Digital Gear Indicator

[Burger]

Has anyone fitted a digital gear indicator to their ST? I saw a post once I think on st1300.us where a guy had modified the right instrument light cluster and included a gear indicator. It looked extremely smart... but my questions are more around ease of fitting and then the function of them.

A lot are made for bikes with electronic speedos and tacho's and the problem with this, if there is one, is that the indicator won't work, or at least has no idea what gear you're in when the bike is at standstill. This is because it needs to be able to compare road speed to engine speed to determine what gear you're in.

What I'd like to know is, what do they indicate at stand still then? Do they display that you're in neutral, which would be pretty silly, or do they just assume you're in the last gear you were in or what?

Does anyone know of one that doesn't have this limitation?

Thanks,

[The Doktor]

I have one on my st 1100. Its one of those things that once you have one you would really miss it if went.
On the st 1100, you need to have an extra bit of electronics to give the pulses for the movment of the bike as there is no electronic speedo...however..
when you stop the bike it seems to assume you are in the last gear before you stopped. If you then put it into neutral it shows neutral, as there is a wire connected to the neutral light. It works pretty good, and when i order the 1300 in a week or two :D i will deffo put a gear indicator on it.

[Burger]

Thanks,

That's just what I needed to know... I am thinking of fitting one so that I don't keep having to test if I'm in top gear or not.

Anyone know how easy it is to find the speedo and tacho pulse wires on the ST1300? Admittedly I haven't even looked at the circuit diagram yet, so it might not be that hard, but thought I'd ask in case anyone knows off the top of their head.

Thanks again,

[tricky_micky]

Dave

Is it worth the trouble?

I am the same as you, and in fact there is a thread about wondering if you are in top gear or not. Just by a flick of the left foot you will soon know if it is in top or not.

To me, it aint worth the hassle.

Mick

[Burger]

Well you know Mick, you might be right there :) I've not made my mind up yet. I saw the thread on wondering if we're in 5th gear and as it's something I seem to always have to check, I just thought this might be the answer.

So, still undecided, but I must admit I'm starting to think it's not worth it.

Regards,

[tricky_micky]

Well you know Mick, you might be right there :) I've not made my mind up yet. I saw the thread on wondering if we're in 5th gear and as it's something I seem to always have to check, I just thought this might be the answer.

So, still undecided, but I must admit I'm starting to think it's not worth it.

Regards,

Dave

I still flick the left foot up to make sure, so what the heck, who cares, I do it on the ST and the CB 500 I ride for CBT and DAS work. You aint on yer own mate, I am with you on that one but I would not waste money and time on a digital read out. Keep flicking the left foot, it is cheaper and more reliable!

Mick

[John Anthony]

Thanks,

That's just what I needed to know... I am thinking of fitting one so that I don't keep having to test if I'm in top gear or not.

Anyone know how easy it is to find the speedo and tacho pulse wires on the ST1300? Admittedly I haven't even looked at the circuit diagram yet, so it might not be that hard, but thought I'd ask in case anyone knows off the top of their head.

Thanks again,
Drop them a line and they'll give you the answer. I was checking these guys out about 6-8 months ago, but nuked the response I got from them.

[The Doktor]

Ah lads... why fit a gear indicator?? because the bmw has one
so when u meet a beemer rider an he says... "nice bike... but no gear indicator eh??"... u can go..."ta daaaa"
thats the initial reason i got one, my brother drives a BMW, and i had to fit everything he had just so he couldnt have one up on me. good enough reason in my book.
Anyways, as regards fitting em, they are a peice of piss one you get to the back of the clocks. If you go to the Acumen website it tells you the wires you need to tap into. www.acumen-electronics.co.uk

Also another reason to get one.. blue LEDs....mmmmmmmmm

[tricky_micky]

Ah lads... why fit a gear indicator?? because the bmw has one
so when u meet a beemer rider an he says... "nice bike... but no gear indicator eh??"... u can go..."ta daaaa"
thats the initial reason i got one, my brother drives a BMW, and i had to fit everything he had just so he couldnt have one up on me. good enough reason in my book.

Also another reason to get one.. blue LEDs....mmmmmmmmm

Hey Dok

If a Bmer rider asks anything like that I normally ask them "How much did your last service cost"?

Say no more nudge nudge wink wink :hotpepper Rock on

Mick

[Ozzy]

Many of the fuel injected bikes have a gear input to the ecu , which tells the ecu what gear you are currently in. IF the ST13 has that signal then it is not to hard to make your own digital gear indicator that will show 1 N 2 3 4 5 .
Someone with a schematic can look and see if these leads are present.

