UPDATE: 3/16/11The gauge is installed and working. Yesterday was a pretty busy day of working on it, so here is the next to final update until someone figures out how to make the fuel light work.
This is the final schematic I used. It has significant changes from the original one so THIS IS THE ONE TO USE ON A FUEL INJECTED BIKE.
I'm not going to post how to route the wires because every bike is different, but I will give a few pointers that should be common sense"
1. Avoid moving parts
2. Keep them away from heat whenever possible. They won't melt, but they will get brittle over time
3. Run them along with factory wiring when possible, and trace the frame to hide the wires. It's better to use a few extra inches of wire rather than jump a gap and expose the wire
4. When in doubt, more zip ties. Small ones
Speed SensorThe Trailtech doesn't work with the factory speed signal coming into the dash so you have to install their speedo cable and sensor. It's essentially a beefy bicycle computer lead and magnet.
First replace one of your rotor bolts with the TT magnetic bolt. The rotor bolts are T40 (Torx) and they are IN THERE. I used a torch to melt the Loctite and some PB Blaster. Couple taps on the ratchet with a hammer and one broke free.
Replace that bolt with the included magnetic bolt.
Now it's time to install the sensor. It installs easily on the inside of the left fork lower. Make sure you install it at a height so that the magnetic bolt passes UNDER the tip of the sensor. Mounting it too low will result in a double reading. I just used some brake cleaner to clean off any oil and funk on the fork lower then used the double sided tape supplied with the sensor. You might be thinking not to trust tape there, but the tape supplied is 3M VHB. We use it in the sign industry for permanent installs and the auto industry uses it to adhere friggin body panels. It's not going anywhere.
Now you just need to run the wire up to the dash area. Luckily Ducati somehow knew that you were going to install an aftermarket dash and they supplied a perfect passthrough for you. Just inside your brake line on the lower triple there is a hole with a perfect diameter to run the wire through.
I was yanked at first that I was going to have another wire junking up the look of the bike when the whole purpose of this project was to clean it up, but it blends very well and you barely notice it.
Tach WireYet another "learn on the fly" experience on this one. All the reading I did talked about simply attaching the tach wire to the negative terminal of the coil. Surprise! the Fuel Injected bikes don't have one! So I tried splicing into the fuel injector wire figuring there is a pulse to the injectors on every firing of the coil, but didn't get a good tach signal. So instead I patched into the other wire, the ECU signal to the coil. Sho 'nuff it reported a perfect RPM.
NOTE: The Trailtech can be set up for different motors that have different pulses per revolution (PPR). Set up your gauge (in the setup section of the owner's manual) with a PPR of 0.5.Here is the patched wire. Notice the e-taped injector wire (brown) where I tried tapping originally.
Engine TempThis was the last and most frustrating of "discoveries" yesterday. The plug ring is a simple device. It's a copper ring with attached wiring that slips over the end of the spark plug and acts as the crush washer. Piece of cake right? You must have forgotten you are working on a Ducati! The plug has a machined recess seat that it fits snugly into. With the plug ring in place on the plug you don't have enough room to slide the wiring past the cooling fins and also the ring prevents the plug from seating. So what else would I do when faced with extra metal in the wrong spots? That's right, Dremel to the rescue.
THIS PART IS BEST LEFT TO A PRO IF YOU AREN'T COMFORTABLE WORKING WITH A ROTARY TOOL NEAR SENSITIVE SHIT.I pulled the plug and stuffed a wadded up paper towel into the plug hole. This is to prevent any metal shavings from getting into the cylinder. I then ground a small piece of the fins off to give the wiring tab clearance. The most nerve racking part is grinding the recessed area flush with the plug seat just enough that the wiring tab will seat as well. Use compressed air to clear any metal shavings before you pull the paper towel out, and make sure the paper towel is in there securely before hitting it with the air. I didn't snap many pictures of the finished product because I was puckered too tight to stop working for fear I might lose my nerve. Here is the finished product:
Turn Signal TapThe last step was to tap into the center wire of the turn signal switch. By this time it was late and I didn't have my phone on me so I don't have any pictures but it's very straightforward.
On the left controls follow the large wiring bundle (not the fast idle cable housing!) and carefully slit the outer insulation to expose the wires inside. Find the turn signal center post wire. The wiring diagram calls it orange, but it's closer to a salmon color. Snip it and strip it. Connect that to the negative side of your two post turn signal relay, you'll probably have to run a little extra wire to give yourself enough slack to properly route it, I did. Seal up the slit you made in the control bundle with e-tape and you're done.
Plug everything inBecause I was doing a ton of testing and figuring shit out I had obviously plugged in everything what felt like a hundred times to make sure it was all working. Now is the time to cross your fingers and pray all your connections were tight and accurate. No worse feeling than plugging it in and finding a problem.
Plug in the white harnesses from the Trailtech unit and also the main wiring bundle into the existing dash harness. Turn on the key and marvel at how everything works (except for that boil on my ass fuel light).
I'll make one last post on how to setup the Trailtech computer, but that should get you up and running with all the proper connections.
