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warning light/dash visor

6.3K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  "Captain D"  
#1 ·
I have difficulty seeing the warning lights due to sun glare. It is hard to tell if the lights (neutral or turn) are on or off due to sun glare. Plus I have a habit of forgetting to turn off the turn signal after making a turn because I failed to see the warning light blinking. I have a 98 VT1100c and I wonder if others have this problem and if it can be fixed. Do they make a visor to shield these lights or has anyone who has the problem come up with a solution? The way the lights are installed on the instrument panel they sit almost flat and are not angled or recessed as in most cars.
 
#2 ·
My adage is "Know Your Bike"


Whenever the sun overpowers/outshines my lights, I press the cacel turnsignals button...


But IF I`m concerned of overheating, low oil pressure or others, I pull over...


Not being a smartass, just commenting with my experience and procedures in this instance...


Lets RIDE,
D


Image
 
#3 ·
You could try going to LED's, not sure if they would be much brighter. For your turn signals they make auto shutoffs you can add or you could do something like this.

CHET'S BUZZER FOR BIKES
 
#4 ·
The only time I have a problem with glare is at mid day when the sun is directly over head. My speedo is mounted on the tank so it may be different on your bike making it hard to see at different times. Usually I just hold my left hand to shade the speedo for a quick look for the warning lights. You just need to get into the habit of canceling the turn signals after a turn, its just a learned behavior.

I also changed the turn signal and high beam indicator bulbs to LED. They are much brighter!!!:smile2:

There are a couple places that you can send your speedo to and they will change the bulbs to LED if you are not comfortable doing it yourself. Here is one,,,Gauge Backlighting - Bluegauges.com
 
#5 · (Edited)
Here's what I did in addition to adding LED indicator lights. I call it my 'old man light'. Definitely works most of the time to get my attention ... cheap too. I didn't pay more than a few bucks for the LED strip. Wiring it in is another story. It requires diodes in the turn signal indicator circuit. It's not rocket science but does require some thought and planning.

 
#6 ·
You could do like @Harryc, and wire in an LED strip on the inside of your windshield, IF you have one, to that same indicator circuit. You could use the link to Chet's page to make a "buzzer" to remind you. You could also try installing a visor on the speedometer, to see if that will cut down on the glare, but it probably won't help much with the sun directly overhead. You might also try changing the "background"/dial inside the speedometer to darker/black and see if that make the lights look "brighter" against that backdrop. There are guys on eBay and FB that sell the dials/faceplates for different bikes, and even have custom made ones to match your bike, too. Another couple who do that are SpeedGaugeCustoms (Speed Gauge Customs - Custom Speedometer Faceplates and Lighting) and Gravestarr Customs (Gravestarr Customs - Home).

Alternatively, you could just make it a "habit" to "remember" to turn it off, pushing it as a "reflex" when you shift coming out of the turn.
 
#7 · (Edited)
As I rode yesterday I had this topic in thought...
I do that a lot = Ride, think and apply on hand real life strategy to our discussions here...
I got to thinking of building a Visor...
You might can make a visor from a plastic bottle of your choice of color, to shield sunlight from them warning lights and turn signal indicators...
Blach Bike? Black plastic oil bottle, Blue/Blue, Red/Red... Etc...
Was also wondering/pondering which speedometer and lights you got?
Handlebars mount or Tank Mount???


Either could be shaded with a plastic "Hood/Visor,
D