digital temperature gauge/1150 head temp.

[rosco15]

I'm looking to put a digital temperature gauge on my dragbike. I want to monitor the temp of my head. I run E85 and have found the bike is more consistent when it's hot. Right now I just put my hand on the side of the head and want to try an actual gauge. Anyone done this. Any input on a good gauge / pickup or where to plug into my 1150 head?

[AJ]

CHT gauges are pretty common in the airplane world (actually required for at least one cylinder on most piston aircraft).

The trouble with motorcycle engines is that the heads are not pre-drilled with a probe hole. The best bet then would be a spark plug probe that acts like a washer when you screw in a spark plug. I'd recommend installing in cylinders 2 or 3 where the temps will be higher.

You might want to read this website: http://www.ratwell.com/technical/VDOGauges.html

Here's a nice looking one for motorcycles that will run you about $150.

http://www.dakotadigital.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=product/product_id=348/category_id=248/home_id=59/mode=prod/prd348.htm

VDO also makes both analog and digital gauges. In some ways, I prefer the analog gauges.

You can search Aircraft Spruce for a 1 cylinder probe analog gauge for about $85; http://www.aircraftspruce.com/search/search.php (search for "CHT")

Here's a 4 cylinder one I'm familiar with for airplanes, but a little on the expensive side. I like it because it monitors all four cylinders, but reads out the highest cylinder, the cylinder of your choice, or it cycles through the cylinders one at a time. It's also programmable for color on peak temp.

http://www.aerospacelogic.com/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=22

[Agemax]

get a laser temp reader, may not be 100% accurate but will give you a good idea of the heat difference from cylinder to cylinder