Author Topic: New farkle arrived and installed - tail light (Read 51014 times)

ZG · « **on:** June 14, 2011, 07:12:23 PM »

I don't know about you guys but the oem tail light always seemed a little dim to me, especially in the daytime.

I bought one of these off ebay, $40 shipped, I'm very pleased with it. It looks better IMO and is definatly brighter! I got the "smoked" one which is just slightly tinted but you can only tell it's tinted when the bike is off. It's also available in clear and in blue...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kawasaki-07-08-ZX-6R-08-11-ZG1400-Chrome-LED-Tail-Light-II-Turn-Signal-Clear-/110782008116?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item19cb1f4b34

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kawasaki-07-08-ZX-6R-08-11-ZG1400-Chrome-LED-Tail-Light-II-Turn-Signal-Smoke-/110782008258?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item19cb1f4bc2

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Kawasaki-07-08-ZX-6R-08-11-ZG1400-Chrome-LED-Tail-Light-II-Turn-Signal-Blue-/120817551105?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item1c21498701

REAR SHOT OFF BEFORE

REAR SHOT OFF AFTER

CLOSE UP OFF BEFORE

CLOSE UP OFF AFTER

TAIL LIGHT BEFORE

TAIL LIGHT AFTER

BRAKE LIGHT BEFORE

BRAKE LIGHT AFTER

So what do you guys think??

ninjawarrior1400 · « **Reply #1 on:** June 14, 2011, 07:17:38 PM »

I like it since I have extensively upgraded all rear lights on my 14....why don't you take a pic of it at night....in your garage maybe with all other lights off.....take a distance pic with a rubber band around your brake lever...and some closer pics so we can see what kind of a red hue glow around the light it puts out....the stock unit is very basic and not very impressive...

Ninja

Flathead · « **Reply #2 on:** June 14, 2011, 07:27:03 PM »

Looks great! Thanks for the links.

ZG · « **Reply #3 on:** June 14, 2011, 08:04:34 PM »

Quote from: ninjawarrior1400 on June 14, 2011, 07:17:38 PM

I like it since I have extensively upgraded all rear lights on my 14....why don't you take a pic of it at night....in your garage maybe with all other lights off.....take a distance pic with a rubber band around your brake lever...and some closer pics so we can see what kind of a red hue glow around the light it puts out....the stock unit is very basic and not very impressive...

Ninja

Here you go Ninja, I just went out and closed the garage door to take these...

Tail light

Brake light

maxtog · « **Reply #4 on:** June 14, 2011, 08:16:01 PM »

Quote from: ninjawarrior1400 on June 14, 2011, 07:17:38 PM

I like it since I have extensively upgraded all rear lights on my 14....why don't you take a pic of it at night....in your garage maybe with all other lights off.....take a distance pic with a rubber band around your brake lever...and some closer pics so we can see what kind of a red hue glow around the light it puts out....the stock unit is very basic and not very impressive...

That is actually the WORST way to take a picture of a light when comparing before/after brightness. The best way is during the daytime, from a distance, at nearly the same time, with camera on same settings and distance before/after.

Night pictures tell you nothing, because ANY light is enough to cause the camera to close off and all lights are overexposed. You need enough light around the rest of the picture to normalize everything.

Need proof? Look at the pictures where he did what you requested. Notice that everything in FRONT of the bike is much brighter in the second picture, where the tail light is brighter

ZG · « **Reply #5 on:** June 14, 2011, 08:22:22 PM »

Max,
The first pics I posted were all during the day, in the same spot, and with the same camera (my blackberry actually...). I did close up shots to show the actual lights, the oem lens I think seems to dim/wash out the lights, this new one has a clear lens.

maxtog · « **Reply #6 on:** June 14, 2011, 08:25:56 PM »

Quote from: ZG on June 14, 2011, 07:12:23 PM

So what do you guys think??

I think that is really cool. And I agree that I thought the tail light/brake light was too dim OEM. It is strange that all that posting on Ebay with diagrams and pictures, and they say nothing about brightness. But theirs has 5 more LED's than the stock (another selling point they don't mention). But it also might not be brighter EXCEPT DIRECTLY BEHIND. The stock lens might work to help widen the angle of view more. In any case, it is an attractive upgrade. And a crazy-cheap price too. (Is it low quality??)

