A while back I saw that ratz put different colored bulbs in his guage cluster. It looked pretty nice to me and I figured I'd get around to doing it someday. Well, that day came today when I finally gave in to my temptations and went and got some 194-B bulbs to replace the stockers. I really like the way it looks (despite how bad it looks in the picture. Seriously, it looks a lot better than in the crap pic), especially for being such a cheap mod.

Instalation was trivial and took all of 30 minutes. It took that long because I had no idea what I was doing and because I dropped a few parts along the way because I didn't bother disconnecting the electric tach. Those of you with mechanical tachometers will have an easier time because you can take yours to a bench or a table instead of doing this mod while standing over the bike's handlebars.

First thing to do is to take out the bolts holding the guage cluster to the top clamp by unscrewing the 10mm nuts off the bottom. Off comes the nut, a wire thing to hold cables, a washer, and a sleeve. Pop out the bolt and repeat for the other side. Remove the speedo cable from the housing, too. After you get the cluster off you can either take it to a bench/table or work on it while it's on the bike depending on wether you've got a mechanical/electrical tach. Cover the glass on the guages with a rag or cushion of some sort to prevent scratching or breaking them and turn the guages so that the back faces you. Using an 8mm wrench, unscrew the 4 caps that hold the guages into the housing. Be careful! There are foam pieces underneath the washers that can fall out fairly easily. Take these out now to avoid losing them later. After this remove the three philips head screws on the back of the housing and pull the plastic guage backing off.

Now you'll need to pull the lights and rubber mounts out of the guages themselves. Mine were in a gray rubber mount. Just replace the bulbs and reassemble the cluster. There you have it! A cheap as hell modification that looks really nice.

Before:


After:


Like I said, it's a crappy picture. It's a lot brighter in reality.

now you change the colors to fit the holidays.

Excellent write up!

I like the idea of budget mods. This one goes along well with the $1 tank bag  

I read a write up where instead of changing the bulb colour, they took the bulbs out and used super bright l.e.d.'s. do you think it is necessary to use l.e.d's? or is simply changing the bulb bright enough? Btw, looks awesome!!!! Another thing to add to my winter mod list!!! I think I'm gonna go for red though. Awesome!

LEDs require more work than I really wanted to deal with. I saw the write up on the LEDs, but there seemed to be more "blank" spots where the LEDs didn't light up as well as the bulbs did. I'm not good with electronic wirings either. I know how to do them and I know the theory and processes behind them, but I hate them. LEDs will require a lot more time and probably won't give you all that much better performance.

If you do red, the bulb is a 194-R. They're 194 bulbs and the letter designates the color.

I went to the Auto shop this morning to get some blue bulbs as I reckon that doesnt look to bad. Blue bulbs are $22 for a pair   , but they have little silicon covers that slip over the bulb & give the same effect as the blue bulbs, $3 for a pack of 6  
So I now have blue lit dials.

$22 a pair? What in the hell type of bulbs are you looking at? Eiko 194-B bulbs were cheap as shaZam!. Were you looking at the right ones?

I don't know what type bulbs they were, I just got the covers instead. Cheaper & the same result.

My limit on mods this month is $1.50.  

well this was $3 for 5 covers, so really its only a $1.20 mod  :lol:

The dials have a pastel blue look rather than the sherp blue of Alphas bulbs.

Quote from: RoadstergalMy limit on mods this month is $1.50.  

Maybe you can kill a transient for his change, or dig through your couch? Perhaps if you find a coupon for 20% off? What if you sweet talk the cashier at the autoparts store? Perhaps if you bum money of co-workers? Ask them to donate to your bike fund?

Limitless possibilities!

Sell a bike to aaronstj for extra cash...

Quote from: AlphaFire X5LEDs will require a lot more time and probably won't give you all that much better performance.

Umm.. yeah.. but LEDs require a small percentage of the energy a bulb uses, and should never burn out.. so do it once, do it right, never do it again... LEDs also don't generate heat... not that it matters in the speedo/tacho, but it's still a neat selling point for LEDs

I bought the peanut bulbs from the auto store for a buck or two a while back. I've had red for a long time. I like it because it's vivid enough to see the entire instrument clearly, but the red is very easy on your eyes at night.

I tried blue once, but it didn't light up everything evenly and it was kind of hard on my eyes at night.

I wouldn't go back to plain white, I feel the red is a much better color (not "looks cooler"; better).

I went red with mine for the reasons Eklipse stated.  Red reduces visual acquity, but is also safest for your night vision.  Much better.  

Yeah, I understand the red thing. It's got something to do with wavelength, I'd imagine. The red looks good, it seems to light up the guages a tiny bit better, too. My picture was crap, so I'm comparing it to what I see at night on my own. It's just that the blue looks better on my bike! It's not so insanely bright that it distracts me, not even close.

Looks good, man.

Quote from: AlphaFire X5It's just that the blue looks better on my bike! It's not so insanely bright that it distracts me, not even close.

Looks good, man.

Agreed!  Everyone gets their choice.  

Thanks.

Yeah, that's what's nice about the 194 bulbs - they come in different colors. Freakin' conveniently cheap and semi-unique mod.

You can even get them in purple.

UhOh!   :lol:

I'm ALL over THAT!  :lol: