White gauge faces

choneofakind · January 17th, 2012, 04:32 PM

Anyone know where I can find a file of the gauges in white so that I can print it off on card stock and replace my gauge faces with cool white ones that would turn green with my cool LED's that light my gauges?

Another question is is there anything that would work better than card stock?

FrugalNinja250 · January 19th, 2012, 11:40 AM

The color of the markings on the gauge face is the result of the color plastic that the light shines through from underneath. The white markings visible in the daytime are translucent. Cardstock would make a poor material because humidity changes will warp and discolor it. Also, sunlight will fade most color inks rapidly.

choneofakind · January 19th, 2012, 12:24 PM

Well there is a space around the edges of all the gauges that light shines over at them. Right now I have green LED's that shine through the hash marks green (like you said) but the needles also shine green, which is from light coming around the edges.

What would work better than card stock? I can see how warping and fading would be an issue

outasight20 · February 9th, 2012, 12:15 PM

You might try laminating the cardstock, I'd imagine it would help with the fading and warping

zzrguy · February 12th, 2012, 12:35 PM

http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=78558
If u have more questions just pm me, i used photo paper in my printer lol it epic!
I dont have the file i have misplaced it

but u can take the existing ones out and scan em

thats what i did its within 5 kmh accuracy when i did it

choneofakind · February 12th, 2012, 12:45 PM

I never thought about photo paper thanks zzrguy

I don't have a scanner however... I'll need to go find someone with a good one that I can borrow. How did you change the colors and whatever? Photoshop? (which I also don't have)

zzrguy · February 12th, 2012, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by choneofakind

I never thought about photo paper thanks zzrguy

I don't have a scanner however... I'll need to go find someone with a good one that I can borrow. How did you change the colors and whatever? Photoshop? (which I also don't have)

Nope problem

yeah i mean photopaper is already fade resistant so it works well. And yeah anything over 300dpi should be fine which isnt hard to find mines like 1200 lol and yeah photoshopped it for a while

U can get a 30 day trial of photoshop from adobe for free

nickjpass · February 12th, 2012, 01:38 PM

There's also GIMP.

choneofakind · February 12th, 2012, 02:08 PM

I might do that 30 day trial once I get my ducks in a row and get everything scanned and actually go about doing this. Then I can just take the file to Target or Walgreen's and print them there for a couple dollars. Solid. Thanks man.

I'll look into the scanner thing when I go home for break. I think my dad might have one, but I honestly know nothing about it.

Will it be the same size when I print it as it was when I scanned it?

zzrguy · February 12th, 2012, 02:13 PM

Yeah it will print out the same size as you scan

csmith12 · February 12th, 2012, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by choneofakind

I never thought about photo paper thanks zzrguy

I don't have a scanner however... I'll need to go find someone with a good one that I can borrow. How did you change the colors and whatever? Photoshop? (which I also don't have)

http://www.getpaint.net/ It's not photoshop but it gets the job done for free.

nitrofreak06 · April 21st, 2012, 04:57 PM

Yah getpaint.net is a great choice for a free picture editor. I love it compared to gimp.

Xer0- · April 24th, 2012, 01:58 PM

instead of using photo paper,what about having it printed on a transparency sheet for an overhead projector , But leave the numbers blank so it can be illuminated from the rear.

Edit :
although i'm not sure how well white would work.

zzrguy · April 24th, 2012, 02:11 PM

ill be redooing my gauges next winter when i paint my bike and i plan on making alot better ones! with multiple layers and transparency paper ill post it in a years time :P

cbdallas · April 24th, 2012, 04:22 PM

Oops...sorry

Xer0- · April 24th, 2012, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbdallas

http://www.ebay.com/itm/08-Up-Kawasa...d69047&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-11-12-Kaw...9b78d8&vxp=mtr

this is the pregen forum.

choneofakind · April 24th, 2012, 05:23 PM

hmmm, not sure how well transparency paper would work though...

zzrguy, show us how it goes! at the moment, I'm thinking about using photo paper, white backs, and black numbers/marks. Maybe toss some cool ninja 250R logos on there and be done with it.

