A confession: the timeline presented in this documented fools' errand is somewhat.....fluid. I've usually got a few things on the go at once, either as a result of waiting on parts/materials, what I feel up to on the day, research underway, or just plain getting the shits with something and moving onto something else lest I smash it with the nearest heavy object.
So while this may look like a step-by-step process the truth is something quite different. For want of a better term we'll just call it an "organic" process.
So this next bizzo kinda-sorta happened earlier, was parked when I ran into a few issues, then picked up again later with a bit more background info to work on.
A dash for the junkyard dog was always going to be problematic, with "slow" CANBUS comm's being an outlier and limiting options. Back in the day I thought the OEM 749/999 dash was pretty sexy, after years of black-faced bezels the big white faced tacho, reminiscent of Corse bikes past was a pretty cool thing, still is with the old school Magneti Marelli logo....unfortunately the LCD display underneath it hasn't aged well and undoes all the good work:
Not to mention the idea of the integrated headlight/indicator/warning light array on a dedicated track bike that doesn't even have a starter motor just makes my eye twitch.
A Digitek Falcon as per the 749R would be the preferred option, versions of Digitek being fitted to the WSS/WSBK and Motogp bikes, no road going features just dedicated "warmup", "practice" and "race" modes displaying the appropriate information at the push of a button, and it integrates perfectly with the Nemesis ECU/laptimer etc. It's a tad plasticy but functionally it is "The Business". It is also almost impossible to find these days.
If the CANBUS comm's is a fly in my soup, Ducati putting the air pressure sensor, vital for the ECU's fuelling calc's, inside the dash is the coup de grace. You can fit an external pressure sensor with a flying lead as is done with the Falcon, but the associated comm's configuration on a mung bean dash is a step too far for this nuts 'n bolts guy. The simplest alternative is to go for an 848/1*98 dash, which not only looks better but is pretty much plug 'n play with a similar sensor in the dash/comm's configuration. Normally you'd have issues with the immobiliser with such a swap, requiring a reflash of the OEM ECU, but the Nemesis (and Microtec) has the option to disable this feature.
So a later model 848/1*98 dash it is then.....
But this is me we're talking about, why Keep It Simple Stupid even though I do fit the descriptor?! Seriously, after doing my research with an industry expert this was a no brainer, the only other semi-realistic options being "To work with your old Nemesis ECU you need to use the AiM MXL or MXS" (note the quotation marks). I say semi-realistic because used units are rare and the new units are out of the financial ballpark.
No rush, the bike's going nowhere, so i just kept an eye out for a few months and I eventually found an affordable used MXL from a Kawasaki ZX10R, including a handy GPS module:
You bewdy! This is the Strada (Road) version, so unfortunately has the road going warning/indication LED's etc however unlike the OEM dash they can be reconfigured and icons replaced. The build quality (billet aluminium housing, buttons etc) is next level and the "mil-spec" looks are just what I'm after: it is a seriously trick bit of kit. The only real downside is the build quality comes at a price: it is substantially heavier than the Digitek.
Only to have my hopes and dreams wink out like a dying star, one minute they were there, the next minute they were gone. My industry expert's familiarity with this stuff bit me on the arse big time. I excitedly did "show 'n tell" with my unlikely purchase, ready for him to work his reprogramming magic, only to have him recoil: he sells and configures AiM gear (amongst others) almost every day, so he had automatically used his colloquial name "MXL" for what is now the new and improved MXL2 dash. Apologies alround, but no, there was no way to make the earlier MXL work for my project. Oh. My. God. I'd basically blown a shit load of coin on an expensive night-light.....
I actually explored fitting it to Lil' Miss Reliable (my '06 R1), which would be a spectacular fall off the "no mods allowed" wagon given how I've been so good (where's my smiley face stamp?) at resisting the temptation to start fiddling.
I tell you, it was a bleak month gazing forlornly at the box sitting in the naughty corner of my work bench. Like my earlier "Sophia Loren in a supermarket" analogy, this too was quite lovely and quite useless. (heavy sigh)
Salvation finally appeared when I offered it up for re-sale. A great bloke in the 'States was as devoted to Kawasaki's as I am to (Italian heaps of shit) Ducati's, and was as desperate to purchase what is a rare Kawasaki kit for his 1st Gen ZX10R as I was to recover from the costly miscommunication. He sent some pic's through of it fitted, one made me miss the MXL even more, the other is just a classic:
Serendipity? It was only a matter of days after I received these pic's that I happened across a 999 race bike fitted with a 2V air-cooled engine (not unheard of, the engine bolts straight in and makes for a very light bike where race classes allow something like 750 air cooled twins to compete against water cooled 650 twins, and 999 running gear is far better than stock SV650). The good news being it was fitted with an AiM MXS 1.2 Strada dash which I confirmed would definitely/absolutely/positively/no-word-of-a-lie be a goer for my project.
And here we have it, again with a GPS module included:
Like the MXL before it, the build quality cannot be faulted (billet alloy housing etc), and this actually has a lot more features compared to the MXL, more info here:
Compared against the Digitek Falcon on the 749R:
The Falcon was super-trick in it's time but there's no disguising the passage of nearly 2 decades with electronics.
This time I went to "the source", Mick Boasman at Bike Sport Developments (UK), an incredibly helpful and knowledgeable guy. He could provide the requisite programming and also a nice lil' kit for the external air pressure sensor arrangement. The Falcon uses a 748 - 996 style air pressure sensor with a flying lead. Nothing wrong with it but it is reasonably bulky, where Mick's elegant miniature air pressure sensor solution is tiny in comparison.
I actually prefer the tougher looks of the MXL, and while the MXS is a lovely thing...I dunno...is it just a tad "glitzy" looking on what is a rough-hewn bike? Realistically I know I’m being far too picky, it's a great dash and will do nicely...
...or will it?
The Falcon dash/mounting plate and Pierobon fairing brace are literally made for each other, so I shamelessly copied the 749R's alloy mounting plate in carbon fibre for the MXS...but check out those connectors (above and below)…uh oh:
"Pierobon!" has officially entered the lexicon of swear words in my shed = "vafanculo!!!"
I can move it a bit lower to avoid the mounts, but start running into steering lock issues:
Ok, so I can sort the steering stops, think I’ll still have adequate steering range, but making room for those connectors is going to almost literally cut the subframe in half:
Bottom line? it was an afternoon spent accomplishing nothing other than proving the Pierobon ("vafanculo!") fairing brace is living on borrowed time: given the previous issue with fitting the RS water tank, and now this, I can't see any other way forward but to find or make an alternative. So the nice wee MXS went back in the box and parked (again) while I explore alternatives.
Oh yeah, the title of this "mission-not-accomplished"? in Ducati-speak ". . . _ _ _ . . ." (SOS) doesn't mean Save Our Ship or Save Our Souls, it means Save Our Sanity!
