Electronic speedometer / information

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Purists please don't even look at this...may cause elevated blood pressure etc. It has taken me longer than I thought to get my MK3 ready for a 1000 mile trip but I'm finally there. Leaving on the 23rd god willing. One thing that was bugging me was how to accurately record important data such as distance travelled etc with my stock clocks. The tach is OK but the speedo is almost useless. It worked for a while after I spent alot of time with cable routing and lubrication then it just packed it in and started swinging all over the place. My drive is OK and I now have a small collection of cables but my speedo is done for. Buy another one? Repair this one? Even so it would just be a matter of time before it goes south again.

After looking around I decided to try the Trail Tech Vapor speedo/tach/clock combination. It costs less than the cheapeast repro speedo and does much more. It was easy to set up and I really like it now. The tach is not spot on for accuracy but I'm sure it could be made to be. All other functions and especially the speedometer are dead on. I made a little bracket for it and it fits neatly in the space that the MK3 dash used to take up. I had intended to just use it for this upcomming trip but I may just keep it on the bike. Good documentation and the company is out of Washington State. It works so...dont judge!

Electronic speedometer / information


Electronic speedometer / information
 
Looks somewhat unobtrusive. I am at the point where my veglia has seen it's better days, my speedo gearbox is shot and I need an alternative for a trip this fall. Let us know how it holds up. Did you buy the generic fork version and how was it for install.
 
Yep this is the 'generic....standard forks, air cooled' I also opted for the 'stealth' model as the black fits in very well with the Commando look. Set up was a piece of cake. I used zip ties to mount the speedo sensor to the rear of the left fork. The tiny round magnet sticks right on the disc and away it went. Really simple. Readings are stable and accurate after carefully measuring the wheel etc. The tach gets its signal from a wire wrapped around one of the ignition cables. Since I made the bracket I spent some time getting the angle set up perfectly for my riding position. The backlights are really effective. All in all a great functional addition to the bare bones (when they are working) instruments on the Commando.
 
In NSW Australia they have just gone to unmarked private contractor speed cameras and the speedometer on my Norton is not accurate even with a new cable and overhauled speedo and drive it still flicks around. Moved the cable around and got it better but still jumps a bit. Highway patrol over here gave you a bit of room for error like down hill but these cameras are just straight out revenue raising, the more they get the more profit they make. I mounted my gps off my 1200gs as I know how close the BM speedo is. Will be more prangs now as we watch our speedo and not the road just to be safe or is it to save our license ? What I am saying is I like your addition and in todays government grab for our hard earned $ it is be coming a must have.
Ian
 
Commando75 said:
If you search Ebay for Trail Tech Vapor you will get about 1400 results. Take your pick.

The company website is here:

http://trailtech.net/

Hi,

Nice install, looks well with the original clocks.

One question, is your bike wired for negative earth? I'm presuming this type of instrument will not work with positive earth :roll:

Kevin
 
Hi Kevin. Actually the answer is that my bike is positive earth as original. The manual for the Vapor calls it polarity neutral. It works great on my system.
 
Commando75 said:
Hi Kevin. Actually the answer is that my bike is positive earth as original. The manual for the Vapor calls it polarity neutral. It works great on my system.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. That's very interesting another thing I need to add to the 'list' :mrgreen:

Kevin
 
Commando75 said:
Purists please don't even look at this...may cause elevated blood pressure etc. It has taken me longer than I thought to get my MK3 ready for a 1000 mile trip but I'm finally there. Leaving on the 23rd god willing.

Where are you headed?
 
Cool Dave thanks for the invite. If I decide to head south after my visit my plan is to go down the coast. I may also go further east...kinda up in the air at the moment which is the idea for this trip. My last decent MC trip was in 1989 on a 65 BMW. My friend was on a 58 Velocette. No tools, no money we just went. It was a blast. This trip I will have a little money and lots of tools :lol:
 
The wiring diagram for the MKIII shows a wire for an electronic tach. Does anyone know if it is somehow usable?
 
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