Clear Alternatives.......AAAAAARRRRRRRGH!!!!!!

[Ohmic]

There will probably be something to keep from seeing the circuit board?

Not sure what you mean? The SupaNova's lens have always been the un-frosted type. This allows for full exposure of the circuit board and LED devices. People seemed to like this feature on the SN490i. So i saw no reason to change with this version; Unlike the stock lens housing or the other aftermarket products which uses a frosted(shower glass type) lens housing.

Is there a vent for the fans?

Yes. There are holes on the top of the lens housing. These holes are also located behind a gasket that blocks ambient atmosphere from moving freely inside the clean(LEDs) compartment of the assembly. This will help to limit the amount of dust that can get inside over time.

[redial]

I'm pretty much to the point of giving up as well, I think I'll just get the Motodynamic tail light instead and hope it fairs better than the Clear Alternatives:  http://motodynamic.com/product_info.php?cPath=28_32&products_id=181

bought it, wired up the signals so far (got dark couldnt do the main light as it needed soldering, i cut up the old harness)

and the signals are very sexy. light looks great. wish i bought it instead of the old CA unit.
i would have waited for visitec but my light broke and i needed something right now

[Blue]

I know this thread is old, but it helped me out so I thought I would chime in.
I just had to fix my Clear Alternatives taillight tonight. 
The other day a friend noticed that my taillight had a row of flickering red LEDs.  I took the lens off and sure enough, one row of red LEDs and one row of yellow LEDs for the indicators were out.  They were right next to each other on the far right.  By pressing on the LEDs, I was able to turn on the whole row of red or yellow by applying pressure to the bottom LED of the row.  I whipped out the soldering iron and touched up the solder on the LED posts and it works as good as new.  I did notice that when I melted the solder, the LED posts stuck out farther through the back of the board.  So they appeared to be coming loose.  The taillight has been trouble free for several years.  I hope this helps someone in future. 

[lazarus7]

UPDATE: complete change of opinion (sortof).....

after 4+ months of unanswered emails and interminable phonecalls,
clear alternatives finally re-stocked their warehouse/ supply of ducati taillights....
on my last call, i was handed off to a girl who simply took my name and address, no questions...
4-5 days later a warranty replacement arrived in the mail, no request for a return of the broken unit,
no questions period....!!!

but heres the kicker...
the reason i waited so long for a re-stock....??
theyve re-designed the unit...!!!

a company who actually listens, pays attention, and is interested in improving their product....?!?!?!?!?!?!
wow...

as youll see in the pics below, theyve rplaced all of the vibration-breakage prone long, tall and fragile components
with ?? surface mounted devices ?? im no electrician....
OBVIOUSLY much less prone to any vibration induced damages....
very cool...
if theyd only told me that the reason i was waiting so long for a replacement was this,
i'd have had no problem, certainly wouldnt gotten as aggravated or impatient...
nevertheless...
heres the NEW clear alternatives board for the monster;
electricians chime in....major improvement ??
looks like it to me, well find out tonight/ this week.....
id be interested to hear exactly WHAT they did to improve this.....
any electrical/ efficiency improvements as well....??

[MikeZ]

The new one looks good.
I bought a CA light 3 years ago.  It's on it's 2nd Monster and still going strong w/ no needed repairs.  I had to trim up the lens a little when I 1st installed it but other then that I've had no issues. 
Customer service does seem to suck recently though.

[aadatia]

Hi,

My experience...

I've been using the tailight on the my 2003 Monster 800 for about 4yrs. No problems. I actually was in Las Vegas, so stopped in to pick it up in person. Super nice, efficient and he through is a few goodies for the hell of it...

A.A.