[kris hill]

hi there, i am the guy who fitted the gear indidicator in the my dash that you saw on the other site, the cables for the speed sensor and newtraul light are on the back of the speedo and you can get the colour codes from the wiring diagram, its been so long i can not remeber now!!

kris

[Burger]

Hey Kris,

That was very neat job you did. Nice one.

Regards,

[tricky_micky]

Hey Kris,

That was very neat job you did. Nice one.

Regards,

Hey Dave my friend and Buddy LOL

You want a gear counter, well I have one here that you can have free of charge. It is as long as you want it and it wil fit nicely on a Ram Mount between the handlebars.

It consists of a wire and five balls. In gear one, you move the first ball to the left, in gear two you move the second ball to the left and so on.

Now if it gets complicated and you have to move from 4th gear to 3rd gear, you move the ball to the left on the string instead of the right.

sh!*te!

I cant keep that guff going too long as I am ROFLMAO

Good on yer mate LOL

[Burger]

Mick me old mukka... hm... mukker? mucha? bah... Micky...

I decided, despite being a confirmed gadget freak against a digital gear indicator not because of it's function but because I just know Honda will include one on the much discussed 2007 model :D Also, I just couldn't see anywhere I would want to stick one - at least nowhere polite :D Now, having said that, if I had the patience and skills (which I don't) to do what Kris did, I would do it simply because it looks OEM... pic attached.

Hopefully this is a pic of Kris' work because it was someone of a different name that posted it on other sites as their work... in any case, this is the one I mean.

As for your idea I'm sorry but it simply wouldn't work... each time I lent round a corner I'd have to change to an inappropriate gear just to keep up with my balls :D

[Elmo]

I've got a gear indicator. :couch1:

Over the years, I've learned to curl each toe on my left foot independently. One toe curled under = 1st, two toes curled under = 2nd, and so on. Takes awhile to master, but it's worth the trouble.

That's also why I'll never own a six speed... ;)

Elmo

[Elmo]

:yes:

Get's tough on the interstates between those 300+ mile fill-ups... cramp city... :)

The "twisties" can test your dexterity... :rolleyes:

"Gear Toe" Elmo

[kris hill]

Hi guys, there is some one in the US who had the same idea as me with the gear indicator, i have attached some of my images for you to have a look at

[Burger]

That looks very neat Kris... and in fact much simpler than the other guys solution that involved soldering on a smaller display. How did you get rid of the illuminated Pan European?

Regards,

[tricky_micky]

Kris

Neat idea, spose a bummer to fit!

[John Anthony]

This is one of those projects that intrigues me. When I retire in the next year or so and have time on my hands, it's one I'll tackle.

John

[kris hill]

It was a case of trial and erorr when it comes to fitting it, you have to be carefull not to cut to much away or you will need to buy a new rear dash unit, on the front pan logo, i cut out a square of the front panel and put a peice of red gel infront of it for the display to come through. it looks a bit messy but when its all together and on the bike it looks ok.

[CrashTestDanny]

Kris,

I'm presuming that the photo-resistor in place of your ABS light is either the one from your Kisan Pathblazer or it's to dim the gear indicator. Is this correct? Very nice job fitting those either way.

[Orange Power]

I'm not thrilled with the units that use engine speed (elec tach) and bike speed (elec speedo) to compute estimated gear being used.

On the GoldWings, a company JNc (not out of business) made a slight simple gear indicator (I have one) that mounts anywhere you want. I understand its really pita to install on an ABS bike though.

Doesn't the ST1100 have a built-in gear indicator?
If so, can that mechanism be used on a ST1300?

[Tom B.]

Unbelievable!

Ummm...just a thought: My 1984 Honda 700S Night Hawk has a gear indicator and I knowthat it has a cable driven speedo! Could a guy retro fit one of these??? Are the components still available from Honda??? Just thinking out loud! (Dang it :banghead: now I'm gonna have to look into this too! Dadgum all these ST'rs and their bloomin farkles!:roll: ) I've got 2 of these old bikes so if I can find the time this weekend I'll try to see how it works! Maybe a look at a parts catalogue will shed some lite too! I'll let you all know!!!:hat1:

EDIT!!! I took a look @ the old 700S Night Hawk and no the shift indicator switch won't work but the indicator it's self might if a fellow could rig a sensor switch? Sorry I don't have better news!

[christo]

This is one of those projects that intrigues me. When I retire in the next year or so and have time on my hands, it's one I'll tackle.

John
Sorry Ol' buddy... When you retire with an st to ride you seem to have less time available then when you was workin!!:)

:06biker:

[John Anthony]

Sorry Ol' buddy... When you retire with an st to ride you seem to have less time available then when you was workin!!:)

:06biker:

Boy has that turned out to be oh so true!! While I've done a number of things in my first 6 months of semi-retirement (a little part time consulting just to keep my mind sharp), working on my ST hasn't been one of them. Oh well, there's always next winter!

John