Mounting a Voltmeter Gauge

[cmyoch]

I purchased a voltmeter from the local autoparts store and I'm stumped on how I'm going to mount this. It would look good mounted between the handlebar brackets. I first thought that I would zip tie it to the bar through the mounting holes of the "L" shaped bracket but I'd rather mount it more rigid. I purchased 2 vinyl coated straps and thought about mounting them using that but I'm still unsure. What have you guys done? I'd rather keep my stock location for my instrument panel and key switch so I know I'm limited in space to put this thing.

 

[TeeCat]

cmyoch, I was looking through the Mr. Gasket rack one day at Pep Boys, and in one item - might have been a chrome coil cover - there was a chrome mounting fixture which I re-purposed with my teeny, tiny little brain. The possibilities are endless... hope this helps a bit!

TC

 

[retiredgentleman]

cmyoch;

Yes, a voltmeter is a great addition to these bikes. I made up a custom bracket from a piece of aluminum. I put a piece of rubber hose around the handlebar. I then "tye-wrapped" a metal bracket around the rubber hose. The metal bracket was tapped for a screw thread. I've been using it for the last 3 or 4 years now.

 

[TeeCat]

I would never ride one of these bikes without a voltmeter. Let's see... who was it that told me that? I can't seem to recall...

TC

 

[sgallaty]

The best solution to this if I recall was one that my riding buddies on rat racers did which was to have a clamp that was basically a big C and little C... shit I need to draw this.
..

can't see it from my crappy drawing but it's just a piece of aluminum with a reinforcing ridge going down the spine with two holes through which a bolt/nut is used to tighten. It clamps around the speedo/tach and provides room for two more gauges piggybacked.

 

[nj1639]

I got a bit involved puttimg mine on. I relocted the ignition switch then removed the light tree between the gauges. I found a yam tach that had the turn signal indicator under the glass along with the high beam indicator and the neutral light. I then trimmed the metal support for the light tree down and drilled a couple holes for the volt meter.

Just last week I noticed a draw on my system, about a volt or so....turned out that my brake light was sticking on. Volt meter is a must have on these bikes, saved my bacon a couple'a times.

 

[retiredgentleman]

nj1639;

Nice job on the voltmeter installation.

TeeCat;

Just be careful who you listen to....................there's a lot of nut cases on the web

 

[cmyoch]

I went ahead and did the RG mount below the bar and dead center. I didn't take a test run tonight due to a popping issue that I believe is an air box boot but that's going to be a new thread if I cannot get it fixed. I did fire it up though and she works perfectly. For some reason, an instant sense of calm fell over me. I guess it's because I will now know I can monitor my charging system on the road!