Custom Electronic projects for bikes? What ya go?

synfinatic

synfinatic

Wannabe Fast Guy
Seems like there are a few of us who enjoy hacking with Arduino's, RaspberryPi, Beaglebone's, etc. Figured it would be cool for people to be able to talk about their bike related projects, ask questions/advice and share ideas.

Anyways, I'll start off:

SV650Ecu My 2nd gen SV650/1000 dash eliminator. A small box which decodes all the signals from the ECU for the dash and shows water temp and EFI error codes, neutral & low oil pressure warning. Useful if you want to run an aftermarket dash on these bikes. Current status: totally works.

GoPro Control A replacement for the GoPro WiFi controller to make it easy to turn on/off your GoPro and synchronize it with a data logger to make it easy to do data overlays with things like Dashware. Current status: Work in progress
 
synfinatic

synfinatic

Wannabe Fast Guy
Sweet! That actually seems like a pretty popular idea. 10 DoF sensors (gyro/accell/compass + alt) can be had for about $30 on a breakout board nowadays. Add a GPS, SD card and some kind of compute engine (Teensy/etc) and you'd have a kickass data logger.
 
SonoraMike

SonoraMike

2StrokeAddict
In

The interesting thing I'm finding so far is - what is actually usable while underway on the track trying to cut a hot lap, vs what is usable in the pits for analysis afterwards

Some just want to know how long it took them to cross the finish line since the last time they went across, others want much more detailed analysis

As far as the first part, the think I learned with Harrys over the Turkey day weekend is that its only good for a glance while underway to see if the section indicator green or red, and then once across the start/finish at Thill I have till the turnworker box at T1 to see the laptime I just cut. Other than that there is no time for eyes down/away from the track. So I'm working to try to construct a feature request to Harry to optimize a view for motorcycles with the above in mind.
 
synfinatic

synfinatic

Wannabe Fast Guy
Yeah, some simple indication if you're on a hot lap seems useful. I'd always sneak a peek at my current time down the drag strip at Sears or up the hill into T9 at Thill to see how things are going. I liked that my GPX Pro provided a "hold down" at the end of the lap so I had a chance to look at my times after going through T1.

In the pits, you can go crazy with analysis. The challenge there is finding good software which can read your data and present it in a meaningful manner so you can actually learn something. Right now the best bet is the RaceCapture/Pro guys who are doing this in an open source manner (jump to 12:30):


youtu.be/6a9wgjPYBag

GEMS is pretty cool (too bad no math channels unless you spend ~$400), but you'd first have to import into DLog99 and then export to GEMS which makes it a real PITA to use. Unfortunately all the other vendors (AiM, MoTeC, R-T, etc) lock their software to their hardware.

Oh, link to their app source code: https://github.com/autosportlabs/RaceCapture_App
 
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stangmx13

stangmx13

not Stan
binge reading your blog right now, synfinatic. you are on a next level compared to me. but all this info will def help! :thumbup

heres the current state of my project
14312541530_b4f14d38bb_z.jpg


i had the bluetooth to iOS working when the project was breadboarded. but something is wrong now that its all soldered together and i havent been able to figure it out. also, i need find a better power regulator. the simple LM IC wastes so much power that it drains my LiPo batteries insanely fast.
 
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synfinatic

synfinatic

Wannabe Fast Guy
Feel free to ask questions Robert. I've done a few other non-M/C projects and have learned a few things- both what and what not to do!

When I started, I knew how to program (C/C++, Perl, Ruby, Python) so learning the Arduino platform was pretty easy. Learning the electronic design part was more work and dusting off things I learned in high school physics... sadly, a lot of the tools available are not very user friendly at first. For starting out, I wish I had known about PartSim:

http://www.partsim.com/simulator

Which is a great way to design & test circuits and it's free. This one is a little easier to use, but you have to pay:

http://www.schematics.com/

Just sign up (free), use it for a bit and then 24 hours later they'll send you a discount code & free 90 day trial (requires a CC#).