But that will come later in the summer, if I ever get around to taking it all apart, as that will mean I cannot ride until it's done

Jono · April 24th, 2012, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by choneofakind

But that will come later in the summer, if I ever get around to taking it all apart, as that will mean I cannot ride until it's done

Who says you can't ride with out the gauge cluster?

Jono · April 24th, 2012, 06:26 PM

So how are you planning on making all the numbers and dashes on the gauges?

Why not just paint the gauges? The stock gauges are clear and are just painted black and that black paint scratches off.

I think everything else would just look tacky.

I would paint them white then get someone to make vinyl numbers and dashes.

choneofakind · April 24th, 2012, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jono

Who says you can't ride with out the gauge cluster?

uh me. I don't want to get pulled over for too much speed.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jono

So how are you planning on making all the numbers and dashes on the gauges?

Why not just paint the gauges? The stock gauges are clear and are just painted black and that black paint scratches off.

I think everything else would just look tacky.

I would paint them white then get someone to make vinyl numbers and dashes.

The plan so far is to scan the stock gauges, and then use a photoshop type program to tinker with them, print them out on photo paper and cut them out, and put them in the gauges. Light comes around the edges of the gauges and *should* light the face pretty well.

Jono · April 24th, 2012, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by choneofakind

uh me. I don't want to get pulled over for too much speed.

The plan so far is to scan the stock gauges, and then use a photoshop type program to tinker with them, print them out on photo paper and cut them out, and put them in the gauges. Light comes around the edges of the gauges and *should* light the face pretty well.

It is just a 250!

Just use a GPS in the mean time.

Mmhm. Well should be interesting.

choneofakind · April 24th, 2012, 06:55 PM

I never thought of that. That's an option I can use. The tach isn't important if I'm just using the bike without gauges for a day or two.

choneofakind · August 30th, 2012, 10:35 PM

I found a new option!!! Look what I just bought!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1988-2007-Ka...ht_2541wt_1185

I'll get these bad boys installed over thanksgiving break. Hopefully it's not too hard to get them installed and whatnot. This will look sick with my green led gauge lights. Maybe I should switch to blacklight LED's

it will be a trippy deep purple/blue color

Monkeytofu · August 30th, 2012, 11:12 PM

@zzrguy

If you ever redesign them, could you throw up a tutorial or a file we could use to make our own?

Coolbpf · August 31st, 2012, 08:40 PM

Poor gimp, does everything photoshop does and no one ever remembers it. ITS FREE PEOPLE, LEARN IT.

adouglas · August 31st, 2012, 08:55 PM

When I went riding with eddiekay a few weeks ago we swapped bikes for awhile. He's got the newer, white faces…

Frankly, they're awful. Makes the gauges hard to read at a glance.

choneofakind · September 5th, 2012, 11:24 AM

Yeah I thought about that a little. Right now, my bike has black faces, white dashes, and white needles. I just got my sweet white faces delivered. They have black dashes. I think when I have the needles off, I'll just paint them black, and that should keep the same level of contrast as the stock setup did, so it should be ok for reading quickly.

Side note, the guy who made these must have based them off a newer bike than I have. My gauges read up to 16k, and the red-line section covers the pie-slice from 14k-16k. The new white faces read up to 15k, and the red-line section covers the pie-slice from 13k-15k. And my rev-limiter doesn't cut in until 14,500 rpm

I guess I'll just look really badass on film when I go clear up to the end of the red section.

Monkeytofu · September 6th, 2012, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by choneofakind

I guess I'll just look really badass on film when I go clear up to the end of the red section.

Hey man, ever do any wheelies on that thing?

choneofakind · September 6th, 2012, 02:15 PM

yeah bro, lots of em. Just gotta kinda go Yuh ughhh!

