I've been looking for something a little more to my taste re: the taillight on my 800.
Obviously there are lots of options, but my biggest concern is finding something that more or less replaces the size and dimensions of the OEM light, in order to fit that cup in the rear fender and therefore present as little bodywork as possible.
I did manage to find one photo online where a guy had a HD "beehive" style mounted up and it looked pretty good. Wondering if it bolted on pretty easy...
Any anecdotes?
Well, you could switch it to a vintage Indian taillight, as I did with ma-deuce (look at pics).
All it takes is a repro taillight (here's one: https://www.ebay.com/itm/392404766011), a 2mm. metal base and some elbow grease... ;)
You have to cut and reshape the metal base, until it matches the oem tailight shape, then drill 3 holes so to match those on the rear fender (where the oem taillight is screwed to). Add in the middle a hole as wide as the rear housing of the Indian taillight, plus 2 more holes where you'll put the Indian taillight's screws.
Then, wire the new taillight to the oem female harness base, by using the male harness of the oem taillight. And voilà!
P.S.: I used a mouldable paste, such as the Loctite Kintsuglue, to create a seal that goes underneath the Indian taillight base.
This way, you'll add a vintage and stylish touch to your bike.
And, most of all, you'll be able to get back to the oem taillight, whenever you want!
Wow Mittico, that looks really great! Just the type of advice I was looking for. Fabricating a bracket to fit the OEM hole is a good idea and even turned out looking stylish in the process...I never think of those types of solutions.
Guess I'll start looking for a light!
I bought mine from a fabricator who lives in New Dheli... The price was good, BUT the stuff WASN'T!
I've had to re-do the wire connections, because they were really CRAP!
But after several months and riding, the new tailight is still good and well workin'...
On the 1500, I first put on a beehive light. I liked the looks, but it was not bright enough. People following couldn't see it. Later I mounted a tombstone light, from JPCycles. It covered the original tail light cavity.
On the 800, I made an aluminum plate to fit the cavity, and mounted a vintage truck light to it.
Nice solutions, GB!
But most of all, I really like the 800's: really cool.
Thanks for the replies. These are some great ideas. I like the concept of running the license plate at the bottom as it seems to fit nicely between the edges of the bumperette.