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Gear Indicator

m in sc

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 2, 2021
Messages
2,492
Location
Rockhill, SC
THE 'rotary shift' is nice, i have 2 OLD bikes with it and its really great when you get used to it.
 

richardohtx

New member
Joined
Aug 2, 2023
Messages
9
Ok I fixed it after spending all day on it. The wiring to the magnet sensor is indeed reversed due to the backwards gearing. In the end I had to remove the crash guard and foot shifter as well as all the body panels that they recommended on Webike for access. The JA65 (2023) version uses a magnet sensor to know the exact gear it is in (which the bike already has in it) rather than speed (this is what I think the OPMID gauge does as well) to guess the gear. I think the instructions above are for the speed sensitive versions. I had a spare sensor from a failed install and I cut all the wires in the harness to the magnet sensor and used trial and error with the bike on to splice the wires correctly. Be careful removing the magnet sensor as there is a very small spring and nub that is used to make contact with the magnets and will fly away if you are not careful. This kit has the correct harnesses to Fit the 2023 and on JA 65 trail125’s. This version will not give you a shift up light. Everything works perfectly now and for me anyway its a game changer for my wife to know what gear she’s in always. The OEM magnet sensor is very short so if anyone else wants to this they may want to get some heat shrink insulator to splice the wires, my extra one was much longer so I could just use wire nuts.
 

Kev250R

Well-known member
Joined
May 25, 2022
Messages
568
Location
Orange So.Cal.
Yes. Non-USA models also shift 4th to Neutral (and Neutral to 4th) from a stop.

I'll admit that I never knew that.
 

mgg

New member
Joined
Dec 27, 2023
Messages
19
Location
53403
Ok I fixed it after spending all day on it. The wiring to the magnet sensor is indeed reversed due to the backwards gearing. In the end I had to remove the crash guard and foot shifter as well as all the body panels that they recommended on Webike for access. The JA65 (2023) version uses a magnet sensor to know the exact gear it is in (which the bike already has in it) rather than speed (this is what I think the OPMID gauge does as well) to guess the gear. I think the instructions above are for the speed sensitive versions. I had a spare sensor from a failed install and I cut all the wires in the harness to the magnet sensor and used trial and error with the bike on to splice the wires correctly. Be careful removing the magnet sensor as there is a very small spring and nub that is used to make contact with the magnets and will fly away if you are not careful. This kit has the correct harnesses to Fit the 2023 and on JA 65 trail125’s. This version will not give you a shift up light. Everything works perfectly now and for me anyway its a game changer for my wife to know what gear she’s in always. The OEM magnet sensor is very short so if anyone else wants to this they may want to get some heat shrink insulator to splice the wires, my extra one was much longer so I could just use wire nuts.
Thanks for all the information.

Let me see if I got this straight. The part you had to cut wires and resplice are wires that are not with the kit? They are wires that are already on the bike and go to the magnets that sense the gears? Is that correct?
 

richardohtx

New member
Joined
Aug 2, 2023
Messages
9
Yeah that’s correct the kit doesn’t come with a sensor. The old bike just had a neutral to no neutral magnet but the new bike has it with all the gear sensing magnets in. I don’t know why Honda can’t just build this into the display. I used a spare sensor but if you get this kit you will have to use the own one that’s already in the bike.
 

dmonkey

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Joined
Jul 4, 2021
Messages
2,215
Location
🇺🇸
Which gear indicator did you buy from Webike for your JA65, do you have a link or part number? Thanks.
 

mgg

New member
Joined
Dec 27, 2023
Messages
19
Location
53403
I think there are more differences between the JA55 and the JA65 than we were led to believe. I picked up my JA65 today. I added a usb port, re-routed the charger cord to come out by the back of the seat, and mounted a bar across the handel bars. I also mounted a phone holder but will probably change that.
The battery cover does not have that big hook that I see in all the videos. It has a much smaller but thicker hook that comes off and goes back on pretty easy. Also the crash bars I was looking at today (the only ones I really liked) say they are for the JA55 1st gen. I like these because it looks like you can put your feet on the bottom rung. Most of the crash bars are curved at the bottem and it looks like you would need extra foot pegs for them. I don't understand why these will not fit the JA65 I am going to try to send the manufacturer a message to make sure.

 

dmonkey

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Joined
Jul 4, 2021
Messages
2,215
Location
🇺🇸
Unless you have really short legs I think you'll find the crash bars to be too close for comfortably resting your feet on the lower portion of them like highway pegs. You could probably clamp some pegs on the outside to get a better placement though, wider with "knees in the breeze". I sometimes throw my boots up on top of my CT125's Zeta crash bars, but even then they're too close to set the outsoles on without really bending my knees, so I rest the back of my legs on top of the bars at the "upper" of the boot instead.