Jono · September 6th, 2012, 09:58 PM

Those look purty cool, Chris. If I still had stock gauges I'd definitely rock the white.

choneofakind · September 6th, 2012, 10:00 PM

They look pretty good in person. I cant wait to get them installed and see what they look like

choneofakind · December 19th, 2012, 01:05 PM

Bump on this thread because I finally got around to installing my white gauge faces and painting the needles bright orange for contrast. I really like how they turned out!

I got the idea for the orange needles because they would blend in with the white background too much if they were white. The needles in my Tahoe are orange, so I liked that idea.

here they are in light:

and here they are in the dark. They light up well in the dark, and my green LED back lighting makes them glow green!!

Unintended side-effect: these are based on the newer pregens that have a lower redline. My EFI still has a rev limiter at 14,300, so it will look really impressive in video when I go nearly to the top of the gauge, which stops at 15,000

nickjpass · December 19th, 2012, 02:54 PM

Sweet you can say there isn't a rev limiter

himynameisjoe · December 19th, 2012, 05:49 PM

Nice Chone! Those look pretty cool! Normally I think I'd say no to orange needles because it reminds me of the 70's... but that looks really good!

choneofakind · December 20th, 2012, 05:40 PM

I'm digging the orange. It stands out from the white. I'll let you know how hard it is to actually see once I get the chance to ride in the spring time.

Here's another dark picture from when I was playing with my headlight in my garage:

himynameisjoe · December 20th, 2012, 07:01 PM

It should be easier to see. That looks like the same color paint they use for gun sights to give you better lowlight usability without getting into the fancy fibre optics they have now.

I actually really like it though! But I think I'd probably do a darker green. Not much, just a tad. lol

Jono · December 20th, 2012, 11:30 PM

Lookin' good!!

If I ever go back to stock gauges I will definitely buy that white gauge face.

Joshorilla · December 21st, 2012, 05:48 AM

Your best bet would be to laser print onto white acetate.

No ink run in humidity, and the acetate will be unaffected by moisture, and it'll look crisp and like stock.

choneofakind · May 23rd, 2013, 07:28 PM

So, I finalized this. I was having trouble with the temp gauge. The picture was rubbing on the needle, and it was stuck. No bueno. Took it out. Now I have white tach, white speedo, and black temp gauges. All still have orange needles. I'll take pictures once I find my camera.

Right now it reminds me of the CBR 600 F3 that my buddy owns. I dig it better with the black temp gauge.

Excited to have a functional temp gauge again.

slickt0mmy · May 23rd, 2013, 07:59 PM

Those look awesome! Great job on the install too. That's too bad about the temp gauge but i'm sure you'd rather have a functional gauge than a pretty one

January 17th, 2012, 04:32 PM	#1
choneofakind ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: . Location: . Join Date: Feb 2011 Motorcycle(s): . Posts: Too much. MOTM - Feb '13, Feb '14	White gauge faces Anyone know where I can find a file of the gauges in white so that I can print it off on card stock and replace my gauge faces with cool white ones that would turn green with my cool LED's that light my gauges? Another question is is there anything that would work better than card stock?

February 12th, 2012, 01:38 PM	#8
nickjpass #squid Name: nickypoo Location: Five Guys Join Date: Jul 2011 Motorcycle(s): Track dedicated 2008 ZX6R Posts: A lot. MOTM - Jul '16	There's also GIMP. __________________________________________________

April 24th, 2012, 04:22 PM	#15
cbdallas ninjette.org guru Name: Charlie Location: Wylie, TX Join Date: Nov 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2007 Ninja 650R Posts: 317	Oops...sorry Last futzed with by cbdallas; April 24th, 2012 at 06:16 PM.

December 19th, 2012, 02:54 PM	#33
nickjpass #squid Name: nickypoo Location: Five Guys Join Date: Jul 2011 Motorcycle(s): Track dedicated 2008 ZX6R Posts: A lot. MOTM - Jul '16	Sweet you can say there isn't a rev limiter __________________________________________________

December 19th, 2012, 05:49 PM	#34
himynameisjoe ninjette.org sage Name: Joe Location: Lancaster, PA Join Date: Nov 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Ninja 250(Totaled) Posts: 984 Blog Entries: 2	Nice Chone! Those look pretty cool! Normally I think I'd say no to orange needles because it reminds me of the 70's... but that looks really good! __________________________________________________ "I am a creationist, I believe man created god."

