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Message started by gerald.hughes on 02/02/12 at 10:44:25

Title: Want to move speedo.
Post by gerald.hughes on 02/02/12 at 10:44:25

I think that this is the right place for this post. I want to move my speedo from the tank to the handlebar, both for better visibility, and to modify the tank to hold a little more gas. Thanks to a post by Yanuh Adisi, I know that the tach cable off of a mid mid eighties model Suzuki GT750 will give an extra three inches, and is a direct swap.

What I need to know is does anyone know of a housing that the speedo can go into for the handlebar mount (Preferably one that will also handle the indicator lights for high beam and turn signals.)?

Thanks for any input.

Title: Re: Want to move speedo.
Post by splash07 on 02/02/12 at 11:13:18

you may have more luck finding a different speedo that mounts to a bar rather than try and find a housing to hold the stock speedo. Unless you are handy and creative in which case you could simply fab one up.

Title: Re: Want to move speedo.
Post by spacepirates on 02/02/12 at 11:26:42

I'm not sure how much fuel capacity you'll end up getting by removing the speedo, I don't think there is much clearance between the top of the tank and the frame where the speedo sits.

It is more common to find an aftermarket speedo than to mod the existing one to work, though i have seen it done on here. Electronic speedos can run off a pair of magnets on the spokes of the front wheel and the front forks, so you wouldn't have to mess with the speedo cable.

The RYCA folk would have much better insight on these matters, since they go with aftermarket speedos anyways.

If a bigger gas tank was more your goal, there are easier/more common options done by fitting other tanks on the bike.

For a zero-cost, not-too-difficult solution, I'd just take some sheet metal and wrap it around the bottom of the speedo housing, then bolt it all to the bars and ignore the tank. If you've got enjoy skill to mod a tank making a speedo housing-back should be reasonable.

Let us know what you find. I've been wanting to move the speedo for visibility reasons. then again, my justification for speeding has always been that the chin bar of my helmet makes it impossible to see the speedo...

Title: Re: Want to move speedo.
Post by verslagen1 on 02/02/12 at 11:32:20

All depends on what you expect it to look like when you're done.

Easiest solution like splash says... get one from an existing bike.
Problem is you can't gaurantee the same gear ratio's.
Most bikes that I'd recommend drive the speedo off of the front wheel.

One difficulty you may have is our speedo drive comes off the bottom at a right angle. So you'd need to mount it so the cable can go down under the tank. Either low or at an angle, might not be a problem, but need to be aware when selecting a donor bucket.

Title: Re: Want to move speedo.
Post by MotoBuddha on 02/02/12 at 17:27:42

393A2B292F3A23382B3E2F394A0 wrote:

I'm not sure how much fuel capacity you'll end up getting by removing the speedo, I don't think there is much clearance between the top of the tank and the frame where the speedo sits.

Maybe a cup and a half, two cups. But there are times, when the bike starts sputtering, and you're in the middle of nowhere, you'd kill for even an extra tablespoon of gas.

Title: Re: Want to move speedo.
Post by MotoBuddha on 02/02/12 at 17:35:34

An alternative: get an aftermarket speedo that runs off a magnetic pickup at the front wheel. Even a bicycle speedo would do the job. Then mount some small LEDs in the headlight shell to serve as your idiot lights. Something like this, only with more lights, of course.

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk182/motobuddha/10d55efd.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk182/motobuddha/494616f8.jpg

Or, as long as you'd be modifying the tank, you could add a small lip at the front to house your idiot lights.

Title: Re: Want to move speedo.
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 02/02/12 at 18:22:06

Id seriously consider the bicycle speedo, or something called a Veypor( I hope thats the right name) & keep your tank on a shelf in the garage. Replace it with a bigger tank,

Title: Re: Want to move speedo.
Post by verslagen1 on 02/02/12 at 19:06:45

there's the veypor...
http://www.veypor.com/images/dash-install.jpg
http://www.veypor.com/dash.html

and the vapor...
http://www.trailtech.net/media/computers/vapor/motorcycle_vapor_kits/vapor_tachometer_w250.jpg

and a vn750 tank is about 4 something gallons

Title: Re: Want to move speedo.
Post by built2last66 on 02/02/12 at 19:27:41

Vapor looks very interesting.. I have a bazillion ideas popping off with that thing...

Title: Re: Want to move speedo.
Post by youzguyz on 02/03/12 at 02:32:13

6C7B67627A3C626F7D7A38380E0 wrote:

Vapor looks very interesting.. I have a bazillion ideas popping off with that thing...

I have one of those on Thumper. It has held up well. You can do a search through the message boards for more info on the Veypor and Vapor.

Here is one from way back.
http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1226960911
and another
http://suzukisavage.com/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1216350804

Title: Re: Want to move speedo.
Post by Tinfoil-Jim on 02/08/12 at 18:35:44

Well, to add and ask here, so please don't kill me. But I have an old 81 Yamaha 750 Custom Shaft-drive sitting in my shop, and I was wondering about using the speedo from it. The speedo is mounted on the handlebar and even has a trip odometer on it ;) . Now the cable comes from the front wheel brake area, so using that cable would be out of the question, but since it has a mounting cup, and info lights between the tach and speedo, would this not be a good one for a doner?

Jim B :D .

Title: Re: Want to move speedo.
Post by verslagen1 on 02/08/12 at 19:01:03

we won't know till you try ;D

Title: Re: Want to move speedo.
Post by wvenator on 02/10/12 at 15:41:47

Facing the same delimas, I dropped the spedo from the tank completely and welded some plate and spead some filler to make the hole dissapear. I can tell you from trial and error that the spedo is easier replaced than relocated. Everything from mounting to cable run battles you. And the fuel capacity gain is minimal at best because of the backbone and mounts. I ended up making a 18x3.5 inch tube into a reserve tank that sits in / under the tank. I had to raise the tank, but i did that first anyway in order to get the seat pitch i wanted. Solved the speedo prob with a garmin gps on custom mounts in front of the risers and behind a raised head lamp. I tried to post pics but it wont let me. Im new and technically challanged. Metal is a different story. Send me a pm and ill email um.