Clear Alternatives Tail Light - Review Hot

LED Integrated tail light conversion for the ZX636 to streamline the tail end looks and wiring on the bike

Slinky Blinker

Initial Thoughts

Most of us have probably looked at upgrading lights and indicators with LED units over our standard bulbs at one time or another, LED technology has come on in leaps and bounds over the years and now offers an excellent alternative to fragile GLS lamps. The Clear Alternative Intergrated Tail Light is one such upgrade that offers not only LED tail light but also combines the indicators to maximise the effect, the LED's light up faster than the standard unit and with clear plastic they look sweet too.

Construction

The obvious benefit of an integrated tail light unit is that you can remove your ugly, old or just annoying standard or aftermarket indicator units and by doing so tidy up the lines on your bike. Fitting the Clear Alternative unit is actually a doddle once you have removed the relevant fairings or guards and on the unit we reviewed it was a straight swap over the OEM light - 3 nuts and its off, with the removal of the existing indicators came the removal of the additional wiring which had to be connected to the integrated unit and as I prefer a permanent connection I opted for solder and heatshrink over bullet connectors.

While fitting the light I did notice one small thing that was mildly annoying, the shape was somehow a tiny bit different to the original - aesthetically its not that big of a deal but where the tail fairing fits snug up around the original it would not do the same with the aftermarket light, through trial and error I found that by packing out the top bots with a couple of washers (perhaps 5-7mm total) the top of the light and fairing were no longer a problem so I bolted up the nuts and had a look... There was the next mildly irritating problem, by moving the angle of the light down a touch it put the visibility of the light a few feet back, what I mean by this is rather than being bright as you like a foot or so from the bike it was brightest at 4-6 feet or so, I know not really a biggie but in close town traffic it could present an issue.

Out and about generally they are really nice actually at 4ft+ away they are bright and snappy and visible from a decent distance too, at this stage I cant see a negative point to them...That is until you come to either MOT the bike (in the UK) or get pulled over by the Gestapo - I mean Police... Because of the way they flash I am informed they are actually illegal in the UK and the reason being that the indicator fades between the red stop light and on rather than a clear distinction between the two colours - They were nitpicking I think when they told me that the indicators had to be further apart as in the MOT rule book it does not give any other issue other than they have to be left and right of the centre of the bike - which they are!

So having had an MOT failure and a police pull within a few weeks of each other what is the alternative? Add some indicators back which in my eyes defeats the entire purpose of the integrated unit, that or just choose to run with them knowing they are illegal and may invalidate your insurance in the event of a crash. Personally I have kept them on for now - at least until I can find a suitable UK legal version because after soldering and heatshrinking the cables together I really cannot be bothered to rewire another set of indies.

• Clear lens taillights that add a distinct look to any sport bike.
• Available in three styles; some styles are available with crystal clear or crystal clear smoke lens.
• Incorporate turn signals into taillights.
• When turn signals are activated, half of the taillight is cancelled and blinks with amber LEDs.
• Use over 100 red and amber LED lights.
• Complete units; require no modification or lens removal.