Temp & Voltage Meters Mounted to Brake Resevoir Cover

Hi All, I did a little search on Ebay and found a seller with resevoir covers with little turtles ingraved in them. I asked him if he had any blank covers with no turtles and he said yes. So I had him send me two. Keep in mined these are only $1.50 each with shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260418422654&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:MOTORS:1123

His name is Jian. He does nice work! They are made out of aluminum.

I got my set in Black, they fit and look GREAT on the Silverwing.

Top

Bottom

Makes the handlebars look alot cleaner.

Dennis,

Are the stock ones chrome? I can't remember so I will check when I go out to check it out. I wonder if Skiwoods can use these to carve things on it. It would be neat to have the SWing etched on it.

Skiwoods,

Do you think you could etch the SWing on this cap? It would be cool.

Thanks.

Hi Jeff,

The stock Honda covers are made of, what looks like pressed powder metal and then painted black.

At a $1.50 a copy I was thinking of making brackets and mounting a LED type temperature gauge to one and a voltage gauge to the other.

Here's a picture of the small temp gauge I was thinking of using, it measures both farenheit and celsius and has a small foot print :

Dennis,

That looks pretty cool if you can do it. It's hard to believe that these covers only cost $1.50. It seems everything costs more than that nowadays. Keep us informed of what you try to do with the covers. Looks cool though.

Dennis put me down as an interested person. They would look great and functional.

Count me as interested also.

Hi Mandy,

Now that the weather is to darn cold to be out in the shop, I've turned my attention to other projects inside.

Water intrusion is a major factor to any motorcycle electrical project, so I'm checking out all the waterproofing needs to this project.

This little LED screen looks good in the picture and I hope it is readable in the daylight also. If not...it's back to the drawing board with this project to find a new screen.

This is fun stuff to me...Keeps my brain working.

All most forgot...I'm installing a waterproof ON/OFF switch so the units can be turned off if not in use. I think that would be handy.

Hi All,

I'm really excited about this New Temperature Meter Proto Type. Looks Good and works Even Better. Just got my last parts in today. So here it is.

First a shot of the meter screen.








And you can see it in the sunlight!!!!!

The scooters volt meter is next and will be mounted to the other resevoir cover. That panel should be here in the next week. Same mount type, same box, meter face will be a red LED type.

Hope you all like it. I really had to put my thinking cap on for this project.

Wow Dennis... looks great and only $1.50 .... Just kidding... put me on the list of orders to fill....

Two sets of wires, and a toggle switch, just to find out how warm it is (or isn't)?

What is the toggle switch for? Power or C to F change? Also what's the little button on the back for?

The easy to find, water proof toggle switch on the top is ON and OFF and the little push button on the back is for switching between C and F.

Dennis,

Your ingenuity and Silverwing projects never cease to amaze. I like the apperance of that gauge mounted with that cover. I've been wanting some type of gadget to give me the outdoor temp. This looks really nice. Honda should hire you to make the silverwing 600 Touring Edition.

Thank's Gary and Ron,

Working for Honda as a designer would be a good gig.

This little Temperature and Voltage gauge set up will work on any Honda bike or scooter that uses this type of resevoir cover including the newer GoldWings....Yes, GoldWings.

I'm putting together a information sheet/brochure for the folks up at the local Honda repair station, here in Glenpool. Alot of good folks that ride GW's will be interested in looking at it.

If this goes, I hope to open a manufacturing shop and do some hiring and help get the economy going in the right direction, for some people here locally.

I'm looking into a AMP gauge setup. This is going to take a little bit doing. the shunts I've been looking at are to large to use on the SWing. I'll find one....it just takes time and looking.

Thank's again.

I've always been keenly aware of the outside temperature.....but I suppose it would be amusing to know just exactly how much I'm suffering.

All, I put together a information sheet for any body that's interested.


Thank You

Here's something for you to play with, Dennis: http://www.mglavionics.co.za/

Made for ultralight aircraft, and intended to survive the elements while being lightweight and reliable. Monitor several temperatures and pressures simultaneously.