But I want more light AREA also... so I ordered the Admore light bar last (72 lamp) night. DAMN it is expensive- not sure where to mount it yet, I might have to somehow attach it to the bottom of the license plate. But I like the fast flash pattern and quick revert back to full-on. The turn signal thing is neat too, but that wasn't my primary goal.

ZG · « **Reply #7 on:** June 14, 2011, 08:29:52 PM »

The quality seems good Max, it also comes with the wires already attached to integrate your blinkers into it as well but I opted not to connect those and just run the tail and brake lights...

maxtog · « **Reply #8 on:** June 14, 2011, 08:41:08 PM »

Quote from: ZG on June 14, 2011, 08:29:52 PM

The quality seems good Max, it also comes with the wires already attached to integrate your blinkers into it as well but I opted not to connect those and just run the tail and brake lights...

I just can't get over how cheap it is, when I just plopped down $150 for a lightbar + s/h! That is a good idea to NOT use it for turn signals (turn signals- yet ANOTHER feature they don't mention). The stock turn signals are fine, and you don't want to give up braking visibility area to that, anyway.

But you should check out the angle brightness too, just for giggles. Might be too late now to compare directly to the stock... Well, maybe not. Just hook up the old one to the lighter adapter or something and sit it on the rack above! Then you can see (or even take pictures of) both AT THE SAME TIME in different lighting, distance, and angles. That would be the ideal setup.

Pokey · « **Reply #9 on:** June 14, 2011, 09:17:54 PM »

Nice find.....I might just consider that!

XHarleyRider · « **Reply #10 on:** June 14, 2011, 11:05:53 PM »

It looks good. Does it fit in the same space as the OEM tail light? It looks to be the same shape but in the pictures it doesn't look to be an exact fit.

SparX · « **Reply #11 on:** June 15, 2011, 12:16:03 AM »

Very nice, looks really bright. Congrats!

m919 · « **Reply #12 on:** June 15, 2011, 01:42:37 AM »

looks good, i'll put it on the list.

Boonedawg · « **Reply #13 on:** June 15, 2011, 08:29:32 AM »

ordered...$40 I'll risk that

ZG · « **Reply #14 on:** June 15, 2011, 09:09:56 AM »

Quote from: XHarleyRider on June 14, 2011, 11:05:53 PM

It looks good. Does it fit in the same space as the OEM tail light? It looks to be the same shape but in the pictures it doesn't look to be an exact fit.

Yes X, it's an exact fit and shape as the oem one.

ninjawarrior1400 · « **Reply #15 on:** June 15, 2011, 10:07:26 AM »

ZG...

On a scale of 1 to 10 ten being the best...how does this new tail light rate in brightness when compared to the stock unit.....which seems marginal at best.

Ninja

ZG · « **Reply #16 on:** June 15, 2011, 10:11:34 AM »

Quote from: ninjawarrior1400 on June 15, 2011, 10:07:26 AM

ZG...

On a scale of 1 to 10 ten being the best...how does this new tail light rate in brightness when compared to the stock unit.....which seems marginal at best.

Ninja

Ninja,
I would give the oem one a 5 at best and this one an 8 to 9, it's definitely an improvement over the oem one and for only $40 shipped a good spend of $ IMO, plus it looks better too IMO...

metzgerf16 · « **Reply #17 on:** June 15, 2011, 12:40:56 PM »

Thank you for posting this. I was looking for Father's Day ideas, and this is perfect. It might not get there in time, but I'm pretty sure he'll like it. The dim rear light was one of the things my Dad didn't like on the C14. I just hope he didn't beat me to it lol.

Conrad · « **Reply #18 on:** June 15, 2011, 12:42:41 PM »

Nice find ZG!

mikeboileau · « **Reply #19 on:** June 15, 2011, 01:09:48 PM »

Nice find....Brighter is better!

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Author Topic: New farkle arrived and installed - tail light (Read 51014 times)

Flathead