Don't waste your time/$ on Givi brake light kit for top box

[zembu]

I just spent the greater part of my Sunday putting the extra brake light kit onto my V46 Givi top box. I am an experienced installer of bits, but this took the cake! After much dremel-tool work (you must drill out THREE different locations on the box/plate) and epoxying, it's done and all I get are the four dinky little lights for a tail-light! Crapola! If I had known this (if I had searched here first), I would NEVER have done this mod. The box is great, but for the time and money, DO NOT GET THE AUX BRAKE LIGHT KIT.

[marndo]

Bummer! I did see a top case with the light kit and wasn't really impressed with the brightness. I have a hyperlite kit and a set of super brite LEDs I'll be installing in my SHAD37, sorta a poormans setup. But I plan on putting the hyperlites up on top of the case for max effect 8) . I'll post picks later this week.

[Warhammer]

Always remember to search the available forums before starting a mod. The chances are that someone has already tried it and can give some valuable advice. The extremely high "crap factor" of the OEM Kappa/Givi light is pretty well know and documented. Here's a copy of a post I made on the "other forum" that shows what I did.

I have seen the stock Kappas with the accessory light intalled and it sucks! The light is so dim that it can't be seen at all in bright sunlight. Also, it is only a brake light, not a running light. I read somewhere about someone who hooked it up as a running light, and it burned out in just a few hours. He was told that it would not be replaced because the instructions specify that it is to be used as a brake light only.

I installed two Electropods (http://www.aerostich.com/product.php?productid=16991&cat=348&page=1) in my Kappa, inside the space for the light. First, yanked out the lame, white, non-reflective "reflector" and covered the inside of the light housing with 3M SOLAS tape (http://www.identi-tape.com/solas.html) , to make it VERY reflective. Then I mounted the Electropods inside with heavt duty emblem tape. I routed the wire through the inside of the case using wire guides and out the bottom of the case. I used a $1.50 two-pole trailer light connector from the auto parts store to make a waterproof quick-connect to the brake light so I can easily unhook the light when removing the case.
http://www.aerostich.com/files/images/346.jpg http://www.aerostich.com/files/images/4636.jpg http://www.midwayautosupply.com/images/hoppy/47965_3X.jpg

These lights are REALLY bright, and they flash whenever I hit the brakes. I have had several other riders comment on how attention-getting they are, even in the bright Texas sun. My total cost was around $30, half the price of the stock light kit and twice as effective.