What's the best way to monitor Exhaust Gas Temperature while riding? When flying we used EGT gauges to help monitor overly lean conditions. Is this available for our bikes?

 

I'm sure you could get an EGT and mount it on your bike, but the question is why, if you should discover you are lean you can't change your fuel mixture on the fly, can you.(maybe you can, with your set up, I can't I have a PC III) I'd go with a good dyno tune, insuring there was a good 13.7 A/F ratio, and not worry so much about the HP and Torque numbers. If the A/F is there you can be confident you are not lean, and the HP and Torque numbers will be good with that A/F anyway.

 

No, you're right, can't change it on the fly. Just thought it'd be something handy to give me more info of the engine's condition, like an oil temp gauge.

 

I know a lot of guys that soup up their cars, the ones with turbos like the EGT. At least with the car being pushed they have the option of backing off the pedal if things are getting hot. When things get too hot the turbo isn't doing well, pushing the air once it gets that hot anyway. Don't know it might be a good gauge to have, might let you know when to pull over in that slow moving traffic, before the engine shuts down.

 

I mounted an EGT guage on my '95 Road King for tuning purposes. It worked great. I bought a westach guage, mount, and thermocouple from Aircraftspruce. They both have websites. The guage is sold to ultralight aircraft guys and is very reasonable in price. the guage had a bullet style housing and would clamp right on 1" handlebars. I drilled a small hole in the rear exhaust pipe about 5" from the head and clamped on the thermocouple. When I was done with the tuning I covered the hole with a stainless worm drive clamp. I was able to my tune Mikuni carb to perfection.

 

You can monitor with EGTs, one company that sells such kits for the import car market is HKS, if you don't mind temperature indicated in Celcius. I have EGT bungs (and O2 bungs)ineach exh pipe and install the EGT sensors onlyif the dyno facility has the capability to monitor them which most do not. However, with the cost of wide band O2 monitoring systemscoming down, A/F ratio monitoring isreplacing EGT monitoring.There is a place for both monitoring methods but many prefer the WBO2 method becausethey have many advantages such as,willinstantly indicate a lean spot in the RPM curve because of their quicker response and they can be used for otheruseful feedback such asduring non wide open throttle applications.

 

Not familiar with monitoring A/F ratio. Are there instruments available to do it?

 

Check this out, a wide band O2 sensor complete with guage.

http://www.aempower.com/ViewCategory.aspx?CategoryID=67

 

Anyone ever mounted one of these or something like it on their bikes?

 

Yes, not that specific unit, I havea wide band O2 sensor systemmounted on my bike with gauge on handle bar. If you tune on the street, it's the only good, accurate way to do it. I have a plate that allows me to mount the A/F guage on when I want to monitor tuning, for long trips I remove guage and mount an XM radio on it instead. Wish Ultras had more room for guages.