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Thoughts on LED tail lights for 748

21K views 51 replies 25 participants last post by  Micah.Berry 
#1 ·
Hello all,

I was thinking about getting the LED tail light from http://www.motodynamic.com/

I really like the look of it and how it integrates the turn signals. What I have now doesn't do it for me. When i bought the bike, the turn signals were tucked into the rear vents. It was nice in the fact that it streamlined the bike, but I didn't feel that it was fully visible, in turn, safe. The license plate was also tucked up inside the rear fender, about where the mono shock is. I didn't think that was legally visible, so I bought an eBay fender eliminator kit to bring it to the rear and add turn signals to my tail.

I would like to remount my license plate under my tail again and put an LED light on it and use this LED taillight/turn signal assembly.

Has anyone did this conversion? Do you like it? Is it brighter than stock? How bright are they? Are they very noticeable? What did you do with your license plate? I would just like to run this by some of you before I make my decision.

What would look best on my yellow Duc, smoked lenses or clear ones?

Are there any other kits out there that are better, brighter, etc?
 
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#2 ·
there's stacks of options you can go for and stacks of threads on this here.. i've got a yellow 998 and installed the Custom Leds pack http://www.customled.com/products/i...95_996_998_748/ducati_916_995_996_998_748.htm last week with fender eliminator.. also bought clear lens on Ebay and installed the lot in a few hours.

I'm really happy with the result.. I've always thought the red lens on the yellow ducs don't look that great but it looks good now.

the Leds themselves are BRIGHT and the turn signals work well. I went with this brand based on opionions from this site (thanks all). the kit and fittings are all top notch!

http://www.ducati.ms/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=53142&d=1250408534

http://www.ducati.ms/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=53146&d=1250408534
 
#3 ·
I have a 2001 996 and bought the Motodynamic tail light and I like it. It is much brighter than the other LED tail light I had on before. I am sure you have seen the video that shows three quick blinks and then steady brake light. The turn signals are sequential. Reminds me of the old Cougars and T-birds with sequential tail lights. Very effective. I am still looking for a white LED strip to illuminate the license plate.
 
#4 ·
I'm also leaning towards the Motodynamic kit. I really like the features, especially the 3-flashes on braking (I do this manually whenever I brake). I'm just worried about how bright they actually are in daylight. The Motodynamic has fewer but larger LED's, but they seem to be angled downwards (straight back when mounted) compared to the smaller surface-mounted ones used in the others such as Custom LED/Custom Dynamics. Anyone compared them side by side in bright sunlight?
 
#5 ·
I recently installed the Motodynamic kit on my 996.

The good news...

The lights are nice and bright and I think the 3 quick blinks when you activate the brakes is a real attention getter. The sequential turn signals are nice too.

Now the bad news...

When I first installed it, the left side didn't work. No running light, no brake light, no turn signal, nothing. Before I returned it I decided to take it apart to see if I could see what the problem was. It turned out that one of the wires that was soldered to the board had come loose. Considering how much Motodynamic raves about the quality of their products I was a bit disappointed. I ended up re-soldering the wire back on but I did send a note to Motodynamic informing them of my problem and I didn't even get a response. Thats shit customer service in my book. I bought the tail light on Ebay so if I don't get a response in the next few days I plan on leaving them negative feedback.
 
#9 ·
I also have the motodynamic in smoked and think it looks great. I can confirm that they are bright in the day light compaired to stock however have not compaired them to other kits out there side by side. Was a happy day to get rid of the plate holder and giant turn signals!

The reason I quoted the above is that my unit came in 3 days from order, installed in 15 minutes and was by far the easiest mod ever. Only downside was the instructions that came with the unit looked like they had been photocopied 11ty billion times and could not make out a thing. Same thing can be accessed on thier website and printed so not a huge deal.
 
#6 ·
I just put in an LED taillight on my 996. The motodynamic kit looks to be the best and brightest of all the ones out there. I also added a small LED bar as an additional brake light right below the tail where the reflector is now ( I dumped the reflector) because as bright as the taillight is, I just wanted some extra safety. I also went with the fender eliminator kit and used LED turn signals with a clear lens at each side of the license plate because I don't think the integrated turn signals were all that visible (i'm not using the built in turn signals on the taillight.

you can get a while LED bar for the license plate to light it up, but I used an LED light bolt (license plate bolt with built in LED) and attached it where the outside muffler clamps bolt together under the end of the tail.

IMO, I think it looks very good, nice and clean.

can post pics if you are interested.
 
#7 ·
#12 ·
once you get it and you make sure it works, I would dump a load of silicone or hot glue all over the back of the board in order to act as a vibration damper and to hold all the connections in place.

there have been reports of solders and boards and connections breaking after some time due to thermal expansion and vibration.
 
#13 ·
Just ordered a motodynamics sequentual light.

I just bought one of these on ebay in smoke. Good to see they get good reviews from you guys. Covering the back with silicone sounds like a great idea. Especially since it sits inches above the exhaust. Looking forward to installing it. The dim stock bulbs leave alot to be desired. I think the smoke color will compliment my yellow 748 really nice, as I'm installing a smoke windscreen as well. My license plate is way back under the fender as well. I've been wondering how visible it is under there. Has anyone been stopped by the ham-sters for this? Mine was like that when I got it from the last guy. I like the way it gives the bike a clean look, but i question the plate's visibility.
 
