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Melted dash/instrument case


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My recently acquired 98 has melted plastic just to the outside of the turn signal indicator lights. I’ve seen photos from other 5th Gens with the same issue and some 5th Gens that have a reinforcement patch covering that part.

 

My guess is that the windscreen is acting as a magnifying glass while the bike is parked in the sun. 

 

Anyone else have the same melting problem?

 

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CEE1AA38-657C-4D02-8D51-42F5C70644B5.jpeg

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Is this issue the same near the other turn indicator?

Looks to me like the previous owner may have purposely melted a channel to mount and run some wiring behind the panel perhaps for a small digital voltmeter, or digital gear position indicator. Just guessing!

 

Post edit - seems like the windscreen effect may be a real one. A guy with a 929 Fireblade attributes a melting dash to the screen.

 

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Mine has the same issue.  I asked the previous owner when I bought it in 2015 what the issue was but he had no idea.

 

Your magnifying effect sounds like a probable explanation since I have no evidence of electrical problems underneath the dash.

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28 minutes ago, Grum said:

Is this issue the same near the other turn indicator?

Yes. Same melt marks but not as “channeled” on the left side. I think the channeling is an artifact and not intentional. Just the angle of the sun at the time I would guess.

 

Maybe caused by the crease/bend in the double bubble windscreen and that part of the dash being the right distance to be hit by the focal point of the converging light rays. 

 

I’m halfway tempted to try to replicate it, but it would take the right time of day, right time of year and the proper orientation of the bike. Like trying to create a sundial. Suppose I can try it with a flashlight to approximate the angle.

 

Or, I could spend my time doing meaningful maintenance/repair on the bike. 

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Yep.  Honda actually modified the instrument surround sometime during the 2000 production run:

 

20160313_132824x.thumb.jpg.069e3157da53cc0aa9de28ce8740d6bb.jpg

 

That's my '01, but my Y2k doesn't have those raised areas.

 

P1020468x.thumb.jpg.c01804f17b477613659c3aa71b525899.jpg

 

Ciao,

 

JZH

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4 hours ago, 8200rpm said:

Yes. Same melt marks but not as “channeled” on the left side. I think the channeling is an artifact and not intentional. Just the angle of the sun at the time I would guess.

 

Maybe caused by the crease/bend in the double bubble windscreen and that part of the dash being the right distance to be hit by the focal point of the converging light rays. 

 

I’m halfway tempted to try to replicate it, but it would take the right time of day, right time of year and the proper orientation of the bike. Like trying to create a sundial. Suppose I can try it with a flashlight to approximate the angle.

 

Or, I could spend my time doing meaningful maintenance/repair on the bike. 

As others have had the issue, would appear the problem might be a cause of the original OEM screen and/or the plastic used around the panel. Perhaps, if your saying you have a double bubble aftermarket screen fitted this could help alleviate the issue, and possibly, the damage may have been done while the previous owner had the OEM screen fitted? Is the current screen tinted at all? That might also help!

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I currently have a double bubble, tinted windscreen. It was there when I bought it. Not sure if the melt was caused by the OE windscreen or the aftermarket.

 

Seem like the easiest solution would be to replace with the updated Honda case with the reinforcement patches. The fact that Honda actually updated the part leads me to surmise that the OE windscreen could have been the magnifying glass. 

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You made me go out to the garage to take a look. I dont have any marks on the right side, but on the left side, there is a bit of a smear mark. Somewhat like JZHs '01, but less visible. 

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I have some marks on the left side of my dash as well, visible but no real deformation. My bike got a tinted double bubble at some point prior to my ownership and I haven't noticed any issue since I've had it. 

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My SP (RC51) has the same; it is in fact sunshine coming in from the rear that causes it.  I carry a small cloth in my tankbag to cover. But a glove will do as well.

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I'm pretty sure the new dash was to solve this very problem, but I find it ugly.  I actually bought a spare set of earlier clocks for my blue bike to swap the surrounds over.

 

Ciao,

 

JZH

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