Installing SpeedHut gauges

[Dave Swanson]

On 7/9/2023 at 10:03 AM, drossell7 said:

I started a conversion to Speedhut gauges but never completed it.  So, the gauges and other bits are for sale at a discount.

Before I did any work on my bike I partially staged the installation by buying a new intrument holder

(lower plastic portion) from Harpers and the metal portion (that attaches to the triple clamp) from Ebay. 

I fabticated brackets based from other members comments in this string.  Everything you need including a

plug for the crankcase where the speedo cable came out to do the conversion is here.

 

The speedometer is the GPS version and is set to 20,000 miles.  The metal portion of the intrument holder

has a slight bend - use the one from your machine.  Cost is $200.  Call Dave 973 632-2237

 

 

 

PM sent.  I would love to buy this setup for my V11.

[cowtownchemist]

They finally arrived!  Here are my speedhut gauges. The new design has removable clips for the cables so they can be disconnected during installation. Both came with the inner o-ring to help weather proof the glass seal. The bezels now have two little lock tabs which need depressed in order to unscrew them. Now I need to decide how I want to secure the back housing in the gauge cluster. I think I am going to attempt something similar to doc’s method by using the three screw holes on the back of the warning light cluster. 

[Scud]

Thanks for showing the new version of the gauges. Looks like the clip-in cables might make installation easier. Hard to tell from your photos, but it looks like the gauge cases might be a little thicker (deeper) than the earlier versions.

[cowtownchemist]

I made some progress on the installation this weekend.  The wiring was a breeze utilizing spade connectors on the Speedhut wires to connect to the existing wiring on the bike.  All of the Speedhut wiring fits easily into the space in the back cover.  I didn't even unravel it.

For the o-ring, I just cut the original o-ring/gasket and removed some of the material to leave two square o-rings of the right size.

Here are pics of the new tach next to the old speedometer.  The new one is a little bigger.

Here is a pic of the tach all lit up!

I still need to decide what to do about the back cover of the gauges.  I am now leaning towards doing what previous user amstaf did and trim the "cups" to fit around the Speedhut lock nuts and then secure it using three M4 screws from behind threaded into the existing screw mounts on back of the warning light cluster.  The Speedhut lock nuts secure the gauge really well.  I am just worried about water potentially getting into the cups around the seal.  I will probably remove the o-ring that I currently have between the lock nut and the dash and then move it to behind the lock nut so that it presses against the "cups"

 

[Speedfrog]

3 hours ago, cowtownchemist said:

I will probably remove the o-ring that I currently have between the lock nut and the dash and then move it to behind the lock nut so that it presses against the "cups"

I take it that the OD of the lock nuts doesn’t allow the original back cover to slip over them. Would it be possible to trim the lock nuts by shaving those protruding ribs to allow the back cover (cups?) to slip all the way up and come in contact with the back of the dash?

[cowtownchemist]

You are right, the OD of the lock nuts is too much for the un-modified cover to slip over them.  Even trimming off the ribs would not get it thin enough for the cover to slip over.  A back-up option I am noodling is having my friend 3D print me a new back cover which is slightly adjusted to accommodate the larger diameter of the lock nuts.  But I think the cover would then protrude over the metal dash plate. 

In order to use the original cover, I need to either trim it back or find an alternate way of securing the gauges such as the lamp parts method demonstrated on some of the earlier pages of this thread.

 

[Scud]

The lamp parts method worked well for me and has held up. I liked the ability to re-use the gauge cup without modification (except for a hole I drilled for the odometer reset button). I've done that twice now (on my ex Red LeMans and my current Nero Corsa). Someone else then improved on what I did, by gluing a larger base to the back of the gauge. I would borrow that idea if I were to do another set (if the Scura gauges break).

[cowtownchemist]

I wired up the speedo last night.  On the test it powered up and acquired its GPS signal with no issue.  I used the original light wire to power the speedo lights.  I already had a power line tapped into the daytime running light for my heated grips so I pig-tailed off of that to provide the main power to the speedo so I shouldn't have any interruption in the power when starting.

One thing I read in the instructions, and I don't know if the older models have this or not, is that the GPS location is saved for 4 hours.  In some earlier posts I read that some people had an issue with the speed needing to re-acquire the signal every time the bike was turned off.  Seems like this 4 hour location save should help that.

