Has anyone added a tachometer to the 883? I'm betting plenty of people have, so is the wiring loom the same between the 883 and the 1200 or do you need to add in the missing wires. I haven't figured out where to put a tacho yet but it would be nice to have one somewhere, maybe a mini tacho somewhere. Also - where is the best source of a wiring diagram for my '87 883? I have the dealers workshop manual but it has a tiny black and white one, and I just bought the clymer manual but it is still somewhere between US and NZ at the moment. I'm hoping it's got a colour coded one in there.

Has anyone added a tachometer to the 883? I'm betting plenty of people have, so is the wiring loom the same between the 883 and the 1200 or do you need to add in the missing wires. I haven't figured out where to put a tacho yet but it would be nice to have one somewhere, maybe a mini tacho somewhere. Also - where is the best source of a wiring diagram for my '87 883? I have the dealers workshop manual but it has a tiny black and white one, and I just bought the clymer manual but it is still somewhere between US and NZ at the moment. I'm hoping it's got a colour coded one in there.

Hi,
I bought a Harley tach kit for my 883 a few years ago. I remember there were some wires I didn't know about. It spooked me so I went to the dealer to install it. The Harley tach kit is a side by side gauge kit with the tack the same size as the speedo. It looks great, like it was meant to be that way in the first place. I could never figure out why Sportsters don't come stock with tachometers. Before chosing the Harley kit I looked at a bunch of aftermarket stuff. I am not a fan of the small gauges or the top/bottom mount. But if you're willing to replace the speedo I'd consider a 2 in 1 gauge that has a speedo and tach in the same unit. Those look nice!!!

Good luck.

I bought a MOTOGADGET speedo and tach for my buell engined custom. The engine is for a lightning 1200, but I believe the company has it for whatever model you want. It is a bit pricey, BUT man it was worth it. Smaller than my pinky finger and has tach, speedo, odometer, trip, and time. The display can be vertical or horizontal and can be mounted anywhere.... anywhere.

Although one can clearly ride without a tach I would say why? IMHO the Harley Tach kit with the Speedo is much better looking than than that one Speedo sitting there all by itself. It really helps in the break-in of the engine. I was lucky when I purchased my bike and had that part "tossed in" the deal but I did have to pay for the install, I think the dealer charged like $75 so as far as your question I'm useless. I grew up on BSA's, Triumphs and Ducati's and I'm just used to having a tach. No doubt the Harley kit looks like it belongs.

:tour rICK:tour

Yeah I was reading the wiring diagram the other night (as one does) and can se that it is pretty straight forward to add either a 1200 tacho or an after market one to the bike. I had a hunt on the bike and found the connector that would plug straight into the tacho so not terribly complicated. I have just bought a different tank consol for my FXR tank which will hopefully take the speedo off the bars and fit it as is. This would mean that the tacho would need to be a small unit to fit on the lower side of the handlebar clamp to keep the bars clear, I'll have to see what other treasures are available on ebay...