January 19th, 2012, 11:40 AM	#2
FrugalNinja250 ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Frugal Location: Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) Join Date: Mar 2010 Motorcycle(s): Several Posts: A lot.	The color of the markings on the gauge face is the result of the color plastic that the light shines through from underneath. The white markings visible in the daytime are translucent. Cardstock would make a poor material because humidity changes will warp and discolor it. Also, sunlight will fade most color inks rapidly.

January 19th, 2012, 12:24 PM	#3
choneofakind ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: . Location: . Join Date: Feb 2011 Motorcycle(s): . Posts: Too much. MOTM - Feb '13, Feb '14	Well there is a space around the edges of all the gauges that light shines over at them. Right now I have green LED's that shine through the hash marks green (like you said) but the needles also shine green, which is from light coming around the edges. What would work better than card stock? I can see how warping and fading would be an issue

February 9th, 2012, 12:15 PM	#4
outasight20 ninjette.org member Name: Weezy Location: Massachusetts Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2005 Yamaha FZ6 Posts: 169	You might try laminating the cardstock, I'd imagine it would help with the fading and warping

February 12th, 2012, 12:35 PM	#5
zzrguy ninjette.org member Name: Lostboy Location: Guelph Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2002 ZZR 250 Posts: 127	http://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=78558 If u have more questions just pm me, i used photo paper in my printer lol it epic! I dont have the file i have misplaced it but u can take the existing ones out and scan em thats what i did its within 5 kmh accuracy when i did it

February 12th, 2012, 12:45 PM	#6
choneofakind ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: . Location: . Join Date: Feb 2011 Motorcycle(s): . Posts: Too much. MOTM - Feb '13, Feb '14	I never thought about photo paper thanks zzrguy I don't have a scanner however... I'll need to go find someone with a good one that I can borrow. How did you change the colors and whatever? Photoshop? (which I also don't have)

February 12th, 2012, 02:08 PM	#9
choneofakind ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: . Location: . Join Date: Feb 2011 Motorcycle(s): . Posts: Too much. MOTM - Feb '13, Feb '14	I might do that 30 day trial once I get my ducks in a row and get everything scanned and actually go about doing this. Then I can just take the file to Target or Walgreen's and print them there for a couple dollars. Solid. Thanks man. I'll look into the scanner thing when I go home for break. I think my dad might have one, but I honestly know nothing about it. Will it be the same size when I print it as it was when I scanned it?

February 12th, 2012, 02:13 PM	#10
zzrguy ninjette.org member Name: Lostboy Location: Guelph Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2002 ZZR 250 Posts: 127	Yeah it will print out the same size as you scan

April 21st, 2012, 04:57 PM	#12
nitrofreak06 ninjette.org member Name: Shane Location: TN Join Date: Apr 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2004 Ninja 250 Posts: 14	Yah getpaint.net is a great choice for a free picture editor. I love it compared to gimp.

April 24th, 2012, 01:58 PM	#13
Xer0- ninjette.org member Name: Dan Location: Pittsburgh Join Date: Feb 2012 Motorcycle(s): 06 250 rat, 20 400 krt Posts: 55	instead of using photo paper,what about having it printed on a transparency sheet for an overhead projector , But leave the numbers blank so it can be illuminated from the rear. Edit : although i'm not sure how well white would work.

