LCGB Forums

Hello all, scratching my head at the moment as to where to fit the above mentioned sensor to a standard (machined) head on my RB.

Been told not to use under the plug as they're prone to breakage & to drill and tap directly of the metal of the head itself which is fine and I'm happy doing. But can't see an easy/convenient location to do so, any advice (pics would be good) of how/where you lot have mounted yours?

Gotta try do it in-situ with the engine in the Scooter too, just to make it more difficult!

Thanks in advance, Ben.

I fitted mine under a head stud nut. It reads lower than under the plug but I do get a sense of when the engine is getter hotter than my normal running temp.
Quite interesting to see that going down hill the engine does cool quickly, under load it heats up

I fitted one for Superhooper and machined up a thick washer with a recess cut into it, equivalent to the ID of the SIP CHT pick-up. I then fitted it under the bolt that secures the head-cowling to the long stud.

It read around 60degrees at a sensible speed.

I guess that fitting it here means that it responds more slowly to rapid changes in temperature than, say, a EGT sensor, but it will survive longer than an EGT.

As has been said before on this forum, temperature gauges can be an invasive distraction that can spoil your enjoyment of riding the scooter. Take care

Hi. Take a look at Show Your Ride:
Dickies post New project winter model page 7, see if that helps.
Good luck!

Shane.

Thanks for the relplies so far.

@Shane - just looked at that thread and Dickie's got it on the back of his cylinder head face on a Mammoth Head, I'm guessing mounting it in the same place on the standard head would mean drilling one of the fins to mount it?

Thanks, Ben.

Ben.
That is what I have done to my muggy cut the 1st fin to allow access and drilled and taped the next one on I have threaded a bolt and even managed to get a nut on with lock tight to ( hopefully) secure it in place. I am no mechanic and I have managed it.
Shane.

Set it up in Fahrenheit and you will see the rise and fall much quicker.
Mine is through the cowling bolt and reads a little more than Knowkedge; about 160 and I feel comfortable up to about 170. Have seen it go close to 190 after a long demanding climb (Charing Hill if anybody knows it) and wrung the throttle wide open to introduce fresh charge and it has responded well , returning steadily back to 170 ish.

I gave up with the under plug sensor rings too as I had plugs work loose on a few occasions and when a plug blew out completely I thought thats enough. The problem is that the cylinder head reacts slowly to changes in combustion temperature so you need to be reading the temp as close to the plug as possible. I used my dremel to create a flat area as close to the plug as I could get but allowing room to get a plug socket on. I then drilled a hole and taped it to accept the threaded part of the sensor that normally screws into the ring. I'm seeing temps a few degrees less than I was before, around 170-180ish.

A couple of the fins on the flywheel side up by the plug are broken anyway so going to try to dremel those off, flat it and drill and tap towards the cylinder head at an angle as per Coaster.

Thanks, Ben.

coaster wrote:I gave up with the under plug sensor rings too as I had plugs work loose on a few occasions and when a plug blew out completely I thought thats enough. The problem is that the cylinder head reacts slowly to changes in combustion temperature so you need to be reading the temp as close to the plug as possible. I used my dremel to create a flat area as close to the plug as I could get but allowing room to get a plug socket on. I then drilled a hole and taped it to accept the threaded part of the sensor that normally screws into the ring. I'm seeing temps a few degrees less than I was before, around 170-180ish.

degrees c or f? I only see about 85c where mine is.

I drilled and tapped my cylinder head so the sensor sits just 3mm above the middle of the combustion chamber.
The maximum temp I've ever seen is 320F after a major thrashing on a summers day.
Is that good or bad? Who the hell knows. You would have to seize or hole a piston and then immediately record the temp to find out. At this point, remembering to look at the clock is probably the last thing on your mind. (suppose it would help if it had a maximum recorded reading to review like some other aftermarket clocks have?)
TBH I don't fit SIP speedos anymore cos:-
I can't read the stupidly small readouts whilst riding anyway.
All the digital readouts are illegible in the low sun conditions.
The sensor suffers terribly from drift and therefore becomes grossly inaccurate after a while. (I suspect that this thermistor sensor is only rated for for a maximum of 150C/302F anyway. Fitting it where I did allows it to react very quickly but eventually fries the sensor)
I've said it before.......much improvement needed on this product.

......TBH I don't fit SIP speedos anymore cos:- I can't read the stupidly small readouts whilst riding anyway. All the digital readouts are illegible in the low sun conditions..[/quote]

Completely agree, I need glasses for reading so find reading the SIP digits on the move almost impossible in any level of sunlight. I have to wait until I ride under a bridge or other shade, flip the visor and dip my head down close to the speedo.....not the safest way to procede. I have one of Anthony Tambs devices on my other scooter which is perfectly readable but doesnt look very standard.

coaster wrote:I gave up with the under plug sensor rings too as I had plugs work loose on a few occasions and when a plug blew out completely I thought thats enough. The problem is that the cylinder head reacts slowly to changes in combustion temperature so you need to be reading the temp as close to the plug as possible. I used my dremel to create a flat area as close to the plug as I could get but allowing room to get a plug socket on. I then drilled a hole and taped it to accept the threaded part of the sensor that normally screws into the ring. I'm seeing temps a few degrees less than I was before, around 170-180ish.

Roughly what difference in temperature do you see with the sensor in its new position rather than under the plug?

Scooterdude wrote:

coaster wrote:I gave up with the under plug sensor rings too as I had plugs work loose on a few occasions and when a plug blew out completely I thought thats enough. The problem is that the cylinder head reacts slowly to changes in combustion temperature so you need to be reading the temp as close to the plug as possible. I used my dremel to create a flat area as close to the plug as I could get but allowing room to get a plug socket on. I then drilled a hole and taped it to accept the threaded part of the sensor that normally screws into the ring. I'm seeing temps a few degrees less than I was before, around 170-180ish.

Roughly what difference in temperature do you see with the sensor in its new position rather than under the plug?

Probably a few degrees but nothing significant but mine is reading around 40 degrees C over. I just went and turned both scooters on and the SIP is reading 53 Degrees ambient and the Scootronics one reads 12 degrees C which seems more likely.

53F = 12C

If your sip is set for MPH readout then the temp readout is in Farenheit. KPH sets it to Celsius. The UK must be the largest market for this product. Another design blunder as I see it.

FnF, on the later ones you can have miles and Celsius together.

My latest one doesn't like sudden acceleration the numbers can't keep up using just one magnet. I didn't find setting the sensor to pick up bolt heads worked so today I've araldited 5 magnets next to the disc fixing bolts to see how that goes, will find out tomorrow and let you know.

Mark

Rather than the magnet, I use the SIP electrical pulse cable that screws into the original speedo drive. Its works very well

Covboy wrote:Rather than the magnet, I use the SIP electrical pulse cable that screws into the original speedo drive. Its works very well

+1

+2
Works a treat.