1980-90 GS & G/S

fits R65 GS, R80 G/S, R80 GS, R100 GS, & R100 GSPS (05/1980-07/1990)

KATDASH GS led pcb

We now have our new led circuit board for the 1980-1990 GS & G/S bikes. As with our other KATDASH led instrument light upgrades, the GEN circuit is designed specifically to have enough current to energize your alternator and get the charging system charging. This new led pcb is designed to mount in our new 3d printed telltale assembly,  but can also be installed in the original oem telltale white plastic lens frame. (BMW part # 62 14 1 244 756) Our new KATDASH GS pcb is slightly narrower than the original light bulb frame, but will still slide under the clip on the right, and has 2 screw mounting holes that align with the mounting holes on the oem assembly. ( 3 new SS screws are included with each led pcb)

Our new telltale assembly has been redesigned specifically for the new led circuit board with a closed rear frame to protect the electronic parts from dust and water better than the white oem frame. It has also been tweaked to fit the snap-on cover better.See below for further information about our complete telltale assembly including a new led pcb.

KATDASH GS- complete telltale assembly with led pcb

We now have our new KATDASH GS  telltale assembly in stock and ready to ship!

Our KATDASH GS telltale comes complete with a new led circuit board (photo above). This new pcb has the same all new solid state construction as our original KATDASH flex light units. So there are NO MORE BULBS or sockets to corrode or loosen up and stop working. Each indicator has 2 leds. The GEN light circuit has our same proven circuit design with additional resistance- separate from the led lighting- to properly excite your alternator and get your charging system charging. This unit is plug and play- simply remove your old telltale assembly from your dash, and slide our new KATDASH GS  telltale assembly into place. We have both oem GREEN turn signal indicator and an optional AMBER turn signal indicator (right).

Our new KATDASH GS  telltale is 3D printed in nylon with the Multi-Jet Fusion process. The reason we are doing our telltales with MJF rather than the more common SLS process (which has more color availability) is with MJF we get a better resolution, and finish surface. We are not molding these telltale frames because of the cost of getting a mold made for such a small demand. The MJF gives us a very nice quality frame for a reasonable cost. Our new telltale frames are black colored, because MJF only comes in black. When it is installed under the top cover, all that is visible are the lenses, and your dash looks identical to the original.

You notice a lot of little details when you are 3D modeling something to reproduce it. My approach to this project was to build something that, when assembled, was as close to oem as possible, but to improve some of the things I saw as poor design The first thing that I noticed, (and was also brought up in discussions with other GS riders) was the fact that the oem cover mounting snap holes- don’t work. The oem telltale snap holes are actually narrower than the head of the cover mounting post. This means, that it is nearly impossible to install OR remove a top cover- and indeed, my own bike came with 2 covers with broken snap mounts. Our KATDASH GS snap holes are designed for the cover mounts to flex slightly, then snap in.

Next, since we were designing for a solid state led pcb- we took a good look at the underside/light socket part of the oem telltale as well. We don’t need the deep pockets for light bulbs, so we made it shallower. The oem bulb pcbs I was looking at were filthy- so I looked at how the water gets in/ through the dash. As you know- the telltale fits under a cover with sockets to the lenses. The lenses are angled for visibility to the rider. To drain the sockets, the cover is cut higher on the lower end of the angle. This means all the water drains down the lenses, to the top surface/deck of the telltale frame. Then- the only way for the water to get out is a drain slot at the bottom (photo below) or to drain through the cover snap holes: which drop right down over the bulb pcb. I wanted our led pcb to be more protected than the oem pcb. So our pcb is recessed and completely enclosed with a “wall” around the entire board. This surrounding wall blocks off the top cover mounting snap hole, and hangs down beyond the mounting level of the pcb itself to create a drip line. This means that any water or condensation that gets in will drip off the edge of the surrounding wall, and not get sucked up into the pcb compartment.

Our lenses are not molded- again, the mold costs are too prohibitive. Our lenses are colored acrylic with a diffusing surface on the bottom/led side, and a anti-glare coating on the top side. Our lenses have the iso symbols printed on the top surface in white just like oem. We changed the red lenses (only) to opaque red acrylic instead of translucent red like the oem lenses. We feel that this makes the most important warning lights: the GEN & OIL red lights- more visible, and the dash looks and reads better both off and lit. The neutral and turn indicators are green now- not olive. And hot spots are gone from the red lenses, and much reduced on the others.

Our new KATDASH GS  telltale assembly is NOT an exact reproduction of the oem early GS or G/S telltale: if you want an exact replica, you need to go to Siebenrock, (in Germany) they are now making an exact reproduction of the original telltale assembly and light bulb circuit boards.

If you want an updated, quality replacement with long lasting led dash lights for your GS, that looks nearly identical to stock, then we would be happy to ship you a new led telltale assembly. You can also mount our new led pcb to an oem telltale assembly- as noted near the top of this page. Please order your new telltale on our “order Parts” page.                                Thanks!  Kat & Paul

GS telltale Installation directions in pdf that you can download and print:  KATDASH GS install instructions

led lights for your GS gauges:

 small led lights for your voltmeter & tachometer or clock:  The oem incandescent bulb in your voltmeter and tachometer are a dim yellow. These leds have a wide angle viewing field (no focusing lens like others) to edge light your guage face bright white.

please see our “order parts” page to order any of these small leds for your clock, voltmeter, tachometer or GS speedometer (photos below)

oem tach bulbs and led speedo light on my ’89 Bumblebee:                           all led bulbs

BRIGHT white led for your GS speedometer: This is the larger size bayonet socket with several chips to give you a brightly lit gauge. These led bulbs also fit the later 1991-95 GS speedometer & large tach. See our “Order Parts” page to order.

1 speedo led to light your gauge bright white: $4.00

US shipping for just these bulb packs will be $8 via USPS priority mail in a padded envelope.