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General Category >> Rubber Side Down! >> Moving stock speedometer
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Message started by Kris01 on 07/31/15 at 11:08:30

Title: Moving stock speedometer
Post by Kris01 on 07/31/15 at 11:08:30

How much trouble would it be to move the stock speedometer to the handle bars? I guess the only thing I would need to worry about are the wiring for the lights and the proper length of cable to drive the needle, right?

I'm tired of looking down at the speedo and don't want an aftermarket speedo that reads 160 mph on a bike that's barely capable of 90! ;)

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/31/15 at 11:50:14

I think you'll find most bar mounted units are fed from the front tire.
Imagine the cable and the routing and the action of turning and what that would do. And the cosmetics.

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by Kris01 on 07/31/15 at 14:49:49

Cosmetics I can take care of. I was just wondering if the cable routing would chew up the ends of the cable or something. It's probably not the best idea.

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by justin_o_guy2 on 07/31/15 at 15:01:55

Maybe build a mount off the frame and bring it up near the front of the tank?

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by Johnny57 on 07/31/15 at 15:10:02

RYCA makes a bracket; sells a Speedometer and sells a longer cable so you do not have to use front wheel.

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by Kris01 on 07/31/15 at 16:46:31

But the Ryca speedo has waaay too high of a maximum speed. I wouldn't use over half the gauge. I'm just looking for some options.

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by 05ss45 on 07/31/15 at 18:13:33

Ill be keeping an eye on this thread as i am debating where to move the speedo. I might just go with the higher mph one.

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by jcstokes on 07/31/15 at 18:50:30

Securing a much longer cable might be an issue and there doesn't seem to be a lot of room on the stock bars for the instrument and its associated paraphernalia, if you intend keeping the surround. A possible solution might be to see if you can find a speedo off an older 250-350 cc bike that only reads to 100mph or less and see if you can have it calibrated to suit the S40.

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by chzeckmate on 08/03/15 at 16:13:12

The RYCA cable is $60...pricey. Maybe just use a cable extension like this.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-SPEEDOMETER-CABLE-EXTENSION-black-custom-chopper-speedo-extended-front-end-/181545787420?hash=item2a44f8e01c&vxp=mtr

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by Kris01 on 08/03/15 at 18:32:33

I saw a post/thread the other day from seviersavage where he moved the stock speedo to the handlebars but I can't find it now and he hasn't been online for a while.

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by Dave on 08/03/15 at 18:54:10

There are a bunch of electronic options these days, and mounting a magnet and a sensor is not a big deal. They also have a lot of features on some of them like trip mileage, a clock, engine temp, outside air temp, max speed, a tach, etc. The good news is the speed is programmable and you can get it exact.....and each time you change a tire or gearing you can make corrections for your speed. The Trail Tech Vapor is about $ 120 in the basic form, and about $ 50 more with the dashboard that has indicator lights (that are hard to see in sunlight).

Another option is the GPS speedometers, and they are getting more affordable. The only problem I have had with my GPS is when we were riding at the Dragon.....sometimes it took a while for the speedometer to lock into the satellites and show a speed, as the steep hills and tree cover sometimes made it hard for it to lock onto the satellites.

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by Kris01 on 08/03/15 at 19:02:12

I've been looking at the Speedhut gauges but if I get a speedo, I'll have to get a tach. It's just how I am! I wouldn't really use it for anything - I just like to watch the needle move! :D

The great thing about Speedhut is that I can get a speedo that reads 80 mph! That means that about 90% of the gauge sweep would be useable for me.

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by Dave on 08/04/15 at 03:20:01

546D766C2F2E1F0 wrote:

I've been looking at the Speedhut gauges but if I get a speedo, I'll have to get a tach. It's just how I am! I wouldn't really use it for anything - I just like to watch the needle move!

You can get them both in the same unit.

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by nof1 on 08/04/15 at 16:30:00

I've thought about the same thing, but a huge consideration (and probable expense) is what to do with the "hole" you create in the tank.

Concerning the digital spedo units, I was talking just a few days ago with a guy who has one, and he claims that in many instances it's hard to read due to lighting. He said bc of glare or other factors he often can't see the numbers. Just an FYI as I have no 1st hand experience.

Edit: Dave is that combo unit mounted on a savage! Looks sweet. Do you know where it was sourced?

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by Kris01 on 08/04/15 at 18:04:38

It's a speedhut gauge. It's also somewhere in the neighborhood of 5" or so. I was wanting something a lot smaller...like around 2.25". You can't get the combo gauges without going to a very large gauge.

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by FerousBastard on 08/05/15 at 02:55:46

6C554E541716270 wrote:

Those are quite spiffy looking! Just checked out the Speedhut website, they are apparently 4" and slightly pricy (and not watertight, but that can be remedied), but you can chose everything from the color of the needles to the color and fonts of the face.
Does anyone know, or can measure, the diameter of the stock speedometer?

Quote:

I've thought about the same thing, but a huge consideration (and probable expense) is what to do with the "hole" you create in the tank.

Cupholder?

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by Dave on 08/05/15 at 03:05:22

I didn't have any trouble reading my TrailTech Vapor digital gauges - but the dashboard they sell with the turn signal, neutral and high beam light is a different story. In direct sunlight it was nearly impossible to see the turn signal indicators, even after I changed the indicator lights to brighter LED's. Their dashboard looks nice and works fine on cloudy days and at night.....not so good in sunlight. I did like the trip meter, clock, and engine temperature gauge - the outdoor temperature gauge was always about 15 degrees off....I would be really cold and the thing would say it was 65 degrees!

The dual speedo/tach I used is a Speedhut brand, and Dime City sells a similar one that they buy from Speedhut and have their own printing put on it. The units are not waterproof where the wires go into the back, and you have to do something to get that sealed up. RTV silicone would do it.....but that would look a bit tacky. I made some plastic covers and glued them in place. On the last Dragon run Springman, Art Webb and I got hit by a really hard downpour, and the speedometer stayed dry inside!

The stock speedometer is about 3-13/16" diameter at the outside of the chrome bezel. I think the 90 degree angle of the cable drive would be a bit troublesome if you moved it up to the handlebars/forks.

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by Dave on 08/05/15 at 03:42:03

Acewell makes a wide range of digital speedometers. The shiny glass in the face can sometimes be hard to read when the sun hits directly on the face.....the mounting angle makes a big difference in how it works for you. My Speedhut gauge is the same way, and every now and then I get some glare from it.

http://www.acewell-meter.com/

They have one for $ 219 that has a lot of functions - my only gripe with this one is the display and buttons look a bit tacky.

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/black-acewell-2853-digital-speedometer-and-tachometer.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMHyHGAl1ak
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMHyHGAl1ak[/media]

The top of the line one is $ 475!

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/black-acewell-2853-digital-speedometer-and-tachometer.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=win8Lo39oaA
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=win8Lo39oaA[/media]

Title: Re: Moving stock speedometer
Post by Dave on 08/05/15 at 04:10:25

Speedhut makes a small 3-3/8" GPS speedometer that is $ 259, and you can customize the face to a lot of different font style or colors. You will have to seal wires out the back of the case. It has a lot of features like altitude, trip meter, maximum speed, time, direction, clock, 0-60 mph time, 1/4 mile time. They most likely have a version with high beam and turn signal indicators.....although I found they are not visible in direct sunlight. I had them shorten my antenna cable to 18" and I mounted the antenna on the top of my front brake master cylinder with a velcro strip, and it works just fine.

http://www.speedhut.com/gauge/GR338-GPS-01/1/GPS-Speedometer-Gauge-120mph