Instrument panel readouts not bright enough in daytime

[Jeff O.]

I recently bought a 2012 ST1300, upgrading from a 2010 NT700. One of the first things I noticed was that the digital readouts on the right side of the instrument panel are not bright enough to see during the day. This was never a problem on the NT, which had black digits on a gray background. I find the orange digits on orange background of the ST unreadable, especially the time and temp at the bottom. The fuel gauge and mpg readout at the top are barely readable, but they are all the same brightness. I find they are more visible in direct sun, but with the fairing overhanging it, that is not often. I have asked two different Honda dealers about it and they both said they had never had a complaint about it. So is it my imagination? Am I asking too much to read my instruments while riding? I don't see any other comments about it in this forum. Is everyone else happy with the brightness of their digital readouts? Yes, I am aware there are 3 levels of brightness. I am on the brightest level. There is not much difference in the levels anyway.

 

[Ron]

I have never ridden a 1300. I think that was a complaint from day one.

 

[Andrew Shadow]

There are many threads and posts on this forum on this very issue.
If you search for Blue Gauges you will find many, including links to instructions to modify it yourself.

If you have eyesight problems, need new glasses or wear polarized glasses the problem is exagerated. Once I realized that I needed glasses and began wearing them the problem went away.

If have no interest in modifying it yourself, you can remove the cluster and send it to Blue Gauges to have the LED's and polarization filter changed to many different combinations of your choice.

Have a look at the Blue Gauges website;

ST1300 Gauge Backlighting - Bluegauges.com

 

[docw1]

There are three brightness settings, although they are marginally effective at best. I find that with the adjustable sun visor on my helmet, if I place the lower edge just above the dash, it becomes more readable.

 

[Raia]

Again , Honda decided that we don’t wanna do any upgrades on the ST line, such a small thing to improve on too, unlike a RT or FJR line of bikes that constantly make improvements. Could this be why sales were low and the ST was discontinued ?

 

[Mellow]

Again , Honda decided that we don’t wanna do any upgrades on the ST line, such a small thing to improve on too, unlike a RT or FJR line of bikes that constantly make improvements. Could this be why sales were low and the ST was discontinued ?

Honda is a big company with their hands in lots of markets, unlike Yamaha and BMW... planes, generators, lawn mowers, automobiles, etc...

The peak target market for big touring bikes is typically baby boomers and they are dwindling in numbers for several years now. Honda knows this and puts their efforts more towards low CC bikes in third world developing areas where the target market is large and the sales are numerous. Hard to argue with that.

But, they still have the Wing and Africa Twin as well as some other bikes that might entice someone wanting to tour... They tried with the CTX1300 to revive that V-4 excitement but it just didn't appear to get much movement.

 

[Josh_ST]

I'm pulling the dash this fall to attempt the LED mod myself! @Chiefpep has a great Youtube video to DIY:

 

[skidlid1300]

Yes. I noticed that at day one when I bought my new ’04 ST 1300. I thought it was just me, and did not hear any complaints about the instrument cluster hard to read during the day. Cool to see there are mods out there now to help.

 

[Nashcat]

Since I’ve recently come back to a ST1300, after a 6 year break, the first thing I remembered about this model is the dim gauges. I see some Bluegaiges in my future. Pun intended.

John

 

[dduelin]

Though a common complaint and not to dismiss it I never had issues with it. I used to wonder if polarized / non polarized glasses or UV blocking face shields contributed to the problem. If the sun was low and behind I’d use my shadow across it.

 

[gummycarbs]

One of the previous owners of my ST1300 had the gauges modified, presumably by the BlueGauges company:



Looks kinda cool, right? Well, I hope you like that view, because that's the only way you're going to read anything on that stupid display. I have to drop down into a racing crouch just to check that I'm not overheating and see how much fuel I have left. Switching the backlight level barely makes any difference. At best, if I sat there staring at the display for a dangerously long amount of time, I might be able to make a guess as to what that display shows from my normal riding position. IMO it's downright dangerous, both to my safety from staring at the stupid thing, and due to the very real possibility that one day I'll overheat the bike and have no idea until it's too late.

Someone smarter than me could probably work out how to replace that LCD panel with a color OLED.

 

[Mellow]

One of the previous owners of my ST1300 had the gauges modified, presumably by the BlueGauges company:



Looks kinda cool, right? Well, I hope you like that view, because that's the only way you're going to read anything on that stupid display. I have to drop down into a racing crouch just to check that I'm not overheating and see how much fuel I have left. Switching the backlight level barely makes any difference. At best, if I sat there staring at the display for a dangerously long amount of time, I might be able to make a guess as to what that display shows from my normal riding position. IMO it's downright dangerous, both to my safety from staring at the stupid thing, and due to the very real possibility that one day I'll overheat the bike and have no idea until it's too late.

Someone smarter than me could probably work out how to replace that LCD panel with a color OLED.

Maybe that's the all blue version from them... I like this version;

 

[Nashcat]

On my trip, bringing the hack back from Minnesota, riding through Kentucky it was 100 degrees, a few minutes later it was 105 degrees, and 10 minutes later it was 115 degrees. That’s when I realized I was looking at the clock. Yep, I need Blue Gauges.

 

[gummycarbs]

Three shots taken from eye level, in the shade on a sunny but hazy day:


Is this more readable than the stock MFD?

 

[DavidR8]

Three shots taken from eye level, in the shade on a sunny but hazy day:


Is this more readable than the stock MFD?

That's far less readable than my stock gauges.