Having trouble getting the Acumen DG8 digital gear indicator Program:

I followed everything to the T. I have a 2005 CBR600 F4i and the wiring diagram is for a 2004 CBR600 F4i - does that make a difference? Are the wire colors different on a 04 vs. 05?

Here'e the instructions below.

I get to the part where I put the bike in first gear and rev the RPM between 2-4K. The instructions states it should only take 1 minute at most to recognize the gear but the 1 keeps flashing - it's suppose to change to three bars (See Section in RED Below #7)


Acumen DG8 digital gear indicator installation

I didn’t take any pictures while I was doing this installation, but I think I can describe it in words without too much difficulty. If you have any questions, or get stuck, don’t hesitate to post here, PM me or send me an email at spahn.d@gmail.com. Also, I have a 2004 F4i, so if you have a different year, these steps may not work perfectly for you.

1)Remove the front cowling (fairing? The thing where the headlights are.) This is done by removing your mirrors, 3 hex nuts on each side, a hex nut directly under the edge of the windshield on each side, and 2 of those plastic expando screw things up under the front cowling, above the front wheel. NOTE: After I got done, I noticed that my front fender had some marks on it from where the nose of the cowling rubbed it. You may want to remove the front fender as well, or maybe just put a towel over it.

2) After you finish pulling off all the screws holding the front cowling on, be careful pulling it off. It kinda wants to tilt forward. There will be some wire harnesses on the right side as you’re looking at the front of the bike. Unclip these, and the cowling should be completely free to be set down on the ground.

3) You should now be able to see the back of the instrument gauge. Coming out of the gauge is a covered bundle of about 15 wires. You need to very carefully cut into this covering and expose the wires inside. You’ll eventually be splicing into 5 of these wires.


4) CAUTION: Be sure to consult your specific model’s wiring diagram for this next part, or you might inadvertently splice into the wrong wires!!! For my bike, the wiring diagram said that the five wires (the bike’s wires, not the indicator’s) I needed were:
a. Speedometer: Pink/Green
b. Tachometer: Yellow/Green
c. Ignition: Black/Brown
d. Neutral: Light Green/Red
e. Ground: Green

5) I wasn’t completely comfortable with the wiring diagram I had available, so I decided to take some extra steps to make sure I had the right wires. I set my cowling on a chair next to my bike, and plugged in the harnesses so I could start the bike up and check the instruments one by one as I snipped wires. So first I snipped the Pink/Green wire. Then I turned on the bike (not the engine, just turned the key to the on position), spun the rear wheel (make sure you spin it the right way!!), and made sure that my speedo wasn’t registering. Bingo! Then I snipped the Yellow/Green wire, actually turned the bike on, and made sure that nothing was registering on the tach. Bingo! Then snipped the Light Green/Red wire, turned the key to on, and made sure that the green neutral light didn’t light up. Bingo! Then for the Black/Brown wire, I used a voltmeter to make sure there was no power with the key off, and that there was power with the key on. Bingo! I had already done some wiring work with my turn signals, so I already knew Green was the ground.

6) After this part the installation is pretty much a no brainer. You want to decide where you want your indicator to go, and how you want to run the cable, and then snip the entire cable (from the indicator) a little bit longer than what you think you’ll need: Remember, you can always cut more off, but putting it back on is a different story!

7) Pull back the black insulation over the 5 wires that come with the indicator. Strip about half an inch or so of each of those 5 wires, and the 10 cut ends on the bike (5 wires, cut in 2 = 10 ends).

8) CAUTION: I highly recommend double or triple checking that you’re putting the correct group of 3 wires together. Take the Brown wire from the indicator, and splice it with both of the Yellow/Green wires from the bike. This is the tachometer wire. Twist all three together and solder them together. NOTE: They must be soldered. I read somewhere about a guy who did this installation and didn’t solder, and it didn’t work. After going back and soldering them, it did. NOTE: To solder correctly, hold the tip of the soldering iron directly to the exposed part of the wires. Hold the resin core solder (the metal stuff that melts) to the exposed wires, near the tip of the iron. Let the heat from the iron heat up the wires which will melt the core. This will allow the solder to penetrate within the individual strands of wire, making for a better electrical, and more sturdy connection.

9) Repeat step 8 for the Orange wire from the indicator and the Pink/Green wire from the bike.

10) Repeat step 8 for the Green wire from the indicator and the Light Green/Red wire from the bike.

11) Repeat step 8 for the Red wire from the indicator and the Black/Brown wire from the bike.

12) Repeat step 8 for the Black wire from the indicator and the Green wire from the bike.

13) Use electrical tape or heat shrink to cover all exposed wires.

14) Start up the bike and make sure the thing works!


Training the DG8 to know what gear you’re in

1) Once you have the installation completed, you’ll have to train it to know what gear you’re in. I strongly recommend getting a rear stand for this. I have no idea how you’re supposed to do it while riding around. Sounds dangerous at best. I probably would have killed myself trying.

2) Put your bike in neutral, and start the engine. The DG8 should be showing a neutral indication (either a small lower case “n”, a big lower case “n” or a 0).

3) Insert the programming key in the hole in the back of the DG8, and press it in till you feel a slight click, and hold it in until a capital “L” shows up. About 5-10 seconds of holding it in. (This puts it in “learn” mode.) Release the key once you see the “L”.

4) Once you see the “L”, press the key in 6 times, once for each gear. You’ll see a number incrementing for each press. Once you see the 6, stop pressing. (Obviously, if your bike has something other than 6 gears, press the appropriate amount of times.)

5) Don’t do anything for about 5 seconds, and the neutral indicator will re-appear after about 5 seconds. Make sure to leave your engine running.

6) It might be helpful to have a friend help you steady the bike on the stand for these next few steps. Put your bike in 1st gear, and ease the clutch out. Rev the engine to between 2k and 4k RPM until the number “1” flashes. The display will soon change to 3 horizontal bars. Soon after that, you will see the number “2”.

7) Put the bike in neutral, and wait for a flashing “2” to appear. Shift into 2nd gear, ease out the clutch and again run the engine between 2k and 4k RPM until you see the 3 horizontal bars again, and then a flashing “3”.

8) Repeat step 7 for 4th through 6th gears.

9) You’re done! Put on all your safety gear and take her for a spin! Enjoy!