Calling all cobra tach owners

[X-GUY4HIM]

I bought a cobra tach and it's not accurate. I have an 1800 and the rev limiter kicks in at 5750 rpm. Mine idles perfect @ 800 and tachs 2000 rpm @50mph in 5th. BUT, hitting it hard from 1st to 2nd, tach shows 4,000rpm. 2nd to 3rd=5,000. 3-4 is 5500. Supposed to be 5750 in every gear.
If anyone has a problem like this, please post it or send me a pm. I bought it from a guy on the board and guess I'll have to eat it! I wouldn't sell it to anybody knowing the way it does.

Thanks in advance for your help

[sskillett]

I bought a new one about 5-6 years ago. It never was correct. I contacted Cobra & they told me that they made it that way because some people complained of needle bounce at idle, so they engineered it to respond slowly. I replied 'who cares about needle bounce' and that I bought a tach to see what RPM my motor was doing at full bore.

I returned it & never bought another tach. I shift by sound.

[X-GUY4HIM]

Originally Posted by X-GUY4HIM

I bought a cobra tach and it's not accurate. I have an 1800 and the rev limiter kicks in at 5750 rpm. Mine idles perfect @ 800 and tachs 2000 rpm @50mph in 5th. BUT, hitting it hard from 1st to 2nd, tach shows 4,000rpm. 2nd to 3rd=5,000. 3-4 is 5500. Supposed to be 5750 in every gear.
If anyone has a problem like this, please post it or send me a pm. I bought it from a guy on the board and guess I'll have to eat it! I wouldn't sell it to anybody knowing the way it does.

Thanks in advance for your help !

?

[sskillett]

I meant that it responded slowly, similar to your complaint about your shifts at 4000 rpm. It is because the needle does not move as fast as the motor spins up.

[X-GUY4HIM]

Originally Posted by sskillett

I bought a new one about 5-6 years ago. It never was correct. I contacted Cobra & they told me that they made it that way because some people complained of needle bounce at idle, so they engineered it to respond slowly. I replied 'who cares about needle bounce' and that I bought a tach to see what RPM my motor was doing at full bore.

I returned it & never bought another tach. I shift by sound.

That's exactly why I bought it- full bore! I've had her 6 months now and still can't guess when the rev limiter will kick in. Well, a least you got your money back! I'm just out of luck, I bought it from a guy on the board.

[sskillett]

Sorry, I guess we were posting at the same time and you didn't see my first post.

[road twister]

I had a cobra tach on my '03 1800R, & just after the warranty expired, it started acting up. Needle pegged all the way to the right..I had to take a magnet and bring the needle back..it too had the needle bounce..I'd never buy another cobra tach..& would not consider any of there other products because of that..Good Luck..RT

[X-GUY4HIM]

Originally Posted by sskillett

I meant that it responded slowly, similar to your complaint about your shifts at 4000 rpm. It is because the needle does not move as fast as the motor spins up.

Thanks Todd, Glad to see I'm not the only one. Last Cobra product I'll buy. Think I'll even get rid of my new Cobra slashdowns!

[X-GUY4HIM]

Originally Posted by road twister

I had a cobra tach on my '03 1800R, & just after the warranty expired, it started acting up. Needle pegged all the way to the right..I had to take a magnet and bring the needle back..it too had the needle bounce..I'd never buy another cobra tach..& would not consider any of there other products because of that..Good Luck..RT

Thanks for the input. That's the LAST time I'll ever buy cobra! I wished now that I had bought it new so I could return it. I bought from a guy on this board that lied to me. He said it worked perfect, just had a few light scratches. Well, I learned my lesson- I'll never buy anything on this board again !

[X-GUY4HIM]

Originally Posted by sskillett

Sorry, I guess we were posting at the same time and you didn't see my first post.

I think we were ! Have a great day and keep the rubber side down!

[X-GUY4HIM]

Originally Posted by X-GUY4HIM

Thanks for the input. That's the LAST time I'll ever buy cobra! I wished now that I had bought it new so I could return it. I bought from a guy on this board that lied to me. He said it worked perfect, just had a few light scratches. Well, I learned my lesson- I'll never buy anything on this board again !

1

[prkuehn]

I have a Cobra tach on my 07 1300C and have been well pleased with the operation of the tach. I feel comfortable that it is accurately showing the rpm the motor is turning. It looks good on the bike and was easy to install. Sorry to hear that both of you had Cobra problems.

[uncas]

I have a Cobra tach on my 2003 1300S. It seems reasonably accurate but I have always noticed that it lags the engine speed by a second or so. If I am going at a constant speed the tach reads 2000 at 45MPH in high gear. But if I accelerate quickly from 35 in 5th gear, when I get to 45, the tach still says 1800. By the time I get to 50, the tach is finally getting to to 2000. If I hold the speed constant for a few seconds, the tach catches up and is accurate.

[trikeman64]

Was thinking of buying one. Thank everyone who posted.

[dunham2]

I'm certainly no expert on tachs, but I think Honda left it off the bike because they had built in a rev limiter. At 5750 rpm it retards the engine to let you know that the engine could break and cause damage to you as a result.
I had once considered putting a tach on the 1800 and researched the forum for one to buy. When I did a minimal amount of research it seemed that Cobra was not the tach of choice for quick response and needle accuracy.The Cobra tach did look nice on the bike and seemed easy to hook up...looks aren't everything tho.I decided against installing a tach after more thought.
It's obvious that you are unhappy with your decision to buy this tach. Did you research it fully before purchase? Did you ask all the right questions? Sometimes you really have to get technical in order to make a good decision. Sorry to hear that you got less than you paid for in your dealings. Stu

[X-GUY4HIM]

Originally Posted by prkuehn

I have a Cobra tach on my 07 1300C and have been well pleased with the operation of the tach. I feel comfortable that it is accurately showing the rpm the motor is turning. It looks good on the bike and was easy to install. Sorry to hear that both of you had Cobra problems.

