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Glare On Instruments


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This is a continuation of an archived topic: 

It’s hard to believe that more 8th gen owners aren’t complaining about instrument glare. With about 300 sunny days per year in southern AZ, I experience it almost every time I ride my bike…sometimes for many miles.

 

The glare is much worse than shown here. It’s blinding sometimes. To address the issue, I’ve installed a dark face shield on my helmet and added a strip of dark window tinting along the bottom. It cuts the glare by about 75% yet still lets me read my gauges. 

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I made a copy of my customized film strip to make the job easier if/when I replace the face shield.

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This is a workable solution for me, but I'm not responsible if it doesn't work for you. And, I'm not liable for any injury or expense you might incur by trying this. My lawyer told me to add this 😉 

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I have the same problem in sunny North Queensland Australia, was thinking I would try applying some anti reflective film, maybe like the film you get for an IPhone or similar? Maybe worth a try. Will keep you posted.

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It is a problem.  It's called a "poor design".  Engineers have a habit of fixing "problems" that aren't problems.  I noticed this glare the first time I rode my 2014.  I just put up with it.  

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Glad to see this being discussed. I've been living with it also. Sun is high in the summer so it always seems to "follow" me. Wish there was a better solution...

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I don't see this as "poor design" at some point in the day the sun is going to shine off the clocks

 

Maybe the poor design of the sun is to blame

 

You should speak to BMW owners whose clocks have melted with the reflection off the OEM screen

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Honda had a similar problem with the 5th gen VFR, actually.  Some time during the 2000 model run they changed the instrument surround to include two butt-ugly little raised triangles, which I guess solved the problem.  My Y2k must have pre-dated the change, but my '01 did not, so I have purchased a set of dead instruments so that I can swap over the surrounds.  There's no sun in the UK anyway (well, normally).

 

Ciao,

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5 hours ago, Thumbs said:

I don't see this as "poor design" at some point in the day the sun is going to shine off the clocks

 

Maybe the poor design of the sun is to blame

 

You should speak to BMW owners whose clocks have melted with the reflection off the OEM screen

Of course it's a poor design. All Honda had to do was mount the instruments a few degrees more vertically. Climbing a 3 or 4 degree grade stops the glare until the road levels out again. 

I own a late model BMW RT which allows the rider to change the angle of the instrument panel. When I bought that bike, I went with the most vertical postition and haven't touched them since. Also, no melted gauges on the beemer, but I did have that problem with a Suzuki SV.

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5 hours ago, JZH said:

Honda had a similar problem with the 5th gen VFR, actually.  Some time during the 2000 model run they changed the instrument surround to include two butt-ugly little raised triangles, which I guess solved the problem.  My Y2k must have pre-dated the change, but my '01 did not, so I have purchased a set of dead instruments so that I can swap over the surrounds.  There's no sun in the UK anyway (well, normally).

 

Ciao,

I hadn't realized that was mid 2000. Interesting!

Was your 2000 US or UK?

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7 hours ago, KevCarver said:

I hadn't realized that was mid 2000. Interesting!

Was your 2000 US or UK?

 

My Y2k is a US model; my '01 is a UK model.  But that shouldn't matter.  According to the ROW Parts Catalogue (which includes Canada, but not the USA), the change from 37109-MBG-671 to 37109-MBG-672 happened during the 2000 model year, but I don't know which VIN was the changeover (unless you have a Canadian bike).

 

Ciao,

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On 7/2/2018 at 11:32 AM, JZH said:

Honda had a similar problem with the 5th gen VFR, actually.  Some time during the 2000 model run they changed the instrument surround to include two butt-ugly little raised triangles, which I guess solved the problem.  

 

Ciao,

 

Not to hi-jack this thread but istr there being an issue with some G5 windscreens becoming distorted, presumably due to reflections from the gauge cluster. Related issue, or coincidence?

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