Dimming the high beam idicator...by smokenjoe

I saw this and thought what a neat idea on the OA from "smokenjoe". Looks like an easy mod!


Solution for the obnoxiously bright
"high-beam" indicator light on the VTX Retro
What you will need:
'Phillips Screw Driver, Metric Allen Wrench from your tool kit. The key to your bike. Clean rag , Q-tip and #2 pencil. How long will it take? Less than 15 min. from start to finish.
First remove the gas cap (with your bike key). Out of the 7 alien bolts in the instrument cluster chrome piece, only the 5 closest to you hold the piece on. Remove these 5 bolts leaving the 2 closest to the front of the bike still screwed in. Pick up gently (about 1/2" inch) on the jointed end of the instrument cluster chrome piece and push the entire assembly towards the front of the bike. Lift it up and off, rotating it off the right side of the gas tank until it is hanging by the wiring harness. Don't worry; the wiring harness is zip-tied in there so it's not straining any connections. At this point unscrew the last two alien bolts to separate the instrument cluster from the chrome piece. Rotate the instrument cluster so that it is facing on and the chrome piece is facing the bike. (The instrument cluster will still be feathered to the chrome piece by the wires for the Trip Odometer switch.) There are 4 screws holding the clear plastic cover on the instrument cluster. Unscrew the top two first and put them to one side being careful not to loose or drop the plastic washers on them. Unscrew the bottom two but do not pull them all the way out as they are a pain to get back in and past those small dam pieces. You now have the plastic cover free.
At this point you are welcome to experiment as I did. First thing to notice is that all the lights are LED's which don't get hot so you don't have to worry about a fire hazard by putting anything on a bulb. I took the cover inside and tried putting MANY different materials down in the hole for the high beam. After each one I would hold the cover up to a lamp and see what it looked like. Being a perfectionist, I decided not to go with fabric (can see the weave) or tissue paper (horribly uneven). My solution is outlined below:

Be careful not to get anything including dust on the underside of the cover, it is difficult to clean. Pull all the cotton off one end of the Q-tip and fluff it up as much as possible by here as this will make it more even. You can hold the cover up to a lamp every now and then to see how even the cotton is, if it is lighter or darker on one side, use the eraser to gently move the cotton around and then tap it back down. Once it is fairly even, you are ready for reassembly.

Place the cover back on the instruments, screwing in the bottom two screws first, then the top row. Rotate the instruments back onto the chrome piece and screw in the two alien bolts that old the two pieces together. Observe that there is a metal tab on your gas tank, this fits in the rectangular hole on the underside of the chrome cover. Make sure that all the wires are routed round this rectangular slot Rotate the cover back to the top of the gas tank. Start with the assembly forward of where it should end up and slide it back onto the metal tab. You can look under it to line this up. Once the tab is in the slot, line up the hole at the point of the chrome piece and screw in the alien head bolt just enough to hold it in position. At this point make sure that the wires coming from the front of the assembly are tucked back under the gas tank and coming straight over the lip and under the instrument cluster. Start the last four alien head bolts in their holes before tightening any of them down. Once they are tight (Snug but not too tight, that's chromed plastic you are cranking down on), put the gas cap back in, take the clean rag and wipe all those nasty fingerprints off your tank and chrome.


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That dog will hunt...

Jerry

That was a good thing to post. I did the same thing last year but used a piece of my sons favorate skate shirt. Was thin enough and I used a hole punch. After punching a hole in his t shirt he just said "Hay" then looked around and said "Cool" Worked for the both of us.

Moon

Did mine about 6 months ago. Love it.

I did mine just before my trip out east and south. Did it mainly anticipating riding at night in the rain. Even without the rain factor this is a much needed mod. If you have not done it yet and you ever ride at night do it and do it quick. You will be so glad you did.

See you out there
Smokey