I do believe the coils are under the cover on the left side under the tank...

You know that one crome cover between the engine cylinders on the left side... 1 screw and it pops right off...

 

tach

I just installed an aftermarket tach on my 900. The coils are under left side cover. Remove 1 phillips head screw and pull the cover off. You want to hook the tach to the black wire coming off one of the coils. The tach I have doesn't require an adapter. The other wires from the tach went into the headlight bucket. On mine it was a blue and red that went to a 12 volt source and a black to ground.

 

Here's a pic of the 2 coils, as described by the above posts, under the left side cover. You can tap the black wire on either coil. I tapped the left one as shown here.

 

fljohnboy
what kind of tach did you get?
any pics

 

fljohnboy
what kind of tach did you get?
any pics

Go here eBay Motors: Custom Motorcycle Mini Tachometer Harley Davidson Tach (item 380029744690 end time May-27-08 19:00:00 PDT)

 

that looks good jonhboy!

did you install it? does it come with a clamp for the handlebar?
is it waterproof?

show us pics!!!!

 

tach

I don't know if it's waterproof or not. Does not come with a clamp only what you see in the ebay ad. I bent the bracket and used a Harley 1" clamp to mount to the bars. I wanted to mount it to the center bolt on the triple tree but I'll have to come up with some sort of bracket for that. This will suffice for now.

 

Thanks John, now I'll have one for myself.....

 

Thanks John, now I'll have one for myself.....

I sent you a PM. The rpm's arent reading right on this tach. I have written the seller on this but no response yet.

 

Sorry to hear this John, hopefully is getting sorted out.
Thanks for letting me know, I was waiting for him to reply to couple of questions, but as you said, no answer yet.
It does say on his site that he is gone for few days. Fingers crossed.

 

Sorry to hear this John, hopefully is getting sorted out.
Thanks for letting me know, I was waiting for him to reply to couple of questions, but as you said, no answer yet.
It does say on his site that he is gone for few days. Fingers crossed.

He wrote me back. He was no help. I did find out that on the tach an adapter is needed to make it work right. The adapters are going for about 30 bucks. I did some more research and it looks like I can make an adapter for a less then $5. Just need a couple of diodes and resistors. I'll let you know how this works out tomorrow after I get to Radio Shack for the parts.

 

Tach

The 2 diodes and 2 resistors did the trick. The tach works like a charm.

 

The 2 diodes and 2 resistors did the trick. The tach works like a charm.

Can you share the secret to making this tack work..??? Maybe a diagram on for the resistors and diodes...?

I may have to pick one up too, price is right and if it works, what the heck..

 

Can you share the secret to making this tack work..??? Maybe a diagram on for the resistors and diodes...?

I may have to pick one up too, price is right and if it works, what the heck..

I 2nd that! I got the same tach and have since removed it due to the rpm's not reading right. Not only that, but the needle doesn't stay steady, it's alway fluctuating.

Let us know! Thanks.

 

Rev Adapter

Here you go.

 

I don't know if it's waterproof or not. Does not come with a clamp only what you see in the ebay ad. I bent the bracket and used a Harley 1" clamp to mount to the bars. I wanted to mount it to the center bolt on the triple tree but I'll have to come up with some sort of bracket for that. This will suffice for now.

Looks good!

 

-(!)-

I 2nd that! I got the same tach and have since removed it due to the rpm's not reading right. Not only that, but the needle doesn't stay steady, it's alway fluctuating.

Let us know! Thanks.

Hi mdqueenz,
Did ur Tacho's needle fluctuation problem got solved?
I m too facing the same..
Please help if it is rectified.

Tamseel.

 

Hi mdqueenz,
Did ur Tacho's needle fluctuation problem got solved?
I m too facing the same..
Please help if it is rectified.

Tamseel.

Hi Tamseel,

I gave up on it. While a tack was a good idea at first, i realized i really didn't have a need for it. So i never attempted to make it work.

Good luck with yours.

MD

 

Hi Tamseel,

I gave up on it. While a tack was a good idea at first, i realized i really didn't have a need for it. So i never attempted to make it work.

Good luck with yours.

MD

Hey, I could Find that if I connect just +ve and -ve Point on Tach and left Signal (~) open still it fluctuates.
No idea wat it could b.
I think a ferrite core should work. Lets see.

Tamseel.

 

Hey, I could Find that if I connect just +ve and -ve Point on Tach and left Signal (~) open still it fluctuates.
No idea wat it could b.
I think a ferrite core should work. Lets see.

Tamseel.

Those tachs [inexpensive ones] all seem to have needle bounce when they idle at around 1000 RPM. I've owned two on two different bikes and they both bounced at idle. Helped a guy install one on his 800 with the same bounce. It's no big deal and I don't even think about until I see threads like this.

Once you start rolling it goes away. It's just the nature of the beast and for me the advantages of having a tach [either real or imagined] out weigh a little needle bounce IMHO.

 

Love this forum..

Great tip on the tack adapter... You gotta love this forum...

 

the only 2 options I know of is cobra and barons,and the gauge faces look identical... oh then there's the barons colored face ones. What others are out there?

 

the only 2 options I know of is cobra and barons,and the gauge faces look identical... oh then there's the barons colored face ones. What others are out there?

The best ones IMHO are Auto-Meter Pro-Cycles or any Auto Meter tach for that matter. Just Google Auto Meter Pro Cycle and that will get you started. Lots of different styles.:newyear:

 

the only 2 options I know of is cobra and barons,and the gauge faces look identical... oh then there's the barons colored face ones. What others are out there?

Drag Specialties is another vendor.

Or do a search on ebay for( mini tachometer -harley ).

The one I got off Ebay works great, no needle bounce.
sampowersports1 was the seller.
Also I do have a DUAL FIRE ignition.
Somewhere I read that the budget tachs, with the orange needle tip,
worked very well. Mine has lived up to that statement so far.

I gotta replace that cheap looking clamp someday though.

 

mine is a vn900, I think it's a SINGLE fire, so I need the little doodad for it, or a trip to radio shack and some quality time with a soldering iron.