Before I replace the speedo & tach. & headlight...

[ggreenfield]

1) I really dislike the square headlight. I want to replace it with a round one. Physically this looks to be relatively simple but how about electrically? My thoughts were to buy a cafe style faring for a round headlight and hope it would conceal the ugliness below but I've not yet ventured into the junk yards to see what's available. I did find some new cafe style farings for round headlights somewhere a while ago.....

2) The speedo is waaay off (not uncommon as I understand it) and the tach is not registering at all. I have yet to even tear into the tach problem - figured I'd just disconnect the cable from the tach itself and see if it's spinning? If not then buy an OEM tach cable.

But...since the speedo needs to be replaced anyway (a cycling speedo would probbly be an acceptable short term solution) perhaps I'll buy some nice matching aftermarket gauges and replace both. I have found several through this forum that look just fine but I do not understand some things. If the original tack is mechanical, how do you replace it with a digital tach? Apparently they read a reflective strip from a rotating shaft? So....a reflective strip on the tach cable?

I liked some of these here and they are certainly within budget. Found those in this thread.

 

[t3rmin]

1) I really dislike the square headlight. I want to replace it with a round one. Physically this looks to be relatively simple but how about electrically? My thoughts were to buy a cafe style faring for a round headlight and hope it would conceal the ugliness below but I've not yet ventured into the junk yards to see what's available. I did find some new cafe style farings for round headlights somewhere a while ago.....

Might not be as ugly as you think... Most bikes here have round headlights and no faring. As long as the headlight ears mate up with the new light, the connection of the headlight electricals will be trivial. If you need new ears, z1enterprises.com has some nice shiny universal ones. That said, since the wiring harness terminates in the headlight bucket, there are LOTS and lots of wires in there, so even though the headlight itself will be a cinch to wire, getting the harness back in the new bucket correctly will be a bit more challenging. Especially if a PO has made mincemeat of your wiring like on my bike. ;-)

2) The speedo is waaay off (not uncommon as I understand it) and the tach is not registering at all. I have yet to even tear into the tach problem - figured I'd just disconnect the cable from the tach itself and see if it's spinning? If not then buy an OEM tach cable.

My speedo is ~5mph off. Yeah, pretty normal.

As for the tach, that's how I'd test it. If the cable spins something's wrong with your tach, if not, something's wrong with your cable/tach gear.

But...since the speedo needs to be replaced anyway (a cycling speedo would probbly be an acceptable short term solution) perhaps I'll buy some nice matching aftermarket gauges and replace both. I have found several through this forum that look just fine but I do not understand some things. If the original tack is mechanical, how do you replace it with a digital tach? Apparently they read a reflective strip from a rotating shaft? So....a reflective strip on the tach cable?

I liked some of these here and they are certainly within budget. Found those in this thread.

I recently replaced my gauges with models from MikesXS.com. They look great (and modern) and bolt right up to the stock mechanical cables.

 

[rphillips]

The "82" 750 "E" had a round light. If you could find one of those from salvage, I would think most everything would bolt & plug right up. I'm like you, I like the round also, always liked the looks of the "82" 750 "E" better, & about the only differences were the headlight & instrument cluster.

 

[ggreenfield]

Might not be as ugly as you think... Most bikes here have round headlights and no faring. As long as the headlight ears mate up with the new light, the connection of the headlight electricals will be trivial. If you need new ears, z1enterprises.com has some nice shiny universal ones. That said, since the wiring harness terminates in the headlight bucket, there are LOTS and lots of wires in there, so even though the headlight itself will be a cinch to wire, getting the harness back in the new bucket correctly will be a bit more challenging.

I've tried but just can't seem to convince myself that the square headlight will look ok after I paint the bike AND the cafe farings cost more $ for square headlights anyway. :/
After further inspection of the wiring I think this faring will cover everything and you can even get it pre-painted (if you don't mind stock colors).

Especially if a PO has made mincemeat of your wiring like on my bike. ;-)

Fortunately no. I got the bike from the original owner (a personal friend) in absolutely fantastic condition w/ < 20,000 miles. He did a few bolt-on imporvements but no hacking. The wiring (after a bath) is like new in appearance. Last summer it was starting in 1 or 2 seconds. After sitting for the winter it was not so happy to start. I gave it some TLC - results pending. Once I get the tach working it's time to test out the electrical system.

My speedo is ~5mph off. Yeah, pretty normal.

I'd be happy with only 5 off! Mine is more like 12-15 and I have yet to see speeds in excess of 45 MPH - I can only assume it will worsen as the speed increases?

I recently replaced my gauges with models from MikesXS.com. They look great (and modern) and bolt right up to the stock mechanical cables.

Yeah thanks for posting that. I would not have found those myself otherwise. Those gauges look great and would be perfect for me as well. Have you actually tested them for accuracy yet?

 

[ggreenfield]

The "82" 750 "E" had a round light. If you could find one of those from salvage, I would think most everything would bolt & plug right up. I'm like you, I like the round also, always liked the looks of the "82" 750 "E" better, & about the only differences were the headlight & instrument cluster.

Hmm very interesting, I did not know that. Now what are the odds of the local boneyard having one of those mewonders......:shock:

 

[t3rmin]

I've tried but just can't seem to convince myself that the square headlight will look ok after I paint the bike AND the cafe farings cost more $ for square headlights anyway. :/

I meant it would probably look fine with the ROUND headlight and no faring. The square ones are indeed ugly! ;-)

I'd be happy with only 5 off! Mine is more like 12-15 and I have yet to see speeds in excess of 45 MPH - I can only assume it will worsen as the speed increases?

Yick. That's not normal I don't think. Perhaps your bike has a wrong speedo to wheelspeed sender match? How have you measured the "offness"?

Yeah thanks for posting that. I would not have found those myself otherwise. Those gauges look great and would be perfect for me as well. Have you actually tested them for accuracy yet?

They do look fantastic. Awesome blue-ish backlight glow and the built-in idiot lights are very cool. Took a bit of doing to wire it all up but it was worth it. See my thread here for more details and pics:
http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum/showthread.php?t=104572&page=3

Haven't had it out on the road yet, unfortunately. I can say that the tach appears to be accurate, but I can't speak for the speedo yet. I'm hoping it'll be more accurate than stock, but if it's the gearing in the sender that's the problem, it shouldn't help any. Here's hoping the speedo gearing was the culprit!