Aero Grows A Gauge

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

I got this off eBay just before the holidays. Just getting around to installing it last night. Until 01:30 by the time I got the wiring figured out. It seems the gauge is polarity-sensitive, tho' the light is not.




It's not fancy like the one I missed from Stage6, but does the job. They say it's a tuner's best friend, and I believe it.

At what temperature does Aluminum melt again?

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

Took the long way home in sunny 50-degree weather on that stretch of boulevard that opens up to 60 MPH limit. Along the way (in a 35 zone) I realized that Flash really likes to go 40! Uses only about half throttle and gets up there pretty quick.

The new temp gauge indicates 250 most all the time. Went WOT for about 90 seconds with no hiccups. Pulle cleanly to a needle's width beLOW the 1/2 mark on the gauge -easily 46 indicated. As this Polini bore piles up miles and loosens up, it seems to be getting stronger and feels more eager. When I backed off the gauge was halfway between 275 and 300, hardly scary territory. Now running a BPR8 plug - thanks for the recommendation.

It feels like the stock pipe - 1 baffle drilled - is the limiting factor. RPMs always climb to the same "note" and stay there. Gearing still 11:1 pending locating of a tranny cover that fits.

Anyone got an AF05 - compatible pipe to sell?

[devenex]

Thats a good lookin job on the gauge, kudos.

[mousewheels]

Yup, looks good! Care to detail the sensor side installation - where and how did you choose to mount up to the head?

[z50r-ghost]

nice job indeed dude... looks very clean and factory!

later, j

[scooterwerx]

i have a question....the stage6 must have a different calibration or something, because the temp gauge goes up to 239*C, and it runs at about 215*, wot for a long time. the most ive seen is 230* ?????? the thermocoupling is a washer with a wire terminal that replaces the spark plug washer...

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

Thanks for the compliments, I'm rather proud of the outcome because of my limited tool access here in my temporary living situation. Without the holesaw that the instructions recommend, I resorted to drilling a circle of holes and carving the leg shield hole to grommet size with trusty utility knife.

The sensor is a thin copper 14 mm ring that replaces the plug washer. It probably drops the plug tip a few thousandths deeper into the combustion chamber, not a bad thing. The VDO instructions suggest making a 90-degree bend between the ring and the short insulated co-ax cable connected to it - to clear the fan shroud.

The sensor cable has a duplex plastic connector that mates with another one on the 2 Gauge wires, which I ran alongside the bike's main wire bundle using the existing frame ties. There was about 10" of gauge wire to spare, neatly zip-tied in a loop near the airbox. The illumination wires I crimped to the yellow Instrument wire and a handy green ground, respectively.. Let there be Light!

The gauge shows > 100 degrees within less than a minute of startup indicating a quick response time. Accuracy is suspect, but what matters is consistency in order to recognize an increasing heat situation before it's too late. If it goes above 300 I will know to pay attention!

[burnt_toast]

nice gauge! alum gonna run a lot cooler, bout 200-250F I'd guess on dio style, cast runs 300-350+

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

F Degrees = (9/5 x C.) - 32

So 239 degrees C. = 398 F. Pushing the limit, are we?

If you've seen these indicated gauge temperatures all along and the scooter runs fine, I wouldn't worry about it too much. (Besides, it's not my scooter! ) Worry only if/when you see a significant increase in the temperatures from whatever is "Normal" with your bike/gauge. Shut 'er down before the engine does it for you.

[steffen707]

So is this gauge in Farenheit or in Celcius?

What is the hottest a stock cylinder should go to? Do you have a link to the auction? I want one.

is this it?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VDO-3109 ... leQ5fParts
Made by VDO?

[keithw]

The gauge in the picture is in F. A general rule of thumb is half way in the gauge is the normal operating range. So far I haven't had problems running 350 to 400 F. It it started going toward 450 I think I'd back off some. These engines tend to run better as they get hotter, right up untill the piston melts. I agree, watch it for a while and get a feel for what's normal for your engine.

One thing that is a factor is the breakdown temp of the oil. Once you get over about 450 the oil starts to cook and will quit doing it's job.

keithw

[Kenny_McCormic]

450 is boom, 400 is the upper limit for a DD IMO.

[groovy]

FYI: Aluminum melts at 660.37 °C or 1220.666 °F

You have a pretty good comfort zone as long as you don't skimp on the oil or get a "hot spot".

[mousewheels]

Wheelman,
Thanks for the installation details. I read your posting, and was thinking, there's no external power required - light is optional. Went over to the VDO site and sure enough, in the troubleshooting section, the sensor puts out millivolts, and the meter directly reads millivolt levels. Pretty neat - no electronics - just electromechanical. I'd bet inside the probe is a thermocouple, which would be polarity sensitive - as you discovered while installing the CHT.

So- After you turn off your scooter - is this correct? - Your CHT registers while cooling down, with 'free' power!

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

Yes, I noticed the gauge does not drop immediately to baseline - which on this gauge is 100 degrees - when I shut down the engine and turn off the key. It continues to read whatever the engine temp was for at least a few minutes, haven't stood there to see how long it takes to go down.

I found Flash's engine needs to be warmed up about a minute or so at 10-15 MPH before it will make enough power to enter traffic lanes. It burbles and 4-strokes along and I have to micro-manage the throttle until it's warm. This corresponds to a minimum gauge reading of 150.

I have not seen the gauge get above 300 so far, but it has been unseasonably cool here in Deepinnaharta, Texas - Mornings around 27-32 and the ride home in a brisk 50-ish breeze. Sizzling summer here (90 degrees is almost every day) may produce somewhat hotter engine temps... It's good to know the Red Zone starts above 400.

Yes, Jonsteffen the gauge reads in degrees Farenheit. The big white "F" at the top is the secret clue... . That gauge in your link looks egg-zackly like mine, but I paid about a third of that asking price. Tee-hee. My gauge appeared to be brand new, tho' the box was certainly aged and dusty. It was the last/only one the seller had and I have seen few others. Haven't really looked lately but there has to be a better deal than that 80-dollar price.