Yeah, Wapping's right - nobody has actually really said anything useful about changing those speedo/tacho faces...So in an effort to improve (or ruin) the track record, here goes with my 2p worth....
I bought a set of replacement speedo/tacho faces for my GS from the FleaBay seller - They arrived quickly enough and seem to be nicely finished and are of accurate size and cut.
I ordered dials with Km readings only as I bought a new GSA with free panniers in the UK last summer and rode the bike to Spain (where I live), and I wanted the speedo to show Kph as the principal reading - the dual scale UK dial was a pain for full-time life on the continent.
The instructions are incredibly short - the longest part of the instructions is the warning about affecting the warranty...Apart from that all they say is "remove old face, fit new one" and no more than that.
The warranty would surely go out the window if you go to your dealer with an issue that is related to the instrument console after you have changed the speedo/tacho faces. So if you get an issue then just change them back to the originals before you take the bike in....
Fitting the parts is actually quite straightforward.
First, remove the instrument cluster - take off the windscreen and then remove three c-clips from the mounting points underneath the cluster.(Pushing down on the cluster relieves the pressure from the rubber grommets and helps to get the clips out easier) Un-plug the wiring ( squeeze the clips on the sides of the plug) and the cluster lifts out. Careful with it... could cost a fortune if you drop it...
On the back of the cluster there are five allen screws, undo them and the bezel and glass lift off. Also the small rod that resets the trip will drop out....Remember which way round it was fitted....(ah)...
The needles can then be carefully removed - levering them off with two tea-spoons works nicely. The faces are not glued down, they lift off quite nicely if you GENTLY lift the face away from the locating pin in the bottom right corner ( use a fine pointed something, not a chisel) and then rotate the face so that the cutouts in the centre of the dial can lift over the keyed moulding that surrounds the spindle. Fit the new faces, replace the needles - they are keyed to fit more or less in the "zero" position - don't forget the trip-reset rod before you screw it all back together and fit the cluster on to the bike....
I am pleased with the result on my bike - I went for it and ordered the red "Mars landscape" and the funky red glow at night beats white black or grey hands-down....
years ago I fitted a replacement dial set to a ZX9r and found they looked great in the day but at night they looked quite 'patchy' where the illumination wasn't quite right coming through the dial face, how do you find these?