The most powerful simulator is LTSpice and is also free. It has the most components in it's database which is really useful. It's a real PITA on OSX (what I use), but the Windows version looks much easier (haven't tried it yet). The nice thing about PartSim and Schematics.com is you can easily embed designs in web pages/comments/etc because it's all browser based.
 
RC30fan

RC30fan

Teller of bad jokes
Heres one I worked on with a friend. OK, who am I kidding, he designed it while I sat around wondering how to.


youtu.be/GlKf5yPXpfw

Background:
While my bike sat in storage for 15 years the signal converter that allowed the HRC kit tach from a 2-stroke to work with the 4-stroke CDI went missing. I borrowed one from a friend to find out how it worked and this is the result.
 
kuksul08

kuksul08

Suh Dude
I'm working on my next generation of LED lights for the motorcycle. Always a fun one with useful results.
 
synfinatic

synfinatic

Wannabe Fast Guy
RC30fan: That's awesome? Do you know how the circuit works? I have honestly no idea what's involved in that.

kuksul08: Tell me more. :) What is different about these LED's vs the old ones?
 
RC30fan

RC30fan

Teller of bad jokes
synfinatic said:
RC30fan: That's awesome? Do you know how the circuit works? I have honestly no idea what's involved in that.
Click to expand...

The circuit in the video is a dual flip-flop. The top trace on the scope is the incoming 4-stroke signal. The flip-flops generate twice as many triggers to simulate the equivalent RPM for the 2-stroke tach.

This is the first version, the latest version is a single chip that just needs a 5v input.
You can see the original converter in the start of the video, cutting edge electronics in 1986... The new one is less than 1/10th the size!

The toughest part of the whole project was sourcing the waterproof connectors used by HRC in the original converter and tach.

I have ideas for a few new projects. One involves a stepper or servo actuated balancer controlled by a vibration sensor on a big bore single, and a variable volume airbox for the same motor.
Another is a device to keep gas from going bad in a motorcycle thats not used for long periods.
 
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synfinatic

synfinatic

Wannabe Fast Guy
Cool. Learn something new every day. :)

Anyways, I just placed the order for the first version of the GoPro Controller boards. Should hopefully have my first prototypes running in about 2 weeks.

Here's the rendering of the PCB's.

Top:
gopro-top.png


Bottom:
gopro-bottom.png
 
elskipador

elskipador

elskipador@gmail.com
synfinatic said:
Seems like there are a few of us who enjoy hacking with Arduino's, RaspberryPi, Beaglebone's, etc. Figured it would be cool for people to be able to talk about their bike related projects, ask questions/advice and share ideas.
Click to expand...
i've been thinking about ditching the f2's coils & plug wires in favor of the, much lighter, cap/coil set up. been tough finding the right size cap/coils as valve angle has been steeping (sp?) since my bike was made.
 
synfinatic

synfinatic

Wannabe Fast Guy
elskipador said:
i've been thinking about ditching the f2's coils & plug wires in favor of the, much lighter, cap/coil set up. been tough finding the right size cap/coils as valve angle has been steeping (sp?) since my bike was made.
Click to expand...

Interesting... someone once upon a time tried telling me I should do that to my SV to "make more power". No idea if it's true or not. I've gotta imagine it's more reliable though- assuming you can find something that fits!
 
elskipador

elskipador

elskipador@gmail.com
don't think it would actually make more power, but if the cap/coil set up was lighter, which it is, it'd have to be more power per pound. kinda like a lithium battery.

i'm looking for a cap/coil around the 95~100mm range with standard 2 prong plug.
 
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synfinatic

synfinatic

Wannabe Fast Guy
True. But you could just skip the double double & animal style fries next time you're driving by an In & Out and probably save the same amount of weight. :)
 
elskipador

elskipador

elskipador@gmail.com
synfinatic said:
True. But you could just skip the double double & animal style fries next time you're driving by an In & Out and probably save the same amount of weight. :)
Click to expand...
while totally true, my bike, doesn't eat @ in-n-out, lol.....& i fucking hate onions!

also..... both coil packs weigh almost 5 pounds, so i think i'm good on the in-n-out.
 
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