I ordered the white led's across the pond from Lightenupgrade for the 1300.

moddy

the mod
Joined
Dec 2, 2011
Messages
36
Location
Seymour, IN
Bike
05 ST1300
It took me a while to decide this, for the cost of a little less than 40 LED's from England, because I am attracted to doing things so cheap that I'm paid for it instead.
Finding my own LED's for what they have put together may not be worth your time to do it.
Unless you already have a drawer of SMD LED's in the color you want, you'll need to get them from Lightenupgrade.
For 28.75 including shipping at the time of this post (US currency after conversion), they'll send you what you need with instructions.
Not for the non technical. You'll need to have decent soldering skills and the ability to take your dash apart. You have to
want to do this. Or send your dash in for them to do it.
I chose white, it more closely resembled what I've been looking at the last 8 years/just boring I guess.
When I first found out about this option, it was well documented here.

https://ozstoc.com/index.php?topic=14275.0

The reason I wanted to do it is probably 3 good ones
Sunlight at the right angle helps the LCD orange to blend together making it hard to see detail.
The LED's are 21 years old and the output is likely less lumens than when they started in 05.
The amber color will be upgraded to white, complete with a new diffuser.
At some point soon, will try to recreate what I see when the light hits it just right, then after the upgrade,
will try to take the same picture in the same light to show the difference. mod
 
The main thing about sourcing LEDs for a DIY upgrade is getting ones that are bright enough. There was a thread or two awhile back about a member doing a bit of trial and error to find ones that are"just right".

I've thought about doing the bluegauges.com upgrade but have been too lazy to get roundtoit.

1783459535035.png

I've never like the orange light. The white LEDs would be my choice. I really like the look after seeing this and driving a couple of cars that use white for the gauges. The contrast between the LEDs and the background is the most pleasing to me. I'm not that enthused by the blue panel on the right but it's not a dealbreaker.

I chose white...
Excellent choice. Some pics along the way and of your completed project would be greatly appreciated.
 
Here we go. Not much of a defense in, "I can't see my display properly" but in the right light, not even worth trying to see the time, which is what I usually spot check the most. However long it takes to come from over there, but after photos coming soon. Should be easy to recreate the type of light in the initial photos.20260707_183654.jpg20260707_183806.jpg
 
I have done this upgrade too. You need some soldering skils to do this.
For me the most difficult part was to get the needles back on their original place.
But the dash looks new again.
 
For me the most difficult part was to get the needles back on their original place.
I have a plan and hopefully it goes well because that is not something I want to keep messing with. I'm also intending on doing a speed correction because I've noticed my needle shows I'm going faster than I am. Quite honestly I should probably leave it that way it helps me do 3 miles an hour under compared to the needle.
 
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