WHY? Because you CAN, that's why.

You can even mount up one of their "glass cockpit" gadgets and pretend you're Sky Pilot in the World of Tomorrow. Your altitude above ground level will never change (hopefully) but everything else would be functional. I suppose if a WAAS-activated GPS is accurate enough you could even hook up a single-axis autopilot to your handlebars, set the cruise control, and take a nap. I wouldn't recommend it though.

Mickey,

Very impressive...but you need to take a few pictures so we can all see your installation on your scooters handlebars.

If you have never seen the cockpit on an L1011-TriStar...I sure did when I worked at Lockheed Aircraft back in the late 70's. I was a electrical Engineer with Lockheed back then...now that was some AVIONICS. One GREAT Aircraft!

My cousin flies for Southwest and says the avionics that garage kit aircraft builders are using these days makes the panel in his 737 look like an abacus. Those MGL guys are doing some amazing things. Just ONE guy, actually. He even wrote the operating system because he didn't trust the stability of any of the available ones. (Can you imagine trusting your life during a dodgy precision approach in hard IMC to something running Windows? Gives a whole new meaning to "blue screen of death.")

You could have all kinds of fun hooking up instruments that are intended for experimental aircraft.

Dennis, a question.

Where does have you positioned the temperature sensor?

If I have missed it I appologise!

Doug

Hi Doug,

Thank's for asking.

I have my temp sensor and the power wires routed into the top of the handlebars removable cover, tie-wraped to the handlebars, under the cover. Temp sensor cable then loops back through the top opening of the cover and gets black tie-wraped to the mirror stem and exposed to the air temperature sample at that point. A person can experiment around with the sensor location to find the best location.

Thanks Dennis, glad you understood my badly written question.

You will have to excuse my ignorance now! You have the sensor at the base of the mirror exposed to the outside air?

Would not the air during forward motion effect the temperature indicated on your gauge. I am thinking along the lines of wind chill! We all know when we ride the speed that as we ride, artificially drops the temperature. Please no-one mention kinetic heat - I don't think even on a 'Wing' we ride that fast.

Cars, (UK), have their sensors placed behind the mirror shroud, so is not directly sited in the airflow.

I was thinking, depending on the size of the sensor that it may be worth attaching around the handlebar hub!

Only my thoughts, please no-one think I am criticising, I am not, just wanting to add to Dennis's great idea. If I'm wrong - I 'm wrong, simple as that. Look forward to others views.

Doug

Hi Doug,

Two things a person needs to keep in mined is heat coming from sunlight and evaporative water cooling. (Water found in the air around us all the time). The big culprit being the Suns heat. The thermalcouple on this unit is encapsulated in what looks like a small chrome plated case. Chrome platting does a pretty good job of reflecting the Sun's radiant heat, but to be far, I was thinking of using some white heat shrink installed over the sensor to give it a better chance of a tighter temperature range reading.

Thank you again Dennis, it does sound like the chrome plating will do the job of shielding from the effects of wind and sun.

Sounds like you have a winning mod there.

You guys over there will never stop amazing me at the mods you come up with. I am regretting casting off my aviation, airframe/engine trade.

Maybe when Mrs Waspie stops leaving me work around the house I will get time to spend on the 'Wing'.

Splendid job Dennis, I always look forward to your next project. Keep up with the excellent work.

Doug

Just got back from the local Honda Bike shop here in Glenpool, The owner was busy doing a trike conversion on a GW and didn't have alot of time to talk, but did look at it...He LIKED IT! Hurray! He wanted my little product flier and said he would show it to a few people.

If you've looked at the M/C and Scooter digital Temperature and voltage displays (the one's you can see at night) offered these days, they range from $350.00 to $56.00 and you need to cut the hole for the display and drill a hole for a switch.

My little Digital Voltage and Temperature gauges sell for $67.00 each ($128.00 a set)and if you sell your scooter, you just remove it and mount it on your new Honda.