The JA65 has a different engine with different cases and engine mount spacing, and a different "step" for the footpegs attached below it, so the geometry for attaching the crash bars is likely different on bottom. On top the design changed to be less parts and less of a PITA from the JA55. The JA55 has tube ends on top that are threaded inside and a bracket attaches to, while the JA65 has that bracket integrated (welded) to the tube. If the bottom attachment points did fit, which I don't suspect they would, you might be able to get the top to work using other JA55 parts that are missing from the stock JA65 since the design was simplified. Personally I bought the Moto Skill crash bars for my JA55 and decided against using them. Unlike the OEM bars and some of the other aftermarket ones they don't have threaded attachment points for the skid plate bolts, just washers and lock nuts. That extra hardware looked like it would make it annoying to work on when they could have just used weld nuts if they had consistency in their production. Instead there are elongated holes that provide a range of tolerance for the placement being slightly off. The welds were also not great looking, though I've seen others that didn't look so bad where they may have improved their process since the ones I bought. Others on this forum seem very happy with the Moto Skill crash bars, so really just a matter of preference.
 
Last edited:

mgg

New member
Joined
Dec 27, 2023
Messages
19
Location
53403
Unless you have really short legs I think you'll find the crash bars to be too close for comfortably resting your feet on the lower portion of them like highway pegs. You could probably clamp some pegs on the outside to get a better placement though, wider with "knees in the breeze". I sometimes throw my boots up on top of my CT125's Zeta crash bars, but even then they're too close to set the outsoles on without really bending my knees, so I rest the back of my legs on top of the bars at the "upper" of the boot instead.

The JA65 has a different engine with different cases and engine mount spacing, and a different "step" for the footpegs attached below it, so the geometry for attaching the crash bars is likely different on bottom. On top the design changed to be less parts and less of a PITA from the JA55. The JA55 has tube ends on top that are threaded inside and a bracket attaches to, while the JA65 has that bracket integrated (welded) to the tube. If the bottom attachment points did fit, which I don't suspect they would, you might be able to get the top to work using other JA55 parts that are missing from the stock JA65 since the design was simplified. Personally I bought the Moto Skill crash bars for my JA55 and decided against using them. Unlike the OEM bars and some of the other aftermarket ones they don't have threaded attachment points for the skid plate bolts, just washers and lock nuts. That extra hardware looked like it would make it annoying to work on when they could have just used weld nuts if they had consistency in their production. Instead there are elongated holes that provide a range of tolerance for the placement being slightly off. The welds were also not great looking, though I've seen others that didn't look so bad where they may have improved their process since the ones I bought. Others on this forum seem very happy with the Moto Skill crash bars, so really just a matter of preference.
Wow! Thank you for that information. That really helps. I never thought about the engine change and the implications.
 

sieg

Active member
Joined
Dec 15, 2022
Messages
82
Yeah that’s correct the kit doesn’t come with a sensor. The old bike just had a neutral to no neutral magnet but the new bike has it with all the gear sensing magnets in. I don’t know why Honda can’t just build this into the display. I used a spare sensor but if you get this kit you will have to use the own one that’s already in the bike.
FWIW The switch (sensor) just make contact to ground at different places (contacts) on the switch, to change the gear numbers. No magnets involved, nothing magnetic on it.
 

mgg

New member
Joined
Dec 27, 2023
Messages
19
Location
53403
Sounds like they should have just added the gear indicator to the 23 Trail. It is already in the Super cub (same motor) so would not have been a big deal. Still I will just wait for the after market to catch up before I add one. It is only 4 gears so not like my 6 speed Indian Scout but I find them handy. Especially when taking off from a stop. I want to know what gear I am in and because I have ridden scooters for many years I don't alsways downshift when coming to a stop. I do find that I like the improvments they have made to the bike.

mgg
 

Just_Jack

Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2023
Messages
46
Location
Berkeley, CA
After 400 miles I’ve gotten mostly used to the shifting and probably won’t add a gear indicator, or at least won’t add it in my first couple rounds of mods. 98% of the time it’s not a problem to mentally keep track of the gear I’m in, but in tricky stop and go traffic situations I will occasionally forget to downshift and end up trying to start from a stop in 3rd gear (when I thought I was in 2nd) which results in an embarrassingly slow start off the line.
 
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