April 24th, 2012, 02:11 PM	#14
zzrguy ninjette.org member Name: Lostboy Location: Guelph Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2002 ZZR 250 Posts: 127	ill be redooing my gauges next winter when i paint my bike and i plan on making alot better ones! with multiple layers and transparency paper ill post it in a years time :P

April 24th, 2012, 05:23 PM	#17
choneofakind ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: . Location: . Join Date: Feb 2011 Motorcycle(s): . Posts: Too much. MOTM - Feb '13, Feb '14	hmmm, not sure how well transparency paper would work though... zzrguy, show us how it goes! at the moment, I'm thinking about using photo paper, white backs, and black numbers/marks. Maybe toss some cool ninja 250R logos on there and be done with it. But that will come later in the summer, if I ever get around to taking it all apart, as that will mean I cannot ride until it's done

April 24th, 2012, 06:26 PM	#19
Jono ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Jono Location: Memphis, TN Join Date: Sep 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Triumph Street Triple, 2009 KLX250SF, 2003 Suzuki SV650S (Sold), 2006 Ninja 250 (Sold) Posts: A lot.	So how are you planning on making all the numbers and dashes on the gauges? Why not just paint the gauges? The stock gauges are clear and are just painted black and that black paint scratches off. I think everything else would just look tacky. I would paint them white then get someone to make vinyl numbers and dashes.

April 24th, 2012, 06:55 PM	#22
choneofakind ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: . Location: . Join Date: Feb 2011 Motorcycle(s): . Posts: Too much. MOTM - Feb '13, Feb '14	I never thought of that. That's an option I can use. The tach isn't important if I'm just using the bike without gauges for a day or two.

August 30th, 2012, 10:35 PM	#23
choneofakind ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: . Location: . Join Date: Feb 2011 Motorcycle(s): . Posts: Too much. MOTM - Feb '13, Feb '14	I found a new option!!! Look what I just bought! http://www.ebay.com/itm/1988-2007-Ka...ht_2541wt_1185 I'll get these bad boys installed over thanksgiving break. Hopefully it's not too hard to get them installed and whatnot. This will look sick with my green led gauge lights. Maybe I should switch to blacklight LED's it will be a trippy deep purple/blue color

August 30th, 2012, 11:12 PM	#24
Monkeytofu I told you bro Name: Noor Location: Austin, Texas Join Date: Jun 2012 Motorcycle(s): 1996 Ninja 250r Posts: 680	@zzrguy If you ever redesign them, could you throw up a tutorial or a file we could use to make our own?

August 31st, 2012, 08:40 PM	#25
Coolbpf Limp Noodle Name: Tyler Location: Missouri Join Date: Jun 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2006 Ninja 250, Fastest Red money can buy Posts: 212	Poor gimp, does everything photoshop does and no one ever remembers it. ITS FREE PEOPLE, LEARN IT.

August 31st, 2012, 08:55 PM	#26
adouglas Cat herder Name: Gort Location: A secret lair which, being secret, has an undisclosed location Join Date: May 2009 Motorcycle(s): Aprilia RS660 Posts: A lot. Blog Entries: 6 MOTM - Jul '18, Nov '16, Aug '14, May '13	When I went riding with eddiekay a few weeks ago we swapped bikes for awhile. He's got the newer, white faces… Frankly, they're awful. Makes the gauges hard to read at a glance.

September 5th, 2012, 11:24 AM	#27
choneofakind ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: . Location: . Join Date: Feb 2011 Motorcycle(s): . Posts: Too much. MOTM - Feb '13, Feb '14	Yeah I thought about that a little. Right now, my bike has black faces, white dashes, and white needles. I just got my sweet white faces delivered. They have black dashes. I think when I have the needles off, I'll just paint them black, and that should keep the same level of contrast as the stock setup did, so it should be ok for reading quickly. Side note, the guy who made these must have based them off a newer bike than I have. My gauges read up to 16k, and the red-line section covers the pie-slice from 14k-16k. The new white faces read up to 15k, and the red-line section covers the pie-slice from 13k-15k. And my rev-limiter doesn't cut in until 14,500 rpm I guess I'll just look really badass on film when I go clear up to the end of the red section.

September 6th, 2012, 02:15 PM	#29
choneofakind ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: . Location: . Join Date: Feb 2011 Motorcycle(s): . Posts: Too much. MOTM - Feb '13, Feb '14	yeah bro, lots of em. Just gotta kinda go Yuh ughhh!