If you choose to buy both the Digital Voltage and Temperature gauges $128.00 for both.

For USA orders, shipping will be USPS Priority Mail for $6.00 USD .

For international orders (PayPal), shipping will be USPS Mail Servise for $10.00 USD.

Waspie wrote:

Thanks Dennis, glad you understood my badly written question.

You will have to excuse my ignorance now! You have the sensor at the base of the mirror exposed to the outside air?

Would not the air during forward motion effect the temperature indicated on your gauge. I am thinking along the lines of wind chill! We all know when we ride the speed that as we ride, artificially drops the temperature. Please no-one mention kinetic heat - I don't think even on a 'Wing' we ride that fast.

Cars, (UK), have their sensors placed behind the mirror shroud, so is not directly sited in the airflow.

I was thinking, depending on the size of the sensor that it may be worth attaching around the handlebar hub!

Only my thoughts, please no-one think I am criticising, I am not, just wanting to add to Dennis's great idea. If I'm wrong - I 'm wrong, simple as that. Look forward to others views.

Doug

Moving air only affects the probe if the probe is wet. Then it becomes a barometer.

Dennis,

Would these work on my husband's BMW? He bought himself a fancy top box that puts a drain on his battery, and it seems like it would be a great thing for him to have.

Thanks,

M-

Hi Mandy,

Thank's for interest.

The Resevoir covers are not the same...I'm sure. To get the Voltage gauge to work on a BMW, I would need to know what the BMW brake resevoir looked like. Is it rectangular like the Honda's and what the dimensions of the cover and the distance between the center of the covers mounting holes? Is there 2 screws or 4 (1 in each corner)?

It might work...but I would need to use a BMW resevoir cover.

Got the new scooter dc volt meter in and have it installed.

It's amazing how much voltage is pulled by different things on the scooter. At idle the new voltage meter shows 14.3 Volts DC and jumps to 14.4 when I increase the RPM's. When I turn on the driving lights the system drops down to 13.8 volts at idle.

Just thought you'll might like to see a picture or two. It been trying to rain all day and the temperature is 53 F.

Pulled the scooter out of the garage, for a minute, to get a couple of shots.

Good looking mod Dennis. I want the set so add me to the list of potential customers. I am curious... the toggle switch on the top for the temp guage toggles from F to C temps. What does it do for voltage?

I would like to see a photo of your scoot from a distance that shows both meters installed. Or you can come down here for a visit. I hope you are too busy to do the visit, so get the camera out again.

Hi Gary,

Been a motorcycle rider for almost 50 years now, some of you even more. Having certain options is a good thing when your on the road...like being able to control your bikes accessories and do it safely.

The small waterproof switch on the top of the Voltage and Temp units is for ON/OFF and I placed them there so they would be easy to get too when a rider is moving down the road.

Searching for a small, "hidden" switch at a high rate of speed is not safe...or at any speed for that mater. So that's why I placed them on top and easy for a bike rider to get to.

I think It's a great deal for the Voltage or Temp Meter that you can see at night at only $67.00 each.

As soon as it gets done raining, I'll get more pictures. I was thinking of taking a picture at night so you'll can see how nice this looks.

Yeah I was in a hurry this morning when I sent the last post... I was thinking the button on back was the on/off switch and the toggle on top was the c to f. Now I understand better after going back and re reading the post earlier.... thanks for the info.

Hi Gary,

Took your good advice and grabbed a few more pictures of the units installed on the scooter:

DennisB wrote:

Hi Mandy,

Thank's for interest.

The Resevoir covers are not the same...I'm sure. To get the Voltage gauge to work on a BMW, I would need to know what the BMW brake resevoir looked like. Is it rectangular like the Honda's and what the dimensions of the cover and the distance between the center of the covers mounting holes? Is there 2 screws or 4 (1 in each corner)?

It might work...but I would need to use a BMW resevoir cover.

Right now, the bikes are surrounded by snow piles, but as soon as I can get to them, I'll take a picture of the brake reservoir and measure it.

Thanks, Dennis.