Cafe Gauages. Help a young padawan.

[Garrett411]

Hey ya'll.

Cafe-ing my 79 XS out and and am wondering which gauges ya'll are using and your opinions. I am thinking small (>3") gauges. A mph and tach. Brands and suggested mounting schemes are helpful. I would like to have them in line or above the triple clamp.

Thanks!

-Garrett

 

[arcticXS]

I would go for Daytona "Velona" gauges. They have an 8000 rpm tacho, perfect for a street XS, and several speed ranges. Both speedo and tacho are electronic, so no need for cables and speedo/tacho drives. A lot lighter than stock, around 2 1/2" diameter (60 to 63 mm) Smaller than stock, but still reasonably easy to read.
Just Google "Daytona Velona"
I think these look good, a bit more classic than KOSO, ACEWELL and others, that in my opinion look a bit too modern on an XS. If you really feel like spending a lot of $$$, MOTOGADGET have very nice gauges.

 

[Garrett411]

Okay, I'm looking to use stock hardware if at all possible. I've never messed with gauges before. Are the electronic difficult to convert or install a sensor? I'm new at this streetbike stuff so i kind of swinging in the dark here. Thanks!

 

[grizld1]

I use an Acewell 2853 digital tach/speedo, bought when it was priced over $100 less than it is now. For stable readings the tach needs to be hooked up to the coil with a 1 megohm resister in the signal wire. The tach can be set for any number of pulses per revolution, and the speedo can be calibrated to the nearest 1 mm. of tire circumference. A pickup that threads into the OE speedometer drive is available as an accessory; highly recommended.

I attached the instrument to the handle bar with a rubber covered cable clamp. It's surprisingly easy to read under all light conditions.

 

[jetmechmarty]

I would go for Daytona "Velona" gauges. They have an 8000 rpm tacho, perfect for a street XS, and several speed ranges. Both speedo and tacho are electronic, so no need for cables and speedo/tacho drives. A lot lighter than stock, around 2 1/2" diameter (60 to 63 mm) Smaller than stock, but still reasonably easy to read.
Just Google "Daytona Velona"
I think these look good, a bit more classic than KOSO, ACEWELL and others, that in my opinion look a bit too modern on an XS. If you really feel like spending a lot of $$$, MOTOGADGET have very nice gauges.

I know this is an old thread, but still relevant. I'm out of the garage lately, but I'm still excited about all the XS650 junk in my garage. Anyway, I saw the installation of one of these clocks on a XS650 YouTube video. It looks like it may be what I'm looking for.

What is of particular interest is that this unit can plug into the speedometer cable. I'm attracted to that idea.
Here is the link to the USA vendor: Ridernomics

For those of you using these Daytona clocks, I'd be interested to see your opinion.