So I set about installing my Vapor today, and although fairly simple it took me quite a while as I was being pretty careful.

I got the 75-200 kit which is meant for the KLX300. The mounts weren't much use, and the magnetic bolt for the speedo that is meant to replace one of the brake disc bolts was the wrong size. Fortunately the little button magnet they supplied as well worked (with a bit of JB Weld to make sure it won't come off).

To mount the unit I made a little bracket from some aluminium strips I got from the hardware store a while back. Drilled a few holes and bolted it on no problem. After seeing how much free space there was I decided to go get a weather-proof 12V socket and mount it up to. Works quite nicely!

The wiring side of things wasn't too bad. I simply pulled the ground (pin 6 - think it was black and yellow), Ignition (pin 7 - think it was orange), and Tachometer signal (pin 1 - can't remember colour) from the plug and used a chocolate block to wire up the Vapor plugs. Check out section 16-66 of the service manual for details anyway. I also powered the 12V socket from the same ground and ignition wires.



When it came to mounting the wheel sensor, options are fairly limited. I ended up getting the dremel out and removing about 5mm of the fork guard near the disc then bolting the sensor on. Looks pretty clean to me. I then fed the line up along the brake line, attaching it with a few little zip-tie's. Seems to work pretty well so we'll see how it goes.



When it came to cutting the radiator hose coming out the block going to the radiator I have to admit to being a little hesitant. I didn't take enough out at first so the pipe was quite kinked. There isn't much hose to play with in the first place, but there ended up being enough I guess.



Now I just have to calibrate it and figure out how to use all it's functions. Neat little unit though I must say.

 

Nice, can you tell me how much the stock speedo weighs? I would love to drop some weight up front.

 

Arctra, I think you'll really like your Vapor. On mine on an '06, I used a mounting bracket from Trailtech that I really like. Were you aware of these? That bracket also has a neutral light indicator and such. I can also disconnect the Vapor head unit very easily because of this bracket.

On the temp sensor in the rad hose, I guess the angle from the radiator to the cylinder head is different on the '09/later models. Here's a pic of my sensor mount and it's quite straight.

On the main power wire, Trailtech recommends that you go with an unfused direct battery feed. Scary, but the Vapor just shuts down if it encounters a short and doesn't burn up. I thought this was unnecessary and used a power wire at the ignition bundle. Intermittently I would get odd display glitches, power-downs, and loss of data on restarts...not all the time, but enough to be a nuisance. The internal 3V battery life was extremely short too. I emailed Trailtech, and the tech told me the unit needs a direct hotwire connection to the battery...unfused. The unit is somewhat sensitive and can get "fooled" by odd electrical inputs in the wiring harness. Since running directly off the battery, I've had no glitches or data interruption. They must know what they're talking about. The internal, replaceable 3V battery now only comes into play if I disconnect the battery.

 

It's 300g (think that's about 10oz)

Yeah, I was aware of the bracket but didn't really think it was worthwhile. Perhaps I was wrong.

On the radiator hose front, this is the only pic I have of the original pipe - yes, it is different.


Interesting on the powering of the unit. For the moment I can't be bothered tackling it again, so I'll see how things go. Eventually I'll get around to doing it I am sure. Thanks for the advice though.

 

Hey Arctra,

What did you do with the stock speedo plug?

 

Because I only pulled 3 wires out of it, I just re-inserted it into the rubber boot together with the chocolate block (the one I used to connect the 3 wires to the Vapor wires) and taped it up with insulation tape to try water-proof it a bit.

At some stage I should probably do a tidy-up of the wires behind there. I need to remove the old speedo wire too, but I didn't do it as I couldn't see an easy way to disconnect the wire at the bottom. I might need to get one of those gear-cancel spacers and just remove the whole old speedo mechanism. Just haven't looked into it yet.

 

Thanks, I am going to get the dashboard as well. I wonder if I should use the signal indicators wires from the speedo head or just use the signal light wires themselves for the turn indicators on the dashboard.

 

I would be very surprised if you couldn't use the indicator light feeds from the old speedo plug. All you're needing is the signal.

 

That what I figure. Should be fun.

 

OK, so I finally RTFM and reset my Vapor so the temp sensor was recognised... and got a bit of a shock! At aroun 7000rpm the temp (from the sensor on the hot side between engine and radiator) was sitting between 120C and 125C (248F and 257F) Even sitting idle at traffic lights it was hanging around the 115C mark (239F). Ambient was 23C (73F), so it's far from hot outside at the moment.

Now, given the recommended warning temps from trailtech of 110C (230F) warning and 125 too hot (257F), I am a little worried. I thought their setting were reasonable, but I am not sure where they assume you're taking the readings from. I am sure it would be significantly lower if I was taking the reading from the cold side. I think my biggest concern is that we are heading into summer now where I expect temps to average between 30C and 35C (86F and 95F), and going as high as the low 40C range (104F-109F). What will my temps be then!?

So, and advice or recommendations would be welcome. Perhaps I need to take a bit more out of the coolant hose to straighten it out a bit for bettwer flow. Of maybe this is telling me I am running too lean and need to richen my jets up a bit?