July 14th, 2014, 05:52 AM | #1 |
EX500 full of EX250 parts
Name: Bill
Location: Grand Rapids-ish, MI
Join Date: Jul 2012 Motorcycle(s): '18 Ninja 400 • '09 Ninja 500R (selling) • '98 VFR800 (project) • '85 Vulcan VN700 (sold) Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 1
MOTM - Aug '15
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Help me find a gauge cluster
I've gotten a bit of a bug to put a dash with a digital speedo on the 500. However, I'm quite picky about the details of the dash. I haven't been able to find anything that meets my requirements completely, though a few items have come pretty close.
Here's the stocker for reference.
Here are some options I've looked at.
So do any of you, with your more expansive bike knowledge, have any great suggestions for bikes with dashes I might like?
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*** Unregistered, I'm not your mom and I'm not paying for your parts, so do whatever you want with your own bike. *** Last futzed with by InvisiBill; July 14th, 2014 at 11:04 AM. |
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July 14th, 2014, 06:01 AM | #2 |
ninjette.org sage
Name: Kevin
Location: Portland, OR
Join Date: Oct 2013 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250R, Tiger 800 XRT Posts: 828
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The Translogic Micro Dash is my current want. Not sure how customizable it is with regard to removing things like the fuel gauge, actually I don't think it has a fuel gauge, just a "fuel low" indication. If you don't hook it up it probably doesn't show up.
It has indicator lights across the top. It's fairly hard to find details on it though. There doesn't seem to be any detailed reviews of it out there. |
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July 14th, 2014, 07:22 AM | #3 |
ninjette.org guru
Name: Bob
Location: Chicago
Join Date: Sep 2012 Motorcycle(s): '06 Ninja 250, 2018 Honda GL1800B Posts: 315
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I've used the Trail Tech Vapor with good results. Digital speedo and bar tach with computer (temp, time, telltales, etc), with adjustable speedo input, adjustable warning lights for RPM, temp, etc. About $130. Easy mounting, magnetic speedo pickup, weighs practically nothing.
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July 14th, 2014, 11:00 AM | #4 |
EX500 full of EX250 parts
Name: Bill
Location: Grand Rapids-ish, MI
Join Date: Jul 2012 Motorcycle(s): '18 Ninja 400 • '09 Ninja 500R (selling) • '98 VFR800 (project) • '85 Vulcan VN700 (sold) Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 1
MOTM - Aug '15
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I have seen both of those, but forgot to mention them. The TransLogic looks pretty cool, but I don't like the way the gear indicator seems to be a major focus of it (probably more useful on a track bike than a street bike). Some of these kits with speedo and tach do calculate the gear for you, but if it needs input from the bike's sensor, that's another thing I don't have (though I've tinkered a bit with adding one). The $350-$500 pricetag isn't as nice either.
The Vapor is pretty much the go-to dash on naked 500s. I'm actually helping a member on the other forum work out his wiring issues with one. It's not bad, but I'd prefer not to get the gauges where it's basically just one big LCD screen for everything (applicable to both of these options). Thanks for the suggestions. I'm just really picky about little things that most people don't even notice. Keep the ideas coming!
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*** Unregistered, I'm not your mom and I'm not paying for your parts, so do whatever you want with your own bike. *** |
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July 15th, 2014, 02:56 PM | #5 |
ninjette.org certified postwhore
Name: Jay
Location: CT
Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): 2015 636 ABS - 69 Honda 305 Posts: A lot.
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If you like the 2014 ninja 1000 gauge why not give the 11 a look. They are essentially the same bike, the 14 i think has power modes, abs, tc and coolant temp. The rest of the features i think are the same. Ive seen a few of the 11's being parted out on riderforums
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July 15th, 2014, 05:31 PM | #6 |
ninjette.org guru
Name: Darren
Location: Sandy Springs, GA
Join Date: Apr 2012 Motorcycle(s): 2012 Yamaha FZ6R, 2014 Suzuki GSX-R600 Posts: 299
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The Koso RX-1N has separate turn signal indicators, that might be an option.
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July 16th, 2014, 05:18 AM | #7 | ||
EX500 full of EX250 parts
Name: Bill
Location: Grand Rapids-ish, MI
Join Date: Jul 2012 Motorcycle(s): '18 Ninja 400 • '09 Ninja 500R (selling) • '98 VFR800 (project) • '85 Vulcan VN700 (sold) Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 1
MOTM - Aug '15
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Quote:
Quote:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/191135932581 is one of these knockoffs for $46 (about the cheapest I can find). I might try it out (I've wasted more money on stupider things...) just to see how I like that style - I don't like the blue backlight or the tach's redzone starting so low, but it would give me an idea how well I liked the general style. The wiring instructions do list a connection for water temp, but I'm not sure if that's a digital number gauge (to replace my analog gauge) or just a warning light (which probably wouldn't work with the stock setup).
