A-9s custom brackets for custom mini speedometers

Keef,

You nailed it - great observation, from someone who's obviously been poking around on this like some others in here...

The stock bracket bosses are the real obstacle - and it's a bit of a visual Catch-22... if you don't use the existing bosses, they'll just sit there an look funky, unless you remove them... if you do use the bosses, the choices seem to be either a push through solution like what I've come up with - or - a slick, thinner-gauge little bracket that uses the bosses but then makes a couple of tight, well managed bends to arrive underneath the
gauges - the second solution might look better than the push-through, but that's another project...

Another possible mounting point - again, probably visually better than the push-through solution - is to use two holes that are located underneath the upper triple clamp - you can see these holes in the reflection in the headlamp of the underside of the upper triple clamp if you look carefully - Lox seemed to recall these holes were used for windscreen fastening - a simple V-bracket might work splendidly here and get the gauges - even the stock gauges - further inboard and also lower - but thats IF you're willing to grind off the existing bosses...

Another possibility - using the lower handlebar clamp bolts - still would need to remove stock bosses...

Several posters have mentioned using the fork tube bolts for gauge bracket mounting points - I never had mine apart, so I'm not sure if that's a possibility or not - anybody who can shine some light here, please consider weighing in...

Couple of pics, courtesy of Loxpump, bosses circled in red, for anyone just joining the thread...




Cheers,

D9

On 2006-11-20 05:27, keef wrote:
I'm also curious to see what can be done to improve the position of the stock gauges, though I'm sure that you'll have quite a bit more room to play with than the rest of us, having already lowered your light. Mind you, those mounting lugs on the yoke come up a fair way and, if you went the way of mounting the gauges from bellow the yoke, the coresponding holes in the lower surface come in at a pretty sharp angle and there would still be the upper lugs to tidy up somehow - short of a bit of grinding and powder coating. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
Meanwhile, I'd still love to see if I could incorporate an oil pressure and/or temp gauge into the face of the tach somehow (in a similar way to which the lights are mounted within rod's and lox's speedos).

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[ This message was edited by: D9 on 2006-11-20 17:08 ]

hmm - this may sound stupid -
So, is the Tach on thruxton electrical?
and one more qeustion - is it a single firing ignition?


either way this helps me a bunch...

Cheers


[ This message was edited by: Whitehurst on 2006-11-20 22:27 ]

I didn't waste any time at all putting the bracket to use, when it showed up in the mail today.

This is the setup I had prior to starting the project:



These are all the parts I started with. D-9's bracket is outstanding! Excellent machining!



The old years of avionics repair came back to me - soldering the speedometer connections and using heat-shrink tubing.



I FINALLY got all the lights to work... This took some doing, and I had the Haynes manual to help with the wiring diagram. Even so, my oil pressure light and neutral light weren't working right away, and the bike wouldn't start either. Trouble-shooting was in order. I found that the oil pressure light, the neutral light and the start button share a ground - that was my error. I put the + sides of the oil and neutral lights to where they needed to go, and put the grounds together for the lights and the start switch, and bingo! It works!



The tachometer I have is a couple of thousands' smaller than the speedometer, so I'm going to have to build up the bracket on the tach side somehow. A couple of strips of aluminum speed tape might work on the inside of the bracket, put the rubber grommet back around the bracket and I should be good to go. I have to think about it overnight...



Right now, I've got the tach sitting up where it should be - it's not snug though, like the speedometer is - but it sure looks great!



It started to get dark (already!) so I couldn't even get out for much of a ride, but, overall, it's a great mod, and it sure looks better than the starting configuration!



[ This message was edited by: psasak on 2006-11-25 21:47 ]

Phil,

Thanks for posting details of the install - excellent feedback, was wondering if anyone had gotten theirs yet, all brackets shipped out Monday 11/20... the single biggest concern I've had about these is... will the mikes XS gauge ODs be consistent? I had my fingers crossed they would be and now I know, they're not... which is good info to have going forward.

If you have a caliper and can take a tight measurement on both gauges, it'd be helpful for me to know exactly how much the OD variance is...
A little bit of tape will probably work fine, but I'm already considering if thin gauge flexible shim stock to fit in the .125" center channel of the gasket would solve the loose fit easily and invisibly... can't see why that wouldn't work, & I could just send shim material along with brackets... going to head down to the shop now and see what I have...

* * * * * *

Ok, I think I've got it - found some strips of modelling brass - it's probably too thick, mic's out to .03... easily bends to the ID of the
gauge - it's also too wide, 3/16" and I need 1/8"... but with 1/8" wide material of sufficiently thin gauge, this looks like it could solve an undersize OD condition... got this strip from a hobby store... here's a pic just to get the idea...



Got me thinking, what if a gauge is too big or slightly out of round? That's probably easier - take off the gasket and carefully file or sand the opening little by little, checking fit periodically... it's aluminum and it's easy to work with...

Meanwhile, thanks again for posting so soon - will send shim material to you as soon as I have it...

Cheers,

D9

On 2006-11-24 18:07, psasak wrote:
I didn't waste any time at all putting the bracket to use, when it showed up in the mail today.
The tachometer I have is a couple of thousands' smaller than the speedometer, so I'm going to have to build up the bracket on the tach side somehow. A couple of strips of aluminum speed tape might work on the inside of the bracket, put the rubber grommet back around the bracket and I should be good to go. I have to think about it overnight...

[ This message was edited by: D9 on 2006-11-25 08:07 ]

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On 2006-11-26 09:38, Loxpump wrote:
."Hey D9" How about a bracket design that holds the gauges and also fits the stock lights?

Click to expand...

But seriously folks... was working on that very thing a bit late last night - the stock indicator lights are nice looking pieces, was thinking how they might look arranged vertically between the smaller gauges... plenty of ideas in the works, perhaps too many...

It's just too darn easy to arrive in a "what-if" state of mind when contemplating the Bonneville. I'm obviously not alone in this...

While on the subject - hope Triumphrat.net member Mancha will not mind -
but check out his beautifully done Thruxton gauge bracket, which uses stock gauges and drastically improves the look of the bike... nice work indeed!

Manchas cool Thruxton gauge bracket

Just goes to show you, lot of possibilities out there...

;-)

Cheers,

D9

[ This message was edited by: D9 on 2006-11-26 10:33 ]

On 2006-11-26 11:21, meatwagon wrote:
Outstanding work D9 ;man do I ever want a set!

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meatwagon -

Thanks, very much appreciate the comment - send me a pm with shipping addy & pick your poison - here's what's left from the initial production run:

4 single gauge brackets - "the rodburner special":



4 two-piece dual-gauge bracket sets - pic of loxpump's setup:



1 one-piece dual-gauge bracket (black) - pic of psasak's setup:



Cheers,

D9