Gear indicator

[speedy125]

Has anybody had any luck with the plug and play gear indicators? Not ready for OPMID. Think I saw one that plugged into the control module?

 

[m in sc]

they work, usually read off wheel speed and rpm. Ive never used one on this bike... I mean, its a 4 speed.

 

[G19Tony]

Don't see a need, but I'm sure you could make one work. Good luck.

 

[SLO]

Has anybody had any luck with the plug and play gear indicators? Not ready for OPMID. Think I saw one that plugged into the control module?

Do NOT look down. Learn not to hit neutral. That will BITE you. You just got to rev the shit out of it ,and you will get the feel for SLO ing down as not to chirp tires.
Until you you do, you are not an expert. BFD, anybody that is is cruisin for da bruisin.

 

[dmonkey]

No personal experience, but there are certainly ones that work on the CT125.
I have seen this one a lot of CT125s on social media and it includes a shift light.

PROTEC : [SPI-JA55] Shift Position Indicator [11408]

 

[DuggleBogey]

I put an aftermarket plug and play gear indicator on my Rebel 500 and it's okay, it goes blank when the clutch is pulled in.
The Super Cub has a gear indicator, it's the biggest number on the display. I wonder why they decided not to include one on the Trail?

 

[AZ7000']

I’ve been counting to 4 for some 50+ years now, back down to 1 for about that same time. I just don’t know…

Head up!

 

[DuggleBogey]

Yeah, I think I can live without it on the Trail. The Rebel has 1N23456 so it's nice to have.

 

[m in sc]

like i told my buddy Deron years ago: "if you dont know what gear you're not paying attention...'. its a sales pitch gizmo. completely unnecessary, even on a 6 speed.

 

[SneakyDingo]

I sometimes need to be reminded that I'm in 4th and there is no 5th, but it goes away after 10 minutes of riding usually (I keep the rpm's low for the first bit of riding while the engine is cold). But I'm also used to the Rohloff gearing, which has 14 gears, and substantial motivation to be in gear 11 (since you're pedaling that bike, you want to be in the most efficient gear if you can, and that's gear 11).

 

[AZ7000']

(since you're pedaling that bike, you want to be in the most efficient gear if you can, and that's gear 11).

How could one gear be the most efficient? Hills, wind, surface would all seem to have an impact that varies by the minute??

 

[dmonkey]

It's the most efficient in terms of drivetrain efficiency without accounting for the rest of the real world conditions. With the Rohloff being a gear hub that has loss of power once your pedaling is translated through the moving parts, 11th or 8th are supposed to be the most efficient gears. 11th is the direct drive gear with a 1:1 ratio. I commuted on a fixed gear bicycle for a few years and with flat urban riding conditions it was surprisingly tolerable and fun having that direct drive with little loss of power through the drivetrain. Taking that same bike on hilly gravel trails in the suburbs with friends and family who had gears however was not so enjoyable.

I also find myself in 4th looking for another gear on the CT125, and it's mostly when the bike is really showing its power limits in top gear going into the wind or up a tiny incline where you look at the speedometer and think "surely it's got more than this, it was going 15+ mph faster before that last turn".

 

[SneakyDingo]

I commuted on a fixed gear bicycle for a few years and with flat urban riding conditions it was surprisingly tolerable and fun having that direct drive with little loss of power through the drivetrain. Taking that same bike on hilly gravel trails in the suburbs with friends and family who had gears however was not so enjoyable.

Yup, it's along those lines. I haven't yet bothered to try to CAD model the internals of one, but in my head Rohloff's have two planetary systems driving an underdrive system as the internals. If you were to represent them as 1 for "engaging planetary system" and 0 for "fixed, not engaging gears" then gear 11 is 0-0-0 and gear 4 is 0-0-1 (with the underdrive system being last). For each additional gearing system that's engaged, it loses efficiency, so a 1-1-1 is the worst, and 0-0-0 is the best, and the more movement that you have the lower efficiency, so gear 1 is worse than gear 7 because there's more internal movement. The first 7 gears engage the underdrive system (#-#-1) and gears 8 through 14 only use the planetary systems (#-#-0), so the climbing gears are less efficient, but it also matters less there because the torque overcomes the sensation of losing power, and you're using a super heavy hub so no one is trying to win climbing competitions on these anyway.

