Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums Accessories New Acewell Speedo

Some of you were/are interested in how things go with the install of my new Acewell speedometer. I'm just getting started but here's where I'm at.

The new speedo just came in the other day. I ordered the model with a chrome housing thinking I'd mount it on or near the bars... maybe with a p-clamp. But in a previous thread Kevin (05speedmaster) posted a pic of an Acewell he put on the console where the tach or clock goes. It looked GREAT there so I did the same with mine. Turns out I coulda saved $$ by buying the non-chrome one 'cause I ended up burying the chrome in the console. Oh well... sh!t happens. I had to enlarge the hole in the console to accommodate the Acewell. I used a dremel and sandpaper for that. Then from behind I hit it with some chalking to 'glue' it in place.

I've had a chance to go over the wiring and it seems not too complicated, but there's a lot. The speedo includes a tach a full array of idiot lights and l/r signal indicators... thus all the wires. I'm gonna wire in all the lights including turn signal lights because they're there, but also because they are LED and should end up brighter than the stock lights.

The speedo will be driven by a magnet/sensor which I intend to mount on the rear wheel. They sent along a couple of magnetic bolts of different sizes, the idea being one of them will fit the bike and replace a single bolt on the rotor. From there, one must mount the sensor within 8mm. It turns out neither one of those bolts will fit with our bikes so I'm gonna try a good strong hardware store variety magnet stuck to the rotor. I phoned to ask if any ol' magnet will do and their tech guy didn't know but I think it'll work.

The tach works by wrapping then end of a wire around one of the coil leads, so that's pretty straight forward.

Anyway, will keep you in the loop as I go along with this.

You did a great job mounting that speedo/everything in the console, Keith. I would LOVE to do the same setup but it will have to wait till some day down the line. It really looks good and will clean up the front end of your bike.

Keith: i superglued a magnet to one of the studs holding the sprocket and put the sensor on the swing arm.

I figured if it came looss i'd keep it away from the brake.

Looks good!

That looks pretty cool, just wondering what your filling the idiot light holes with?

More idiot lights...

Nice speedo, looking forward to seeing it mounted.
I've run a bicycle computer as my speedo for the last two years. Worked fine with a magnet superglued to the front brake disc rotor. Never moved a bit in two years. However when I was stripping the wheel to have it powdercoated the magnet just slipped off.
Any magnet that is strong enough to close the reeds will work.
After hours searching on the old web found this.


http://www.trailtech.net/B011-8NS.html

I ordered two and they came yesterday. Perfect fir for the disc bolts, front or back, just take one out and replace with this. More secure, permenant and look so much better than a blob of superglue.
Got mine in the UK but this is the same part number.
All the best
Chris

looking good!

Nice job! The speedo looks great!

H.

+1 for the rare earth magnet...they would the best

That speedo's looking really nice, good job. +2 for the rare earth magnet. One other thing, if you ride a fair amount at night, you might want to consider leaving the standard bulb in for your high beam indicator. I distinctly remember reading online about someone replacing a speedo and he went back in and swapped out the LED for a standard bulb b/c the LED was bright enough to be distracting.

That's very cool. I'd love to lose that big ugly speedometer. Can you provide a link for this item?

This looks like a very tempting mod. I would love to clean up the front with in-bar wiring and get rid of the speedo from up top.

Keith, can you do a write-up for the stickies (plus pics) on your install - especially the wiring stuff?

What's the visibility of the speedo like in bright sunlight?

WOW , The prices are fantastic as well

That looks great!

I was tempted to replace the speedo with something similar as well. Found this item, about $110. I didn't get it yet, but really it is on my mind...

+1 with Richards sentiments Keith. Besides all the extra features, I’ll too be putting my wiring in the bars and to clean up this area, clutter wise, would be great.

I would really appreciate a running commentary with pics though, particularly as why re-invent the wheel if you've aleady done the hard yards for us anyway.

I say that with respect mate. Sharing info is what this place is all about and if you don't mind, either will we. How’s that, do we have a deal??? LOL

How coincidental is this thread though. It just so happens my speedo stopped working yesterday. I'll put money on it the cable is broken (again) near where it connects into the wheel hub area. The bloke who changed my tyres broke it at this spot the first time by not using the large hex key socket whilst undoing the front wheel thinking the two small hex's would hold the axle in place.

