Anybody out there add a Tachometer, to your Drifter ? If so what unit did you go with, and how was the installation ?............good !....bad !
I've been thinking about adding a tach, too. So, anybody??
Here's a couple of references:
http://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/draginstall.html
http://www.gadgetjq.com/tach_install.htm
I looked into it awhile ago, but I didn't want to clutter the handlebars any more than they already are. Plus it started to get too pricey to be worth it for me.
I have one on my 1500. Can remember the make but it's the same as the one pictured below (not mine). It's basically an angled plate that replaced the handlebar clamp. The round tach fits into the angle part of the plate. It's ball milled and chromed very nicely so fit's in with the rest of the chrome details on my 01.
I was initially concerned that the tach would look a bit goofy sticking up from the centre of the handlebars - it's bigger that I imagined it would be when I ordered it - but at this point I think it looks pretty good. With the headlamp housing behind it (as shown in the picture) the tach doesn't really 'stick up', at least not from the drivers perspective.
(https://www.vulcandrifterriders.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fthumbs4.ebaystatic.com%2Fd%2Fl225%2Fm%2FmNsM7Cx4L-Lyf_VMRA-H4ug.jpg&hash=68b1736f042cb1a7f9986cfee24640b64e2c6cc6)
One annoyance, and it's a small one, is that whenever I wash the bike, and even though I cover the tach with a plastic bag, moisture gets inside and condenses on the inside of the glass. Sometimes there's condensation even when I haven't washed the bike. The condensation disappears after riding a bit on a warm day but it's a bit annoying.
Couple of other things....
I would have preferred a white face, to better match the lighter colour of the speedo face on my 01, but couldn't' find a white one.
I think the tach goes up to about 8k but the needle spends most of its time occupying only fraction of the available sweep (0 ~ 3k) - too bad there's wasn't a way to make the red line (I think it's about 5500 for a Vulcan) at the extreme end of the sweep which would make the tach more useful. I thought about adding a little circuitry to double the RPM input to the tach but never bothered.
When originally installing the tach, I thought they had sent me the wrong one. After calling the supplier and providing the model number, which is stamped on the under side, they insisted that it was the right tach but there was no way it would fit on to the handlebar clamps, the holes were off by 1/4 inch! In the end, they were right and I was wrong! Once I loosened the nuts on the lower part of the dogbones (where they bolt through the the top of the tripple tree plate) the clamps easily moved out enough to line up with the tach plate holes - there's that much play in the handlebar clamp mounting holes.
i found a tach, to install on my bike ;next Q: what is the red line on a 800 ???
http://www.gadgetjq.com/drifter_speed_rpm.htm
Troll,
I have a Barons tach on my 800 Drifter and find it useful to help me know what gear I'm in at times. I also have the fogging issue that Bucko talked about but contribute it to living in the humid south. I found the new, in its blister pack, Barons tach on e-___ for under a hundred bucks. All wiring, handlebar clamp and instructions were included. Mine has the black face to match the speedo on my 800, but I know that this same tach is available in white face. Baron bullet tachometer P/N-221-0049
Happy drifting, CDD
To: Troll
Thank you for the link, as I see the table the high RPM (red line) is 7000
Is this correct ?
As always gentlemen "THANK YOU !"
5,900 for the 1500, so 7,000 seems right for the 800
That's a nice gear/speed gadget! Would be nicer if there was a KPH option for those of us in America's hat. :)
Quote from: Bucko on October 06, 2014, 21:40:35 PM
That's a nice gear/speed gadget! Would be nicer if there was a KPH option for those of us in America's hat. :)
It seems strange to me that Canada has gone to the metric system.. We play with it a bit in Britain we buy fuel by the litre and ride by miles, our speed limits, road distances and speedo's are in MPH and we drink beer by the pint, milk is sold by the litre and wood is sold by metric width and depth by the length is sold by the foot..eggs are sold by the dozen other foods are sold by the kilogram..
I think our polititians are among the most inept in the world and probably convinced Canada to go metric..
We also drive on the left but have a tunnel and ferry links to Europe where they all drive on the right..
John.
We went whole hog and went metric on everything, and part was so that when people come up from the south it confuses them.
It'll all be easier when the price of a liter of fuel in Canada is the same price as a gallon in the US (US gallon, of course). I don't think that day is very far away :o
If that day ever comes you will find trucks from Canada made with extra large fuel tanks filling up in America and American truckers doing the same if they have deliveries in Canada..But if the price of fuel rises too much in Canada you can be sure the American government will raise taxes on fuel with the excuse that "we are still xxx cheaper than Canada"
John.