Does anyone know if the tail light should be lit on both sides. I noticed mine is lit on the right side all the time but only lights up on the left with the brake. Is this correct?....left side brake...right side always on?

With the ignition on the ON position, both tail light bulbs should be lit.  The brakes should make both sides brighter, but both should still be on.

Hope this helps.

Salamander is right. Both bulbs are dual filament. Sounds like you need to replace a bulb or verify wiring/connections.

Thanks it was a burnt bulb.

I replace it and a week later the same bulb burnt out.

Are both tail lights on a parallel circuit or does each one have it's own wire? Did I just get a dud bulb. I put another one in tonight. We'll see how long this one lasts.

just my own little thing from cars and trucks etc... tail/brake lights and headlights ... i ALWAYS replace both sides ... old/new globes just never seem to work real long for me.. and its random which one will go if they are mismatched.... i dont think it really makes sense electrically ... but after 20 years of testing the theory that my Grandad told me .. and he had always done it too...

it seems to work...

yes you can get dud bulbs... all the chinese/korean/buttfuck-mongolia globes .. really are crap .. poorly sealed, weaker components.

i dont know where NARVA or HELLA are really made.. but we use those globes ONLY in the truck tail lights..

and PHILLIPS headlight globes for preference but NARVA otherwise .... basically .. pick your most recognised and 'trusted forever' brand and its just better !! 

dud bulbs happen, but use a multimeter and test voltage at various rpm, make sure you're not having a charging problem. lights popping is an indication of this, though i don't think the dinky stator on these bikes is capable of that.

Also, check to see that your tail light isn't too floppy, it could be beating itself to death and breaking filaments. on mine, the rubbers are worn out and its a big ol' floppy D dangling around back there.

Funny you say that because the replacement that burnt out was brighter than the stock. I was going to go back to the shop and get another so they matched. The new one that burnt out was twice as bright as the original. The light that burns twice as bright burns out twice as fast......I heard this somewhere before.

I just wanted to find out if they both run on the same circuit. If the do there is no need to test voltage. It's going to be the same across both bulbs.

Quote from: Janx101 on August 22, 2012, 07:32:57 PM
just my own little thing from cars and trucks etc... tail/brake lights and headlights ... i ALWAYS replace both sides ... old/new globes just never seem to work real long for me.. and its random which one will go if they are mismatched.... i dont think it really makes sense electrically ... but after 20 years of testing the theory that my Grandad told me .. and he had always done it too...

it seems to work...

yes you can get dud bulbs... all the chinese/korean/buttfuck-mongolia globes .. really are crap .. poorly sealed, weaker components.

i dont know where NARVA or HELLA are really made.. but we use those globes ONLY in the truck tail lights..

and PHILLIPS headlight globes for preference but NARVA otherwise .... basically .. pick your most recognised and 'trusted forever' brand and its just better !! 

errrr .. twice as bright .... not usually that much of a change ...

twice as bright suggests wrong voltage bulb ... like a 6v? ... but if its a dual filament brake/tail... oh .. checked on ebay etc... they are available ..

apart from a voltage issue like the lads are sayin with the rest of the wiring to the reg ... easiest thing for twice as bright is 6volt by mistake!

Or depending on how hard you force it (or who forced it before) and which socket you have (I haven't been in the taillight for a while, so I don't recall how hard you'd have to force that one - some are not nearly "idiot-proof" enough, and idiots always rise to the challenge anyway) it can be that you have the bulb in backwards (brake on rather than tail when tail should be on.) But wrong voltage would also do it, and goes better with burning out too quickly.

Ding, ding, ding, ding...we have a winner! It was a 6v bulb. I should have double checked before I put it in. Especially considering the dip-stick parts clerk that sold it to me, I should have known.
 

Quote from: Janx101 on August 22, 2012, 08:56:51 PM
errrr .. twice as bright .... not usually that much of a change ...

twice as bright suggests wrong voltage bulb ... like a 6v? ... but if its a dual filament brake/tail... oh .. checked on ebay etc... they are available ..

apart from a voltage issue like the lads are sayin with the rest of the wiring to the reg ... easiest thing for twice as bright is 6volt by mistake!

  ... Cool! ... Glad you sorted it ... Now don't forget .... Both bulbs!