Trail Tech Vapor - Any good?
 

I'm thinking of swapping the stock setup on my XR650L, for a Trail Tech unit.

Does anyone have any experience with these units?

-Are they built to last?
-Any common faults/problems?
-All the functionality accurate and reliable?
-Installation headaches?

I'm preparing the bike for a round the world trip.

Many thanks

I've got one for my Xr 400.

Unfortunately, its not fitted yet, but it looks very tidy and well thought out. If you can wait for a couple of months, I'll be fitting it in April and ridingh the bike from London to Estonia.

Sorry I have no info now...

If its any help, the reviews seem positive.

My mate fitted a new vapor to my crf230 last May as I don't have a lot of patience with these 'fiddly' things! it seemed ok at first, I went to the Pyrenees and one day the screen just went 'blank' so after a bit of button pressing I got it back to life but it had lost it's memory, I wondered if heat had been the cause? have not used the bike since then but the other week noticed that I had to connect the wiring for 'constant backlight' before I could get any reading? I would have preferred a mechanical speedo and am not very impressed with the vapor at all. All I really wanted was to know mph,total miles and trip counter and with a permanent backlight, to me a rev counter, engine temp and all the other gizmo's are unnessessary. the thickness of the wiring does not inspire me with confidence that the gadget will last, so in my experience I can't trust it around the block let alone around the world.
If, when I start using the bike again my thoughts change I will re-post, but at the moment I'd stay as you are.

Hi All
And hi Dave it would seem that once more that I’m going to say the exact opposite of you :eek3:


Me and my son have both had these units fitted to our bikes for well over a year now mine on an XT600E and his one on a DRZ400 and we have had no problem with them at all my sons DRZ is parked out side most of the time and that doesn’t seem to have effected it either
I used my GPS to check the accuracy of the Speedo function the other day and it works very well right though the speed range
We have ours connected up to a live feed fused from the battery if you don’t do this I think you have to change the little battery in the unit every year maybe that’s why Daves one didn’t work very well

Also one of my mates had one on a TT600
And that worked fine all the time he had it including Morocco in the summer time and it was HOT HOT HOT

Moore Speed Racing in Poole do them why not give them a bell they will tell you all about it

http://www.moorespeedracing.com/list.php?category=235

http://www.moorespeedracing.com/

And no I don’t work for them but I do know them and they are good lads to do business with

Bob

Well thanks for the input folks. I'm not sure I'm actually much closer to making the decision, but it's interesting to hear different side of the spectrum.

Best of luck with yours Warthog, hopefully your experience will be more of a Bob than a Dave affair.

Dave, it'd be interesting to see if your experience was an isolated case. I'm assuming you didn't bother to get in touch with Trail Tech and give them any grief? I wonder what this would yield?

Your account sounds good Bob. Certainly reassuring that the unit survived the Moroccan summer. Have you done any overlanderey stuff on the XT? With Trail Tech attached?

The Moore Speed folks can do the vapor speedos at the same price as I was going to import from America, so if I decide to, I'll buy there for sure.

With a year to go until my trip, I think I might be best to for a Trail Tech unit, and abuse it as best I can, and see it it lasts.

Any other input appreciated.

Hi No I haven’t done any overland type stuff with the Trail tech Unit on. The XT is used mainly for off roading and it has done a few MCC Trials (I have an R100GS BMW for longer trips) so it has had a hard life I fitted it because the original clocks were knackered and it was a lot cheaper that buying new ones I had a word with my son today and he said that his unit has been on his bike over 2 years now he had one of the first ones in the country he ordered it on line from the importer but it was about the same price as Moore Speed do them
We made up brackets to fit them so they are tucked in behind the headlight faring out of the way
If my clocks had been working OK I don’t think I would have bothered to change them but as a cheep replacement unit they are a good deal


Photos of bike being abused :scooter::scooter::scooter:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=12922&l=f67f8&id=607353993

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=10838&l=40e35&id=607353993

vapour
 

Hi all
i have just fitted the vapour to my xtz850 and so far i am impressed had problems get it to read the water temp but then i reset the system at the back and she works fine i have also connected the vapour to the ignition circuit so the unit doesn't drain the battery.
i have not used the unit much as i have modified my front panel to make a dash board so i can mount the unit there.
I think my only complaint about the system is that i found the cable to the wheel sensor was to short and also the remotes cable was also short which i have extended, they could do with increasing the cable lengths rather a bit long than to short.

Vapor
 

I put one on my XR650R and never had a problem with unit itself, if you have problem it will be with the thermostat and they will send you a new one if needed, its very simple to set on your bike great reading even in dark and very accurate distance and speed( compare with GPS)If you do some very rough riding buy the insert for protection of the unit.

I'm also thinking of buying a vapor.

I have come in contact with the trail tech guys, through e-mail, and they seamed pretty good and helpful.

If i could find a dealer in Greece, i would have bought it already.

I will also get the optional bracket with the extra lights-warnings, does anyone have it also?

The only think that keeps me from buying it is that i don't know how "readable" it will be under the Greek sunlight, so if someone could inform me about this it will be very useful.

Trailtech Vapor
 

Hi, I have one of these mounted on a KLR 650, I have used it for about 3 months. Just travelled through Turkey (very hot) and had no problems with it. It seems accurate (according to my GPS) as far as speed goes. Readability in bright sun doesn't appear to be a problem. All in all it appears to be a good buy, readily available off ebay at good prices (got mine from the states, posted to Cyprus no problem).:thumbup1:

TT Vapor on my XR400
 

Mine is now fitted. I did have to fashion a metal bracket to mount mine, but it was not particularly complicated: I now sits at the same level as the stock speedo which is, of course, a lot thick to start with...

All in all a nice piece of kit, easy to use, and very clear, once wired into the loom for power from the bike. I am an electric numpty, yet I still managed to connect it successfully to the bike. The unit is very versatile in that respect: DC or AC!

Only problems I had was a false reading from the rev-counter at one stage, and T-tech recommended a dedicated earth for the tacho and the power lead, instead of the joined one I have, and to run it off the alternator rather than the Reg-rec as I did. That said, the problem seems resolved for now so I will not pull it apart until it re-emerges.

A truly funky piece of kit! I like!!

I have recently installed a Trailtech Vector when my original speedo gave up. It seems excellent and, considering the presumably small production runs, far better value than similar bicycle computers. I thought the cabling on mine seemed nice quality. I have wired mine in using the cable that previously connected to the bikes speedo bulb, it seems to work well. I did this because my bike often lies idle for weeks at a time and I didn't want it to drain the bike battery.

The replacement magnetic rotor bolt that came with it was too small for my XT rotors, so I went and bought a hex headed bolt of the same thread and length as my rotor bolts, then used a bench drill to drill a hole in its head. I then glued the spare magnet you get in the kit into the hole. It looks fine and works well. I felt this was a better option than drilling the rotor and gluing the magnet into the rotor as suggested in the instructions.

So far I am pleased with it. It seems far better value than buying the OEM speedo from Yamaha, which is made of crappy plastic and costs twice as much. I also made a metal bracket for mine, to make it sit in the right place. You get a handlebar mount but I felt it would just make it more obviously an aftermarket piece of kit and encourage scum to nick it!

Matt :)

vapor
 

Hello
I bought honda xr 650 r with Vapor instruments not conected and i dont have a manual. I need a help if somebody have manuals that can send me or email me orgive me link on internet ..... something.... Thank you


Bye Andrej