Dakota Digital Speedo Dome

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Sniper Predator

Active Member
Joined
Dec 20, 2010
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Location
Kailua
This is my prototype, I will remake all items with my mill when I return home from Kuwait. I can only post 10 photos for now, but when I figure out how to post them all I will put the entire tutorial on this site.

Again, this is not a complete tutorial until I can post more photos or figure out how to do it. Mainly posting this so everyone knows it is possible and a great way to make the Gen 1 become a little more updated. I had a Honda V65 Magna before I got my 85 V-Max and loved the digital read outs it had and wanted the gear indicator, etc. that it had and this Dakota Digital Speedometer does this for you.

The last photo is the one with the entire speedometer working. This tutorial allows you to use your original male/female plug-ins when you remove the speedometer dome anytime you work on your bike. That was always important to me, to always keep as much as modular and original so I could work on my bike and it does not feel like I was working on an entirely new bike. This way everything plugs in like the original parts do.

Last note, the Dakota Digital chrome housing will not show when I put my glass cover over the dome piece. The glass will be painted to just cover up the chrome lip on the Dakota Ditital chrome housing so it only shows the digital numbers and data on the panel.

The Dakota Digital Model you need to get is the MCV-7300. Here is the website I used: MCV-7000 Series Speedometer/ Tachometer

All MCV-7000 Series gauges include the following features:
  • 0-199 MPH or KM/H Speedometer
  • 0-8,000 RPM Bar Graph Tachometer with 0-16,000 numeric readout
  • Oil Pressure Gauge, (sender included)
  • Voltmeter
  • Fuel Level Gauge, (bike must be equipped with a stock sender)
  • Gear Position Readout
  • Clock
  • Million Mile Odometer with Dual Trip Meters and Countdown Service Meter
  • Turn Signal, High Beam, Neutral, Low Oil, Low Fuel, Low Voltage, Service Engine/Wait to Start Indicators
  • Performance Displays such as 0-60 MPH/KM/H Timer, 1/4 Mile Time and Speed, High Speed and RPM Recall
  • Positive Locking Connectors for all Wires
 

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Now that is one super sick, bad ass mod! Mods this lip smackin juicy
aren't usually expected till those cold, dark, fire side, winter nights are upon us.
LOL , the mod monkey's in a speedo on the beach somewhere while I put miles on the machine in the sun.
How's the digital illumination in direct sunshine.
The cheapest I've seen the 7300 for was $670 bucks, pretty
spendy but thats Dakota Digital for ya.
 
Vehicle speed is mechanical on the Gen 1. I understand the RPM portion....but I didnt read if there was a VSS in place of the mechanical gearing. Regardless, I am interested in hearing the details.
 
Vehicle speed is mechanical on the Gen 1.
yes and no.

The speedo needle and odometer is driven by the cable but there are 4 magnets on a disc that spin past a reed switch. This reed switch supplies the signal to the self-cancelling indicator relay and could be used to drive an electronic speedo.
 
We have a GPS unit that we use and puts it up higher where it's more readily visible then looking all the way down here. It is a cool unit though.
Fuel sending unit is easy. Same unit we supply for our fuel gauge kits can be set up with about any calibration needed for any gauge including this one.
Gear sending unit is easy. Get the 86-93 Venture sending unit which has positions for all 6 places (5 gears plus the nuetral)
VSS you can either use the hall effect with an add on magnet in a bolt head and pickup mounted near it OR, get a Royal Star diff and use the OEM pickup unit for it's digital speedo. That would require boring out and tapping of the shock stud. Alternatively you can take a 96-07 diff and bore out the casting for the Royal Star pickup and again have your signal for the speedo.
For the low fuel OEM system to work you'll either need to add in a resistor OR simply wire in the OEM warning bulb in parallel to the one in the new gauge. Without it the fuel pump will not turn on when in the normal position.
NOTE, wiring is different between the 85-89 models and 90-07 models so you'll need to make two different wiring schematics.
For the oil pressure gauge adapter that's easy enough. You can either mount the sending unit down by the block or use a line to move it wherever you want it.
 

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What did you do for the gear read out?
What did you do for the gear read out?
The Hall effect sensor they provide picks up the speed of the bike. There is a small magnet that breaks the field that I put on my modified extended swingarm and Brembo rotors that senses the speed. There are a few things I have to do to get the math right, but it works mint. I am going to integrate my SPA Technique into that one because it's solid and accurate.
 
Vehicle speed is mechanical on the Gen 1. I understand the RPM portion....but I didnt read if there was a VSS in place of the mechanical gearing. Regardless, I am interested in hearing the details.
By going to the sensor they provided, I just put a cap on my speedo because it was no longer mechanical. Plus, the space you need for the gear drive needs to be there for the wheel. Since then I went to an inverted front end, and I machined a spacer on my mill to make up for the speedometer thickness. You are all correct, it eliminates the mechanical speedometer.
 

