Installing a Cheap Tachometer Hour Meter on the DRZ400

[@davidlee5931]

Lol. Thank you! I love your videos. I just bought a 2014 drz400sm. Trying to work a few things out. So far you're videos have been really good help. Thank you!

[@FishStick_ADV]

No problem! I’m stoked to hear you’ve found some use in the videos. Hope you get your rig sorted out in short order. Best wishes my friend! 🤙

[@rich991980]

Great video. I’m want to put one of these on my 400S. Just switched to 14/46 to get better single track performance but it’s sure screaming on the highway and I’d like to know exactly where it’s at in the RPM’s. It seems to top out at 91mph and according to the gearing commander that puts me around the 9800 rpm range.

[@keldonator]

I wish the tach had a bar also instead of just a number

[@73NF14Ret]

Read your comment on dealing with the vaccine mandate, you will be on the right side of history, you are doing the right thing for your body, for a reasonable young person the risk is much higher than the reward. Me and my wife love to listen to Dr Malone and watch the Darkhorse YT channel, high tech people who are not on the Covid gravy train. Much respect!

[@FishStick_ADV]

Thanks for this comment. The support is genuinely appreciated. Things got pretty dark for those of us who used logic and reason to navigate the situation, particularly if employed by heavily lobbied woke organizations. I ended up getting fired for refusing the thing, and it's not like I didn't fully consider it. I read everything I could find, and talked to all of the medical experts I had access to - which was a strange confusing experience full of contradictions and disgraceful "science." There simply wasn't enough evidence for informed consent, and I was unwilling to roll the dice with my health on a novel technology that was rushed to the market to combat the thing I had already contracted. For that, I was removed from society. What humans are willing to blindly do to there fellow humans is heartbreaking, and the willingness of individuals to reject logic and common sense in the face of adversity is absolutely terrifying. I too have been turned on to the likes of the individuals you speak of. There are beacons of truth and reason out there. If you went through any similar hard times I just want you to know that I see you, and appreciate you, and that goes for anyone to whom these comments resonate. Stay free JAS!

[@valentinemichaelsmith2201]

Sick video! Thanks for taking the time to review the tach. How has it held up? Also, you thought it would flash red because that’s what is stated in the Amazon description.

[@dcryder9736]

I want to know where it is when I shift

[@trackpackgt877]

Yeah my old 92 dr250 has a tach but my 2018 DRZ400sm no tach ughh I definitely got to get one of those by the way love your bike probably because I have its twin LOL

[@seatime674]

Did you have to set a seperate code for the 4 stroke 1 cylinder etc??

[@FishStick_ADV]

Nope. it works out of the box for a single cylinder four stroke. There are instructions in the package on how to adjust for multi cylinder or two cycle engines.

[@seatime674]

@@FishStick_ADV Sounds good. I have the WR450 with the ignition coil over the spark plug and the two wires that lead from it, I don't have the plug cable wire boot like you do to wrap that around so I'm wondering where/how I would wrap that wire around 6 times..

[@FishStick_ADV]

@@seatime674 ohh man that’s a nice nice bike. Love the WR450… You don’t need exactly six turns. Just a few will probably be adequate. I’ve seen folks pull the coil off the plug, and wrap the wire directly around the plastic boot on a setup like that. Somebody out here has a video on it I’m sure.

[@seatime674]

​@@FishStick_ADVHmmmmmm you may be onto something, didn't think about that, I'll try that in the morning.. If someone else did it I'm sure it can be done.. Yeah I love the bike it's rare and unique I have it Mint Cond and street legal totally rips 👍

[@FishStick_ADV]

@@seatime674 you don’t see them too often! I got to ride one once, and I’ve never stopped thinking about it. They’re a riot! I’m jealous!

[@baldassarre1]

Cody what happened to the RS 2 exhaust you ordered? I thought you were going to replace the MRD?

[@FishStick_ADV]

I still have it, David. To explain that, I’ll have to hit you with the trash can… I’m sorry in advance… I haven’t replaced the MRD with the RS 2 yet. I ended up taking a new job, moved 1000 miles from home, finally got settled in, then got hit with vaccine mandates and subsequently tied up in legal issues with my new employer over said COVID-19 vaccine mandates… Now I’m looking for more work while my attorney and I try to keep my old job… I’m just working through a lot of garbage right now. I haven’t had time for anything for many months. 😟 but hey that’s life I guess. I’m dying to put more videos together and work on the bike more.

