dumb question

[JamesP]

Okay,

I've had the 2016 Trike since late September; put about 4,000 miles on it so far which does not sound impressive but most of those months there was four to six feet of snow on the ground.

In all that time and travel I have not found the means to adjust the brightness in the instrument panel.....manual says nothing, tried several searches on line and in the forum....nada.

Is there a well kept secret regarding instrument illumination? During most of the day I can see the gauge needles just fine but the odometer/ trip/ range view is impossible to see.

Scratching my head.

James P.

[rhino 2]

Okay,

I've had the 2016 Trike since late September; put abouy 4,000 miles on it so far which does not sound impressive but most of those months there was four to six feet of snow on the ground.

In all that time and travel I have not found the means to adjust the brightness in the instrument panel.....manual says nothing, tried several searches on line and in the forum....nada.

Is there a well kept secret regarding instrument illumination? During most of the day I can see the gauge needles just fine but the odometer/ trip/ range view is impossible to see.

Scratching my head.

James P.

I might be wrong but i don't think there is a way ......If there was i never found it either in my 11 Tri, or my 17 Tri............

[Zammy]

No way that I know of either.

[ultrafxr]

Not sure if this applies to your 2016 model but when I bought my first Rushmore bike, a 2017 CVO Limited, I too could not see the odometer in the sunlight (unless the sun was behind me). I complained to my local dealer and lo and behold learned that H-D had a flash to the BCM that did in fact brighten the display. Could not be adjusted - this just brightened it. Not totally effective but it did help a great deal.

Talk to your dealer or call H-D customer service. This might apply to your model also.

[hogcowboy]

I've always been told there are no dumb questions. You might be surprised at just how many want to know that very thing. So always ask. In this case it looks like you need to ask a dealer. They may have a way if the hook it up to their magic machine. It's bound to be a simple software thing. Might even want to ask mother HD. If enough ask the same question and all they can say is it can't be, they might make a software change so it can be changed. But people have to not be afraid to ask what you might think is a dumb question. The asking is always key. I can do it on my Indian but even at maximum there are certain conditions where things are a little difficult to see. It just never lasts long enough for me to ask a dealer if they can over-ride the setting to like 110% but I think they can.

[GARYD]

Do you wear polarized sunglasses? I do and if you hold your head a certain way it complete obliterates the LCD screen. I wish all vehicle mfg's would go back to analog gages. I hate all non analog gages for this reason. If I take my prescription glasses off, I can see the display easily.

[rhino 2]

Do you wear polarized sunglasses? I do and if you hold your head a certain way it complete obliterates the LCD screen. I wish all vehicle mfg's would go back to analog gages. I hate all non analog gages for this reason. If I take my prescription glasses off, I can see the display easily.

If i take my prescription glasses off......I Can't see anything........

Back in the 60's when i was into drag racing, I put on a Digital Tach thinking i would be able to shift more precise .. .....And i soon realized a Digital read out doesn't tell you the past or the future ....A sweeping needle is best....Digital clocks are the reason youngsters are almost always late to an appointment....ie; They have to be somewhere at 9 O'clock they look at the clock, When it says 9... Then they go.......

[Jack Klarich]

Do you wear polarized sunglasses? I do and if you hold your head a certain way it complete obliterates the LCD screen. I wish all vehicle mfg's would go back to analog gages. I hate all non analog gages for this reason. If I take my prescription glasses off, I can see the display easily.

#1 on that, some times I have to look over my sun glasses to see the LCD

[LadyonaMission]

Do you wear polarized sunglasses? I do and if you hold your head a certain way it complete obliterates the LCD screen. I wish all vehicle mfg's would go back to analog gages. I hate all non analog gages for this reason. If I take my prescription glasses off, I can see the display easily.

I learned that the hard way. I drove into the service area to complain that my screen was out. The service writer asked me if I had new sunglasses because he could see it.

If someone had asked sooner I would have known.

[JamesP]

Thanks for the feedback folks; this seems to me to be a simple thing that Harley has missed. My (approx. $10k) Indian has adjustment but my (approx. $40k) Harley does not.

Harley Corporate; if you have any readers of these posts (and you should) please take note.

I do have prescription polarized sun glasses and things get a bit tricky/wierd when you are looking through polarized lenses.

Next visit to the dealer I'll be sure to ask about any potential brightening.

James P.