September 6th, 2012, 09:58 PM	#30
Jono ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Jono Location: Memphis, TN Join Date: Sep 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Triumph Street Triple, 2009 KLX250SF, 2003 Suzuki SV650S (Sold), 2006 Ninja 250 (Sold) Posts: A lot.	Those look purty cool, Chris. If I still had stock gauges I'd definitely rock the white.

September 6th, 2012, 10:00 PM	#31
choneofakind ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: . Location: . Join Date: Feb 2011 Motorcycle(s): . Posts: Too much. MOTM - Feb '13, Feb '14	They look pretty good in person. I cant wait to get them installed and see what they look like

December 19th, 2012, 01:05 PM	#32
choneofakind ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: . Location: . Join Date: Feb 2011 Motorcycle(s): . Posts: Too much. MOTM - Feb '13, Feb '14	Bump on this thread because I finally got around to installing my white gauge faces and painting the needles bright orange for contrast. I really like how they turned out! I got the idea for the orange needles because they would blend in with the white background too much if they were white. The needles in my Tahoe are orange, so I liked that idea. here they are in light: and here they are in the dark. They light up well in the dark, and my green LED back lighting makes them glow green!! Unintended side-effect: these are based on the newer pregens that have a lower redline. My EFI still has a rev limiter at 14,300, so it will look really impressive in video when I go nearly to the top of the gauge, which stops at 15,000

December 20th, 2012, 05:40 PM	#35
choneofakind ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: . Location: . Join Date: Feb 2011 Motorcycle(s): . Posts: Too much. MOTM - Feb '13, Feb '14	I'm digging the orange. It stands out from the white. I'll let you know how hard it is to actually see once I get the chance to ride in the spring time. Here's another dark picture from when I was playing with my headlight in my garage:

December 20th, 2012, 07:01 PM	#36
himynameisjoe ninjette.org sage Name: Joe Location: Lancaster, PA Join Date: Nov 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Ninja 250(Totaled) Posts: 984 Blog Entries: 2	It should be easier to see. That looks like the same color paint they use for gun sights to give you better lowlight usability without getting into the fancy fibre optics they have now. I actually really like it though! But I think I'd probably do a darker green. Not much, just a tad. lol __________________________________________________ "I am a creationist, I believe man created god."

December 20th, 2012, 11:30 PM	#37
Jono ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: Jono Location: Memphis, TN Join Date: Sep 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2009 Triumph Street Triple, 2009 KLX250SF, 2003 Suzuki SV650S (Sold), 2006 Ninja 250 (Sold) Posts: A lot.	Lookin' good!! If I ever go back to stock gauges I will definitely buy that white gauge face.

December 21st, 2012, 05:48 AM	#38
Joshorilla Bass Master General Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: A lot. Blog Entries: 24	Your best bet would be to laser print onto white acetate. No ink run in humidity, and the acetate will be unaffected by moisture, and it'll look crisp and like stock.

May 23rd, 2013, 07:28 PM	#39
choneofakind ninjette.org certified postwhore Name: . Location: . Join Date: Feb 2011 Motorcycle(s): . Posts: Too much. MOTM - Feb '13, Feb '14	So, I finalized this. I was having trouble with the temp gauge. The picture was rubbing on the needle, and it was stuck. No bueno. Took it out. Now I have white tach, white speedo, and black temp gauges. All still have orange needles. I'll take pictures once I find my camera. Right now it reminds me of the CBR 600 F3 that my buddy owns. I dig it better with the black temp gauge. Excited to have a functional temp gauge again.

May 23rd, 2013, 07:59 PM	#40
slickt0mmy ninjette.org member Name: Adam Location: Ohio Join Date: Jul 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2004 Ninja 250 Posts: 178	Those look awesome! Great job on the install too. That's too bad about the temp gauge but i'm sure you'd rather have a functional gauge than a pretty one

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