DIY Installation Guide
Most kawasaki bikes don’t come with gear indicators (for some strange reason, probably cost). So every now and then we’ll face this ‘Seventh Gear syndrome’ where we tried to upshift even after the top gear (most bikes have 6 gears). But the more dangerous one is the ‘First Gear Syndrome’ especially during tackling the twisty roads on the hills. This can cause rear-tyre locking (not to mention destruction to the transmission and the engine), and potentially fatal if you fall off at the wrong time.
After the roundtrip to Genting Highlands recently (for early breakfast), I realized how important it is to have some kind of indicator to remind you which gear you are currently on. Usually I can keep track of the current gears in my head, but during very high concentration on the twisty hilly roads, I lost track. Yes I have a one-track mind. This is why I can never work in McDonald’s drive through counter. I will go crazy.
Let’s get on with it shall we?
Of course, before I start, I need to know how this thing works. After reading through the website and some reviews, this unit have a microchip inside it, that actively compare engine speed (RPM) and the road speed (kmh or mph) and then determine what gear you are in. Since all bikes are made differently, this unit needs to be taught two things in the beginning – 1) the amount of gears the bike have and 2) the ratio of each gear. I know it sounded complicated, but trust me it is easier than I thought. I’ll cover this one at the end of this post.
What I was looking for is the wiring diagram for my bike. Good news is, it can be done right by tapping cables off the bike’s cluster harness (yay for not needing to lift the fuel tank to access the harness beneath!). Here’s the wiring reference chart:
Seems simple. The Acumen DG8 wiring chart:
Things looks very simple so far. As recommended, connections are to be soldered to avoid bad connection, causing the unit to freak out, or worse, malfunction. So I start to heat up my soldering gun while I take off the bike’s front. I only need to take off the windsheild and the dust cover behind the meter cluster on my ER-6F.
First, where do I mount this? There’s four possible locations:
1) Either at the left or right of the meter cluster.
2) Below the meter cluster
3) Above the meter cluster
4) On the handlebar (it fits snugly between the clamps).
The first location requires some dremel work on the stock covers. Since I don’t want to cut or drill through it, I decided that I don’t want to mount it here. Mounting it by just sticking it on top of the panels are also not a choice since the cable runs from behind the unit (so it needs some drilling work).
Below the meter cluster could work. I’ve seen this being done. It’s a little tricky as the unit itself is almost an inch thick, and the cables that runs through the back of the unit will need to be bend 90 degrees down. Definitely not something I am comfortable with.
The handlebar one looks cool, but it might be tricky to manage, since I’m going to connect the cables to the meter cluster wiring harness, it might pose some difficulty should the bike needs any disassembling works.
So in the end, I decided to mount it on top of the panel. I test fit the unit with the windsheild on, and it fits perfectly with ample clearance.
I’ve mounted the unit on top of the cluster, and runs the cable through the gap behind it.
Now time to get dirty. Here’s the lead ends from the Acumen DG8 unit:
Here’s the mid-connector. Handy for any reason to disconnect the unit lateron.
Next, I start cutting the stock wires from the meter panel and solder on the wires to the Acumen DG8 unit, according to the diagrams above. Once done and tested the unit to be working, it is time to tidy up the cables and secure them properly so they don’t dangle.
Once that is done, it’s time to calibrate the unit.
Calibrating the unit is really easy, all you need to do is to switch the unit to ‘Learn mode’ by inserting the special pin into the programming hole at the back of it, and press it for about 10 seconds, until the word ‘L’ appears on screen. Make sure your bike engine is started before you do this.
Once it is in ‘Learn Mode’, insert the programming key again, and press for 6 times (until the number 6 appears on screen). This is to tell the unit how many gears your bike have. The ER-6F have 6-speed transmission, so I press it until ’6′ appears.
Wait for about 5 seconds, and then the display switched to a blinking number one ’1′. Get on the bike, switch it to first gear, and run it for a while (maintain above 4000RPM for best result). After a while the display will turn into ‘Three line’ and it will show number 2.
At this point switch the bike back to Neutral, and make sure the ‘N’ appears. Now switch the bike to second gear, and run it through until it shows ’3′, switch to 3rd gear, and so forth until it finishes at ’6′. After this the unit will save the gear ratio information and it is ready to operate normally. I manage to get the calibration done within 500 meters of travel. The original plan was to prop the bike on a paddock and run the gears, but I don’t think that’s a good idea, thanks to the loudness of the Arrow Slip-On that I’ve installed recently.
The verdict
Since this unit relies on ratio calculation, it will only manage to tell you exactly what gear you are on when the clutch is fully engaged, and it will take a while depending on how much signal does your engine send to the display.
So now at least I will know what gear I am currently in, and will not downshift excessively, causing potential injuries or endangering other road users, as well as the durability of the bike’s transmission and engine.
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