2017 EX Taillight - US vs UK

[pekingduck]

I found this comparison interesting, and had to stroll out to the garage to look at the situation on my 2017 EX. The red LED tail light has a clear portion on the bottom, to illuminate the rear license plate. I do not know if the UK LED tail light unit has the same set up or not for "number plate" illumination. Just looking at it, it would appear the the longer US chrome housing was done to put more light on the rear license plate, as it looks like the shorter UK version would be putting less light on the LP, and more on the top of the LP frame? No doubt the longer housing was done to conform to some sort of NHTSA lighting requirement.

I definitely like the look of the shorter housing. The shorter housing in combination with the chrome and red, reminds me of the CB750 Four set up from back in the day. I do wish Honda had made the CB1100 tail light chrome parts from stamped steel instead of plastic though.

That got me thinking about chrome on plastic vs. chrome on steel. They haven't been doing it as long by comparison, but I can't recall if chromed plastic corrodes or flakes off. I think it may be more durable in that regard. I know it can be rubbed/scraped off easier, and I think I've seen it flake off if compromised.