Tech Talk:

Hour Meter Review Cont'd

Quick flash to 1982 when the Rotax motor was introduced, the writing was on the wall for the two stroke bikes in our sport on the short tracks and TT's. With a four stroke, not only did you gain an incredible amount of torque and easy to use power, but you gained reliability. Piston seizures were mostly a thing of the past, however, when something goes wrong in a four stroke motor, most of the time it doesn't end with a drawn out brrrrrrrraahhhhhhh; it's a bang. A very expensive bang.

To avoid the "bang", maintenance and inspection is important. Gone are the days of just running a motor until it no longer has the compression to run. How do you know when it's time to perform maintenance like an oil change, valve clearance, piston rings, rods, cranks or something as simple as a spark plug? It's simple, an Hour Meter.

The hour meter became popular a few years ago when the motocross world converted to the four stroke way of life that we have gotten so used to. Hour meters aren't just for four strokes though. Riders still need to keep track of maintenance issues on their two strokes as well! No matter what type of bike you ride, Works Connection is the company that makes one of the nicest hour meters on the market today.

We're talking an hour meter here, and to be frank, there is nothing fancy about them. In general, they read the signal that your spark plug wire is sending to the cap from your coil. When it senses a signal, the hours tick away; when it doesn't, it uses an internal battery to remember the time your motor has on it. However, Works Connection stepped up its game in the Hour Meter department. For the retail price of $37.95 ($30.36 when you use the FFDT discount code on their site) not only does the Works Connection look more like a fancy mountain bike computer than something that came out of the stone age and belongs on a tractor or industrial control panel, but it is also about half of the size of most meters on the market.

Besides monitoring run time, the Works Connection Hour Meter also records your actual RPM whenever the bike is running, and records your maximum RPM each time you ride. The maximum RPM feature is reset each time the engine is shut off. The maximum RPM function can be invaluable to a racer who is try to find that perfect gearing combination at the race track to keep their bike in the optimal range of power. The tach feature on the Hour Meter can read up to 20,000 RPM, so our 450 singles are plenty safe there. The meter is adjustable for fast or slow updates, as well as high or low spark sensitivity which has to do with electronic noise suppression. If you can't tell if your engine is running or not, Works Connection is there for you too. When the engine is running, you're going to see a spinning arrow doing some work on the LCD screen.

Installation couldn't be much simpler. All of us are familiar with removing the tank on our bikes, we do it all the time to change spark plugs, check valves, hide traction control-wait-never mind. Unbolt your seat, take a couple of shroud bolts loose and remove your fuel line and you have all the room you need to work. The signal wire coming out of the meter simply wraps around the spark plug wire (or around the spark plug cap if you have a "coil-on-plug" bike) at least 5 times and you're done! Now route the meter up to the mounting point, re-install the tank, connect your fuel line, bolt down the seat and you are ready to protect your motor, which is probably what you have most of your money invested into.

Besides it's good looks, extra functions and competitive price, the folks at Works Connection stepped up their game and manufactured the coolest mount I have ever seen for an hour meter. This mount is sold separately for an additional $14.95 ($11.96 if you use the FFDT code on their site) but it does away with the double sided mounting tape that Works Connection provides with the Hour Meter. The special mount takes the place of the gas tank mounting bolt washer on top of your gas tank. Simply slide the stock bolt through the center hole on the mount, tighten, and then use the included Phillips head screws to secure the meter to the mount. It is a super clean way to mount it, with the signal wire sliding neatly under the tank and down to the spark plug wire. Plus, there are no more worries about the hour meter's tape not holding up over time, it's bolted down!

The Works Connection hour meter works on any engine with 1, 2, 4 or 6 cylinders. It also provides settings to monitor the latest generation of Fuel Injection equipped bikes. To order, check out www.worksconnection.com where you can also see their line of trick hardware along with money saving items like their Radiator Braces, Rotating Bar Clamps and Skid Plates that protect your investment. Don't forget that you save 20% on your order when you use the "FFDT" discount code during check out.