Installing a gear indicator into a digital dash.

85436 Views 96 Replies 38 Participants Last post by TheDuck, 16 d ago

Uglystick

Discussion Starter · Nov 24, 2010

Okay guys here is the requested install of the GiPro gear X-Type display into the tacho face on the digital dash.

Disclaimer..

I take no absolutely no responsibility for any damage caused if you try this.. I had 2 tacho faces so if I stuffed it up (which I did the first time) then I still had the capability of going back to stock with no harm done.
Honda does not sell the tacho face separately so you can forget that as an option.. So just to make it clear if you stuff this up then you’re going to be searching parts dismantlers for a tacho..
Final word of caution here, if you put any marks or fingerprints on the tacho face they are bloody hard to remove so maybe if you have white cloth gloves it may not be a bad idea to wear them.

Okay. Why the GiPro X-Type.. and not the Acumen. 2 reasons…
1, The Acumen requires you to insert a pin in the back of the display to program it. The GiPro does not. So if you were to ever need to disconnect the battery the GiPro is a far better choice.
2, Size even if you only use the Acumen gear display the unit is a fair bit larger than the Gipro. Space is at a premium inside the dash. Ok before anyone asks. Yes the Acumen gear display will fit, and no the Acumen gear display with volt meter will not fit. (Thank you Shewie for the reference gauge and voltmeter that you kindly supplied to aid in the completion of this project)
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So if your game or like me foolhardy... we will start with the standard dash removed from the bike

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Our objective is to end up with a dash with the gear indicator in the tacho face..

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Disassemble the dash down to the following image..

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Open then packaging for the GiPro and take a good look at the product. If you remove the clear dome cover then you can see how the plastic cover allows the LCD to poke through (sorry no photo’s of a couple of steps here cause I was concentrating on not destroying things rather than recording this for prosperity.) One of the good things out the GiPro is the way they constructed it. They had a hard plastic case with a hole in it (just big enough for the display to fit) put all the components in, and then filled the case with resin.
Carefully break away the plastic casing and you will be left with a square block of resin that the display sits proud of. This reduces the size of the unit by about 4mm in height and width.
Because the display sits proud of the resin block that encases it, it allows you to have the display fit inside the hole you make in the tacho face rather than under it, which I thought a good thing for the finished product.

Ok if this has proven to be a little too daunting then STOP NOW. From here on things can get very messy very quickly..

This is the hardest part of this project. You need to determe where and what size hole you need to cut in the tacho face. The size can be determined my measuring the LCD of the GiPro... See there is reason I got you break the GiPro first.....
The actual size of the hole I required was 13mm x 17mm (but make sure you measure your own display to make sure.)

This is where things get a little heart in mouth! TAKE THIS NEXT STEP SLOWLY. Remember the old rule. Measure, Measure, Measure and Remeasure and cut once, You’re going to get no second chances. Well not quite true but that’s later.

Here is a temple that I made from the placement of my gear indicator.

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I commenced cutting the hole by locating where the 4 corners of the hole are supposed to be and then drilling small holes at each corner, then working from the back of the tacho (in case you slip with the knife you don’t want to cut the visible side of the tacho face) with a very sharp knife
Make the hole small initially and work outward until the LCD display fits perfectly into the hole, the more care that you have taken will mean a better fit for the display unit.
You now need to secure your reduced size GiPro display into the hole that you made. I used Araldite 5 minute epoxy. You may use your own form of bonding agent as you see fit. Here I made a mistake and didn’t put a weight on top the display and it moved slightly (lifted on one side). So be sure to make sure yours doesn’t.
And we are back to taking pics again...

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Now we need to get the tacho unit to fit back into the white plastic piece (the only thing that I can work out that it does is keep light in the right area’s) Cutting this isn’t as imports and you will see from my images that allot less care was taken since no one will see what you do to it anyway.
The only real problems here are the new gear display will not allow the tacho to be fitted because it impacts in the central ring the white plastic shroud. A bit of guess work and a Dremel with a cutting blades sorted this out in just a few minutes. You will also need to cut a notch into the outside of the shroud so that the wires can escape from the enclosed area.

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You can now put the plastic shroud back onto the circuit board and reinstall the tacho. Only a few more little cuts and we are finished..

I took some time trying to work out how i was going to get my Gear Indicator wiring back out into the outside world I finally settled into removing one of the round sections on the rear casing, see next pic.

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A bit of silicon sealant so water can’t get in and your ready to put that outer casings back together, reinstalling the dash and then following the rest of the instructions supplied with the gear indicator.

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Okay.. so what if it’s not a neat as you hoped..
You can purchase an Indiglo tacho face from jaws and that gives you a chance to get the hole neater.. yes you can cut a hole into it as you can see i did.. I didn’t need to use the Indiglo but I did because i like the look of them. If you do choose to go with the indiglo then I suggest that during fitment that you take the time to alter the colour of your tacho needle.

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