Z1OwnersClub GB

Just to re-cap, I have a V-Max speedo fitted to my Z650 special. I like the white gauge and simple design, however I have 2 problems with it: it looks a bit big perched on top of the yoke and I can seem to get the speedo calibration right- it’s always been 5% out or so.




I decided to sort both of these problems by fitting a Motogadget meter




http://motogadget.com/en/analog-gauges/ ... assic.html
The meter is an analogue tacho and a digital speedo that appears on the LCD display.

I got mine from MooreSpeed in Bournemouth as it was actually cheaper than buying direct and there was no delivery charge. I’m glad that some sensible manufacturers actually understand how distribution works- it drove me to the shop rather than by-pass them.

MooreSpeed helped me make sure I ordered the right version and also helped me identify the sort of cover I needed.
After a couple of weeks it all arrived: in the box there was the Tacho, the cover, a fuse assembly, fixing screws, the speedo sensor and two magnets, a “menuâ€￾ push button plus of course the rather extensive instructions.

There are two connectors that need wiring: a 6 way and a 9 way.

The 6 way has connections for the +12v, 0V, the speed sensor signal, the tacho signal, the “menuâ€￾ button signal and the shift light signal (not used).

The other poles of the speed sensor and menu switch button are grounded.
The 9 way connector includes signals for the neutral light, indicator light, oil pressure switch and high beam light. The other connections are for 3 additional temp and pressure sensors that can also be attached.

I attached the mating half connector contacts to my loom wires. I put the inline fuse on the tacho side of the connector so I could add the oil pressure switch 12v supply to the power contact.

The good thing about this connector arrangement is that the 6 way connector can be made without making the rest. This allows the basic functions to be checked before I moved on.
It’s a tight fit in my small headlight housing.



Next I fitted the speed sensor. I drilled the brake calliper bracket to mount the sensor and I drilled 5 holes in the brake disc hub to mount the magnets.



I made a little drill jig to make sure these holes were equally spaced. The kit came with 2 little magnets and so I ordered another 10 from ebay. I chose to use 5 because it means that the speedo reacts better at very low speeds.

I mounted the magnets in some little nylon bushes that positions the magnets close to the sensor, they allow me to add a small M3 mount screw and finally the plastic helps reduce the thermal pressure on the magnets.



I ran the cable up the brake hose to the headlight.

Next I added the tacho signal cable which runs from the negative side of one of the coils. I added a piggy back spade connector to attach the additional wire to the coil contact. I ran the cable up the clutch hose and into the back of the headlight.

Then I fitted the “menuâ€￾ push button for the instrument.

As its convenient to select various functions as you are riding I chose to mount this switch on the left hand handlebar switch cluster. Some people choose to wire the flasher switch to provide this function, but instead I chose simply to drill and fit the switch on the front (of bike) lower side of the switch casting.



Finally it’s time to make the mount for the instrument. The mount is going to sit the meter on top of the aluminium Harley headlight mount - I chose to mount it there and not on the top yoke as the casting is rubber mounted.

The instrument has three M4 tapped holes in the back, the cover I purchased is like a cup that goes over the back of the instrument and around its sides to make it look neat- it comes with a choice of screws that either hold the cover on (short) or can also hold an additional bracket (long). The cable for the instrument sticks out the middle of the rear face.

There are a few options to mount the instrument, a simple bent metal bracket to the rear, or a ring style thin bracket that slips between the cover and the front rim of the dial.

I didn’t like either of these as the wire was left exposed and didn’t look neat- and to get the bend in the wire was going to stick the instrument up high again.

Obviously the instrument has to point at the driver so it needs to be angled differently from the rest of the bits on the headstock. The angle is quite important for these instruments as the idiot lights are high brightness LEDs and have quite a narrow angle of their beam- “on axisâ€￾ they are very bright but “off axisâ€￾ they are very dim. The instrument has to point at your face.


After several hours of thinking I realised it was going to need a machined lump of alloy that matched the back of the instrument and matched the top of the headlight mount- but all machined at an angle. The instrument would then look like part of the headlight mount as there would be no gaps and the wire will be hidden. I measured the critical angles (using a little digital spirit level) and sketched something out, then I sorted out the top fixings and opened up the hole in the headlight mount so the cable connectors slipped thru.

Finally it was time to rummage around the scrap bin and start machining on my trusted Chinese lathe which after 25 years I actually like now.

I did three main upgrades to the lathe to make it good.

1: swap the motor for a 3 phase motor with speed and direction control. That makes it quiet and easy to manage the speed.

2: I added digital readouts to the slides- this makes the inaccuracy of the lead screws irrelevant.

3: I added sops at the ends of the gib strips- this is a particularly poor aspect of these machines that makes most people fed up with them – the gib strips are not located with a dowel and so move ever-so-slightly causing them to jam. To prevent this people run the gibs loose and so everything gets sloppy. A little plate at each end of the castings with grub screws to prevent movement and the slideways are tight but free running. It’s worth the work- I’ve seen all of these mods done to British/US lathes too.

First I turned the diameter to suit the instrument and then added a little lip around the mating face to hide the chamfer on the rear of the instrument cover.
A little emery and polish to brighten up the finish.



I flipped it over and machined it to thickness and put a small thru hole and counter bore so that I could attach it to my mill table.



I clocked in my mill table and then used my “wobblerâ€￾ to find the edges of the billet. The digital readouts let me set the centre point of the billet as my datum.
I then drilled and counter bored the fixings for the rear of the instrument.



Here I have set the angle plate to the 8deg, again I have used the wobbler to find the centre line and a reference edge on the billet and set my digital readouts to give me this machining datum.

First I need to skim the rear of the mount.



Next I machine the edges of a rectangle that sticks out the back to locate the part in the rebate on the top of the headlight mount casting.



Next I added the clearance cut outs so that the instrument can nestle down between the mounting bolts of the headlight mount casting.
I then drilled the holes for the bolts to hold the part on the bike.

magnets glued into the disk bobbin centres.

Well I got kind of worried about doing that. In the Motogadget instructions it mentioned keeping those little magnets away from heat.

It seems that above 80 to 100 deg C they start too lose their power so I felt the hub was a better place for them than on the bobbins themselves, and even then I chose to mount them away from the bobbins and on Nylon carriers to isolate them from the heat more.

It could be overkill, but that's what I did.

u put the magnets in the bolts what hold the disc on .. fitted a koso on me kat..which had bolts not allen studs so changed em for allen studs.. also u need to set ure clocks for how many magnets .. and i set my speedo as per instructions and it was a mile out ..best way is to tape a sat nav on and alter the front wheel paramiters in the menu till ure speedo matches speed on sat nav

Sat nav is a good idea to calibrate the speedo.

I could use my disc mount bolt, but I would have to make up a bracket to mount the sensor as it would need to be closer to the hub.

It was easier to make the magnet mounts than the sensor mount, and the sensor mount was not going to look neat.

Everything is a compromise- its not perfect but I can live with it.

The mount is finished and ready to tap.



Attaches between the instrument and the headlight support casting.



All good. Much neater.