Aprilia RS50 White Face Gauge Installation Instructions

Recommended tools:

1 set of pliers

2 small flat head screw drivers

2 small phillips head screw drivers

4mm allen wrench

10mm wrench or socket

8mm wrench or socket

masking tape

red spray paint

 

Important Note: Throughout the steps in these instructions, be sure to note the orientation of various screws, bolts, nuts and washers to ensure you put everything back together correctly. It is important that you follow these steps 100% to ensure the gauges are dismantled/reassembled correctly. Continuously use discretion, finesse, and patience – this is not a project you want to rush or you risk permanently damaging your gauges. Make sure the tools you are using fit the application to avoid stripping the nuts or screw heads.

 

If you are viewing these instructions from CD or from the Internet, you can click on any photo to see a larger view of that photo.

 

1. Remove the 12 bolts that secure upper fairing.
   1. There are 2 bolts located next to each mirror. These need to be removed, but the mirrors do not need to be removed.

2. There are 2 bolts located above each turn signal.

3. There are 2 bolts located on the lower fairings that hold the fake left dash and fake RAM tube on the right.

4. You will also need to disconnect the wiring harness for the headlight. I suggest getting someone to help you hold the upper fairing because the clip is a very tight fit. I had to wedge two small flat-head screw drivers in the clip to release the notches.
5. When you are done, you should have exactly the amount of bolts, nuts and washers shown in the picture below. This is all that is needed to remove the upper fairing from the bike. Pictured is also what the wiring harness will look like once you’ve removed it from the gauges.

 

2. Remove the gauge cluster from the bike.
   1. Remove the 3 (10mm) bolts that hold the gauge cluster to the upper fairing stay.
   2. Remove the tach and speedo drive cables by unscrewing the collar.
   3. Disconnect the wire harness couplings for the gauges.

4. Lay the gauges face down on your work bench. Get a blank piece of paper and draw a reference map of wire colors and locations for the bulbs and temperature gauge leads. You may need this for reference when reassembling the gauges. The main array of bulbs on my gauges were numbered 1-6 with labels on the wires that correspond to numbers molded in the plastic housing.
5. Remove the bulbs from the gauges by pulling on the rubber housings gently. Be careful to not bump the bulbs into anything or you may damage the filament and have to purchase another bulb.
6. Remove the wires from the temperature gauge. These 3 wires are probably the most important to remember because there is not obvious way to determine their orientation during the installation. As viewed in the photo below, the left terminal is for the green wire, the middle is for the blue wire, and the right is for the white/black wire.

 

3. Disassemble the gauges.
   1. Take the gauges to a clean work area. Clean the gauges of any dirt, grease, or debris. You do not want to mess up your new white faces because you forgot to clean your hands!  Make sure your work surface is clean as well. I chose to work at my kitchen table.
   2. Remove the 4 phillips head screws that hold the foam outer ring that surrounds the tach and temp gauges. Then remove the foam ring. Make a note that the bottom-right screw has a different thread than the other 3. This screw is for the hole next to the temperature gauge.

3. Remove the 8mm nuts that hold the tach, and temp gauges to the gauge cluster body. NOTE: You will not actually be able to remove the speedo completely from the cluster body because of the trip reset knob. This is OK. However, there is a rubber ring around the speedo that you will need to remove.

 

4. Be careful to remember the orientation of the rubber washers and metal washers. Also, you will not have to remove the drive assemblies or electrical leads for the speedo, tach, and temperature gauges.
5.  You should now be able to remove the tach and temp gauges from the cluster body.

 

4. Remove the glass lens covers.
   1. This is probably the most difficult and critical part of the installation. Again, remember to use a lot of patience.
   2. The procedure is the same for all three gauges.
   3. Start with the temp gauge first, then the tach, then the speedo – easiest to hardest, so you develop the technique as you work on the harder unit.
   4. I have created 2 videos to help demonstrate the recommended way to remove the glass lens covers. The videos have no sound, so please read the descriptions for each video and watch the videos before proceeding.
   5. Video 1 In my example, the gauge face has already been removed. I reassembled the glass cover to demonstrate how to remove it. The black ring around the lens is made of a thin metal that can be bent easily. The gauge body is made of a white plastic. There is a small lip molded into the plastic that the metal ring clamps around. You must take a medium size flat head screw driver and wedge it under the metal ring just enough to be able to bend the curve out of the clamp. You only actually need to bend the edge of the metal ring a very tiny amount (so little it may feel like you didn’t bend it at all), in equal amounts, consistently for about ¼ of the total diameter of the ring. Just enough to get the ring over the small lip molded into the plastic.
   6. Video 2 Once you’ve got a little of the ring bent up just enough to clear the small lip, wedge the screw driver in over the lip, but not anymore than what is necessary to slowly leverage the ring off the white plastic body. This is done in a similar fashion to removing a tire from a rim. Avoid any force or movements that would actually bend the ring significantly. Go slow, and take it a little at a time, working your way around the ring until you have enough of the ring completely over the lip. Do your best to avoid scratching the black paint on the ring. If you do end up scratching it severely, you’ll have to mask the glass and repaint the ring with a flat black paint. You can also flex the plastic body by pressing it firmly in order to assist taking the metal ring off.
   7. Once the ring is off the plastic body, don’t be alarmed if the ring looks bent more in some places, you will straighten everything out when you reassemble the gauges.
   8. Remember to observer and note the orientation of the green diffuser ring. It has a curved edge that fits into the black ring.

