Topic: '78 CB750K Project #2 - Digital Dash Panel w/RFID

[sethmcalister]

Where in NH are you at?  I'm in North Hampton...

[Stoli]

Just west of Manchester.

[Stoli]

Well, I mean... Yeah they're cheap...but there's a reason you see a lot of them. They're neat little fairings. If I wasn't going to use pretty low clubman bars I would consider putting one on my build but as low as my head is going to be I'm not sure how it would work.

Interesting. I hadn't really thought of head clearance but I have clubmans on this mock up and there doesn't seem to be a problem with that. I haven't put on any hand controls yet to see how that would affect the fairing height possibilities but since the fairing goes up and down with the headlight, if you have ears that slide up and down your fork tubes, then the fairing is pretty adjustable as far as height goes. I think lower looks better and back as far as possible. I will probably switch the ears I have on this mock up with the cheaper kind that you see on my 1st project. They are angled and a little tighter to the fork tubes. Typically you would mount them angled up but I have seen a bike where the builder flipped them so they angled down to get the fairing lower. It would look odd if they were mounted that way with no fairing but with the fairing, it looked pretty cool.

[Restoration Fan]

Stoli,
Are you worried that the Bluetooth connection will generate a bit of lag on the tach/speedo that will make it always trail reality by a hair as you're accelerating?

[Stoli]

I wouldn't use the term "worried" but I have considered that there might be a bit of a lag. At least in the tach. The speedo is programmed through the GPS of the tablet so won't be subject to any bluetooth lag. I thought the speedo would probably lag more than the tach but the GPS technology has come a long way on the new tablets and phones. Matter of fact, I cross references the speed readout on my app during takeoff up to 250MPH (I am a pilot) and it was remarkably accurate. Of course, a CB750 accelerates from 0 to 80 much faster than any jet does, but the jet wins in the 80 to 150 range and there was no noticeable lag there.

[Restoration Fan]

I wouldn't use the term "worried" but I have considered that there might be a bit of a lag. At least in the tach. The speedo is programmed through the GPS of the tablet so won't be subject to any bluetooth lag. I thought the speedo would probably lag more than the tach but the GPS technology has come a long way on the new tablets and phones. Matter of fact, I cross references the speed readout on my app during takeoff up to 250MPH (I am a pilot) and it was remarkably accurate. Of course, a CB750 accelerates from 0 to 80 much faster than any jet does, but the jet wins in the 80 to 150 range and there was no noticeable lag there.

Very cool.  One last thing you might want to consider is if you can somehow provide power to the tablet as well.  If you're only riding that bike for short stints, it won't matter if you start with a fully charged tablet.  But I write apps for a living and one of the things I've learned is that GPS apps are very heavy on battery drain.

[Evening Echo]

Hey Stoli,

How is this progressing? Love the tech.

[Stoli]

Hey Stoli,

How is this progressing? Love the tech.

Thanks for asking Echo. Unfortunately this is the project that keeps getting pushed to the back burner to make room for other priorities. It's still simmering but most of my time this winter will probably be spent fixing up my son's '77F. I did button up the engine on this project a few weeks ago and the next step is to polish the covers but that is going pretty slow. I've got a million other things to do around here before the 30 guests show up for turkey. Mostly house projects like new hardwood floors, rebuilding the front porch and building an extension on my "shed" so I can fit more motorcycles in there. Here is a pic of the engine as it sits on the stand. The rebuild went fairly smooth. There were 3 stripped bolts - 2 of the 6mm bolts that help hold the head on  and one on the camshaft holders. I rethreaded the holes with a 1/4" tap and replaced them with 1/4".

[Evening Echo]

I'm just about to get stuck into the engine of my cafe bike. I recovered most of the upgrades that I had put into an engine on the bike that was stolen and they only had about 500-800miles on it. I'm debating finishing colours at the moment and thinking silver frame, silver swing arm, black brakes and bits, and a sort of blue (same as my front door!!) for the tank and seat. With that mix I am thinking silver cases, black barrels, vapour blasted alloy head with polished valve and side covers. Your engine looks particularly sweet though and might change my mind again.......and I also liked my last black engine although the covers were so bad I painted them; polished with a black engine and silver frame might be the one to go for.

[Stoli]

I'm not that crazy about the semi gloss black Duplicolor that I used on these cases. I like the black on the engine in your pic better. What paint is that?

[Evening Echo]

It's a straight forward black 2 pack over acid etch but with a semi gloss clear over the top, while still quite wet.