Just ended up turning the axle and with it turning the speedo cable at the same time. Then he's done it again as I stupidly kept my mouth shut thinking, surely he’s not going to make the same mistake. So I said nothing and next thing I see, . Only reinforces why I do my own mechanical work, but changing tyres is another thing.

Actually I do empathise given the time pressures a mech has these days and even the good ones can’t know everything about every bike can he? I’m just too nice aren’t I?

So if that's what's happened I'll have to show him the cable next tyre change so he can deduct the cost of the new one I buy.

Anyway, having the no cable facility to operate the speedo would alleviate this issue in the future wouldn't it, and anyway my speedo isn't 100% accurate.

This is just one of the positives of this gizmo though. I mean look at the top of the line model. It's like a hamburger with the lot but I do hope for the price etc, we don't have reliability probs. Time will tell won't it.

So Keith, I guess if you didn't want zillions of pms or other questions about installation driving you nuts, some instructions on here with the wiring might be the way to go cos this one looks like it may be a winner mate. Certainly hope so anyway.

Thanks buddy.



staffo

Hey everybody... I got it wired up today. Everything went great but can't road test it until... well, until I get my bike re-assembled after a lot of mods. Anyway... spent the day wiring the Acewell, had a bite to eat, then dove right into band practice. I am too tired to post what I did, but I got pictures. I'll get to talking about the install pretty quick, just not tonight.

Btw... I'm grooving on the new instrument. It's a nice piece.

Hey, Looks great I like the crome version blends very well with the dash. I havent had really any problems with a "custom Magnet" with superglue

Okay... how did the install go? Very straight forward... even for a techno challenged guy like me. The wiring diagram that came with the speedo was very easy to understand. This one's the ground wire, this one's the oil light indicator, this one's the high beam indicator and so on. Soooooo...

There is a wire called 'Clock.' This wire runs the clock and must remain live even after the key is off. So I went a hunting for a live wire (key off) and got to thinking... hey, Triumph has a clock which fits in the console so there's gotta be a connector with a live wire for that. There is... it's under the tank and is shown in the picture below. I cut the live wire and spliced into it, thus leaving the connector as I found it.



As for all the idiot lights, one by one I spliced into their hot (positive +) side. There are 2 wired attached to each stock idiot light. To determine which wire was + I referred to the wiring diagram in the Haynes Service and Repair Manual. The Acewell only has one wire per idiot light because the entire unit is grounded (negative -). Which reminds me... I simply grounded to a nearby point of convenience.



The Acewell has a left AND right indicator for signals. I wired them both up to the stock light. To have them set up as independent l/r lights meant I was gonna have to run a wire back from each side of the handlebars, which I didn't want to do for cosmetic reasons. So I wired them both up together... no big deal.

There are a couple of idiot lights in the unit I didn't use. One is for low fuel and the other is a hazard warning light. Can't use 'em, don't need 'em, and that's okay.

What else... oh yeah, you need to find a source for ignition activated power. Again I probed around (with a voltage meter) under where the tank goes and found an unused connector which supplied key on power. I spliced into that one and attached it to a wire from the Acewell called 'Key (I figured what else could it be for?).

The tach is a snap... attach supplied wire and wrap other end around one of the spark plug wires. I did about 6 wraps but can't tell you if it worked or not 'cause I can't fire up the bike... yet.

The speedo wire (sensor) is easy too, although I had to splice in a 2 foot piece to make it long enough to reach back to the rear. I wanted to go to the back with this thing so I wouldn't have to run a wire down one o' the forks (in-other-words, for cosmetic reasons). Bill (Bill) chimed in saying he used the rear sprocket for his magnet (thanks Bill) so I mounted the sensor on the swing arm using the more rearward screw otherwise used for mounting the chain guard (I turfed the chain guard a while back). I'll try to remember to get a picture of where that sensor is over the next couple o' days.

The Acewell is backlit with a blue light. Once installed it is necessary to set it up by inputting some info such as setting the clock, entering the diameter of the wheel, max RPM (it kinda has a redline warning thingy). Instructions are easy to follow... not much more difficult that using a microwave. It is important to be accurate with the wheel diameter but if the speedo is out, the wheel diameter setting can be adjusted later. The unit comes with a wheel diameter guide but it will depend completely on what tire each person is running to set things up properly. I'll let you all know how that goes once I get out on the road.

