In an idle moment this afternoon I thought I’d swap the tail light bulb for an LED version that I had been using in another bike. This would be the first time I had attempted the task, and I’m very glad that I chose to do it at home in the garage, rather than having to do it at the roadside in France (say) with a Ferry to catch…the thing is, with the Hepco and Becker pannier rack fitted (and what I assume to be a Guzzi rear rack) it seems to be impossible to remove the lamp lens enough to get at and change the bulb.
I had to remove both racks and the seat rail/grab rail in order to get at the bulb. What should be a five minute job, has taken me well over an hour, and has required a variety of tools, such that you would not be carrying with you on the road.
Has anyone else had this problem? If so did they find an easier way round it?
yes I managed to get the screws out, then loosen the rack and pannier mountings and ease the lens out
make sure you use a decent LED rear lamp, not those awful ebay things or it might fail the mot
mine prompted an advisory as the difference between the rear light and the brake light was poor
Got some pictures. Mines a doddle.
Would it be possible to change the mounting lugs on the racks and/or grab rail to make the light easier to access? Failing that could the light be moved?
Yes I had exactly the same problem.
Until I changed over to a Givi system made by the Nocks I carried an 8’’ adjustable to gently hoik the offending parts apart in my top box.
I’m also very disappointed there is only one tail light but that is life.
A bit left field here, and quite possibly not entirely legal, but as a get you home I carry a pair of bicycle jelly lights in the tool roll when I’m touring. This kind of thing;
The bulb came from Paul Goff (has a website) - I was using it in my R75/7 and I think it went through at least one MOT on there. I recommend Paul for stuff.
I like the idea of carrying the bicycle light as an emergency measure - I’ll start carrying one or two.
Moving the tail light is appealing too, partly because with the side cases mounted, the light is not actually visible from the side of the bike. Bit daunted by that task though.
Another option would be to hack a little bit off the end of the red plastic ‘lense’ (?) or lamp cover - if was a couple of cm narrower it would be possible to remove it with all the racks in place. Doesn’t seem like a great thing to have to do though…
A