Kawasaki Concours Forum

The C-14, aka Kawasaki Concours-14, the new one :) => The Bike - C14/GTR 1400 => Topic started by: Dan Forker on April 22, 2013, 06:22:07 PM

Title: Instrument display
Post by: Dan Forker on April 22, 2013, 06:22:07 PM


I am the owner of a new 2012 C14. Is there anyway to adjust the brightness of the instrument panel display. I have read the manual over and over and cannot find an adjustment. In bright sunlight sometimes the display is hard to read.

Fork
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: maxtog on April 22, 2013, 07:21:37 PM
I am the owner of a new 2012 C14. Is there anyway to adjust the brightness of the instrument panel display. I have read the manual over and over and cannot find an adjustment. In bright sunlight sometimes the display is hard to read.

Sorry, but neither the LCD contrast nor the backlighting is adjustable at all.
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: Sgt Mac on April 22, 2013, 07:44:20 PM
I cut up an old helmet visor, painted it black and used double-sided tape to make a sun visor that helped quite a bit.
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: mvjr1904 on April 23, 2013, 09:25:32 AM
Sgt Mac....  How about a picture of your final product?  No pic....didn't happen.....just saying

Here is another piece that might interest some of you.  It is a dash shelf for mounting stuff above the dash.  It comes with all the hardware and a template for drilling.  $89.00

Kawasaki Police Authority

Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: Sgt Mac on April 23, 2013, 11:35:57 AM
Best I can do, no windshield on it at the moment, ready for the shipping crate.

(http://i833.photobucket.com/albums/zz260/SgtMac/IMAG0288-1_zps022c2d3a.jpg) (http://s833.photobucket.com/user/SgtMac/media/IMAG0288-1_zps022c2d3a.jpg.html)

(http://i833.photobucket.com/albums/zz260/SgtMac/IMAG0289_zps068f7bed.jpg) (http://s833.photobucket.com/user/SgtMac/media/IMAG0289_zps068f7bed.jpg.html)

(http://i833.photobucket.com/albums/zz260/SgtMac/IMAG0290_zpsd5fb2fbb.jpg) (http://s833.photobucket.com/user/SgtMac/media/IMAG0290_zpsd5fb2fbb.jpg.html)

(http://i833.photobucket.com/albums/zz260/SgtMac/IMAG0291-1_zpsa2257131.jpg) (http://s833.photobucket.com/user/SgtMac/media/IMAG0291-1_zpsa2257131.jpg.html)
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: stevewfl on April 23, 2013, 11:50:02 AM
^^^^^^^  NICE!

My pet peeve is the blinding blue high beam indicator light at night
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: mvjr1904 on April 23, 2013, 11:57:42 AM
Nice mod!  Price is right also!  I'm going to look for a visor for this mod.
I agree, the high beam indicator is very bright
Low tire warning light is also very bright....... Don't ask how I know
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: Dan Forker on April 23, 2013, 12:52:30 PM

Sgt. Mac - really good work. How did you attach the shield to the dash and how much of a face shield did you use. Did you black it out with paint or use other added tint.  By the way, many kudos to Kawasaki Police Authority. I have one of their shelf's and it is the best mount for a gps I could come up with but it is flat and doesn't shade the dash if the sun is at your back or either side. Also the people at Kawasaki Police are the most helpful folks you will ever do business with.

Fork
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: Sgt Mac on April 23, 2013, 01:22:19 PM
Its 4 1/4 inches out from the panel and I just used some good double sided tape to attach it, worked well all season.

I just kind of laid the visor up on the panel and sketched where I wanted the cut, then hacked away at it with a jigsaw, cleaned up the edge with sandpaper and painted it with hi-temp flat black bbq paint like I do just about everything else.
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: mvjr1904 on April 23, 2013, 01:30:21 PM
Outstanding final product!  One season with regular tape, not bad.
Only improvement might be use 100 mph double sided duct tape.  Do they make it like that?
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: Conrad on April 23, 2013, 02:15:23 PM
Outstanding final product!  One season with regular tape, not bad.
Only improvement might be use 100 154 mph double sided duct tape.  Do they make it like that?

FIFY
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: Caffeinated on April 23, 2013, 03:23:46 PM
I like that visor. Looks like it is supposed to be there...nice.  I fixed the high beam light with a piece of electrical tape!
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: Marco1018 on April 23, 2013, 04:38:15 PM
Agree that the highbeam indicator is too bright... I just took some window tint and put it over the lenses much better
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: maxtog on April 23, 2013, 04:47:42 PM
^^^^^^^  NICE!

Agreed, I like that more than I expected

Quote
My pet peeve is the blinding blue high beam indicator light at night

Can't stand that light.  My ghetto solution was a piece of black electric tape covering all but barely 1mm on one side... that is all I need.  I mean, when I do use high beams, it is when I am out nowhere and there are usually no street lights- that damn blue light is blinding and totally defeats having the high beams on at all!
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: Rhino on April 23, 2013, 04:58:18 PM
Sgt Mac that looks awesome! Once I had the dreaded screen washout due to parking the bike in direct sun for an hour. Was worried that I had permanently damaged the screen. This visor thing might have helped. I'm going to give it a try.

^^^^^^^  NICE!

My pet peeve is the blinding blue high beam indicator light at night

Me too! I don't ride that much at night for it to be a big problem but that blue light is intense.
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: 556ALPHA on April 23, 2013, 06:38:33 PM
I cut up an old helmet visor, painted it black and used double-sided tape to make a sun visor that helped quite a bit.
What did you use to get the correct shape? tks
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: Sgt Mac on April 24, 2013, 08:39:02 AM
What did you use to get the correct shape? tks

Just laid the visor, top towards the front of the bike, and sketched the cut with a grease pencil (china marker?). Eyeballed it, cut it bigger than I wanted the first time and whittled it down from there.
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: Richard. Wales UK on April 24, 2013, 09:37:26 AM
^^^^^^^  NICE!

My pet peeve is the blinding blue high beam indicator light at night

I agree, and its on my "to do" list to reduce the brightness of mine.
Don't know what's involved in getting to the bulb, a trick I used on one of my cars was to blacken the bulb with a marker pen

Richard
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: maxtog on April 24, 2013, 03:21:18 PM
I agree, and its on my "to do" list to reduce the brightness of mine.
Don't know what's involved in getting to the bulb, a trick I used on one of my cars was to blacken the bulb with a marker pen

I am fairly sure it is an LED, but not positive.  I don't think getting to it is going to be easy.  If I was in there, I would probably fashion some type of cover that had just a pin-***** in the center to let that much light through.
Title: Re: Instrument display
Post by: 556ALPHA on April 24, 2013, 04:56:44 PM
Just laid the visor, top towards the front of the bike, and sketched the cut with a grease pencil (china marker?). Eyeballed it, cut it bigger than I wanted the first time and whittled it down from there.

Thanks!