Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/727617
60 nOctober 2016n www.thunderpress.net THUNDER PRESS decision to replace that component. The NAMZ taillight assembly comes complete with lens, refl ector and LED board, and it plugs into the OEM mount. The LED lights themselves are low intensity for running lights and high intensity for the brake light. The laydown style complements the lines of my rear fender, and this product is a direct replacement for all 1999–up H-D models except for the 2014–up Ultra and Street Glide. It also comes in stock style or square-back version, with the lens available in smoke or blacked out as well as red. Best of all, the product has a lifetime warranty against LED failure. Jeff gave me a brief explanation of the basics of stock Harley-Davidson wiring in the rear of the bike. In the original OEM taillight, as of 1999 when the Softail Deuce was fi rst introduced, Harley basically ran a con- nection beneath the seat and into the module that's in the taillight. From that module were the right and left turn-sig- nal outputs and a taillight output. And there are only six wires running through the fender: right turn signal, left turn signal, running light, auxiliary 12-volt switched power, ground and a red-with-yellow striped brake light. Simple, right? Next was the Drag Specialties/ Alloy Art Chrome/Red/Red Fender Strut LED Marker Lights, chosen for several reasons: they feature a 70-degree visual range as well as illu- mination touted to be about 60-percent brighter than the majority of single- function LED lights currently avail- able. The markers slip over the back ends of the fender struts and attach via the rearmost hole in each stock strut, using the stock strut hardware already on the bike. Jeff removed the old license plate frame/turn signal combo unit, but instead of running the new wiring underneath the rear fender where the old wires were, Jeff ran the wires underneath the chrome strut covers, and in between the strut covers and the "ear" on each side of the frame. My Dyna has a wider-than- stock rear tire, leaving very little space between the tire and the fender, and this method was easier than going into the fender and trying to get into the factory harness. Plus, the bike was 16 years old so the factory harness loom would have been more fragile. (The last thing we wanted was to rewire the entire bike.) Also, if I need to remove the rear fender for any reason, I can do that without having to take the turn signals off. Tyler Pailas, technical and train- ing manager for NAMZ, then stepped in to help out. He took apart the eight-position connector on a Badlands LL-01-A Plug-n-Play Illuminator mod- ule and double crimped the new turn signals onto the output of the mod- ule, onto the same terminal. As Jeff explained, "This way, we're grabbing signal under the seat instead of at the rear of the fender." The Illuminator, which Tyler installed under the seat, is a run/brake/turn module, so it con- verted the rear markers into running lights, brake lights and turn signals, whereas the factory rear turn signal was just that—a turn signal only. The Illuminator also has a built-in load equalizer, required for most Harleys to prevent the "rapid fl ash" caused by the factory turn signal module not seeing the same amperage draw provided by 1156/1157 bulbs. Plus, by using the Illuminator module, we were able to leave turn signal accessibility in the taillight in case I ever want to add additional rear turn signals elsewhere on the bike. Pretty slick setup! Following the markers was the replacement of the broken luggage rack and the license plate frame. The Drag Specialties Chrome Fender Luggage Rack (it also comes in black powder coat) is made of 3/8" steel tub- ing. It mounts to the stock seat mount- ing screw and license plate bracket, and all mounting hardware is included. It's a lot heavier than the old one, the welds are stronger and the positioning is set at a better angle, all of which means the rack should be a lot more durable. The Drag Specialties Chrome Replacement License Plate Bracket is a replacement for the stock bracket and mounts on just about any fender. To hold the license plate in place we also mounted the Drag Specialties Chrome License Plate Frame, which is made of very solid 4" x 7" chrome die-cast metal (chrome fl at-head hardware is included) and the Drag Specialties/ Pro-One 4" x 7" Chrome License Plate Backing Plate made of quite sturdy chromed aluminum billet. With the rear of the bike com- pleted, we turned our attention to the front. I'd wanted to replace the bike's front directionals, which had long ago been relocated to the lower triple tree clamp. The problem was that the Dyna's windshield partially overlapped and obscured the lenses, causing annoying and distracting refl ections at night. Jeff had just the thing in stock: a set of Bullet Style Turn Signal Amber with White Running Lights. These lights are dual intensity, meaning one wire for the turn signal function, one wire for the running light function and a ground. These bullet-style LEDs are designed to be plug-and-play, fi tting into Deuce-style turn signal housings The Drag Specialties Fender Luggage Rack, Replacement License Plate Bracket, License Plate Frame and License Plate Backing Plate really cleaned up the aesthetics of my bike's back end, as well as providing much more functional replacements for the products that I'd been using (Left) The stock directionals as mounted on the lower triple tree were partially covered by the Dyna's windshield, causing distracting refl ections and light projec- tion loss at night. (Right) The new NAMZ Bullet Style Turn Signal fi ts into smaller housings, eliminating the overlap problem. As shown here, the right turn signal has been activated, illustrating the difference between the turn signal LED pattern and the running light LED pattern on the front directionals. Also note the LED turn signal pattern on the front side of the right RIVCO Custom LED Accent Mirror. NAMZ Continued from page 10