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By going to the sensor they provided, I just put a cap on my speedo because it was no longer mechanical. Plus, the space you need for the gear drive needs to be there for the wheel. Since then I went to an inverted front end, and I machined a spacer on my mill to make up for the speedometer thickness. You are all correct, it eliminates the mechanical speedometer.
That all makes sense now. More reliable signal too.
 
This is my prototype, I will remake all items with my mill when I return home from Kuwait. I can only post 10 photos for now, but when I figure out how to post them all I will put the entire tutorial on this site.

Again, this is not a complete tutorial until I can post more photos or figure out how to do it. Mainly posting this so everyone knows it is possible and a great way to make the Gen 1 become a little more updated. I had a Honda V65 Magna before I got my 85 V-Max and loved the digital read outs it had and wanted the gear indicator, etc. that it had and this Dakota Digital Speedometer does this for you.

The last photo is the one with the entire speedometer working. This tutorial allows you to use your original male/female plug-ins when you remove the speedometer dome anytime you work on your bike. That was always important to me, to always keep as much as modular and original so I could work on my bike and it does not feel like I was working on an entirely new bike. This way everything plugs in like the original parts do.

Last note, the Dakota Digital chrome housing will not show when I put my glass cover over the dome piece. The glass will be painted to just cover up the chrome lip on the Dakota Ditital chrome housing so it only shows the digital numbers and data on the panel.

The Dakota Digital Model you need to get is the MCV-7300. Here is the website I used: MCV-7000 Series Speedometer/ Tachometer

All MCV-7000 Series gauges include the following features:
  • 0-199 MPH or KM/H Speedometer
  • 0-8,000 RPM Bar Graph Tachometer with 0-16,000 numeric readout
  • Oil Pressure Gauge, (sender included)
  • Voltmeter
  • Fuel Level Gauge, (bike must be equipped with a stock sender)
  • Gear Position Readout
  • Clock
  • Million Mile Odometer with Dual Trip Meters and Countdown Service Meter
  • Turn Signal, High Beam, Neutral, Low Oil, Low Fuel, Low Voltage, Service Engine/Wait to Start Indicators
  • Performance Displays such as 0-60 MPH/KM/H Timer, 1/4 Mile Time and Speed, High Speed and RPM Recall
  • Positive Locking Connectors for all Wires


I looked at the link, and saw the MCV-7300 unit, and though, aw man, that would go great on the VMax Gauge location..
then saw your creation. Nice. A little steep for my blood though. 700 beans or more?.. plus mounting..
Reminds me of how much I don't mind the factory gage setup.


ALTHOUGH, in a perfect world, I would find a beauty of a white faced speedo that is the exact size of the VMax TACH, then Get me a nice white faced Tach, the exact size n shape of the Vmax speedo.. ya get Where I'm goin here.. I think.




One question bout that setup though. Are ALL the readouts in one single color? Id like to have it turn, maybe red or somethin at some specific set point, like over say, 80 MPH, or the Tach a diff color, or turns a diff color at a desired set point like a Shifty light... Right? How dope would that be? (pretty dope is the answer.) :)



Wow, I always (ok, sometimes) pop in to say something quick, and then end up with more "ramble on" than Robert Plant.. 🤣



🍻
T$
 
I think it's @MaxMidnight that has a blue lighted gauge set on his Vmax that's really cool. Can't find a picture of it but I know it's on this forum somewhere.

I really like the setup Sean just posted, only instead of a fuel gauge I'd rather have an oil pressure gauge the same size as the temperature gauge.
 
Oh, Sniper, I forgot to ask..

What is that switch on the scoop for?



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T$
 
Oh, Sniper, I forgot to ask..

What is that switch on the scoop for?



View attachment 78734





T$
The toggle switch is for the 4 Bottles of NOS that I have on the right side of the bike. They are attached to the right side of the frame brace. The frame brace is a carbon fiber one I purchased back in 2004.

I have a beefed up Extended Swing-Arm that I made, it even has a clear window so you can see the drive shaft turn inside. Yes - I got an extended drive shaft adapter that added like 4 inches or so to the over-all length. I did that because I got into the OTEC clear case covers. I have the OTEC Lock-Out Clutch and all the see-through OTEC covers. It was very expensive but I really liked the look.

That bike is not mine in the picture I attached just now. I got it from a website in Norway I think. Anyway, the 4 NOS bottles I have are just like the chrome slender ones in the picture. I also have the exact same OTEC Clear Case Cover and Middle Gear Clear Case Cover, with the same air shifter you see in that picture.
 

