Displaying Your Information
AS MOTORCYCLE STYLING HAS progressed over the decades, instruments too have advanced from simple, cable-operated dials to highly sophisticated electronic readouts, incorporating a variety of different information from ambient temperature to lap-times. Some have gone to extremes, with designs that are so flashy and overflowing with data that the vital stuff can be overwhelmed by glitz and technology for the sake of it. Irrespective of the period, the best instruments focus on what we need to know at any given moment. The rest is a distraction.
My first bikes were from the 1970s, so two round dials — speedometer and tachometer — was par for the course on most larger road bikes. I’ve owned and ridden a few with just the speedo, but irrespective of how humble the origins, I like to know what it’s doing at any given point. True, the engine note should inform the rider when it’s about to explode, but a little advance warning never hurts.
After those basics, we
