new instruments

[badgertom]

I am planning to install new instruments ( speedometer and Tach) on my 1982 R65. I still have the cables from the old instruments. The cables seem to be in good shape. Due to cost I will be using the mechanical (analoge) type of instruments. Will the old BMW cables
work on the standard instruments advertised by various outlets ( usually the are advertised for metric bikes). Also, some instruments have a ratio of say 2:1 or 1:1. What does that mean regarding the R65. I hate to buy the wrong meters.

[Luca]

The gear ratio of gauges is a measure of the mechanical reduction (such as in a differential or transmission) inside the gauge, though I'm not sure about the ratio you need for an airhead.

The tach on your 82, however, is not mechanical.  It is electronic and gets it's signal from the ignition coil.  In this case, you would want a "2:1 ratio." This is because our ignitions are a "wasted spark" type, meaning that the spark plugs fire on the exhaust stroke as well as the compression stroke.  

This is why a timing light that displays RPMs shows twice the actual RPMs on a four-stroke engine and the proper RPMs on a two-stroke engine.

[montmil]

Tom, I would be very cautious prior to purchasing an after-market speedo for your R65. Any off-brand gauge must match the gearbox ratios for each gear.

Acewell produces an electronic instrument that is a single pod but provides more data than you'll ever need: speed, tach, odo, trip, etc. Also, there is an Acewell accessory cable that plugs directly into the gearbox just as does the OEM cable.

I have a Trail Tech digi Vapor on my '81 R65 and '78 R100S. An Acewell is mounted on the '83 R65.

[marcmax]

Tom, Save yourself the aggravation. When I switched to a headlight shell with an integrated speedo because I wanted that look. I tried speedo's of almost every ratio available and none of them were accurate. I ended up with a BMW reproduction speedo with a 1:1.74 ratio as the closest and it starts of about 5mph below actual at slow speeds to 10mph below actual speed when at highway speeds. It has become more for looks and not for accuracy. The way I look at it I usually ride the prevailing speed of the traffic. If I ride the indicated speed and mentally add on 5 mph I am never going to be over the limit.

The Acewell instrument is a neat gadget. When I finish the current bike's twin (sitting in pieces in the garage) that is what I am installing.

[Luca]

Any off-brand gauge must match the gearbox ratios for each gear.

You don't mean each gear as in the five speeds of the transmission, do you?  The speedo only takes off the transmission output.  Should only be final drive ratios and wheel diameter than have an effect on it.



A google search yielded this from the legend himself... wirespokes posted this on advrider:

There's a number at the bottom of the speedo dial - something like: W 1.244. However, yours being metric has a different number more like W 788. That's the number of cable revolutions/minute resulting in a reading of 60, in your case, km/hr.

With a digital, if it uses a magnetic sensor, you won't need that data at all, in which case just follow the directions.

BTW, welcome to the forum! Hope you're keeping the original parts and doing nothing irreversible. The LS is getting to be more collectable all the time - and there aren't that many of them.



While we can't see where you're from, you should get the idea.   At 60km/h or mph, whichever you have, you should get the number of revolutions per minute to hold the needle at 60.

If you don't mind going digital, the trailtech offerings are reasonably priced.

[montmil]

Any off-brand gauge must match the gearbox ratios for each gear.

You don't mean each gear as in the five speeds of the transmission, do you?  The speedo only takes off the transmission output.

Luca, You said what I was attempting to say.
However, I got my tongue tangled in my eye teeth and couldn't see what I was saying.  

[tvrla]

I have nothing against the stock gauges, and why should I? I fix the dang things!!! :-)

But I do like them. They're very robust and once the odometer weakness is addressed, they're quite dependable. They're also very good quality and hold up extremely well.

I guess I'm a fan of the larger gauges. I like the way they look. If I were customizing the R65 gauges, I'd find or construct covers for them so they could survive in the open after removing that ugly surround they're stuck in. Something like the R100R has - and you know, that just might work. I believe the R65 and R100R gauges only differ in gearing and nothing else.

[badgertom]

I looked at the Acewell 2853 Universal Speedometer/Computer which is an "all" in one unit with Tach, Speedometer and directional ,etc. What cable works with this unit. (ACE-58 at dimecitycycles.com) may work(?) Hate to buy the units and cable just to return them.

[marcmax]

Tom, this is the cable you need.

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-custom-motorcycle-cables-acewell-2853-digital-motorcycle-speedo-speedometer-tach-tachometer-bmw-ace-s11.html

[montmil]

Tom, this is the cable you need.

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-custom-motorcycle-cables-acewell-2853-digital-motorcycle-speedo-speedometer-tach-tachometer-bmw-ace-s11.html

Yep. That's the one I PM'd "the badger" about from Dime City. Works on the '83 R65 with the black Acewell digi pod.

[badgertom]

Thanks a lot for all the help. I really appreciate it. Tom