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Selfmade Analog Cockpit


stev74

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Hi guys!
I'm starting here a topic for my custom analog cockpit project for the MT-07 (or FZ-07 ).
From time to time I will post some pics to show you my progress.
I'm already working on it for maybe a year or more and I'm in the final stage and already doing testdrives with a prototype.
So the main work is already done.

At the moment this is just a hobby for me.

this is how it should look. It's a rendered pic from the computer.

The main features will be:
- fits in the original cockpit-mounting-plate and has same connector (plug&play)
- analog gauges for speed and rpm
- integrated grip heater
- fm radio via bluetooth to your helmet
- GPS navigation (direction and distance to the target GPS koordinaten)
- shift-light
- chainoiler (controller for connecting a pump)
...
and some more gadgets like automatic acceleration measurement from 0-100km/h.
hope you'll like it.

cheers,
Stefan

DesignV4_0_small.jpg

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Yesterday new PCBs arrived. I soldered already most parts on it. For some parts I have to wait for a shipment.
I also have to work on the front part of the case. So there will be some sanding ,coloring, sanding, and so on till it looks perfect.
After that I will try to mold a silicon forms out of it. The back part of the case is already done.
 

IMAG0426_small.jpg

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Stefan, this is a serious "hobby" my friend, if you're designing pcbs and such.

 

LOVE it. I've been riding for 35 years and miss this type of readout, and with the addition of GPS readout and bluetooth control - outstanding!!

 

I anticipate you'll get some requests for product once it's ready. I know I'd love one!

 

Keep us posted.

 

Cheers

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Once again, fantastic work! This has always been the grand finale element for my bike. You're my hero.

Crush your enemies. See them driven before you. Hear the lamentations of their women.          Fuss Life.

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Thank you guys! Will keep you updated.
Still working on the "master-prototype" what will be used for molding.
This time I had it printed from shapeways because I thought it will be more precise than if I would 3d print it and then the sanding will be easier.
It's for sure a bit more precise but the nylon material is more difficult to sand than my ABS printed parts. It also has more tiny holes in it.
So this method is not really working good but I will make it somehow. :)

 

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On 29.9.2017 at 4:26 PM, Beemer said:

Looks awesome but any chance of getting one with mph vs. kmh?

I think this would be not a big problem. ...but first I must finish it :)

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On 9/29/2017 at 9:26 AM, Beemer said:

Looks awesome but any chance of getting one with mph vs. kmh?

As that would be convenient to us living in the land of MPH, being European I can convert KMH-MPH relatively fast, but, not as fast as a cop with a  Lidar. I do like the way this is going as I'm fond of the analogue from days past.

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Plenty of functions I do not need, but I do like the idea of proper clocks versus the ugly stock digital display 👍

 

Design reminds me a bit of the old BMW airheads clocks s-l225.jpg as well as that of the CB750F DOHC s-l225.jpg

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3 hours ago, faffi said:

Plenty of functions I do not need, but I do like the idea of proper clocks versus the ugly stock digital display 👍

 

Design reminds me a bit of the old BMW airheads clocks s-l225.jpg as well as that of the CB750F DOHC s-l225.jpg


yes that looks similar...but I think my should look in the end more modern and compact. Its nearly the same size as the original FZ-07 cockpit.
It's very interesting how the old designs were build. The illumination of the analog gauges are a kind of art :)
This is really so much more work than a modern display with just a backlight-display and nothing in it.

For example the original XTZ750 cockpit (what I also replaced with a selfmade ). There is a small light-bulb inside...and with a mirror the light gets reflected to the whole inner part of the cockpit.

So everything glows on the inside.
Then there is a small gap around the printed "tachodiscs" (where the numbers are standing...don't know the word in english) and it gets illuminated.
I think there was no way in that time to make the pointer (needle) glow so they had to illuminate the whole part.
This is awesome to see...its like a good mechanical watch. If you open the FZ-07 cockpit its a bit dissapointing compared to that old craftmanship.

I'm sure these BMW and CB750 gauges were similar made. Beautiful.
Would be cool if at least for some more expensive bikes the customer can choose between a good made modern analog gauge and a digital one.
But I guess the manufactures want to save money. For sure the modern stuff is much cheaper to build.

 

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Interesting! For me, the modern stuff looks complex and costly - I cannot make anything out of the chips and whathaveyou. But sure, old analogue instruments have more than their share of complexity. Just operating the odometer is a pretty special thing to behold. A few years ago, I stripped the instruments of my 1977 Z650 Kawasaki to clean them on the inside and get back the colour on the redline sector. I decided not to do anything else once inside (they are not made to, or meant to, be opened) because chances are I'd mess up. 

