First off I can't thank JONAC enough for his fantastic 'how-to' on installing the DG8 unit!! I don't think I would have even attempted it without his write up and work on figuring out what wires need to be connected where! The DGV wires up exactly the same as the DG8 unit, all for one extra wire that goes to constant 12VDC+ for the voltmeter.

If anyone missed it, JONAC's write up is located here: FZ6-Forum.com (Acumen Digi Gear - Easy Mod)

DGV Installation & Programming Instructions: http://www.acumen-electronics.es/docs/Acumen_DGV_EN.pdf

NOTE: this mod will test your soldering skills!!! It will also test at how good you are stripping out a 1/4 section of wire insulation in the middle of a wire!! Steady hands, lots of patience and a sharp Xacto knife are required. I would not recommend doing this mod if you are not confident in your soldering and wiring skills!

DGV INSTALLATION:

First off you ned to locate on the bike where you want the DGV unit. Your mounting options are limited as it is a fair size (compared to the DG8) and it's not really designed to be flush mounted. So I decided to mount it centered and on top of the main display. I used the included 'velcro', but it's more robust that regular velcro and provides surprisingly very secure mounting. I didn't really like the look of the 'Velcro sandwich' now sitting underneath the unit so once I had it all wired in and made sure it was working, I removed the unit and the velcro and epoxied it down on top of the main display. Looks nicer, more like a professional install and it's now less prone to someone ripping it off.

Here are the before (velcro) and after (no velcro - epoxied) pics:

I also chose this location as there is also a natural 'wire run' in behind the main display. I loosened the two philips-head screws that hold the main display into the faring and pulled it out a bit in the direction of the gas tank. This was just enough to widen the gap behind the unit and I was able to run the DGV wiring down in and along this gap. I used a heat gun on low and warmed up the DGV cable to make it more pliable and easier to bend. Then just re-tighten the philips-head screws and secured the main display back into the faring.

I then routed the DGV wiring down and into the right side faring housing. Tons of room in there.

Then I just followed JONAC's advice and ran the wiring down along the inside of the frame (right side) and then into the area of the main ECU wiring harness where you have to splice into.

Now comes the fun part. CAREFULLY unplug and unwrap the wiring harness to the ECU connector. Then you need to select the correct wires to splice the DGV wires into. There are as follows:

Digi Wire                  ECU male connector
RED ----------------> RED with white stripe + brown dots
BROWN ----------------> GREY with brown dots
BLACK ----------------> BLACK with brown dots
ORANGE ----------------> WHITE with yellow stripe and brown dots
PURPLE ----------------> 12VDC+ constant (preferably NOT directly to the + battery terminal. I spliced into the other side of a 20A fused 12VDC+ line I had wired into running to my Stebel horn.)
GREEN wire needs soldering to a separate LIGHT BLUE wire coming off the white connector.

This is the trickery part as you need to carefully remove a section of wire insulation from the middle of the correct wires going to the ECU harness. Carefully cut around the wire insulation using a small Xacto knife at either end, and only using enough pressure to go through the insulation (you will feel the wire under the blade when you cut through). Then either cut a slit along and between the two cuts you just made to remove that section of insulation. Then using your soldering iron, tin that section of exposed wire. Then strip off some extra insulation from the DGV wire, wrap that exposed wire around the now tinned and exposed ECU wire and solder the two together. Wrap with some electrical tape and repeat for all ECG wires.

CALIBRATION:

With everything plugged back in, it was time to calibrate the unit. Again, JONAC has already explained this step in his write up. Just follow the instructions that Acumen provides and you'll be done in less than 1 minute! I was impressed at how fast and easy it was and it's all done with the bike in my garage on it's center stand!

FUNCTION:

I must say Acumen was right about the white display being amazing!!! It was so crisp and bright that I couldn't really get a decent picture of it with my crappy digi camera! But trust me, it's fantastic. I will try to get some day pics up soon.

I can't stress enough at how my pictures do not do this unit justice!! The white gear display is bright, sharp and very clear. I was initially worried about it being too bright at night, so I turned out all my lights in the garage and fired it up. It auto dimmed itself to a very pleasant level of brightness that was very well suited for night riding (not overly distracting or bright).


Here are the best ones I could get in my garage last night:

When you turn your key to the "On" position, the DGV springs to life, showing your battery voltage and "n" in the gear display for Neutral.

When you turn your bike off, the Voltmeter display remains on for about 1 minute then automatically shuts itself off. Kind of neat.

I got a good 20 minute ride into work this morning and it seemed to function VERY well and was very quick and responsive in changing and displaying the correct gear after each gear shift. The only things I noticed were that when at a light and in 1st with the clutch in, the gear display sometimes will go into a "spinning" mode like it's searching for the correct gear to display. Acumen's trouble shooting says this might happen and can also be caused by a "slipping clutch". Since I hade the clutch engaged, I figure this is why it's having issue finding the correct gear to display. Not a big deal at all! If you pop it into neutral, the "n" is displayed every time and stays as "n" until you shift into 1st.

All in all this is a slick little unit and for the price I would recommend the DGV unit over just getting the DG8 as the DGV seems to be listed a bit cheaper and you are getting the extra function of a voltmeter.

- Boneman