[biker7]

I recently have been deciding the path I will be taking with the turn signals on my new T-100 and have begun tearing the bike down a bit to wire some new lights...so have been doing some asking around. Because so many have complained about the Lucas style tail light not being exactly plug and play...I put the question to Mike at Bellacorse who is a knowledgable supplier to the aftermarket as you guys know who sells that light as well as others. I first asked if there were different designs of the square Lucas light out there because they all look basically the same...the square-ish one that goes for 35 bux or so...and he responded honestly no....they are all essentially the same light made from the same tooling. I asked him why they don't exactly match the rear fender and one of the things he said is something I wanted to share with the tech forum to glean input on. He said the Lucas style rear light base gasket doesn't completely cover the two rearward fender holes. I knew about the grinding thing but wasn't aware the light doesn't completely cover the rear fender holes. I was planning on running this light without turnsignals attached to it and now wonder if this is a good strategy because a portion of those fender holes maybe exposed and more obvious without adjacent turn signals.
Can others share their experience in this regard as the Lucas light is a popular upgrade on these bikes.
Thanks,
George
Holes in question below:

 

[biker7]

Guess nobody knows or cares

Since this thread is getting so much play I thought I would entertain some to show just how much a difference lighting makes on our bikes.
My bike as I picked it up a couple of months ago:

Thanks to some creative members here, I have decided on a design theme and am going with "new meets old"...sport bike style dual filament square...running and turn signals...relocated with Thrux bracket under the headlight and behind the shocks to decouple from the rear Lucas style light. My bike is in pieces but will be how it looks when I get it together in a couple of weeks. Here is a quick photoshop. I also pshopped out the seat strap as I don't like sitting on it and old school...at least some MY's didn't have one.
Pretty striking how much difference a tail light and turn signals make:

 

[davidc]

I've got a Lucas style taillight from BC - and it does not cover those holes. You can see them standing and looking at the back of the light a bit, but no one has ever noticed. They are sort of beneath the license plate bracket attache to the light housing.
Oh yeah, no seat strap either - looks better that way.

 

[biker7]

I've got a Lucas style taillight from BC - and it does not cover those holes. You can see them standing and looking at the back of the light a bit, but no one has ever noticed. They are sort of beneath the license plate bracket attache to the light housing.
Oh yeah, no seat strap either - looks better that way.

Mike of Bellacorse says he doesn't cover the fender holes top or underneath and as you say...not really noticeable.
Your bike looks great. I like the puposeful look of the monochrome silver on the regular Bonny in particular with brushed engine casings.

One of the funniest things I read as I looked at a hundred bikes on this site to try and decide on a revised lighting theme...is the reference to the stock rear light and turn signals by one member who called it the "war of the worlds"....hilarious and fitting...lol.
Thanks David for your comments and suggestions along the way.
Best,
George

 

[snowy]

I fitted the same Lucas tail light to my BonnieBlack about three months ago and I am really happy with the result. I went to my local DIY store and got two flat black rubber closing gromets for the two fender holes you show in the pic. Having closed these off I simply raised the Lucas assembly up the fender until the licence plate mount rests just on these bungs. No problem. I had to drill some new holes in the fender to suit the new higher postion but I thought I'm never going to use the original holes anyway, so here goes....it all worked out fine. One thing you will notice is that the curvature of the lucas fitting does not match the curvature of the fender exactly.....no problem, you don't need to grind anything. What I did was use some double sided sticking tape on the underside of the lucas rubber gasket to pull it down to the fender curve, hiding the slight difference. This worked really well. Remember to ensure a good earth on the new light by using the original earth circuit cable and also remember that the licence illumination light is in the same circuit as the instrument binnacle light.....I spent a long time scratching my chin trying to work out why my licence plate light wouldn't work until eventually I realised I had blown the fuse on the instrument lighting circuit!! Good luck with the project, you will be very happy when you are done as the lights look 100% better than original.

 

[6t]

I did pretty much as Snowy did. I blanked off the holes with black plugs and glued the gasket to the fender. There is a lip on the gasket that disguises the poor fit, no need to grind anything. The lamp probably fits a Meriden Triumph just great so no bitching from me. One thing to note is that the lens is old tech, which means that the Lucas lamp is not as bright as the original. LED bulb may help.
Go for it.

 

[biker7]

Thanks guys for the clarification on the rear light fitment. Love the creativity of the members here that share the same passion for these bikes. Ordering up the rest of the parts today and hope to have the bike back together for some early spring riding.
Thanks again,
George

 

[pz1]

after reading the above post i went and looked at my light, all the holes are covered, you can not see anything, it is behind the tag with some rubber grommets in them, will take some photos later today. bought my light from brent at new triumph bonneville.

 

[biker7]

after reading the above post i went and looked at my light, all the holes are covered, you can not see anything, it is behind the tag with some rubber grommets in them, will take some photos later today. bought my light from brent at new triumph bonneville.

Thank you PZ1...just ordered my rear light from Brent as well. I look forward to your pics to see how you positioned the light which should help for my install.
Best Regards,
George

 

[pz1]

biker7, didn't get home in time for photos, it was dark, will do tomorrow.

 

[biker7]

biker7, didn't get home in time for photos, it was dark, will do tomorrow.

Thanks pz1...look forward to your pics.
Cheers,
George

 

[pz1]

here are the photos of the rear light, sorry they are not real detailed, guess it helps to have a black bike, have been real please with them, did install a flashing tail light bulb when the brakes are engaged.

 

[biker7]

here are the photos of the rear light, sorry they are not real detailed, guess it helps to have a black bike, have been real please with them, did install a flashing tail light bulb when the brakes are engaged.

Thanks for the pics pz...looks very nice. I was torn about the tail light theme you chose...almost went there and is in keeping with the old school look. I do like it. Hard to see if the light covers the rear fender holes...did you place rubber plugs in those holes per chance? Looks like you didn't grind the top edge of the Lucas light as many do to get the sweep of the light to conform percisely to the gasket. Did you not do any grinding?
Thanks again for the pics,
George

 

[rodburner]

Fill `em

 

[biker7]

Fill `em

You da man Rod. Really clean. When you filled the rear fender holes...including reflector holes in back...did you weld in plugs and finish with body filler?
Thanks,
George

 

[pz1]

did not do any grinding, the gasket looked close to me, used the rubber grommets that came with the light. works for me, i've been hit from behind, so i wanted large turn signals.

 

[rodburner]

You da man Rod. Really clean. When you filled the rear fender holes...including reflector holes in back...did you weld in plugs and finish with body filler?
Thanks,
George

I hammered out the depressions and only had to fill a little bit.

 

[longjohns]

that looks great steve...must be a pretty old pic of your bike huh. i really like the lucas style light and i might go to it on my bike.