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Now that is one super sick, bad ass mod! Mods this lip smackin juicy
aren't usually expected till those cold, dark, fire side, winter nights are upon us.
LOL , the mod monkey's in a speedo on the beach somewhere while I put miles on the machine in the sun.
How's the digital illumination in direct sunshine.
The cheapest I've seen the 7300 for was $670 bucks, pretty
spendy but thats Dakota Digital for ya.
I remember it being sunny in Hawaii when I tested it and I never had a difficult time seeing it.

It has an "auto" dimmer for night/day time so it's not just screaming bright at night.
 
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Would love to see the swingarm with window? Sounds neat even if you can't see anything happening when it's not moving. The OTEC stuff is sweet - especially the rear diff's! Examples of our billet spacers we've made to eliminate the speedo drive (and dull square looking right side spacer).
 

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Would love to see the swingarm with window? Sounds neat even if you can't see anything happening when it's not moving. The OTEC stuff is sweat - especially the rear diff's! Examples of our billet spacers we've made to eliminate the speedo drive (and dull square looking right side spacer).
I don't have any pictures of the drive shaft. Like you said, I can see the splines of the drive shaft when it's on the center stand and turn the rear wheel or if the bike is sitting there.

I purchased my OTEC from Exactrep and they were unreal on the price back in the day, something like $3,500 for just one (1) clear case cover. Stuff was crazy expensive.

My bike is in New York right now, I am in Kuwait. I machined mine, like my Triple Trees on my mill, the parts came out very nice. I used to buy all my parts but realized I can design and make my own on Mastercam. It's been a long time since I worked on it though, being overseas, etc. But cool to see other people's designs as well. Thanks for the pics and information. Some of it I forgot over the years and now it's coming back to me.
 
The toggle switch is for the 4 Bottles of NOS that I have on the right side of the bike. They are attached right to right side of the frame brace. The frame brace is a carbon fiber one I purchased back in 2004.

I have a beefed up Extended Swing-Arm that I made, it even has a clear window so you can see the drive shaft turn inside. Yes - I got an extended drive shaft adapter that added like 4 inches or so to the over-all length. I did that because I got into the OTEC clear case covers. I have the OTEC Lock-Out Clutch and all the see-through OTEC covers. It was very expensive but I really liked the look.

That bike is not mine in the picture I attached just now. I got it from a website in Norway I think. Anyway, the 4 NOS bottles I have are just like the chrome slender ones in the picture. I also have the exact same OTEC Clear Case Cover and Middle Gear Clear Case Cover, with the same air shifter you see in that picture.

Mmm. Mmm. Mmm.
Nice dude!.

T$
 
That Norway bike is well-modded, I'd hate to pay the price for that! The engine side covers appear to be billet pieces, the valve covers too, not OEM/stock modded ones. The Marchesini wheels (Carrozzeria-corrected by Sean Morley), the USD forks, the flatslides, the chain drive, the NOS system, the front Brembos brakes, the rear shocks, probably individually are worth-more than any VMax I own. The 'sneaky-pete' NOS bottles are not very long-lasting, according to my friend who owns a NOS station. I expect that's probably some 1500cc engine too, see the oil cooler below the radiator?

VMax NOS Norway.jpg
Are those 'remove before flight' lanyards in the flatslide bellmouths?
 
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That Norway bike is well-modded, I'd hate to pay the price for that! The engine side covers appear to be billet pieces, the valve covers too, not OEM/stock modded ones. The Marchesini wheels, the USD forks, the flatslides, the chain drive, the NOS system, the front Brembos brakes, the rear shocks, probably individually are worth-more than any VMax I own. The 'sneaky-pete' NOS bottles are not very long-lasting, according to my friend who owns a NOS station. I expect that's probably some 1500cc engine too, see the oil cooler below the radiator?

View attachment 78755
Are those 'remove before flight' lanyards in the flatslide bellmouths?
Yes, those are "Remove Before Flight" lanyards. I have the exact same ones for my Two Brother's Racing exhaust tips.

I have the same oil cooler as well, I purchased mine off the same website he did. The bottles were enough for my air shifter kit and NOS, but more for looks, it looks killer on one side and the 4.

Those carbs on that bike did not perform very well according to the owner. They looked good, but not very practical. The reason is becasue they cannot pull the air into the carbs sufficiently. My FCR Carbs were synchronized on a granite slab with a custom gear mechanism so they will never go out of synch. High precision stuff I did about 10 years ago. I also invested into the pigtail rear shocks, they were crazy expensive. I purchased a lot of it before I deployed in 2004.
 
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