... ANyhoo I have read the install and programing directions and it does sound like a pain in the ass. What was your experiance programing this thing and does it work well for you? What concerns me is I see this little bugger for like $60, but the only other gear shift indicator I have seen out there runs about $300, so I had decided that these are prolly not worth the effort. ...
Well, I tend to think it's worth it...especially with the new plug-in harnesses, but it's not perfect. The deal is, since the Acumen unit doesn't really know anything about your particular bike's ECU (it's a generic item) it just maps the pulse rates to your speedo and tach into gear numbers.
Of course, at very low RPMS (<2k, generally) and speeds, the mappings overlap, presumably because the pulses are coming so seldom as not to present a good signature. The unit is smart enough to guess that the first gear you go to from neutral is (usually) 1, but it'll pick up the actual gear as you speed up, in any event, if you like to go to 2 from stop, etc..
So, when I'm coming to a stop or moving out the gear number is usually wrong.
This may be aggravated because I trained the unit on RT50 instead of a track stand, where it's 'sposed to be done, so the maps aren't perfect anyway. In any event, once I'm at any normal riding speed the indicator is right on, and after I shift it usually picks up the new gear within a second or two, even if I don't use the clutch at all. For me, this means that it's correct whenever it really matters (e.g., going into a turn, even in parking lots).
I like the unit, it is attractive, waterproof/durable, easy to mount, and auto-dims at night (sure enough). Installing it was nerve-wracking because I got the older one that had to be soldered into the dash wiring. The good news was I just did this at the plug-in harness leading from the dash to the first junction, just inside the left fairing, so if I screwed up I could just buy a replacement harness.
Of course, you don't have to worry about that any more with the new model. Training it is really straightforward on a nice piece of empty road, and I only had to try it twice to get it right -- it has a simple "reset" button on the back of the display box to re-initialize for another run (older models had to be un-grounded). If you have a track stand, you may only have to try it once.
