Mechanical Speedo & Tacho swap for digital

[TheSilencer]

Hi all!
I own a 1981 GS450E.
I need to know if I can fit a digtal speedometer and tachometer. The current speedo & Tacho are mechanical and run with cables.
Is it fairly straight forward to replace them with a digital system or is it a complex procedure?
Then I'd also like to know if its possible to fit any mechanical speedo to the bike or must it be the specific one for the bike?
I'm just trying to find out what my options are and what the cheapest would be.
Thanks folks!

[Steve]

I am sure that it is possible, but will it be worth it? Let me start by asking what is your motivation for the swap? If you are just trying for a custom look, you will be having a LOT of fun doing it. If, however, you have bad gauges and are merely looking for replacement options, consider keeping them stock. Any digital gauge is going to require an electrical input signal. Since our bikes do not provide such a signal, you will have to look for a set of gauges that will accept the current cable input and convert that to the electrical signal that is required for it to operate.

I believe that someone on the board has done something with an Acewell display, so you might do a search for that to see if/how it turned out.

.

[80GS1000]

I installed an Acewell on my bike. The speedometer installation was easy. For a power source, you just piggyback onto a headlight live wire. I set mine up so that it's on the high beam live wire so that I can shut off the speedo if desired by switching to the low beam on the handlebar switch. That way the speedo also turns on and off when you use the ignition key.

The speedo pickup is bolted to the front fender; a couple of very strong but small rare earth magnets are epoxied to the front brake disc on the right side. The computer then counts RPMs and calculates your speed based off the wheel diameter which you program into the box. It's all pretty easy.

The Acewell also has a built-in tach but I could never get that to work correctly - the reading was inaccurate and would bounce around all over the place. I ended up using the stock tach.

[Steve]

I set mine up so that it's on the high beam live wire so that I can shut off the speedo if desired by switching to the low beam on the handlebar switch.

If I am reading this right, if you ride at night and use the low-beam headlight, you don't have the use of your speedo display? :shock:

Personally, I think I would find another power source that is switched by the key, like the horns, the brakes or the tail lights. 8-[

.

[TheCafeKid]

I am sure that it is possible, but will it be worth it? Let me start by asking what is your motivation for the swap? If you are just trying for a custom look, you will be having a LOT of fun doing it. If, however, you have bad gauges and are merely looking for replacement options, consider keeping them stock. Any digital gauge is going to require an electrical input signal. Since our bikes do not provide such a signal, you will have to look for a set of gauges that will accept the current cable input and convert that to the electrical signal that is required for it to operate.

I believe that someone on the board has done something with an Acewell display, so you might do a search for that to see if/how it turned out.

.

Actually Steve i have read that alot of these digital speedos use the coil signal for the signal they need. Dunno if thats true or not, as ive never used one, but, thats what ive read, and how alot of these guys on the DTT board who use more modern electrical type speedos say they hook up.

[mortation]

There is a brown wire in your bowl you can use for power too

[catbed]

There is a brown wire in your bowl you can use for power too

yep...it was for running lights too.

[80GS1000]

If I am reading this right, if you ride at night and use the low-beam headlight, you don't have the use of your speedo display? :shock:

Personally, I think I would find another power source that is switched by the key, like the horns, the brakes or the tail lights. 8-[

.

Heh. I don't ride at night and pretty much ALWAYS have my high beam on for visibility so no biggie. The clock shows when the speedo's "off" so it makes it convenient to see what time it is by putting the speedo on a handlebar mounted switch. Those who like to ride after dark on the low beam only would probably want to find a different solution.

The tacho wire wraps around a spark plug wire, never could get that working right, the tach kept bouncing around.