It would be worse had they used an overdrive system, or tried to design a system that has something close to a 1:1 with the planetary systems cancelling each other out, the latter of which is what Shimano ended up doing on their Alfine 11 at gear 5 to put the 1:1 right in the middle of the gearing. Again, hopping on an Alfine and trying that vs. a Rohloff and you do notice the difference if you're looking for it on identical hardware... it just feels harder to pedal because of that loss of efficiency even though they're achieving very similar gearing ratios (0.995 vs. 1.000).

When you ride a fixed gear, with excellent power transfer, you realize just how much power loss occurs in those lower end components (e.g. Shimano Claris vs. Dura Ace). If you were to say that Claris loses 1% at each component and Dura Ace, their top of the line, loses only 0.1%, then the difference at the end of the drivetrain is around 6.2% efficiency loss. If you've ever ridden fixed vs. Claris, or Dura Ace vs. Claris, then you notice the difference straight away if you're looking for it. And it's probably higher than 1% for at least the Claris crankset; I was able to shift chainrings on one of those bikes because it flexed so much.

I used to roll fixed for a long time as well. Did 25,300 mi on my second Surly Steamroller after breaking the frame on the first one going back and forth between Microsoft and Seattle. Great bikes, if a little annoying because they use a weird hub spacing that doesn't get shared among other bike types (so no interchangeable wheels, and very specific tools and components).

I also find myself in 4th looking for another gear on the CT125, and it's mostly when the bike is really showing its power limits in top gear going into the wind or up a tiny incline where you look at the speedometer and think "surely it's got more than this, it was going 15+ mph faster before that last turn".

I don't usually think "surely it's got more power" but I do think, "I would normally keep the RPM lower". So that first time I bring the revs up I really need to pay attention, otherwise I'll find I'm "missing a gear"

 

[Rzahnle]

Has anybody had any luck with the plug and play gear indicators? Not ready for OPMID. Think I saw one that plugged into the control module?

The question was , “has anybody had any luck with the plug and play gear indicator” why do so many clueless people chime in with such nonsense? If you know about the indicator, let us know. But all the ridiculous comments are a waste of time. I see people that have never fixed or upgraded anything in their life chiming in here as if they know something.

 

[BikerBitch]

The question was , “has anybody had any luck with the plug and play gear indicator” why do so many clueless people chime in with such nonsense? If you know about the indicator, let us know. But all the ridiculous comments are a waste of time. I see people that have never fixed or upgraded anything in their life chiming in here as if they know something.

Its the internet Bruv...EVERYBODY is an expert!

 

[CTExplorer]

I think it would be a welcome improvement. Sure, its only got 4 speeds but the fact you can't default keep pushing down to get to 1st in a situation where you want to take off quickly like most bikes can be annoying if not dangerous if you are not a perfect person and it would sure be nice to keep it in gear on the trail if you have to come off the seat or negotiate a steep hill without accidentally putting it in neutral with more potential to roll then a nornal clutched bike that stalls and locks up.

 

[DJ427]

I have in on the Cub, would really like to have it on the Trail

I tried a couple of the kits that claimed to work, none did

 

[m in sc]

I've helped install these on a few vehicles, they work. not cheap but very good. consider a seperate speed sensor as well. had to do that on my power commander for my cb1100 last year as the Power commander couldn't read the oem honda signal for per gear fi mapping.

PGR-1000 Series

Dakota Digital manufactures digital instrumentation and accessories for the automotive, motorcycle and car audio enthusiast.

www.dakotadigital.com

https://www.dakotadigital.com/pdf/PGR-1000.pdf

 

[cyb3rbyte]

I wonder if later on when people start replacing engines / transmissions in the 23' models, if they can adapt and use the cycling shifter that Canada and Japan gets (allows for 4th to neutral IIRC).

 

[TeamTrail]

Don't see a need, but I'm sure you could make one work. Good luck.

There is always a need for information to the rider on a motorcycle. Honda should be ashamed of bringing a bike to market in 2024 now almost forcing the rider to purchase these basic aftermarket parts for information. A great bike otherwise mind you..

The fact it is one or two speeds less is not that relevant either but to each their own.