Hercolor Digital Dashboard

[lcallison]

That one looks real nice, but the price sure isn't as nice. I think I'll stay with the Hercolor. I hadn't seen one with the sunshade. I bought a sunshade for my Garmin Streetfighter and it works pretty well with the speedo, so I ordered another one. Cost with shipping is about $22. I haven't had any issues with reading it since I put the sunshade on.

[Sidecar Bob]

I had a moment of inspiration on the way home tonight. While squinting at the dash to make sure the left signal was actually flashing (I have new switches coming) I realized , for the first time in 2 years, that the LED was not perfectly lined up with the arrow on the printed plastic sheet! Hmmm... Maybe that's why they are so dim...

So I opened it up, removed the lens, moved the printed plastic sheet out of the way and turned on the signals. Wow!! On top of the misalignment (they really weren't that far off) the plastic was tinted green where the arrows were, and I think that was the biggest problem. LEDs produce very specific wavelengths of light and if you put one behind a coloured lens that is even a slightly different wavelength it can dim the light considerably.

The LEDs are surface mount devices on a printed circuit at the rear of the housing and there is a shield with tubes about 6mm dia. in front of each one. I got out my leather punch and made nice, round holes in the printed plastic sheet (the biggest punch is slightly smaller than the tubes) where the arrows and the "P" were.

And, of course, they are calling for rain for the next couple of days so I won't be able to report on how it looks in bright sunlight

[lcallison]

Thanks! I will check that out. I'll have to take the fairing off to work on the cruise control anyway.

[Sidecar Bob]

3c and raining when I left for work this morning. It was so nice to know for sure that the signals were flashing when I told them to. It occurred to me that maybe the arrow & the LED weren't misaligned, but the viewing angle made it look like they were.

22c & trying to be sunny on the way home. I could see the LEDs much better with my sunglasses on than ever before, but I still wanted them to be a bit brighter. I have a feeling that they are about as bright as I would want at night, though, so this is probably the best compromise. Certainly the best compromise that doesn't involve drilling & wiring

I will definitely be getting one for the 'Wing. I am negotiating with an eBay seller to make sure I get the right one for wasted spark ignition. The time difference between here and China slows things down a lot

[lcallison]

Yeah, I'm probably going to order another one for my 76. It currently has a dash built by me with mini speedo, tach, battery gauge and temp gauge. I just have to decide what to do about the battery and temp gauges. I really don't have any problems with that set up, just like the Hercolor. Also, the speedo and tach on the 76 don't have lights any more, which makes it a pain riding in the dark. I'll decide for sure soon.

I haven't looked at how you take the unit apart. Any tricks to it?

[Sidecar Bob]

Its pretty straightforward. 6 screws around the back releases the front and then you have to dig the silicone out of the wells to get at 2 more screws to release the lens. Lift out the light guide for the backlight (looks like a translucent plastic frame) and the printed plastic sheet is easily accessed. It is flexible enough that you can work on it without removing the tach needle.

Be careful when you are working on the printed plastic sheet. I rotated mine 90 deg. to punch the holes and when I put it back the needle wasn't at zero. Not a big deal and the startup cycle might have reset it but I gently rotated it back until I felt the stop and it seems to work the same as usual.

Remember to put the light guide back in when you close it up. Don't ask me why I mentioned this

The holes I punched are tidy and I doubt that anyone who didn't know would realize that they aren't original but now I can see the surface mount LEDs even when they are not on - little shiny rectangles about 2 cm below the face. It doesn't bother me and it is much better than having to concentrate to see if they are flashing. If I was doing it again I would still use the largest punch on my rotary leather punch for the turn signals but I would probably use the next size down for the oil (P) light because it is very bright. But it isn't on after the engine is started so it isn't much of an issue. Oddly, I have never had a problem seeing the high beam light and I had to really dim down the high beam light on my attempt at building my own instrument panel because it was distracting at night (basically whenever it was on) so I did not punch it.

I dug out the defective one and started looking at how/where to mount it. It is so much smaller than the original cluster that I am thinking of making a panel from ABS sheet to fill the space between the bars and the windshield, mounting a speaker in it for the radio and relocating some switches that are in a plastic box now. I might even add a voltmeter or ammeter. It will require a bit more thought.

I found out why the one with the sunshade is "drum brake only": It requires a regular speedo cable. I guess I will get one similar to yours and make my own shade if I decide I need one.