#14 ·
I'm STILL stewing on getting these tail lights. I just wish I could see them in person. I know the auto dimming on video cameras wouldn't quite capture the luminosity. I really like what motodynamic.com offers. I'm just waiting a bit to see what color my bike becomes. LOL... If its matte black, then I'll get smoked lenses... etc.
 
#15 ·
Nacademus,
I've seen the Custom Dynamics tail light (just the board and LEDs, not the whole taillight assembly) on eBay for ~$25. It's in an auction, not a Buy it Now, but they have them up there fairly regularly at the moment, so they rarely go for more than ~$30. Might be worth the $25 or so to give it a try. Probably the cheapest buy-in I've seen for decent (I've got a set myself, as stated earlier in this thread) LED taillight. Again, it doesn't have the sequential turn bars, but it is pretty darned bright.
 
#17 ·
Got LED?

I have a set of the tail lights on my Duc. I like it. One slight annoyance is that unless you have a very powerful battery and a rock solid electrical system the turn signals won't work when the bike isn't running. It made them kind of a pain to install. It allows you to remove the UGLY rear fender and/or turn signals. (Please check your state's laws before doing so!)

I was wondering if they were brighter so I had a friend follow me and another guy with stock lights and we found that they were much brighter and the flashing brake lights get the needed attention.

Cheers!
 
#34 ·
.. One slight annoyance is that unless you have a very powerful battery and a rock solid electrical system the turn signals won't work when the bike isn't running...
ive got the same issue.. however.. only the right side turn signal doesnt work with the bike off..
no issues when shes runnin... im thinkin perhaps i shouldve went with the clear instead of smoke..
ive got the yellow with white mono.. the smoke stands out too much..

im diggin the fact that with the motodynamic.. you have the option to use the oe reflector...
it provides for the mounting holes... the oe is thinner and not as tall as what it comes with...
 
#18 ·
I went with Custom Dynamics with a clear lens.....it's the ones with the alternating ambers for the turnsignal......but also ran led turn in the tail vents for additional safety....am very happy with them.
 
#21 ·
I bought one from someone on the forums... but its not the Motodynamic kind. Its not quite as bright as I would like. :( I think I will just end up forking over some money to acquire the ones on their site and perhaps sell this one.
 
#22 ·
My Motodynamic arrived today. I installed it and it works/looks great. Better and brighter than stock or the cheaper LED unit I had on the 748.
 
#23 ·
Thats exactly what I wanted to hear :)

Did your cheaper set have a switch in the middle of the PCB thats labeled "turn signal"? I figure this would shut them off or do something but it doesn't seem to do anything. Turns still activate.
 
#24 ·
Just did my Motodynamic tail lights last night too. Works great. Very happy with how it looks and works.

Took less than an hour to install, and that includes 20 minutes trying to get the connection together before I realized I had to take the little red fitting out of the stock connection half.

Does anyone have a close-up picture of how the rubber bumber fits into/against the seat faring on the rear of the tailight housing? Not sure if I did that right.

Ed '01 748
 
#28 ·
Took less than an hour to install, and that includes 20 minutes trying to get the connection together before I realized I had to take the little red fitting out of the stock connection half.

Does anyone have a close-up picture of how the rubber bumber fits into/against the seat faring on the rear of the tailight housing? Not sure if I did that right.

Ed '01 748
An hour? Didn't read the directions, did you (red piece removal)? Took 10 minutes including removing the three wellnut bolts and removing the entire licence plate holder/signal mount/fender extension assembly. Very good and simple kit. Last integrated unit I had required splicing into the signal wires. This one has the correct sized bullet connectors all good to go from the start.

Rubber bumper slides over the bottom rear of the tail light lens. Then use a touch of grease or wd40 on the pins. Wedge the bumber against the rear of the fairing and comprress it and the two circular rubber grommets until you can slide them over the pins. You can also choose to unscrew the pins and remount the bracket, but...


Nacademus, I never looked for a switch on the old unit, so I don't know for sure.


BTW Ed, where do you live? I'm around 4600N Lake Shore Drive.
 
#30 ·
Great, I have it right. It seemed to push out the bodywork just a little, and I wanted to make sure that was right. Thanks.

You're right Nine16, I didn't read the directions carefully enough. Only after I was about to give up did I notice the line that said to "remove the red cap". And I took my time, first thing I have done on this bike. The kit has everything and everything fit well, but, I also tied the wiring equalizer to the seat frame on the first try, and then could't fit the tool bag shelf back on because i blocked it. So there were a couple of mis-steps.

I'm in Downers Grove, am sure i'll meet you now that the weather is breaking.

Ed
'01 748
 
#32 ·
just installed the motodynamic unit and it's fantastic. i had put this mod off for years cause the early versions of led tail lights were pretty weak. i'm glad i waited...this smoked unit blends perfectly with my "dark" paint scheme and you don't even see the lenses when the lights are off. big thumbs up for motodynamics!
 
#33 ·
Well heres 2 pics of them on my yellow 998. Install was super simple, although I couldnt find the red cap they mentioned. While in there i found 2 other plugs back by the stock signals, any idea what those were for?





Side note and off topic, does my bike lean too far? Dealer said he thinks my kickstand bracket is bent.
 
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