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I assume the big rubber things are the set/reset buttons. If so this is what you get when a motorcyclist designs stuff for a motorcycle. Practical. Big enough to press without removing your gloves.

"tachodisc" could be Dial face, meter face, face, display face. "Face" is probably enough when you have context.

I am a digital speedo fan but prefer analogue tachos, but I suspect I am alone in that.

A dev option would be for setable upper and lower rpm range lights. ie one colour light on when too low, one on when too high. Especially on this bike where the rpm up high is pretty useless because of the camming. Pushing it past about 10000 is pointless in most gears

Go forth and modify my son...go forth and modify...

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Pretty Awesome rockin skills.  Looking forward to the end results

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.” --Thomas Jefferson quoting Cesare Beccaria

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yes that are the buttons. :) They are a bit better than the usual rubber things. Also more expensive but it feels better.
Thanks for the explanation with the tachodisc.

Thats an very instersting idea with the upper and lower rpm lights. I thougt some time ago about something similar...adding somehow the torque curve of the FZ-07 engine and use that for a shift-light. With upper and lower revs thats maybe easier. Thanks for that idea!


 

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Just thought about the idea with the torque curve a bit.
let's just say you switch from 2nd to 3rd gear.

If my assumption is correct...the best moment would be if you switch at that exact rpm where you would have the highest torque in 3rd gear.
So if I use the gear ratios of the gearbox I can calculate the rpm of the next gear and find out the torque (if I store the torque curve in the cockpit)

I think the "ideal gear switch" point is then for every gear a bit different.
Maybe I will try it. I'm not sure if it would be a practical and a useful thing. What do you think?

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Do you need to think about what the next gear will give you in terms of torque and power at that change point? Just a thought

Just do it! 

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For absolute performance, the correct shift will be when the next gear gives more power than the gear you are in. Usually, you will have more power at the rear wheel even past redline in 1st than you will have in 2nd, but it may not be ideal to pull 5th to redline - you would need a diagram showing the power made for each gear and their crossover points in order to know. And even then there will be individual differences from one engine to another. Add tuning/exhaust/intake etc. and it becomes even more complex, meaning that for practical purposes you will have to adhere to the official figures, most likely.

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Found some documents about optimal shift points. Even here a website where you can calculate it --> http://glennmessersmith.com/shiftpt.html
But after putting in some real data from the FZ-07 I can see that this is useless because the shifting points are only very slightly different. You will never hit it that precise on a motorcycle.

With my cockpit prototype what I'm using for some time now I'm already measuring the time from 0-100km/h. I never made it under 4 sec. One time I did a 4.1sec. It's much harder than I thought.

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MOTORRAD magazine did a 4.5s with the CBX back in the day, so don't punish yourself - if it was easy, there was no need to practice ;)

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On 6.10.2017 at 1:48 AM, Mark jones said:

Hi stev

have you any idea, what the cost of the cockpit is roughly going to be?

are you also in the “ Mt07 forum.de“

 

yes thats also me in that forum.
My target is approx. 500€ with all options. Maybe there will be cheaper options without fm radio and stuff like this.

But I'm not sure right now if I can sell it by myself. I will first try to contact some motorcycle firms if anyone is interested and then I will see.

The problem is always that if I build this by myself, even if it costs 500€ or 600€...its a lot of work.
At the moment I handsolder the circuit. Alone for this I need maybe half a day if I'm fast. I think overall I would need for one cockpit about 3 days minimum.
How much gets a "cheap worker" for 3 days of working? I guess more than I would get. So thats a bit of a problem right now.

If no manufacturer wants it I guess I will build only very few if I'm bored at home.
But in the end I don't  really care. I just want to make a cool cockpit.

 

:)

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Some updates:

Here a picture from my current "working-prototype". Still with an older design of the case.

I casted yesterday some parts for the case and it worked well. That was important because its sometimes not clear if I can mold/cast it good enough without getting too many bubbles.
There are only very few on one edge what I can fix afterwards.

New PCBs (printed circuit boards) arrived but I found a major mistake. I get too much interference in the FM Radio from a used Step Down Converter.
So there is no way to use these boards...I already redesigned it and sent it to the PCB manufacturer. Sounds bad but I'm happy that I found the problem with the interference.

The meter-faces I will change again too. They look good but they are glossy and I want matt.

I found very high quality antireflection acryl glas. Unfortunately they are very expensive. It would be the most expensive part on the cockpit with 70€ only for the glasses.
From the quality not compareable with the glas used in the FZ-07 cockpit. Porsche is using them the manufacturer told me.

Wish you all a nice weekend!
Stefan


 

IMAG0434.jpg

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