[lcallison]

Ok, that sounds good. I probably will only work on film at the turn signals. I don't have any problem seeing the high beam and the red P. I hope to start on that and the cruise control Sunday. Today I installed a headlight modulator and a brake light flasher on the 82. I had to work on the ground to the fairing a bit. Everything was flashing! The turn signals were almost like 4 ways. They're fine now though. I have a PGR mission in Independence, KS tomorrow that I won't get home from till around 6 or later. Then I'm going to help my brother in law put his engine back in his 77. He's had it out fixing a couple oil leaks and replacing his clutch. I also put a headlight modulator on the 76. The grounds are worse on it than on the 82. Looks like I need to go over the wiring on it closely. Then it's time to check the timing and valves on it. I also have a brake light flasher for it. Having fun in the shop!

[lcallison]

It's been awhile, but some progress has been made. I punched holes in the film where the arrows are. In my shop I can't see a lot of change, will know how much improvement when riding. I hooked the brake light up to the oil pressure sender and that's working nice. I found a dashlight at B&B Auto Parts that works fine as my neutral light, and have that mounted and working. I bought a pot and hooked it up for testing on the gas gauge, but the tank is full, so I don't know if it's working right or not. I was hoping max resistance on the pot would bring the gauge below full, but it doesn't, so may not have enough resistance. I emailed the seller asking what resistance the gas gauge is looking for and I guess from his answer that it's about 510 ohms. If so, I need more resistance. I started on the Rostra install. I have the unit mounted and hope to get all the wiring done today. The speed sensor may be my biggest problem there. The speed sensor for the Hercolor is probably only pulsing about 500 times per mile and the minimum setting for the Rostra is 2000 pulses per mile. We'll see what happens. I have the CC module mounted behind the right saddlebag just to the rear of the shock. I'm a little leery of this location, but others have mounted there with good results. I guess I should start a new thread on the cruise control. More to come.

[Easter]

Regarding the plug for the tach cable--one of the companies that makes cafe parts for 750 Honda 4s regularly advertises a tach plug and I am certain they are the same. Sorry I can't be more specific but I see them regularly in custom bike magazines. (I don't buy them I just look at them, you know-- read the articles and don't look at the photos!!)

Hope you will do a follow up report on the instrument after you get the bike going.

[Sidecar Bob]

Mine came this week. The plastic sheet isn't here yet and I have just started working on the other, more crucial stuff that I need to do this spring so it may be a while before I install it but I will take pics and report.

[lcallison]

I got the throttle linkage made yesterday and had to stop and do some other things. Today, I plan to get the throttle hooked up and get the wiring connected. If all goes well, I will test the cc today. The dashboard is working fine except for the gas gauge. I bought some resisters yesterday to play with it some. I have almost 600 miles on it. I'll be watching for your report on it Bob.

[lcallison]

Bob, you said the time on the clock on yours wasn't accurate. Mine isn't either. It was 10 minutes off when I started on the Rostra install.

[Sidecar Bob]

Yeah. I keep meaning to look for one of those stick on clocks at the $1 store that I can put on the fairing somewhere, but I have been told that they can reboot if it gets cold enough so that might not be a much better option on the winter machine...

I realized that I could see the LEDs for the turn signals even better if I was looking directly down the tubes so tweaked the bracket up a bit. A couple of days later we had a very sunny day and several of the segments in the speedo display looked like they were dying. At home in the garage, standing beside the bike they looked OK so I figured it had something to do with the viewing angle and bent the bracket back down a bit. That helped but there was no position where I could see down the tubes and see all of the segments. Today my son told me he could read the speedo clearly from the sidecar while I was seeing weak segments. I leaned to the side a bit and they were all nice & dark again.

It hasn't really been a problem because I generally have a good enough idea of how fast I am going to figure it out from what I can see but now I know I can make sure by moving my head a few inches to the side.

I guess that's what we get for buying the cheap knock off version

[lcallison]

Yeah, you get what you pay for. But, overall, I am pleased with the unit, especially when I consider how much they want for the other units. A lot of them cost more than I paid for the bike.

[Sidecar Bob]

I'm contemplating replacing the surface mount LEDs with long stemmed ones that can sit even with the face instead of being recessed, but that will have to wait for a while. This week's project is the timing belts & rollers, rad hoses &c.