GPS QUICK START - GPS location is saved internally for up to a 4 hour period.  After 4 hours it will take 30-40 seconds to acquire signal again.

The jury is still out on what I will do with the back cover.  I plan to make the final decision tonight... 

[audiomick]

11 minutes ago, cowtownchemist said:

  I already had a power line tapped into the daytime running light for my heated grips so I pig-tailed off of that to provide the main power to the speedo

You are keeping track of how many amps are being drawn there, aren't you?

 

Also, where does the speedo get the power for its internal memory for the GPS position? Pemanent 12V from the bike (in which case it will be slowly draining the battery much like a clock or the dashboard on the Breva 750 models...) or does it have a battery or condensor or something inside for that?

[cowtownchemist]

I have not measured the amp draw.  The heated grips were installed when I bought the bike.  The instructions indicate a 0.2amp power draw for the gauge and instruct to use accessory power for the main gauge power and to use dash lighting power for the gauge lighting power. 

When I initially powered up the speedo, its internal clock was already running and displayed a time of 5:06, not the expected 12:00 like when power goes out on the microwave.  This tells me there is some internal battery for it.  Also, the 4 hour GPS "memory" also alludes to an internal battery and not a constant power draw.  Otherwise the GPS "memory" should be permanent.   However, this is all speculation.

What is the best way to measure the amp draw when both the speedo and grips are on and also the best way to measure if there is a vampire power draw when the bike is off?

[audiomick]

"Vampire" power draw is not that hard. Just hang a multi-meter that can do amps between one of the battery cables and its pole. This is ok, because mult-meters that can measure current can generally (I believe...) handle around 10 amps, and anything sneaky that is draining your battery is likely to be much less than that.

 

Measuring higher currents is a little more difficult. There are measuring devices that clip around the cable to be measured. I believe they use induction, but I don't have one so the knowledge is sketchy.

I stumbled over this post a while back:

It describes how to build a "shunt" which allows one to measure current by measuring the voltage drop along a piece of wire. Good for measuring high currents.

 

As far as the grips go, if you have any documentation on them or can find any markings on them, you can calculate the current draw from the power rating, if you can find a number for it.

The formula is hier:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_power#Definition

specifically: power rating of the device / 12 volts = current draw

[leroysch]

I have the previous iteration of the Speedhut speedometer. Lamp/needle lighting are on switched power, the GPS is hard wired to the battery. I measured a 100mA with the ignition switch off.

Luckily, I can easily disconnect the speedo from the battery..as long as I remember to do so!

 

[cowtownchemist]

I made the decision to go with the lamp parts method in order to leave the back housing un-molested.  $50, a few sparks, and some JB weld later I have the setup in the pictures below.  However, I became very frustrated as I am having a really difficult time getting the screws to line up with the holes in the back housing.  Also, the added brackets has reduced the amount of space to stash the extra wiring, I may now have to cut back some of the excess and redo the spade connections.  Last night I got to the point where I almost decided to just go ahead and take all the lamp parts off and just go back to using the lock nuts and cutting the housing.

Does anyone have any tips on a way to easily align those four mounting screws with the holes on the back?  I would hope I don't have to go through this struggle any time I would need to remove the housing in the future to change a light bulb.  I may just go ahead and replace all the warning lights with LEDs right now to avoid having to do it later.  Does anyone have a link to the appropriate LED replacement bulb for the warning lights?

[Scud]

Just remove the whole gauge assembly from the bike. There are only three screws and a couple plugs. Then you can lay the whole assembly on a towel on the workbench and drop the plastic cup over the gauges. It is damn near impossible to get everything lined up when it's on the bike... but I think you already learned that.

Further tip. Once you get everything lined up, with the gauge cup on - then take the cup off and make sure those lamp parts are screwed together tight. Extra nuts to lock them in place will help. Then final assembly on bench and mount the complete unit back on the bike.

Then, on the rare occasion that you need a new lamp, the gauge cup will drop off without losing the alignment of the fasteners.

[Scud]

Here's a link to a picture of what I described above, when I replace gauges on Nero Corsa: