| Author | Message | ||
     Krueger08xb12s |
The one thing I don't like about the XB's is that there's no engine temperature gauge! Unlike most other liquid-cooled bikes, we're left in the dark as to how hot our bikes are running at any given time. Has anyone found a gauge? I've looked for something that can be tied into the oil lines and mounted up near the instrument cluster but i've had no luck at all. Is there such a thing? | ||
| Mr2shim |
 Why? If your engine gets too hot it'll go into skip spark mode. Read the manual. Having a temp gauge is pretty close to pointless. A voltmeter would do you much more good. P.S What does engine oil have to do with engine temp? Those would be two completely different temperatures...... | ||
| Froggy |
Yes, ECM spy, a Palm, and mount it on your handle bar. Thats the route I am taking once I get enough dough. Too much of a pain in the ass to pull over to check everything and make tweaks  | ||
| Mr2shim |
Yea, that's what I was thinking but I forgot to post it. EcmSpy and a palm would be the best route. Anything else is just utterly pointless IMO. A sponsor on this board makes a dipstick that doubles as an OIL temp gauge From running EcmSpy my engine typically runs at or around 200C during the summer. A tad bit warm. Normal Operating temp should be around 160C-180C. If I remember correctly. (Message edited by mr2shim on October 19, 2008) | ||
| Glitch |
The one thing I don't like about the XB's is that there's no engine temperature gauge! You didn't know on your water cooled either, you had a water temp gauge. If you're worried about your oil temp, I highly recommend this: http://darkhorsemoto.com/html/otgf_0.html They have some Class A t-shirts as well  | ||
| Iamarchangel |
For those that understand electronics better than me you might be able to jerry rig your own meter. The service manual gives you the volt/resistance/temperature relationship. There's probably some kind of meter at Radio Shock/the source that could be hooked up to be read while riding. | ||
| Ferocity02 |
If you're really clever, you can get a small Autometer gauge and a three-way switch and use it to read oil, head, and some other temp(tranny)? Just have to find a place to mount the gauge. | ||
| Jkhawaii |
by the way, trying to operate your bike in skip spark mode really sucks. its almost like shutting off the engine. when my fan went out at 10,000 miles I was still riding around.. but than I hit traffic | ||
| Sloppy |
Interesting thought -- not necessary unless you're tuning. Water cooled bikes have temp gauges because they self destruct if you loose water cooling which happens all too frequently -- hence they have temp gauges to warn you. Check out a VW website -- they may have TC's that mount directly under the spark plug and you can mount the readout on your panel. | ||
| Mr2shim |
I think you mean check out a beetle forum. Or a Porsche 911 forum. Pre (911)996 were all air cooled IIRC? | ||
| Joeyoravec |
You can do digital gauges: http://www.badweatherbikers.com/buell/messages/327 77/397655.html I've been working on that for my XB9 which can read info the same info (including engine temp) off the diagnostic connector. | ||
| Sloppy |
Good point Mr2shim -- I guess I'm showing my age when VW was only air cooled. Thx for correction. | ||
| Buford |
Got one of these mounted on the flyscreen: http://www.westach.com/gauge_images/2DC8.gif Uses simple thermocouples that mount under the spark plugs. | ||
| Dipstick |
Darkhorsemoto.com makes a replacement dipstick with an oil temp. guage, but you can't read it while riding. Oil temp. is a good indicator of engine temp. because the XB engines spray the bottom of the pistons for cooling. You will be surprised how hot that oil gets at a sustained 80-90 MPH. I think a larger oil cooler may be needed for those of us that live in the south. |