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*** Unregistered, I'm not your mom and I'm not paying for your parts, so do whatever you want with your own bike. *** |
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September 1st, 2014, 04:09 PM | #8 |
EX500 full of EX250 parts
Name: Bill
Location: Grand Rapids-ish, MI
Join Date: Jul 2012 Motorcycle(s): '18 Ninja 400 • '09 Ninja 500R (selling) • '98 VFR800 (project) • '85 Vulcan VN700 (sold) Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 1
MOTM - Aug '15
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I fell into a new project, and ended up ordering one of the cheap RX-1N knockoffs for that. I haven't actually installed it, but I did temporarily hook it up to a battery to test it. Here are some thoughts on it.
The first thing that jumped out at me is how small it is. The whole thing is about the same size as my hand. It's about half as wide as my 500's stock gauge cluster. If you cut off the section with the right turn signal, it's about the same size as an iPhone 5. The tach face is 66mm in diameter, compared to about 94mm on my 500. I read the measurements on the page, but it just looks really small in person. It could be a little hard to read on a bike at speed. It seems to pretty well match the real RX-1N's measurements though. It's got black faces, which I prefer over white, with no red zone on the tach (it seems most of them had really weird red ranges). I might use a Sharpie or something on the back of the gauge face to add my own red zone. You can switch the bar gauge between fuel and temperature. It includes a magnetic speed sensor. I don't know if I'll be able to make it work with this Honda's existing speed sensor on the transmission (not sure if I can configure the distance low enough to match the pulses from the trans). The Koso is configurable for 1 or 6 pulses per rotation, which I think would be compatible. It's pretty configurable, once you figure out the Engrish on the auction page. You can set the wheel circumference (1xxx to 2xxx mm) to calibrate the speedometer. You can set the oil sensor for 100 or 500 ohm (though the Koso is selectable for the fuel gauge, not oil pressure). It's switchable between kph and mph. It's also switchable between "2 cylinder / 4 cylinder", which I think is 2-stroke/4-stroke for proper tach readings. It sounds like it's a bit customizable if you contact the seller ("Please list your special requests (color, packages, etc.) in the PAYPAL NOTES SECTION when you make payment."), but the pics on the page don't exactly match each other or the specific item I received. Some of the pics show a "Check Engine" icon, but mine has a "P" there (for "hand brake parking lights"?). The neutral "N" icon isn't actually wired up (the wiring diagram in fact doesn't mention the N light) even though it's shown lit up in at least one pic. I'm going to contact them about exchanging/modifying it to use N instead of P, which would make it pretty much perfect for this project (though still a little bit off for my 500). For a Chinese item with free shipping, it got here quickly. I ordered it 8/18, it showed up in the USPS tracking system 8/20, it went through Customs 8/23, and was delivered 8/28. It actually spent more time going through the US than it was in China. This is definitely a cheap Chinese knockoff. It's hard to figure out exactly what you're getting with all these generic eBay auctions, as even the different pics on the same page don't always match. I had a hard time finding something that didn't conflict with my (admittedly quite picky) list of requirements. However, it might be a good way to cheaply test if you'd like a Koso before dropping a huge chunk of cash on a real one.
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*** Unregistered, I'm not your mom and I'm not paying for your parts, so do whatever you want with your own bike. *** |
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September 4th, 2014, 11:40 AM | #9 |
CPT Falcon
Name: J.Emmett Turner
Location: Newnan, GA
Join Date: Apr 2009 Motorcycle(s): '08 CP Blue EX250J, '97 unpainted EX250F, 2nd '97 unpainted EX250F (no engine), '07 black EX250F Posts: A lot.
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Koso doesn't have a red line either. IIRC, you put in a setting and the LEDs that light up as the needle passes would set the red line range. Either that or the multi-function light would come on.
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September 5th, 2014, 11:47 AM | #10 | |
EX500 full of EX250 parts
Name: Bill
Location: Grand Rapids-ish, MI
Join Date: Jul 2012 Motorcycle(s): '18 Ninja 400 • '09 Ninja 500R (selling) • '98 VFR800 (project) • '85 Vulcan VN700 (sold) Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 1
MOTM - Aug '15
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Quote:
This isn't especially relevant to the 250 (I was really just grasping for more general bike/dash knowledge, to see if someone happened to know about some bike with a dash that perfectly matched what I was looking for), but I figured I'd toss up my thoughts on the cheap eBay gauge since I mentioned them, and recently acquired one. I always prefer to have more info available when researching something, so hopefully my mini-review helps someone out in the future. I also stumbled across the VFR1200 guage. I'm not sure how well it would fit in the 500's dash, but I like the overall setup of it. It seems to have all the details I want, without too much extra junk getting in the way.