Magnet... as far as a magnet goes I'm gonna spring for a rare earth magnet as suggested in this thread. That way I can just plunk it on the sprocket and be done with it.

Otherwise I can't think of anything else. If I can do it, it can't be THAT difficult. I'm looking forward to getting back out on the road and being able to road test my new Acewell. I'm sure it will be just fine.

Great discription of what you've done, but what happened to the pics

Thanks Keith - that's great. Your write up gives me the confidence - I think I could do that myself.

That is brilliant Keith, although you're not having road tested it yet just gives me a couple of doubts.

Not doubting you're research or electrical prowess mind, just the unit's reliability. The unit does appear pretty simple to install and with your already having done it, I'm nearly 100% certain this unit is for me too.

Shame the fuel gauge doesn't work but I suspect a sensor is needed in our tanks or something. One thing I do need is experience in is wiring and electrics.

I burnt out a wiring loom in a new car once 30 years ago so I'm somewhat tentative, plus there are little tricks and special bits which I bet could make the process easier ie splicing. Like, once I see something done once it's easy but if you don't know what you don't know, then how would you know.

Anyway, your buying this little beauty has come at a perfect time for me. 1) because I'm buying new bars and plan on internalising the wires, 2) I have the Kury bar end blinkers as part of the mix as well as moving the old blinkers from the bars to the forks and 3) My speedo cable has broken for the second time thanks to a tyre changing NAZ# who keeps forgetting to remove the cable from the hub.

So all in all, a big thankyou Keith for putting in the effort to explain to us the process.

thanks again

Staffo

You are welcome one and all! The only thing I haven't figured out is what to seal the hole with down where the cable goes into the front wheel. There is a little nib sticking up so I can't just put a cork in it. Any ideas?

How about some silver duct seal?

It's a valid question but until a mod such as this becomes more popular and an aftermarket part becomes availabe, I believe something acceptabe but not perfect would have to do.

The first first idea that comes to mind is to still have the cable connected to the hub so as to ensure waterproofing remains there, but then cut the cable and sheath say an inch from the hub and even though the internals will still rotate, so what? As long as a suitable rubber stopper for waterproofing remains intact over the sheath, then all should be sweet. Not perfect but perhaps still practicle. Just an idea

You can try a vacuum cap, put a little bit of grease on/in the nub and slip on the cap.

Good idea Steven! Thanks.

LCF makes a speedo drive eliminator

http://shop.lcfabrications.com/product.sc?productId=18&categoryId=4

Do we know that works on the America/Speedy? I believe the Standard Bonnie is a touch different, no?

I guess (hope) if there is enough demand, one will be developed for ours. Personally, I really like what I'm seeing with this accessory but having a quick look at the various models available, I'm thinking the 4454 black mounted on the central part of the bars would suit me more.

My eyesight isn't getting any better and I'm thinking this one might be more user friendly for my needs.

I would probably leave my nacelle as it is then and whilst probably not as minimalistic or clean looking as Keith's, being what appears to be such a nice add on, I'd want to be looking at it in this more prominent location.

There is still a lot of questions ie can we get the fuel gauge component to work and also the engine temp amongst other features?

Looked at that part when I rebuilt my front wheel for the speedy, according to Bikebandit they are all diferent part numbers so I presume different sizes.
When I get in the garage I will post what I've done to block up the hole. Good luck with the mods mate.
Cheers
Chris

This was work in progress before I tidied everything up.

These are the component parts
the original screw from speedo drive, two pieces of hard rubber spacer tube and a piece of plastic as a bridge.


One of the spacers has a step cut into it. It fits tight inside the drive hole and the larger bit covers the hole (if that makes sense) The hole in the middle is slightly larger than the drive spigot.



Fitted together prior to going on the bike.


Fitted in place, a bit of threadlock and it aint going anywhere. Keeps all the dirt out and the workings can still spin happily away inside.



Put this one on so you can see the replacement bolt in place on the disc, nice and tidy and it wont ever drop off.


Hope this helps, pictures arnt very good but you get the idea, looks better in the flesh.
Good luck
Chris

Great solution Chris!

Quote:

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This was work in progress before I tidied everything up.

These are the component parts
the original screw from speedo drive, two pieces of hard rubber spacer tube and a piece of plastic as a bridge.



Chris

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