Gear Indicator

[Janusz]

Hi guys;

I would like to install a gear indicator on my V11S.

Anybody has one? Advice?

[MartyNZ]

I just use the tacho or engine sound. Above 7000 change up. Below 3000 change down.

[Janusz]

And still you do not know what gear you are in...

[Weegie]

AFAIK the V11 is a 6 speed box, mechanical drive speedo, electrical tacho I think (the nearest bike I've got is a Sporti, but that's a 5 speeder)

Most gear indicators need electrical pulse signals, so you'd need to have something that would generate a pulse signal that vairied with speed.

I used a pickup registering off the rear disc bolts and got some guys at my tame machine shop to make me a carrier to mount it, that was for a replacement speedo for the sporti.

You'll probably get the "you shouldn't be riding if you don't know what gear your in" or the "can't you count" or "you don't need one just go up or down depending on revs"

Ignore them, with my 5 speed bikes I don't really need an indicator, but find it's easy to get confused with a 6 speed box and I'm glad I've got one on the BMW R9T

[MartyNZ]

14 hours ago, Janusz said:

And still you do not know what gear you are in...

True, fair point.

I have tried to shift up from 6th a few times on the open road, but it takes about the same time to attempt the shift as to glance down at a shift indicator, so I don't think I need it there.

I have also found myself trying to select neutral by shifting up from 2nd instead of 1st, so an indicator could be handy there.

The aftermarket shift indicators I've seen would look clumsy on my bike, so I'm prepared to go without.

[gstallons]

A few years ago there was a link (on here) to article involving the topic , It didn't take long to read so I looked at the rest of the page . 

Then there was an article about BMW riders n shift indicators. They mockingly said " there was a BMW rider that sued BMW because he rode The Iron Butt in !st gear" .

[MartyNZ]

If you have the time and skills, here's a design using 2 hall effect sensors and neutral SW inputs.

https://www.electronics-lab.com/project/motorcycle-universal-gear-indicator/

Of course it can't figure out any missed shifts and false neutrals, so you may find it showing 7th gear

[p6x]

On 6/24/2023 at 1:33 AM, MartyNZ said:

I just use the tacho or engine sound. Above 7000 change up. Below 3000 change down.

There are only to equivocal gear search issue with sequential gear boxes:

1) am I on the last gear?

2) is the neutral down or up? e.g. was I in second or in first?

For 1, its easy. If you want to confirm you are in 6th in case you did not know for certain, just have an up feel; if its a hard stop, you are in 5th. If the shifter moves up, you are in 6th.

For 2, its a bit more difficult.

My method:

-In normal circumstances I never go down to first gear. So my neutral should always be down since I stop in second gear. First gear is normally to start from a stand still.

When I shift down I always know when I have reached the second gear, and that is as low as I go. I usually never have to look for the neutral. There is an exception though. In case of surprise, when I do not have time to shift down through the gears while in motion.

Usually, after a bit of experience, everybody knows second, third, fourth and fifth. The 6th is a bit of an overdrive, but the speed versus the revs help to tell, or just the check hard or soft up feel.

Now when you have several motorcycles, some of them with 5 speed gear boxes, it is a bit more complicated.

Also, I blip the throttle to shift up and down.

[Janusz]

Thanks for all comments.

I had very neat gear indicator on my 2004 R1 (Acumen brand?) and it was very useful. I gave this bike to my son so I do not ride it anymore.

Yes, V11 speedo is cable driven so this type of indicator is useless. On my cruiser bike there is 5 speed and no tach but this rolling armchair is so easy and relaxing/boring that no sporting and engaging riding is feasible.

So, I will have to continue to remember speed to RPM relations in top 4 gears to be able to guess the gear with  accuracy.

Pity.

[Scud]

If you have a digital speedo, such as a GPS unit, there might be a way to do an electronic gear indicator based on ratios of engine RPM and vehicle speed. I don't have the electronic or programming skills, but I think that someone who does could find a way to extract those two signals and rig up a discrete display.

And for general shifting chat... I do often find myself reaching for 7th gear. I even do it on bikes that have gear indicators, because when I want 7th gear I don't want to take my eyes off the road even for a second. 

On my Yamaha TW200, the shifting is easy. First goes to 10MPH, 2nd to 20, 3rd to 30, 4th to 40, and 5th can go a bit past 50... and that's all there is.

Personally, I like the mental challenge of keeping track of what gear the bike is in while riding. But I do lose track in sections of multiple curves and grades. I most appreciate a gear indicator when I am loping along in 5th, but think I am in 6th. So seeing the little 5 prompts me to upshift, smooth out the ride, and save a bit of fuel.

[audiomick]

51 minutes ago, Scud said:

If you have a digital speedo, such as a GPS unit, there might be a way to do an electronic gear indicator based on ratios of engine RPM and vehicle speed. I don't have the electronic or programming skills, but I think that someone who does could find a way to extract those two signals and rig up a discrete display.

This thread led me to have a quick search for aftermarket gear indicator. There are a number available, and they apparently all work exactly that way, i.e. the "collect" the engine speed and road speed signals from the bikes electronics and calculate the currently selected gear from that. So the only issue would be to translate the (aftermarket) digital speedo to a signal that the gear indicator will accept. I think.

 

I'm not about to try that though. I'm one of those that is only interested in "am I in first" and "am I already in top gear".