A friend of mine designed & had fabricated a tail tidy for a Paul Smart SC he was working on and very kindly offered one to me. So, as far as I know, there are only 2 in the world in existence! I have looked at the option from the USA which turns the original rear light & indicators upside-down but it didn't really appeal to me. So, following his project closely, I also decided to fit Rizoma iRide LED indicators as they are the closest thing to the originals, just smaller and neater. I also used the Rizoma EE089H connectors (male) which connect directly with the Ducati loom connectors to avoid cutting the OEM wiring and make it simple to revert to original should the need arise. The Rizoma indicators come with resistors, two of which are required for each indicator to function correctly. I fitted and connected the RH side & front & rear indicators worked perfectly. This is going to be nice & straightforward (I thought)........................................................ I repeated the process for the LH side, but the front LH indicator refused to co-operate (LH rear worked fine). I removed the indicator & resistor assembly & swapped it for the rear & it worked fine. I tried the original (conventional bulb) indicator on the front LH & it also worked as it should. I spent several hours, swapping components over until seemingly all permutations had been tried, with no success. I concluded that the fault lay with the front LH connection somewhere but, as the OEM indicator worked fine, I was at a loss to track it down. I compared the male Rizoma connector with the female loom connector & bingo! The loom connector had been wired the wrong way 'round. I reversed the bullet connectors on the Rizoma indicator wiring kit & the LED indicator worked fine. I suppose that as it doesn't matter which way around a conventional bulb is wired this wouldn't have been apparent at the factory, only when an LED replacement is fitted. So, if your replacement LED indicators won't work, check the original connectors are wired correctly! Hope this saves somebody some valuable time & swear-box contributions. I will try to post some pictures when the project is complete.
Thanks for sharing Isn't it crazy how the more you look at it and touch it, the more you "need to improve" stuff with some of those things?
I am waiting for the rear light to arrive. I have chosen a round one in keeping with the original and indicators, just smaller. I have also removed the mirrors to be replaced by Oberon round bar end ones
Sorry but I cannot understand in what sense this arrangement is supposed to be better than the OEM Paul Smart parts. Or perhaps this is just a desire to change for the sake of being different. Is that it?
I'm sure many would agree with you. I always felt that the original tail end looked a bit cumbersome & detracted from the essential lines of the bike. The fixing arrangement for the original rear indicators is frankly, a bit heath robinson, they are too easily bent out of position with the slightest touch.In any event, I have used Ducati-matching connectors for the indicators & bought a new sub-loom for the rear end to avoid butchering the original wiring. In short, it can be returned to original in a few hours which was always essential to me. No Ducati's have been harmed during the course of this project!
I'm also in the camp that finds the original setup to be too much "big heavy cheap plastic" looking that doesn't blend well with the rest of the bike sexy neo-retro minimal design, and think the bike can benefit from "improvement" in that regard.
I'm fine thanks, the violent demonstration events are concentrated inside the downtown Paris. But yes hopefully this will come to an (happy) end rather sooner than later.
Finished! (for the moment anyway). The reflectors are glass rather than plastic, as I couldn't find green ones anywhere in the UK & had to get them sent from the USA. I wanted to stick with the round lights theme throughout.
Hey . I am a Paul smart owner myself and looking to replace the fronts as they have snapped and the ones you suggested/used are as close to the original but without the bulk, and would love to know how you managed to connect/attach the rizoma front indicators to the fairing, as cant quite see from the picture. The OEM ones have the plastic bracket fixed to the indicator so im stuggling to see how an aftermarket can be secured properly. Thanks
Hi Nick The front fittings are a bit problematic because, as you say, there is a moulding on the OEM indicator which is not present on the Rizoma led replacement. I bought a small sheet of rigid carbon fibre 2mm thick & cut a small mounting plate to fit in the fairing aperture. I made a card template using the original indicator first & then used a dremel to cut the cf sheet to size. It’s a bit fiddly & takes time & patience. When the mounting plate fits snugly in the recess, you will need to drill 2 holes in the cf mounting plate, one for the indicator stem itself & one for the smaller allen-headed bolt to correspond with the one in the fairing to the rear of the indicator. I used a stainless button head for neatness. I will try to upload a photo to illustrate.
Thank you . Very helpful . Will probably give this a go over the christmas break while its tucked up for the winter haha.
Mazak is the cheap material the Italians made the indicators on bevels out of along with door handles for cars and so on... impossible stuff. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamak
A mechanic friend of mine used to refer to it as “monkey metal”. It has the tensile strength of camenbert.
