Playboy Store: Playboy Magazine Special Editions
Easy Riders on the Road to Freedom
Mobility has traditionally been the greatest obstacle for people with a physical disability. The days of being limited to an electric wheelchair have come to an end. A British company has been working to develop a motorcycle for people with...
Honda Dirt Bikes - Everyone Wants A Honda
There are dirt bikes, and then there are Honda dirt bikes. A
Honda represents speed, power and maneuverability (making it
obvious why they are the top-sellers). Quality is its ultimate
trademark, however, and a Honda dirt bike never fails to...
How to Save Money on Motorcycle Repair
Getting the most out of your bike’s repair job is good. But it would be better if you yourself are able to make the repair instead of having others service it. Doing your motorcycle’s maintenance is important for you to realize its fullest...
Mini Moto Mayhem
Mini Motos have been around in the UK for around ten years now. The first bikes we’re cobbled together with parts that were already available. Small 2 stroke engines, mainly from garden machinery, were used. This type of engine is still used today...
Used Car Lemon Laws
The Used Car Lemon Law: The Used Car Buyer's Best Friend
You've just bought yourself a used car. The car was cheap and
you left the used car lot with the feeling that you managed to
come out reasonably well. Then the car conks out - what...
Making a Custom Aluminum Dashboard
Are you a proud owner of a Moto Guzzi ‘Jackal’? Well, then you are likely to be an envy of many. But if you missed out on the benefits of a tachometer, you might just go by the sound and feel of the engine whether or not it was happy with the revs you are using during changing up or down the box. We can forgive you if you are clueless as to what those revs actually were.
Used motorcycle parts like a tachometer could really be a beneficial thing to improve the general condition of your Moto Guzzi motorcycle. However, new or second-hand Cali EV dash is not that easy to get hold of. Given this difficulty, you could produce a new dashboard for yourself. You could even produce a better dashboard than the original Jackal item.
Itching to start already? First, you must get a bit of 4mm thick 1050-H14 aluminium (BS 1470), (99.5% pure aluminum, a bit of wet & dry sandpaper, a couple of drills and a counter sinker for the warning light cluster / mounting screw holes. If you decide to do the cutting yourself, you need basic hand tools, drill, hole cutter for 85mm diameter holes, a small band saw few files and a couple of medium / fine flap wheels for finishing off the edges and for doing the brushed satin finish. Water Jet Cutting, Plasma Cutting, Laser Cutting, CNC Milling are several ways of manufacturing the aluminum. You can choose any method feasible for you and that which will create smooth results for your dash..
Here are the steps in cutting out your dash from http://www.webbikeworld.com/Moto-Guzzi-motorcycles/dashboard-tachometer/: 1.Mark out the plate, including profile and hole centres 2.Centre-pop all of the hole centres 3.Centre-pop the holes using sharp centre-pop. A light tap should do it. 4.Pilot
drill each hole centre using something like a 1/16th drill 5.Cut the 85mm holes 6.Use the trepanner / tank cutter or an 85mm hole saw. 7.Drill the warning light and mounting holes. De-burr. 8.Finish off the warning light holes using a bit of wet & dry for a clean edge to the holes.
For the underside of the dash: 1.Cut out the profile using a hacksaw / bandsaw / plasma cutter 2.Smooth off and finish off the edges 3.Use file, wet & dry, wire wool, flap wheel to remove cutting marks. 4.Bend the ‘mounting lugs’ to the correct angle using the original dash as a pattern 5.To surface finish, hold the drill with both hands and ran the flap wheel down the dash in one smooth, even stroke, starting at one side.
Finish-off by getting some Methylated spirit and de-grease the dash, taking care not to leave any finger marks. Then, spray with a few coats of acrylic lacquer. For fitting and connections, the speedo cable fits fine. The article “Install a rev counter on your motorcycle” at http://www.articlecity.com/articles/ auto_and_trucks/article_195.shtml may help you with the wiring and the fitting of the dash. You’ll find it complicating but once you’ve finished, you’ll be even prouder of having your Moto Guzzi motorcycle with its new dashboard!-30-
About the Author
Lala C. Ballatan is a 26 year-old Communication Arts graduate. Book reading has always been her greatest passion -- mysteries, horrors, psycho-thrillers, historical documentaries and classics.
Her writing prowess began as early as she was 10 years old in girlish diaries. With writing, she felt freedom – to express her viewpoints and assert it, to bring out all concerns -- imagined and observed, to bear witness.
![[Image] Hellsgates](http://image4.bikerornot.com/usrimg/11061r.jpg "Hellsgates")
