Edit may 2009: seems my original post has been destroyed by the forums.
Theres a whole large chunk of my review gone missing.

I've been using the clearalternative on my bike ever since this writeup and its still working great.
So if you want any info please PM me and ill see if I can help.


Intro
Aftermarket and alternative parts for the CBR 600 F2 are getting increasingly harder to come by.
Also, living in Norway like myself, i cannot simply wander of to the nearest bike-store to get such parts. More often than not getting such parts involves ordering them from abroad.
Add to the fact that that one often tends to make a purchase blindly, spending money, not really knowing if the quality is good before one receive the part.

Today I fitted new front indicators and taillight on my F2. While I was at it I took a bunch of pictures and thought I would write a short review for you.
Thanks to Clear Alternatives for supplying me the parts.

Front indicators
I have always loved clear lights - be it for indicators, main lights - for motorcycle or cars.
I was then very satisfied when I finally found a manufacturer for my F2 aswell, as I have never been much fond of the stock ones.

Well, on to the turnsignals in question. They of the the clear type for use with a regular incandescent amber coloured bulb to give it that correct glow.
Manufacturer:Clear Alternatives
Product code: CTS-0045s
Price: $24.99

The turnsignals comes delivered in a simple plastic and cardboard packaging. The package contains the two turnsignal housings and also a set of amber bulbs. A big plus for supplying the bulbs! Instructions for fitting were not supplied. Since the procedure for fitting is the same as normal bulb replacement it is all described in the F2's user manual, hence im not seing this as negative thing.



The turnsignals are ment for use together with the factory lampholders and wirings. Also the fastening clip for the bottom fastening screws are not included.
Not a big issue really as its a simple task of removing them from the stock turnsignals and using those together with the clear alternative ones.
However, if you are looking for new turnsignals because you have broken or lost the original ones, then you need to get hold of that clip from somehere else. In my oppinnion it would have been a small cost to include a set of new clips.

First impressions of the turnsignals are somewhat mixed. The actuall quality of the plastic looks great, but the edges are rough and you can clearly see the glue thats been used to bond the two pieces of plastic together.
According to the manufacturer the indicator lights are a direct replacement to the stock ones. Simply pop out the old one and insert the new clear one.
As it turned out things would not go so easy. When I first tried to fit them they didnt seem to fit properly.
I'll try to explain.



Have a look at the pictures above. If you look closely at the bottom right corner of the turnsignals, theres a gap betwen the reflector and the clear cover.
The two plastic parts had clearly been assembled in a hurry. This caused the reflector to be slightly off-center causing it to hit the edges of the hole in the side-fenders.
I tried several times to get a good fit, but with no luck. Only solution was to

 

Thanks for the info-been thinking about clear lights myself. I had problems like that with aftermarket lights for my car, not a huge problem to fix but still a little frustrating when you have to fix "direct replacement lights"

 

That looks pretty sweet! I got the clear side markers too. I've been waiting for the same tailight for over a month now but the seller upgraded my light to LED since I waited so long and left a nasty feedback on ebay.

 

I put the same front turn signals on my 91 F2, I had a fit problem also but just had to trim the side tabs a little with a file and now they fit like a glove. Also, for an added touch, toss the amber bulbs and get these sylvania silverstar bulbs, they have a special coating that gives them a "blue" look but still glow amber...adds a pretty nice effect.

http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProd...verStarSignal/

http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProd...ignalWorks.htm

 

Great idea! Im getting myself a pair of those silverstars asap.

 

Oh and some xtra information for those that are interrested in details:
Both the indicator- and taillight and the clear plastic covers have some markings on them (moulded into the plastic).

One of the turnsignals is marked with the text "CLEAR ALTERNATIVES". However the second one is marked with "CLEAR AL ERNATIVES". Apparently one of the moulding tools has a missing letter T

The taillight glass is marked with SAE, DOT and E2 markings, so it looks like taillight has the regulation approvals in order (I have not verified that these approval-marks are genuine).

 

I thought id update you abit on the front indicators.
Today I got my MC out for the first time this season, after 4 months of winter storage. Guess what happened?
The clear front-cover of one of the turnsignals fell off.

I didnt mention it in my review, but that epoxy-glue repair, i only did it on one of the indicators. The other one I left be as it wasnt too bad.
Well, turns out the silicon glue, that clear alternatives uses for bonding the two pieces together, suffers from degration.
After 4 months of storage it had gotten rock hard and brittle (the one i epoxied was still ok).

So my tip to you, whether the joints look good or not, pry them apart anyways and glue them back together using some quality epoxy glue instead.
Do this and you'll have yourself one pair of shiny, nice looking turnsignals.

 

great writeup!