Gauge cluster replacement question

I have an 82 750 maxim that current ONLY has a speedo and no tach. The "middle" part of the "atari" cluster was stuffed with some other wires and unplugged plugs behind the headlight. I say it WAS because after i got the bike i began my attempt to clean up the wires and removed it. (probably shouldnt have in hindsight)

ANYWAY!

My questions;
Will the more round looking stock gauge cluster work in place of the big square boxy one?
Would this be much of a hassle to swap?
could there be an issue with the mileage?
Is there a better aftermarket alternative that everyone prefers?
Also, What and where is the "systems monitor"?


Thanks!

 

Since no one else will have a go at answering any of these questions, here I go...
1. XJ650 gauges I'm guessing your talking about. The XJ650 compared to the XJ750 seem to have the exact same lower end.... in saying that... I personally only have an XJ750 and XJ900 to compare. sorry!
2. umm well you suck for asking so many questions. (no offense!)
3. common sense ought to make it obvious that a new cluster of gauges with a different odo will alter the bikes mileage.
4. no
5. the CMS is the groovy bit that is located within the cluster that shows the LCD display attached to the same area of electronics.

Sorry if this hasn't helped but, yeah it was hard to work out your questions.

 

>Will the more round looking stock gauge cluster work in place of the big square boxy one?

The rounded pod set that has the same look as some of the other 750 maxims, the 650 maxims, and the 550 maxims, will work if you do some re-wiring. There are discussions here on the forums about how to do it. The atari cluster had other things in it like battery sensor, fuel level indicator......they aren't on the rounded pod set, so you have to read up on how to bypass them.

Would this be much of a hassle to swap?

See above, depends on how good you are with reading wiring diagrams, following instructions posted on the forums, etc....

could there be an issue with the mileage?

No. The speedo drives, tachs, etc.....are all the same gearing. You MAY have to play around with cable length, but they have all the same ends, so it's still easy to get the appropriate sized cable.

Is there a better aftermarket alternative that everyone prefers?

There's many different ones out there, and as many opinions and preferences. Personally, I like to stay with original equipment.

Also, What and where is the "systems monitor"?

That's all part of what is missing in the middle of yours. Sounds like someone already tried to bypass things and may not have known what they were doing.

Don't worry about too many questions. There aren't too many. You ask, we answer-----that's why we're here. There are no secrets, if we don't take care of our bikes and help others to do the same, we'll all go down the tubes.

Welcome aboard, ask away, and read, read, read.....then DO, DO, DO....

Dave F

 

I like hogfiddles reply much better.
Mileage I thought mean't odometer oops. Not speed.
Remind me not to post after have one too many and yes I wasn't trying to dissuade from questions... my bad!

I do like my CMS ... makes me feel like maverick going through my top-gun take off checklist... *breaks into top-gun theme song* although I think he was on a GPZ... aah i digress.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the responses! I was beginning to give up hope this one ha

The "big square boxy one" i speak of :

The "more round one"

the problem is that my bike, i believe, is supposed to have, and at one time had, the bigger square one. However, whatever was there has been changed and rigged up and "fixed" and what not. The only parts that remain of what used to be the first picture is the part in the middle with the warnings, which was all busted up and wouldn't display them if there was an issue anyway, and the speedometer. The warning indicators were stuffed up into a rats nest of wires kind of under the headlight case when i bought the bike. I say 'were' because my very first project was to "clean up" the rats nest. That led to some other issues, one of which was a tail light brake light issue thats since been solved.

So yes i can put the Round ones on if i'm not afraid of some wiring. which i'm not, i'm just waiting to get the repair manual in the mail currently. i couldn't find very many good diagrams online (which probably led to the brake light tail light issue you helped me with before Hogfiddles)
so once that gets in i'll be doing more work.

as far as mileage i did mean odometer.
Currently my speedo says about 4k miles and i don't want the new one to say 15k or something. (not a big deal. i think it would just bug me).
also if my title says it has 4k miles currently and i take it in to register and it says 15k would this be an issue?
I'm sure its relative to my State, but i didn't think of that 'til after i asked the first question haha


Right now my process is to replace and upgrade whatever i can, while also making sure i'm taking care of the things on this list i found on the forum:
http://xjbikes.com/forums/index.php...r-as-much-info-as-possible.36362/#post-317101
So i'm sure ill be coming to you guys with many more questions haha
The gauge cluster is where i'm starting.


Thanks again
-Dustyn

I attached a picture of the "rats nest" from before i started messing with it. Just to give an idea.

 

I believe the speedo units themselves will interchange so that may be your saving grace right there.... HOWEVER--- I do BELIEVE that the faces are different enough to not swap, but I have each type do I'll things around just to verify either way.

The next thing tha I would suggest, would be to get the wiring harness for the 750 maxim that has the cluster you want. Then all you have to do is swap harnesses, and all the connections, etc... Would be correct.

I'll post results later tonight.

Dave F

 

The physical dimensions are the same, so the 650 maxim speedo unit will bolt into the 750 housing BUT the faces are different in two ways: the 750 is deeper at the bottom. That make the speedo needle indexing pins a little lower then the 650 pins. So, the faces cannot be swapped without the speedo reading too fast at the slower speeds, too slow at the faster speeds, relatively correct for the middle speeds.

So, the physical dimension are the same, but the calibration within the units are different. Faces should stay with respective drive assemblies.

If the 650 unit is put in instead, keep the 65o face, too. When it's closed up, there are two small hole that are visible and the bottom edge may let too much light get by, so you would probably want to create a black extension for the bottom of the face to create the lower length of the 750 face.