 

5. Remove the needles.
   1. Take a piece of masking tape and cover the ends of your pliers. This will help insulate the jagged teeth on the pliers from the soft plastic on the needles.
   2. Take the pliers and firmly grip the outer edge of the black circle of the needle. Grip them only as much is necessary to maintain grip, but not enough to actually deform the plastic.
   3. Pull the needle off of the pin with a very small rocking motion. Avoid actually bending the pin.
   4. Set the needles in a safe place where they won’t be crushed by accident.

 

6. Remove the gauge faces.
   1. Remove the 2 phillips head screws that hold the gauge face. Be certain you have the correct size screw driver or you risk stripping or scaring the screw heads.
   2. Remove the gauge face, being extra careful to not damage the stock pin that stops the needle from over rotating.

 

7. Install the new gauge faces.
   1. Remember to clean your hands before handling the white face gauges.
   2. The recommended application of the new gauge faces is to apply them with the adhesive backing – stick them to the original gauge face. You are not likely to every dismantle your gauges again, and this is the most secure method.
   3. Clean the gauge face with a cotton ball and some rubbing alcohol. Allow it to dry thoroughly.
   4. Locate the tiny circle on the white gauge face where the stop pin will be located. Use a straight pin or sewing needle to poke a hole cleanly through this location. This hole has already been die punched by the printer, so you simply need to clear it away, along with any other punched hole material.
   5. Peal back only half of the paper backing to expose the pin hole, leaving at least half the paper backing still on the sticker.

6. Slip the gauge face over the stop pin and carefully align the center hole of the white gauge face with the center hole of the original gauge face. Do not allow the sticker to lay flat all at once. Curve it in a U shape so only a tiny bit of the adhesive is allowed to touch down on the surface of the original gauge face.
7. Double-check the alignment, then gently allow the sticker to roll flat onto the gauge face. It is most important that the center hole and screw holes line up correctly. Work your way from the center and slowly smooth out the sticker. The less of the adhesive you allow to come into contact at one time the better. If you get the alignment wrong, you can peel the sticker back off, but do so very slowly so you don’t stretch it.
8. Lift the portion of the sticker that still has the paper backing and remove the backing. Try to apply the sticker as you remove the backing. You don’t want to remove the entire backing at once and then apply the sticker – that will increase the likely hood of air bubbles.
9. Use a clean soft cloth to smooth out any air bubbles or excess fluid.
10. Screw the new gauge face back on the gauge unit. Remember to put the hole in the back of the gauge body to the top as shown below.

 

8. Paint your needles red.
   1. In my opinion, the orange stock needles don’t blend well with the new white face gauge design. So I painted mine red. In the picture below you can see the difference between the middle red needle and the outer orange.

2. Use the masking tape to mask off the black circle of the needle.

3. Then spray paint them red using light, even coats. It doesn’t take much paint to cover them.
4. Remove the masking tape while the paint is still a little wet.
5. Allow them to dry thoroughly before handling the painted surface.

 

9. Install the needles.
   1. Use the same method you used to remove the needles to reconnect them to the gauge center pin.
   2. Be certain that the needle is aligned with the stop pin in its resting position before pressing onto the center pin.

3. Be careful to not bend the pin or damage the needle.
4. Check the needle to make sure there is a uniform distance between the needle tip and the gauge face as it turns around the gauge.

 

10. Install the glass lens cover.
    1. Place the glass/ring face down on the table.
    2. Insert the green diffuser ring bevel side toward the glass.

3. Fit the plastic lip into the untouched portion of the black ring so that the untouched portion is at the 12 O’clock position on the gauge, and the bent portion is at 6 O’clock. This way, any evidence of your work will be hidden out of sight at the bottom of your gauges.

4. Gently press the ring onto the plastic body, working your way around the diameter of the gauge slowly. Again, you can flex the plastic body to finesse it into place. Be careful to not exert too much force or you may actually scratch the new gauge face with the green diffuser ring.

5. Once it is completely on, use a small flat head screw driver to bend the metal ring back over the plastic lip snuggly. You can use masking tape over the screw driver to avoid scratching the painted surface. Try making 2 passes around the ring to ensure it is as tight as possible.

 

11. Reassemble your gauges the rest of the way by simply reversing the remaining steps.