The Infamous EV Tail Light Assembly

[Michael D]

Ownership of my 98 EV had me constantly repairing the plastic tail light after breaks occurred
in the turn signal mounting, its housing and the license plate bracket.  A wide variety of cures
were applied such as super glue, duct tape, hot glue, JB Weld, cable ties, sheetrock screws,
electrical tape, bubble gum and tree sap.  Needless to say I'd had enough when the stalk on one
of the turn signals snapped in two pieces.  

A hunt for a remedy which included a tail light, turn signals, license plate mounting bracket and
the housing for the 3 above had me going a thousand and one different directions.  The biggest
problem was a lack of information on all that the custom MC market has to offer.  Not all, but
most items on the net didn't give details as to dimensions, type of metal, finish, number of
bulbs, wattage of bulbs, number of LEDs and so on.

Thanks to the creative minds here on WG, I had a few ideas and a path for fabrication within my
abilities, so a gathering of materials and tools and a few nights in the garage produced my new
tail light assembly.  

[Lannis]

THAT'S not going to break, snap, sag, melt, crack, or fracture ... !

Great job.

Lannis

[Michael D]

Thanks Lannis!  Time will tell along with mileage.  I did use the rubber mounting system that was incorporated in the original design.

[dee g]

WG member made this one.  I have since replace the long stalks with the short style like on the front blinkers.

[Michael D]

Wish I could Dusty, but getting in at 6AM Saturday after driving 600 miles has me ragged for the whole day. 

[rocker59]

Good job!  I like it!   ;-T

[Michael D]

dee g.... that was one of my inspiration along with Panhead's simplistic design.  

I shortened the original rear turn signals for a match with the fronts .  Less length should help in longevity.

[Michael D]

Thanks Michael T and Dusty!  

That is a nice job Mike , what are you charging for us to duplicate it ?

  Susty

No patent filed, so steal if you must.   ;)  I certainly would and have!!!!  

Correction!  I do have a patent pending on this process.




One has got to make do with what ya have.   ;D

[screamday]

Here's the one my brother made for me.  :BEER:

[Bill N]

I've gone thru all the woes described trying to keep my tail light assembly in one piece. I used bamboo sticks, tape epoxy, more epoxy,. hose clamps etc. Well it finally fell apart, so I dropped $200 for a new assembly, I sure liked the creative mods shown on this thread. The original assembly was ill conceived and not worthy of this otherwise well designed bike.
Bill

[Michael D]

screamday, nice work which I lusted for, however the budget said otherwise with CNC work.     

[Michael D]

I thought it wise to post the remainder of my photos considering time, mileage and the absence of memory as the clock ticks.

[LowRyter]

Nice job MD.

[Bill Hagan]

Very impressive.

Bill

[Michael D]

Thanks gentleman!   :)

[rocker59]

Thanks gentleman!   :)

While you were set up, you should've made a half dozen of the things.  Gone into the Guzzi aftermarket biz!   ;)

[Kiwi_Roy]

Nice job MD.

:+1
It's something anyone can do with simple hand tools and less than $10 worth of Aluminum.


Screamday, your Bro did an awesome job, I would hate to have to pay for one made like that.

[LowRyter]

Thanks gentleman!   :)

I'll be over to fit my EV.   ;D

[screamday]

:+1
It's something anyone can do with simple hand tools and less than $10 worth of Aluminum.


Screamday, your Bro did an awesome job, I would hate to have to pay for one made like that.

Thanks Roy.....it really is work of art. I tried to pay him and his buddy.....sent him a check so they could take their wives out to dinner or something. He got insulted and sent it back.....said he didn't want any money he just liked the challenge. Glad I was the recipient of their generosity. I was gonna put a finish on it but just left it as is and it still looks great.

[Kevin M]

I need one of these for my 1100 California! I'd be happy to pay if anyone is interested in building an extra one. I'm using duct tape & it's getting old.

Kevin

[Tony/CT]

I am continually impressed by the creativity of the members of this board!  ;-T

[Lee Bruns]

I love Michaels design. The ones I made and sold were carved from solid and took a silly number of hours to carve. Using box aluminum is a great idea. I do have a chunk of bok aluminum tube like he used in my garage, can measure it, and send out short sections if anyone is needing some.

[swbrenton]

Nice work.
I like it.