I look at things like that & wonder

"How do it KNOW?"

Those kits make me wonder what makes them worth it. $300 asking price is STEEP. Especially if the parts add up to not much. The real variable here is the O2 sensor itself. I got mine for $15, but some are hundreds alone.

LANCER, if you give that "scirocco" link in the first post another gander, it looks pretty similar to what you posted. I'm curious as to why the cost is so high. Maybe that O2 sensor is much better than what I picked up? The circuitry to light up some LEDs based on a voltage is fairly minimal, so I can't imagine much cost there. Maybe it is just rarity?

I dunno, that's cool that you've got a kit and will offer it up like that.

As for O2 wiring diagrams... this might help: http://www.ngk.com/glossaryImage.asp?imgID=309 and http://www.aa1car.com/library/o2sensor.htm

SALB wrote on 04/24/12 at 11:54:56:


 Y E P  

I promised pictures, so here they are, albeit late:

(for bigger image: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bXXWTsekeWD_YkHd42xGKNMTjNZETYmyPJy0lii...)

another angle: https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/OhtqhDuBzeW5WPbDHGEImdMTjNZETYmyPJy0lii...

and what was causing some rattle in my exhaust:
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FF_tzVrWZSUx-ZSIVP_KXtMTjNZETYmyPJy0lii...

I haven't had a chance to test out the O2 sensor yet, but it doesn't seem that the bung leaks. can't tell from putting a hand around it or from a change in exhaust behavior. There are plans to grind down the weld (not too bad for my second time welding,  i guess) and clean it up a bit, after which I'll put some water on it with the bike cold to see if it bubbles. The weather has become cold(er) and wet(ter), not sure what that means for getting out and testing it. I did take the bike to the bar last night, but I didn't exactly what to take my multimeter with me. maybe I'll take it tonight, i'm going to look at a 1979 GS850 which are notorious for electrical woes anyways.

EDIT: oh yeah, forgot to explain the muffler rattle. I had been hearing a metallic rattle at random times on the bike. I orginally thought it was clutch related as I would only hear it when actuating the clutch, but it turned out that that was the only time the engine was quite enough AND thumping enough to allow me to hear the rattling. When I took off the exhaust to drill/weld it, a hand full of those baffle tabs fell out so I looked inside and I could see that the baffle had cracked in half and collapsed on itself. lovely. This probably happened a solid year ago, so I'm not too concerned about it, just kind of amusing.

So, your experiment is, by all indications, a success! Great news,,, gotta love it when ya do a DIY on that kind of a project & win,,
Now, for the Big Evaluation,,

How much is a kit? How much have you got in it? How much time have you got in it? Not to the minute, but kinda sorta, planning, shopping, & hands on doing it? The nice thing is, what youve done is prove it can be done, so, the planning/designing & shopping time is handled for anyone who wants to follow your path. So, I could come in behind you now & just buy the stuff & go to work,, some drilling, welding, wiring & riding . Whoever follows will benefit greatly & save some $$$. Congratulations!

Boule’tard wrote on 05/04/12 at 19:15:46:


Ha, I'd have to look through my records to get you an exact number, but a good estimate is around $35 assuming you already have the tools required and some odds and ends here and there. I can't speak for the total time to get the LED gauge hooked up, but the O2 sensor was real quick to get installed with the drilling/welding. It took me maybe an hour total; someone who is more experienced welding would take much less time. I expect the gauge to take another hour or two, depending on what level of polish I apply to it. I'm more of a "function over form" kind of guy though, so I'm fairly sure it'll be butt ugly. Research was the big time sink, that and a few wasted trips to part stores to find a fracking bung/nut/whatever.

The odd thing about the "kit" is that there are so many combinations that could work, and I really haven't tested my setup (or any other setup) fully, so I'd hesitate to recommend anything just yet.

A downside to this "mod" is it doesn't necessarily gain you anything. In the end, I'll have something that'll tell me if my jetting is off, but the vast majority of people on this forum can already tell that by how the bike rides, how it sounds, etc. I don't even think I'll end up keeping the LED gauge and O2 sensor hooked up for long; I just want them in there long enough so that I can get my bike as close as possible to the right jetting.

Thanks for the encouragement, guys. I have a lot more respect for How-To's on this site that have all sorts of pictures and contiguous steps. I took my sweet time with this (and it is still on-going!), so to have a definitive guide on anything that well documented is impressive.

Yes, it'll tell you in what throttle range if you're lean, rich, or spot on. I'll be interested to see how the LED gauge acts when I get it on.

The sensor sticks out of the header three or four inches straight back, but it isn't intrusive at all. I wire-tied the wire output of it to my crash bars, so that stays out of my rear brake pedal. It has been on the bike for a while now, so it could be permanent. If the LED gauge mounts somewhere and doesn't look horrible it very well might stay on the bike a good long while.