BRIGHTNESS OF MULTI-FUNCTION DISPLAY ON '09 1200RT

[ully211]

Folks,

 

On my '09 RT, notice sometimes the brightness of my multi-function display seems to wash out. Not completely, but certainly not as dark as most of the time.

 

Seems to be more prevalent on hotter and more "sunny" days, so certainly the sun is contributing. Always check the brightness, and it is still in the "full" bright mode.

 

Anyone else have similar experiences?

 

 

[JayW]

Anyone else have similar experiences?

 

Yes, every time the display is exposed to direct sunlight for more than a few minutes. The LCD loses contrast, but always slowly normalizes when it gets back in the shade. Changing the backlight intensity will have no effect either way since the effect only happens in full daylight. You can prevent it by shading your display when parked during the day.

 

It is not a defect and is harmless.

 

Jay

[Ken H.]

TADT

[T__]

Folks,

 

On my '09 RT, notice sometimes the brightness of my multi-function display seems to wash out. Not completely, but certainly not as dark as most of the time.

 

Seems to be more prevalent on hotter and more "sunny" days, so certainly the sun is contributing. Always check the brightness, and it is still in the "full" bright mode.

 

Anyone else have similar experiences?

 

 

 

ully211, I’m surprised you can even read it in the sun when wearing sun glasses.. That is one of my biggest complaints on my 09 RT.. The dash & dash computer is totally useless to me in the sun..

 

With a little work you can fit the KGT dash bezel & that will shade the gage & computer screen area but it doesn’t look all the great on the RT..

 

Twisty

 

[tlc]

Check this -- Instrument Surround. I've been considering getting one, but I'm waiting for someone else to try one first!

Edited April 27, 2009 by tlc

[T__]

 

Tlc, before buying one find a bike with that surround on it & take a look-see.. I guess things look different from different peoples eyes but to me that thing is less than appealing when installed on the 1200RT .. It doesn’t shade the computer screen very good either..

 

The KGT surround actually looks better & I believe it is cheaper but to me it still looks out of place on the RT.. It is also not exactly a bolt on fit as it needs some working with to get a decent fit..

 

 

 

Twisty

[Paul In Australia]

I have one of these on my R1200rt. Works ok. Still some wash out due to sun, but a big improvement on the standard set up. It is expensive in Australia though. Not sure I would spend the cash again. Works ok but does not eliminate the problem completely

regards

[ully211]

Thanks for the info, everyone. Think I may try and cover it when parked in sun to try and prevent the problem.

[krussell]

Not sure what farkle plans you have for your bike, but I have a BMR shelf for my GPS and it is a perfect shade for the instruments. No problems in the sun at all.

 

http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=30443&Number=329007

 

 

[Trinity]

Another one here who's not too crazy about the visibility of the new style instrument display. An acquaintance on a recent trip was riding a GT with the instrument surround. I asked him about it and he said that even with the panel on his bike still, the display gets VERY washed out in bright sunlight.

 

I'll think I'll save my pennies for a more "worthy" farkle. (Assuming that's not an oxymoron... )

[lvnvbiker]

BMR shelf works great. I have very little problem reading my display with one mounted, and after test riding a bike without one I would not be happy with my display if it was not shaded by the BMR. On the up side the BMR gives you lots of space to mount shade giving farkles, along with the shade it supplies. Oh and it puts your GPS in a great position also that way you know how fast you are realy going instead of reading the ever incorrect speedo on the bike.

[Stephen H]

I have got into the habit of throwing my gloves on the dash and then resting my helmet on the gloves and handlebars .... it sits there nicely and shades the display from the direct sunlight

 

This assumes that you are parking within eye shot of the bike so the helmet and gloves don't "walk" and find a new owner

[GDD]

 

The reflection on my '06 is is extremely annoying, can't see anything, even more since I bought a silver/gray jacket. DOH !!!!!

 

[VinnyR11]

BMR shelf works great. I have very little problem reading my display with one mounted, and after test riding a bike without one I would not be happy with my display if it was not shaded by the BMR. On the up side the BMR gives you lots of space to mount shade giving farkles, along with the shade it supplies. Oh and it puts your GPS in a great position also that way you know how fast you are realy going instead of reading the ever incorrect speedo on the bike.

 

You gotta love the wonderful logic of our Beemer boards.....We are all guilty as charged!

 

* I can't read my display in the shade.

* Hey, this neat mount would shade it perfectly!

* Wow, this mount works great for shade, but now I have all this room for a new GPS. I should buy a GPS since I already have the mount.

* This GPS works great. I finally know where I am and how fast I'm going.

* Hey look honey! The 2010 Beemer comes with a better display and a built in GPS. We could ride without having all that stuff all over the bike! Let's go take a test ride.

 

[nbooth]

I can't read the display in sunlight either...Try this as an alternative -- the instrument surround.

 

 

http://www.wunderlichamerica.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WA&Product_Code=8162508&Category_Code=R1200RT-X

 

[VinnyR11]

Maybe a laptop "privacy/glare" screen, cut to size could help out? Many advertise 95% glare reduction. They're pretty cheap, would hardly be noticeable if fitted correctly. I would think they should cut glare from every sun angle except directly behind you, but then your shadow should cover it most of the time.

 

I don't know how easy they are to cut to scale, but one screen should be able to do about 8 bikes or more. If it works, you could probably pass one screen around all those posting above.

 

3M examples HERE.

[eisenwal]

I'm thinking the solution to this display is a replacement TFT display. They seem to be really bright, as seen on motorcycle video blogs. If the LCD could be replaced it may solve the problem. I don't suppose anyone has heard of such a thing?

[dirtrider]

19 minutes ago, Eisenwal said:

I'm thinking the solution to this display is a replacement TFT display. They seem to be really bright, as seen on motorcycle video blogs. If the LCD could be replaced it may solve the problem. I don't suppose anyone has heard of such a thing?

Afternoon  Eisenwal

 

Not an easy thing to do as the BMW 1200 hexhead dash gets a lot of it's information over the CAN system (CanBUS)  so anything not specifically built & programmed to work with the current BMW CAN inputs probably would just be a big blank screen.   

 

Personally I have tried a lot of things to get a more readable 1200 hexhead dash & have pretty well given up.  Actually I have found that a black dull jacket is about as good as anything as it doesn't reflect much of anything bright back at the dash. 

 

The best workaround I have found so far it to just use an easy readable transreflective screen GPS.