Here's a little test: what do these tach gauges have in common?
If you answered "they're missing their red zones", you win the no-prize.
I've seen a lot of tachs in this condition; the gauge faces are perfect except that the "danger zone" paint has faded to leave a white wedge in its place. Full-face decals are available, but after snapping my second needle stem attempting to remove the needle, I started wondering if there might be an easier way to go about it.
After considerable thought, I came up with a solution. Why replace the whole face when the "red zone" is the only problem? I looked into several ways of accomplishing this and finally developed a vinyl sticker that can be applied to the tach face. It is 1.5 mil thick, made of an outdoor type vinyl (think bumper stickers and parking meter stickers) and printed with a UV resistant ink that is guaranteed for five years with constant exposure, so I reckon it will last a good long time on our bikes.
Here's what we all have right now
The "kit" consists of the "Red Zone" and two small nylon washers
Just cut the sticker out...
...align it with the tach (no need to remove the needle)...
...add the little washers...
...and there you have it; a tach that looks like new (fluorescent orange paint for the needle tip not included). I've had one of these directly exposed to the elements for three months and the red zone still looks like brand new. The adhesive is of a type that strengthens with time; when I went to remove the test sticker, it came off in patches, so adhesion over time is not a problem...
In fact, it almost makes this old, nasty faded blue face look usable (this was my aforementioned "test" face)
I am planning to sell these on ebay, but I'm offering a set of one sticker and two washers to anyone reading this thread who is willing to give it a try. Just PM me, and I'll sent a kit out for evaluation purposes
Why go through life without a "danger zone" to make things more interesting?
Let me know if you're interested
