Accident Aftermath - Tach Issue

[Markus]

I had an accident with my Monster on Thursday. Basically I hit a raised concrete sidewalk on a bridge overpass. I was wearing all my gear and this saved me from what could have been some pretty serious injuries. I limped away with a badly bruised left thigh but otherwise I'm fine.

As for the bike, it's in good shape - motor mounts, steering head, everything else a-ok except for some light scuffing here and there. The tank miraculously survived untouched (thanks to my CC frame sliders!). The forks are straight and aren't leaking. Unfortunately, much of the front end needs a rebuild. Included in the damage is a broken top triple, sheered steering head shaft, front BST wheel grenaded, rotors dinged, both brake levers snapped, fender and bellypan mashed, etc. With the exception of the BST, the fixes ought to be fairly easy and (relatively) inexpensive. I've already started gathering bits and pieces to put it back together.

Anyway, during the accident the tach needle fell off its perch and is now resting at the bottom of the gauge. How does ths tach come apart so I can put the needle back in place? While I wait for the replacement parts to arrive I'd like to start rebuilding what I can.

Thanks.
 

[Spike]

Holy crap! Glad you made it in one piece. I have never repaired a tach with that problem but maybe it would be easier to replace? Good luck and speedy recovery.

[Speeddog]

Glad to hear you're pretty much OK.

Probably should get the frame checked, that's a lot of broken stuff.

[Markus]

Glad to hear you're pretty much OK.

Probably should get the frame checked, that's a lot of broken stuff.

Thanks for the well wishes.

Yeah, the frame is going to be checked out before I start the rebuild. There is a local mechanic who owns Laverdas and has had Ducs over the years who I'll have look it over for signs of damage.

Any idea on how to open up the gauge in such a way that it can be put back together?

[Speeddog]

From what I've heard, they're not really disassemble friendly.

[knightrider]

yea, u have to cut it open.

[MotoCreations]

They come apart real easy.  Two variations of gauge covers (S4 iteration w/2tabs or 2V monster with three mounts on back) -- make no difference. 

Take gauge pod off bike -- disconnect plug and remove fastener bolts.  Flip the gauge pod over.  You will see a small screw at the bottom -- remove.  You can now take the idiot light bezel off. Lift from the bottom and go upward towards the top. 

You now exposed the one torx screw that holds the top / bottom of the pods together.  Remove.

Now comes the fun part -- gentle pull the top/bottom away.  There is a rubber gasket between. 

Next you have nine white clips that hold the PCB/guts to the top guage pod.  Carefully bend one at a time back and slide the board upward 1-2mm.  Really easy to do.

To reinstall tach needle, align at 0rpm and push downward -- it's just a pressure fit.

Re-assemble in reverse order.

It took longer to write the above (even being a fast typer) than it does to actually open them up.

note: Check to see if there are any loose parts in the gauge cluster.  I've seen enough clusters "survive" accidents that didn't function later.  Mostly as the parts are baked onto the PCB board itself, they can also be dislodged with a heavy impact of an accident.

[DoubleEagle]

Which model of Monster is it? That might make a difference as far as someone being able to help you. My speedometer needle is sitting on 40 mph and someone said that the gauge came apart fairly easily. They didn't say how but they did mention they had the same problem as you, the tach needle fell of it's perch. I'll try to find who posted if I can find the thread. By the way, in my case Ducati is giving me a new gauge cluster because they say my problem cant be fixed.

[Markus]

They come apart real easy.....

Good stuff! Thanks for the "how-to" Mark. That'll be a big help.

The bike is a 2000 M900Sie. I have never had the tach out of the dash so I'm not sure if it's the 2 or 3 tab version, but my 2v'er ought to have the 3 tab style? I'll have a look over the next few days.

DoubleEagle- If you can find that thread I'd be interested in reading it.
Thanks for the replies.
 

[MotoCreations]

note #2: there is an earlier version of the gauge pod that doesn't have a screw to hold the lower idiot light bezel on -- you just pry off from the bottom working upward.

To remove needles -- just carefully pull outward as they slide off the the metal shaft.  Re-orient and reinstall.

Check to see if the needle plastic that goes over the metal shaft is cracked.  If so, then you usually have to repair (glue and redrill or silicon onto the shaft)

If you are really ambitous, you can swap the faceplates themselves with aftermarket ones (or create  your own) while you are at it.  The factory ones pop off in @2 seconds at most and @5 secs to install. 

Although the project got sidelined until this upcoming Winter, you will see all the wasted space within the gauge pod.  thus we are building some CF streamlined pods to replace the factory ones that look much cooler. I machined a CNC 6061 set but it was stupidly expensive to recreate in a manufacturing production. 

[bigiain]

Probably should get the frame checked, that's a lot of broken stuff.

+1

I'll be quite amazed if you managed to destroy the triple clamp and steering stem without bending the frame at all. I'd be having a good look at the frame near the headstock, and I'd also be having a good look at the engine mounts and the engine cases around the mounting bolts.

Nice to hear the CC frame sliders saved your tank in such a serious crash though.

big

[DarkDucati]

Cracking open the tach (a.k.a. rev counter)  http://ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=878.msg25898#msg25898

[bigiain]

we are building some CF streamlined pods to replace the factory ones that look much cooler. I machined a CNC 6061 set but it was stupidly expensive to recreate in a manufacturing production. 

Interesting... I've got a pair of stepper motors and some hall effect sensors and a LCD display and a microcontroller sitting on the kitchen bench - the intention is to build a new guage cluster for my old-school 750 which still looks analog... I'll be looking around for something to hide it all in if I get it working.

big

[Markus]

+1

I'll be quite amazed if you managed to destroy the triple clamp and steering stem without bending the frame at all. I'd be having a good look at the frame near the headstock, and I'd also be having a good look at the engine mounts and the engine cases around the mounting bolts.

Nice to hear the CC frame sliders saved your tank in such a serious crash though.

big

The incredible thing is that, despite the damage, the accident was at quite slow speeds - about 35kmh. The lower triple was an aftermarket unit that has/had an aluminum steering stem rather than the steel OEM-style one. It sheered off below the lower bearing. The upper triple broke where the upper nut meets the steering stem.

I'll definitely spend to have the frame and motor mounts inspected by a professional. However, I'm pretty confident that they're in good shape. We'll see.
 

[clubhousemotorsports]

wow! that was a lot of damage for that low a speed was it a dead stop? I  have heard of the aluminum steering head pins failing in crashes like that. I guess as long as you are not crashing them, or landing wheelies poorly.

how bad did the BST take it?
I have heard of a lot of these in crashes doing fine, what did it hit?

check the welds at the steering head for cracks, I have a bike in the shop now with a separated top frame tube.
good luck