[@baldassarre1]

@@FishStick_ADV no worries man I'm sorry about that. I like watching your videos and I was shopping for an exhaust and figured I'd ask your opinion. I ended up ordering the RS-2 yesterday. But hey goodluck and I hope things start going your way. I'll be looking forward to more content whenever you're ready.

[@FishStick_ADV]

@@baldassarre1 My brother has an RS-2 on his DRZ 400. I’ve heard and used both, but haven’t kicked out a video. In my opinion You made a good choice. The MRD is much louder all around. The only time I like the MRD more is when decelerating. It makes a nice rumble when decelerating and the RS-2 gets pretty quiet when decelerating. The RS-2 isn’t obnoxious with the baffle in, yet can still be made rowdy by taking the baffle out. The MRD is obnoxious no matter what. The build quality is also better with the RS-2. All in all I think the RS-2 gives the average guy more options and a better user experience. If all out power is your goal, the MRD is the better option. If you’re not planning a big built, however, you won’t be able to tell a difference in power between the two exhausts. I already know once I get the RS-2 on my machine I will be selling the MRD... Thanks so much for the kind words David!

[@mt1885]

What is the redline on a DRZ400S/SM I got a DRZ400S model and going to change the gearing to 15/41 (got stock 15/44).

[@FishStick_ADV]

I’m honestly not sure where the redline is. Peak horsepower is made somewhere in the mid 7k range so there isn’t much reason to go very far past that if you’re working the peak of the curve. I believe the limiter is somewhere north of 10k, but I’ve never hit it. No reason to go that far. Not sure if that helps at all but I didn’t want to leave you hanging. Hopefully someone with a better idea will jump in!

[@jessecrawford2711]

10k for the sm an s 10.5 for the e. Mine falls on its face about 9500. i just put a 15/41 on mine 55 4900 rpm just installed it last night and it was raining so I didn't go any faster but I'm sure my highway commute just got more relaxed ill know In few hours what my 70 mph rpm will be but its definitely the move.

[@mt1885]

@@jessecrawford2711 Reply back on the 15/41 I am going to order as the 15/44 is really low geared. When I hit a back highway I can stay out of the way of traffic.

[@seatime674]

​@@jessecrawford2711I'm at 15/50 on my WR450 thinking about going 15/42 for lower highway rpms how are you liking that?

[@seatime674]

​@@mt1885Hows that 15/44 doing?

[@jimmymcjimmyvich9052]

I listen))

[@davidlee5931]

Alright dang it. I bought one. Installed it. Tried the first too settings and it's showing I'm idling at 2400 rpm. What settings did you use. I wired mine different, like the directions said. But honestly yours sounds closer too being right than mine.

[@FishStick_ADV]

I didn't have to mess with any settings on the unit for it to work properly in my case. I can't say this will be the case for everyone, but a proper idle RPM is about 1800 RPM. 2400 RPM is only 600 RPM off from there. It could just be the idle setting is too high on your bike. There's an idle adjust hanging off the carburetor. It's a black plastic knob on the left side of the bike near the carburetor. Turning the knob counter clockwise lowers the RPM and turning it clockwise raises the RPM. It's a bit finicky, but if your carb has been worked on previously, or if other factors have changed, it's entirely possible the setting is just slightly too high. Otherwise there are settings in the tachometer to change it from four stroke to two stroke or multi cylinder machines. It could be a setting in the tach. If the reading is pretty consistent on every refresh cycle and not scattered all over the place then I would think the install is good.

[@davidlee5931]

@@FishStick_ADV ok. Thanks. I really didn't think they idled that high.

[@RUBIZEN]

I just got this exact tach off amazon. I also have a DRZ. There is a sentence in the tach instructions: "Under normal conditions, if the RPM is a little low, you can increase the winding turns, if the RPM is a little high, you can reduce the winding turns. For example, wrap 6-10 turns, if the RPM is a little high you can reduce the winding turns. For example wrap 2-4 turns, if the RPM is a little low, you can increase the winding turns." So the instructions are saying the the amount of turns around the plug wire will affect how many RPM are shown. That seems strange. It's seems like an induction tachometer shouldn't need to be adjusted. If I knew the RPM's, I wouldn't have installed a tachometer. ALSO. The tach instructions indicate that for 4 stroke engines the wire should be wrapped around the head of the coil, not the spark plug wire. (I geuss that should have been my first sentence!) I have thought about using a igniton tiiming gun/light that gives rpm to check the accuracy of the tachometer.