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*** Unregistered, I'm not your mom and I'm not paying for your parts, so do whatever you want with your own bike. *** |
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September 5th, 2014, 02:28 PM | #11 |
RIP Alex
Name: Cuong
Location: Houston, TX
Join Date: Apr 2011 Motorcycle(s): '10 250r, '09 265r Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 2
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I went with a somewhat older style cluster. A 92 zx7 lol. Analog everything. I haven't researched the digital conversion but I have seen it done before. The gauges are almost plug and play I think. Well at least in mine it was. I just had to repin and solder some lines together.
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HalfFast Racing Team Serving Greater Houston Area Riders:WFO Riders MotoHouston HPC CMRA Ride Smart Fastline Lone Star Track Days |
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September 5th, 2014, 06:21 PM | #12 |
Freedom for Germany
Location: This World
Join Date: May 2011 Motorcycle(s): Ninja 250R-FI Posts: A lot.
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Maybe this could be an option http://www.acewell-meter.com/c0_1.php?pid=18&bid=16
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September 8th, 2014, 04:29 AM | #13 | |
EX500 full of EX250 parts
Name: Bill
Location: Grand Rapids-ish, MI
Join Date: Jul 2012 Motorcycle(s): '18 Ninja 400 • '09 Ninja 500R (selling) • '98 VFR800 (project) • '85 Vulcan VN700 (sold) Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 1
MOTM - Aug '15
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Quote:
Another option I've been considering is trying to find just a universal digital speedometer to add on. Sort of like http://www.acewell-meter.com/c0_1.php?pid=14&bid=14, though that still has a few extras on it. I'm a bit surprised that I haven't found any plain digital hall-sensor speedos on eBay actually, though I guess if you want a speedo, you probably want the rest of the dash functions too. Or I could just get a GPS-HUD speedo for $67 to cover the digital speedo plus some extra geekery with the HUD. I like having the speedo tied to the bike's mechanicals and dislike the lag of GPS calculated speed, but it would probably be a whole lot easier than trying to find the perfect replacement gauge cluster.
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*** Unregistered, I'm not your mom and I'm not paying for your parts, so do whatever you want with your own bike. *** |
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February 9th, 2015, 01:39 PM | #14 |
EX500 full of EX250 parts
Name: Bill
Location: Grand Rapids-ish, MI
Join Date: Jul 2012 Motorcycle(s): '18 Ninja 400 • '09 Ninja 500R (selling) • '98 VFR800 (project) • '85 Vulcan VN700 (sold) Posts: A lot.
Blog Entries: 1
MOTM - Aug '15
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Small update on my gauge search...
I haven't done anything at all with the RX-1N knockoff on the Honda project. It's still 100% in the same state as my last post about it. I did buy one of the GPS HUD speedos from Amazon. It works really great, except that it doesn't work at all. The device performs exactly like it should, and I've used it in several cars. It includes a little square of window tint to help the HUD show up better. Without it, you sometimes get a slight shadow image from the multiple layers of glass in the windshield. As you can see from the pic, it looks pretty good on my ZG dark smoke screen. However, in normal riding position, your line of vision is pretty much parallel to the windscreen when you're looking down at the gauges. The only way you can see the HUD reflecting off the screen is if you have your chin resting on the tank/bars (think super-tucked) or if you're laying back on the seat with your head over the taillight. I might try to hang the piece of tint off the screen at a different angle and see if I can work something out. Or maybe just fab up my own non-reversed LED number display for it rather than using it as a HUD. Other than the viewing angle issue, I do like it. It's a cool little device, but I suggest getting one of the free HUD speedo smartphone apps and testing the angle of reflection with your bike/position before spending $60+ on one of these. I also found another cheap gauge cluster design on eBay that I mostly like. http://www.ebay.com/itm/161575269982 As with most of these cheap Chinese gauges, there are several variations of them. Some have a gear indicator on the right part of the LCD, while some have a temperature gauge there. The fuel gauge is on the left, but is completely LCD (so hopefully it could be completely hidden). The relatively large analog tach is front and center, and the redline seems to match my engine. Some of them have the sweeping LEDs around the edge too. One of them is even cable-driven, rather than using magnetic sensors for the speedo. I just recently realized that these are knockoffs of the CBR250R gauge. https://tandoorandtravel.files.wordp...-cbr250r-3.jpg The UFO shape is a little weird for the 500's dash. Like a lot of the other gauges, it looks to be quite a bit smaller than the stock gauges. The blue splash in the center of the tach looks totally out of place to me. I'm not a huge fan of the silver trim, though it wouldn't look bad on my black/silver bike. It looks like the CBR300R uses the same gauge, but all black. I think I prefer the blue/white backlight on the LCD, but otherwise I really like that. The biggest challenge would be having it fit/look right on the 500 I think. I'll probably swing by a local dealership in the near future to check one out in person.
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*** Unregistered, I'm not your mom and I'm not paying for your parts, so do whatever you want with your own bike. *** |
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