Member Contributer winaje Posted July 25, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 25, 2007 Hi all. I am now the very happy owner of an OEM trunk. I got to thinking that it'd be really cool/useful to have a high intensity LED brake/stop light in place of the centre reflector in the lid. Has anyone seen this, or better still done it? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Hoopster Posted July 25, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 25, 2007 Givi sells a brake light kit for some of their topcases. I'm not sure how much different the Honda piece is since they're both made by givi but that's a good starting place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Hagios Posted July 25, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 25, 2007 It's definitely doable witht he large translucent area in the topcase. The problem is, however, that you will need to do one of two things: Make the topcase a permanent fixture Fashion a plug that won't suffer when it's wet. Probably put the connector proper under the seat... You will also have to drill a hole in the topcase so you don't have to run the wires on the outside of the box. Other than that, it's a simple case of fashioning an LED bank and affixing it to the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 It's definitely doable witht he large translucent area in the topcase. The problem is, however, that you will need to do one of two things: Make the topcase a permanent fixture Fashion a plug that won't suffer when it's wet. Probably put the connector proper under the seat... You will also have to drill a hole in the topcase so you don't have to run the wires on the outside of the box. Other than that, it's a simple case of fashioning an LED bank and affixing it to the case. Why would the case need to be permanent? Waterproof plugs are readily available, and with the right wire routing(perhaps through the rail of the mount itself), this could easily be made into a plug & play deal. One connector on the outside of the box, with a hole drilled(then later sealed with caulking or RTV) for the wire. Should have a cap to protect from weather when not connected to the other plug, which could hang out the end of the mount rail. Now that I think about it, the style of plug used by Battery Tender(and maybe some heated clothing companies) would work great. They sell adapter cables that could be cut up and used for this. I think Hobie1dog had a link for led brake light boards, he used one for his vfr/cbr project. Good luck! :goofy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 25, 2007 Share Posted July 25, 2007 Check this guys out. I just started talking with them about doing the same thing. They have a controller unit that will make the LEDs work as both the brake lights and turn signals. I just sent them an email about 10 minutes before reading this post so I will let you know what I find out. http://www.admorelighting.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer winaje Posted July 26, 2007 Author Member Contributer Share Posted July 26, 2007 Check this guys out. I just started talking with them about doing the same thing. They have a controller unit that will make the LEDs work as both the brake lights and turn signals. I just sent them an email about 10 minutes before reading this post so I will let you know what I find out.http://www.admorelighting.com/ Wow, what a great idea. PLEASE keep us up to date with their reply. I love the idea of the turn signalling, and the bright LED when braking. AND they have got quick disconnects for the rare time that I'll be taking the trunk off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Hoopster Posted July 26, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 26, 2007 The LEDs are great for braking because they light up quicker than incandescent bulbs and they're placed higher and more visible than the taillight. The givi light kit comes with it's own connector and the case is designed to accept the wiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Hagios Posted July 26, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted July 26, 2007 Why would the case need to be permanent? Waterproof plugs are readily available, and with the right wire routing(perhaps through the rail of the mount itself), this could easily be made into a plug & play deal. One connector on the outside of the box, with a hole drilled(then later sealed with caulking or RTV) for the wire. Should have a cap to protect from weather when not connected to the other plug, which could hang out the end of the mount rail. Now that I think about it, the style of plug used by Battery Tender(and maybe some heated clothing companies) would work great. They sell adapter cables that could be cut up and used for this. I think Hobie1dog had a link for led brake light boards, he used one for his vfr/cbr project. Good luck! :blink: One of the two options would be required. Either a plug, or a permanent wire-job. Depends on the purpose of the bike. If it's to be a MiniWing, then the permanent fixture might not be a bad idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Snafu Posted September 16, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted September 16, 2007 Check this guys out. I just started talking with them about doing the same thing. They have a controller unit that will make the LEDs work as both the brake lights and turn signals. I just sent them an email about 10 minutes before reading this post so I will let you know what I find out.http://www.admorelighting.com/ So whatever happened with this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer winaje Posted September 16, 2007 Author Member Contributer Share Posted September 16, 2007 I emailed admorelighting and asked them if their LED strips would fit the OEM trunk. "We can't confirm for sure that our kit for the E460 will fit your case but given that GIVI manufactures the case, it is quite likely that it will. We offer a 30 day return policy so that if the kit does not work for your application, you can send it back to us for a full refund less shipping costs" So I'll be looking into it in a couple of months... I would prefer to turn the centre reflector into a stoplight, however. I might look further into this and see what can be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Snafu Posted October 6, 2008 Member Contributer Share Posted October 6, 2008 So I picked up a Whalen 3 led light. I'm going to install it in the mudflap. What ever happeded to that thread with the install...it's dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N8sVFR Posted October 27, 2008 Share Posted October 27, 2008 It's time to revive this post a bit. . . .I just installed my brand new OEM topcase and saddlebags. One of the first things I thought to myself, even before reading this thread, was that the large reflector on the topcase sure woudl be a great place to add a brake light!! So, has anyone attempted this with the Givi factory kit or the Admorelighting.com kits? I get the impression from looking at the Givi website that the factory brake light kit wouldn't fit our Hondaline topcases. But I think that the admorelighting kits probably would work. Has anyone ever made their own 'LED-banks' as an alternative to purchasing these kits? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N8sVFR Posted December 22, 2008 Share Posted December 22, 2008 The answer to the OP's question is. . . .yes. I am in the process of custom fabricating LED lights and controllers which will be in both the center and the side/rear reflectors of the OEM top case. I did a bunch of research and came to the conclusion that any of the kits available for the GIVI cases would not work on the OEM case and that I would be better off starting from scratch. I'll be posting up a write-up in the 'Modifications' section over the holidays. Stay tuned!! :dry: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 23, 2008 Share Posted December 23, 2008 I tried to work out a top case brake light for another bike and came up with an alternate solution. As mentioned in other posts, I did not want to have to keep my topcase on permanently and was not real confident with any of the plug in solutions. In the end, I installed Hyperlights http://www.hyperlites.com/ by using their mounting bracket and drilling a hole in the topcase rack. (see picture below and excuse the dirty bike) Not quite as high up as a brake light on the topcase but higher than the tail light and with the modulation, very attention getting (you can install without the modulation if you like). I can take the top case off and on without having to worry about any electrical plug in. Once I get my wingrack installed on my VFR I will be moving the lights over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N8sVFR Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 . . . .So perhaps it took me a bit longer than I anticipated, but more information will be following in a write-up in the Modifications section, I promise. . . . 2008 VFR OEM Trunk Lights Part 2 019.jpg 2008 VFR OEM Trunk Lights Part 2 038.jpg The LED's are all installed in the trunk. . . .now just I'm finishing up the final wiring connections. :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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