Smashed my yoshimura taillight + blinkers

[The Organic Mechanic]

Hey everyone, I ride the crap out of my drz 400s with lots of rocks, hill climbs, and dumb stuff like stoppies cuz I think im soo cool.

Anyways I am planning to get a 2 stroke to really smash on when I have the green in the bank, currently I have to just torture my heavy beast anytime I want to ride.

School is starting next week and I want to ride my drz to school, the more you ride the better you'll ride it. This bike needs parts before it'll be safe on the side roads I take. After a autumn beat-down my taillight started to show damage, finally last ride I noticed it was completely gone along with dead blinkers.

Been searching for a solution on the forums but everything looks like an expensive kit, I want to pull this off on the cheap if possible and something less exposed yet still bright would be awesome. I saw the 'edge' kit but it looks just like my destroyed yoshimura and I dont want to spend $100 just to break it again.

Anyone have an idea of something cheap I could slap on there? It's okay if it's a little white trashy, but I'd obviously like it to function as a brake light.

[Bandit0]

I use a Baja Designs universal LED tail light/fender. I also relocated the turn signals further up the bike and have had no issues. (and I drop it all the time) The fender and light are $60, so a bit better than $100. There are some on Ebay for $30 shipped. The turn signals are fairly well protected when mounted there, but are still visible.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Bandit0

[The Organic Mechanic]

That's a nice looking rear end there and i'm not just talking about that yoshi exhaust I wish I could afford

Thanks for the idea, I think relocating the next set of blinkers I buy is a good plan. I was thinking about LED strips that are slim mounted to the bike but they always seem so dim that they're almost useless.

But what about your license plate? The plastic fender looks like it would help protect the tail light from damage, yet I don't see any bracket for the plate. I would assume you could try mounting it to the plastic fender but it would break off pretty easily as compared to this metal bracket I currently have. The license plate is pretty well secured with this current setup but the lack of a plastic fender leaves a lot of exposure for the lenses to get smashed.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-BRAKE-TAIL-LIGHT-For-Honda-Suzuki-ATV-LTZ-King-Quad-Runner-DR-DRZ-650-400-LT-/262242688071?fits=Model%3ADRZ400

This is what I was thinking I could do for the cheapest replacement but if there is a convenient way to slap the plate on the bike with that tail light/fender kit, it would be a good investment. I assume yours is plated, you have the helmet lock and mirrors?

[Bandit0]

All I did was cut a 1" strip of aluminum stock. Drilled 4 holes, 2 closer together to mount the strip to the fender and 2 further out to mount the plate to the strip. The plate fits nicely under the LED and is just short of the bottom of the fender. The LED is tucked just inside the end of the OE fender. I had to cut the front part of the Baja fender to slide it between the subframe and the OE fender and used the tool bag mounts and the subframe tabs (on the sides) to secure it. The upper part of the Baja fender extends about 10" or so between the OE fender and the subframe, so it's solid. I don't think anything would be completely damage-proof, but this set-up is pretty good.

 

 

That LED you linked is the same one as comes with the fender. I had to remove it to repair some wiring since my original install had it wear through on the inside of the subframe. A quick soldering and rerouting and it's been fine for 1000 miles and more. And for what it's worth, my plate is pretty beat-up, but it has not broken the fender yet. I wonder if it is better than metal since it has a certain amount of flex. The fact that the front part extends so far forward adds strength.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Bandit0

[The Organic Mechanic]

📎11826016_10207368928401234_6085735574255154614_n.jpgAll I did was cut a 1" strip of aluminum stock. Drilled 4 holes, 2 closer together to mount the strip to the fender and 2 further out to mount the plate to the strip. The plate fits nicely under the LED and is just short of the bottom of the fender. The LED is tucked just inside the end of the OE fender. I had to cut the front part of the Baja fender to slide it between the subframe and the OE fender and used the tool bag mounts and the subframe tabs (on the sides) to secure it. The upper part of the Baja fender extends about 10" or so between the OE fender and the subframe, so it's solid. I don't think anything would be completely damage-proof, but this set-up is pretty good.

 

 

That LED you linked is the same one as comes with the fender. I had to remove it to repair some wiring since my original install had it wear through on the inside of the subframe. A quick soldering and rerouting and it's been fine for 1000 miles and more. And for what it's worth, my plate is pretty beat-up, but it has not broken the fender yet. I wonder if it is better than metal since it has a certain amount of flex. The fact that the front part extends so far forward adds strength.

Thanks for the excellent write-up, going to pull the trigger on the kit tonight and mount my plate to it. I really like the way that looks and I think the plate would hold up to abuse. If it gets broken somehow I can always reuse the metal one, however I think it will survive.

[Cliner56]

I have a UFO tail light and plate holder on my bike. I don't have any pictures of my specific bike but this is the exact one I have, I love it because the blinkers are flush with the unit so you don'thave to worry about busting blinkers when you lay the bike down.

 

 

Edited January 18, 2016 by Cliner56