Down under, an idiot and a 400F

[ronnie]

neevo, search on here, I'm pretty sure you aren't the first to look into or buy one. I have seen other threads with acewells just don't remember which ones.

 

[hillsy]

I've had 2 Acewells in the past couple of years on different bikes - both were the non analogue ones, but they both worked well. Good quality and value for money.

The biggest problems people have with them are mounting the speedo sensors correctly so they read smooth, and getting a steady tacho signal.

Yell out if you have any problems when you get to that point - I can help run you through how to get it reading properly.

 

[neevo]

Cheers hillsy, appreciated.

 

[o1marc]

Ouch. Well Taiwan do make some fairly awesome things when they are in that price range. So I take it electric speedo and mech tacho. Looks like it even has a temp gauge. Seems like a decent unit.

While it does have a needle tach it is not mechanical.

 

[neevo]

While it does have a needle tach it is not mechanical.

Correct, electronic tach with analogue needle. Tres cool

 

[Brodie]

Neat. That seems like the perfect gauge combo.

 

[hillsy]

The only thing I would say about that analogue combo gauge is that it may be more sensitive to damage by vibration than the full digital set-up. If it was me, I'd make sure it was rubber mounted or mounted as close as possible to the triple to reduce the amount of vibration to the unit.

Mind you, I'm just taking a guess here and I could be totally wrong, but I've seen needles fall off gauges before due to excessive vibration so I'd err on the side of caution.

 

[neevo]

hillsy the unit will be mounted to the top triple somehow. I would be surprised if the needle fell off, these are designed specifically for motorbikes.

 

[hillsy]

You'd be surprised how much damage vibration can do to analogue gauges.

Not saying it WILL happen, but it's more likely to happen to an analogue one than a full digital set-up.

 

[crazypj]

Analog is much faster to read
With digital your brain has to interpret the numbers then decide if it's withing allowable limits, with a needle, OK, close enough ;D
Quite a lot of testing was done with pilots (plus people who needed to make split second decisions)

 

[neevo]

Fair enough. I will see if I can add some sort of vibration reduction in the mount.

 

[SONICJK]

I wouldn't worry about it. If the needle falls off acewell would likely shit themselves and replace it.

 

[neevo]

I wouldn't worry about it. If the needle falls off acewell would likely shit themselves and replace it.

Or if not I would rant about it on my blog and let 11 people know exactly how I felt about their product

 

[SONICJK]

Or if not I would rant about it on my blog and let 11 people know exactly how I felt about their product

Exactly. Completely ruin their reputation! (Among "real" motorcycle fans) hahaha

 

[o1marc]

Analog is much faster to read
With digital your brain has to interpret the numbers then decide if it's withing allowable limits, with a needle, OK, close enough ;D
Quite a lot of testing was done with pilots (plus people who needed to make split second decisions)

Thats why we always put the gauges in the racecar so that the needles were all at 6:00 when they were at normal operating range. It didn't matter what the numbers were, you just knew you had an issue if they weren't straight up.

 

[crazypj]

Yep, thats the 'correct' way to do it although normally it's 12:00 o'clock
Had several people try to 'adjust' tachometer positions on race bikes :

 

[o1marc]

Yep, thats the 'correct' way to do it although normally it's 12:00 o'clock
Had several people try to 'adjust' tachometer positions on race bikes :

That's what I meant, straight up, not 6:00
That reminds me of when I put an oil temp gauge in my VW Scirocco race car. The mechanic said all it would do is freak me out at how high of temp those motors ran in the oil. I told him I didn't care what the number was, only if the needle wasn't where it normally runs is all I wanted to know.

 

[neevo]

Finally some decent updates, not work related but purchases that should take the bike to the next level.

First up some TIG consumables. I've read up a bit and seen a few videos on gas lenses for TIG torches. And with an impending swingarm brace coming up where extended electrode was required to get into some tight spaces, I thought it would be a good addition to the torch.

Here are 1.6/2.4mm gas lenses, 5/6/8 cups and the Teflon collars:

Next up my swing arm brace finally came in, and what's better than a brace??? TWO BRACES

Fingers crossed I don't need both, then I can sell the other one to help fund some more goodies on the bike.

Now I need to work out how I'm going to weld the ends of the tube so they are neat and tidy against the swingarm. 2 options:

1. Squash the ends of the tube against the swingarm
2. Have some slugs made to finish the tubes off

This is the bit in question:

 

[o1marc]

Are you bracing yours from on top as opposed to underneath?

 

[neevo]

Are you bracing yours from on top as opposed to underneath?

Yeah. It's bracing for the mono shock mount.

That's Kevin's swingarm from TTR400 isn't it? Killer bit of kit.