One other subtle difference: the 650 knob is a reverse-thread screw-on knob, the 750 knob is a pressed-on knob.


Incidentally, the 650 maxim and the 750 Seca have the same speedo drive, just different faces-

Don't know if that helps, but it gives you some possible options.

Dave F

 

Sorry, Hogfiddles, but i'm not exactly sure what you're telling me with all that.

All i want to do is put the 650 speedo/tach/indicator where mine is supposed to be.
Currently there is ONLY the speedo and as well the way its mounted is wrong and it looks mega crappy.
I don't want to open the actual housing of any cluster i might pick up.
I just like the look of the 650 as opposed to the big 750 cluster.
They're also cheaper on ebay...

If there is a better way all around to go about this im all ears.
I just want to have a fully functioning cluster/indicator set.

would it be easier with an aftermarket cluster?
what 750 models would have this cluster if i were interested in purchasing a new harness?

I wasn't sure if it was just plug and play with the cluster swap from the different models, apparently its not. haha


i have monday off of work so im going to be picking up a parts XJ i picked up for 60 bucks this weekend, but when i finish with that ill try and take some more pictures to maybe help clarify what my end goals are.

Thanks again for the continued responses!

 

Ok, I'll try it this way....there are options:

1. get the rounded cluster, and get busy re-wiring

2. get the rounded cluster and get the wiring harness from the same bike and swap everything

3. rebuild the more square-ish pod......and that's where all the info above is useful, maybe not to you, but to someone else who may be need the trivia.

dave

 

did you ever think about a all digital set-up. their pretty easy to set up

 

okay thank you.

i definitely don't want to rebuild the square-ish one.
I like the idea of getting the harness from a different model, considering the wiring on mine seems to be pretty chaotic anyway.
What models would work? I picked up an 86 750 for 60 bucks for some parts anyway so if i could use the harness on that, that would be nice.
Do you think it would be easier to just rewire what i have or swap the harnesses?


polock-
i haven't thought much about an all digital, i like the look of the analog gauges, but i am beginning to consider it more and more.
Is there a certain digital set up you'd recommend?



I got a bunch more pictures today, of both bikes if that might help with anything.

 

The rounded gauges were on the xj750 maxim in '83. They were also on the '82-'83 xj650 maxim, all Above are electrical tach. 1980-1981 xj650 maxim with mechanical tach, and All xj550 maxim with mechanical tach.

The '85-'86 xj750 is a different style bike, different harness, different dues setup/location, different gauges all together. Not too much interchanges between them and the earlier ones...... I know the turn signal housings are the same-----lol

 

Okay, and with that said, is electrical better than mechanical? i looked up a little bit on the two (not necessarily for a motorcycle), but it seems the consensus is that the mechanical tend to wear out sooner and have more issues?
Should i start my search with a 83 750, then look to the 650s? does it even matter?

Sorry for all the questions ha
Im hoping that once i get the cluster ill be able to get the wiring at the front off the bike cleaned up. The rats nest is driving my insane haha


Yeah i didnt think so. haha



(unrelated to current thread)
i read a very long thread last night relating to pod filters without velocity stacks and some method of tuning put forth by rickcomatic and it got me very curious about my filter set up.
would it be possible for you to point me in the direction of more info on the pod filters. Thats what was on my bike when i bought it and still is.
i believe i do have the "velocity stack" portion, id just like to know a bit more on what i need to do to help getting running right.
I will be searching myself of course. Just thought you might know some good write ups or anything related.

 

So didnt have much luck on ebay with an 83. did find a harness, but it said fits the 81-83 seca model so i just continued to the 650.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/wiring-harn...Parts_Accessories&hash=item5d52517fad&vxp=mtr

Is it pretty much plug and play when installing the new harness?
There's gotta be some pretty significant differences right?


- another unrelated question
would the shocks from the 86 work on the 82?
i really hate the stock shocks on the 82.
If not any idea where i should start looking for replacing them?

 

accompanied by this cluster
http://www.ebay.com/itm/82-Yamaha-M...05&prg=11353&rk=1&rkt=6&sd=141478878824&rt=nc


Also if im going about this all wrong and theres an easier alternative i havent even thought of, im all ears.

And thanks again Mr. Hogfiddles, this is my first bike so ive got this huge learning curve im getting through. Thanks for the continued help and patience with all my questions. haha

 

You can't use the mechanical tach on your bike .... The head doesn't have the gear drive for it the cable. You need the electrical.

The later shocks should fit, but it may change the ride height a bit..... Which would change the front angle a hair..... Which may change the handling a bit ----but I'd try it and see if I like it ......

 

i think the basic circuits for all the digital instruments are the same, probably from the same Chinese factory. after you make a little bracket to mount it, you would need to attach a pickup to the forks or fender and a magnet to the wheel for the speedo. then one wire for the tach and mount a temperature sensor someplace and a power wire. that's it basically, a turn indicator and high beam if you want to.
i glued the temperature sensor to the valve cover and don't use a turn or high beam light.
look on ebay there's a bunch of them. if all you want is a speedo look at bicycle stuff for like 20$, they work up to 99 mph but don't have a light in them

 

ok electric only.



Thanks Polock. Sounds easy enough. Ill look more into it!


ill figure out what im gonna do here soon. Hopefully ill have it decided this weekend.
ill check back in and let you guys know how what happens

Thanks for all youre help!

 

Imo also research a stock air box/boots. Put the pods on a shelf for now. Does it have the stock exhaust system? Get the electricals sorted and all the other maintenance items to make it run. The pods are just going to frustrate you.

Gary H.

 

Bluntskull......If you have not gotten your set of gauges yet, let me know. I have quite a number of sets....I can hook you up with some.

dave f