bridge rectifier and whatever current limitting resistor you need to light up a few LED's Mind you wouldn't work to well on DC so you;d have to wire it into one of the 3 phases on the reg input

Oh I do love experimenting

Now that is a wild idea!

Still doesn't get past the brightness in the daytime though.


Hmmmm........some thinking still to do.

[Kymmy]

Superbright red LED's are perfectly visible in daylight

[Lutin]

Originally Posted by Kymmy

Superbright red LED's are perfectly visible in daylight

Yeah, or so I thought. I got some really, really bright ones to experiment with. I think the problem is the red plastic lens as I tried super bright white and red LEDs to see which looked best. The red ones won out in the end.

The one thing that would make a real difference is the reflector, as it is designed for filament lamps. I even toyed with the idea of fitting the LEDs ar5e first so that they would shine directly into the reflector - it would work but arranging the LEDs to stay in the perfect position was just too awkward. The other awkward thing is the the reflector is very shallow, so I was unable to mount the LEDs back far enough.

I will sort something out, just haven't decided what yet.