Thanks, Could just be a 1800 problem I do know the rev limiter supposed to kick in @5750rpm. It's way off especially 1st-3rd

[X-GUY4HIM]

Originally Posted by uncas

I have a Cobra tach on my 2003 1300S. It seems reasonably accurate but I have always noticed that it lags the engine speed by a second or so. If I am going at a constant speed the tach reads 2000 at 45MPH in high gear. But if I accelerate quickly from 35 in 5th gear, when I get to 45, the tach still says 1800. By the time I get to 50, the tach is finally getting to to 2000. If I hold the speed constant for a few seconds, the tach catches up and is accurate.

Mine seems to be accurate while riding normal. It idles@ 800 which is great. No needle bounce that others complained about. When I run 50 in 5th,she's taching 2000rpm, 60 @ 2300, 70 @ 2800. It's when I crank her wide open through the gears -that it is not accurate. Supposed to hit rev limit @5750. First 3 gears read crazy. I did notice 4th&5th come close to normal

[X-GUY4HIM]

Originally Posted by dunham2

I'm certainly no expert on tachs, but I think Honda left it off the bike because they had built in a rev limiter. At 5750 rpm it retards the engine to let you know that the engine could break and cause damage to you as a result.
I had once considered putting a tach on the 1800 and researched the forum for one to buy. When I did a minimal amount of research it seemed that Cobra was not the tach of choice for quick response and needle accuracy.The Cobra tach did look nice on the bike and seemed easy to hook up...looks aren't everything tho.I decided against installing a tach after more thought.
It's obvious that you are unhappy with your decision to buy this tach. Did you research it fully before purchase? Did you ask all the right questions? Sometimes you really have to get technical in order to make a good decision. Sorry to hear that you got less than you paid for in your dealings. Stu

Thanks Stu, but that's the way it goes I guess. Evidently, I didn't research it as I should have. I read many reviews from different websites and it had great reviews, I remember someone complaining of pitting - cosmetics. One complained of needle bounce. I'm happy with the looks of mine. If I read something similar to my problems, I never would have bought it!

Yes, I understand the rev limiter and that's the very reason I wanted the tach. If I was racing, I would want to shift just shy of the 5750. That way, I wouldn't have a power loss nor lose any time. That was the purpose for the tach!

[X-GUY4HIM]

Originally Posted by trikeman64

Was thinking of buying one. Thank everyone who posted.

You're welcome. May I suggest you buy a new one and check out their return policy first. I bought a used one off this board and got burnt!

[tin-indian]

Cobra tachs (and many others) react slow. It's not that they're inaccurate, it's that they lag behind what the engine is doing. If U rev the engine in neutral the rev limiter on the engine will probably cut the engine off befor the tach reads 2000 rpm. If U continue to hold the throttle open, the tach will catch up and show the correct rpm reading. It's because of the electronic "shock absorber" that is built in to stop or reduce needle bounce at idle.

They're just not good tachs to use for racing.

[X-GUY4HIM]

Originally Posted by tin-indian

Cobra tachs (and many others) react slow. It's not that they're inaccurate, it's that they lag behind what the engine is doing. If U rev the engine in neutral the rev limiter on the engine will probably cut the engine off befor the tach reads 2000 rpm. If U continue to hold the throttle open, the tach will catch up and show the correct rpm reading. It's because of the electronic "shock absorber" that is built in to stop or reduce needle bounce at idle.

They're just not good tachs to use for racing.

You're right about that! That was the very reason I bought it. The rev limiter kicks in so quick! But I got her down to a science now. Ei, 1st to 2nd, I shift @3900 instead of 4,000 where she starts to bog, 2rd to 3th @ 5,000 , etc. When I go from 3rd and up, she starts getting closer to normal. Yeah it's great for sensible driver- very accurate, but I don't fall in that catagory! lol

[rottinrobbie]

X-GUY, I'll take your slash downs for a good price.

In regaurds to the TACH issue. I have a Drag Specialties and it reads correctly but also bounces due to the ignition firing cycle time. I did install a Tach adaptor sold by ********* which helped the bounce some for about $25.00.

Rob

[mike n]

I have a VDO tach and is dead on with no needle bounce... at least the few times I hit it hard but tough to watch tach and highway at the same time but like i said the couple times I tried it kept up with throttle response no problem.. And in neutrol rev engine right on the money.. Never cared much for Cobra anything...

[sarg12]

Thanks everyone you just saved me some money.

[rottinrobbie]

Hey Mike N.. What is the O.D. of your VDO tach? Maybe I'll change from my Drag Specialties to rid the bounce.

[mike n]

I got mine from Cyclecraft back a few years.. had a choice of VDO.Drag and a couple others and knowing what krap Drag and Cobra were the only choice was VDO... In the old days of big time drag racing VDO gauges were the only way to go.. Today? I have no idea.. Oh and the tach is 2 1/2 inches round... and does lite up with headlite... I still have mine from my 02 X C Model 1800 and when I get copies made for install I will try and sell cuz my 07 X C Model has a factory tach.. hope this helps...

[rottinrobbie]

Thanks for responding Mike N. I included a pic of my Drag Specialties. Is this what your tach looks like? Black face chrome bezel but a VDO. If you could get a part # from the tach itself maybe VDO can send me one. VDO is closed today. If you sell yours let me know.

Rob

[mike n]

Exactly only mine is the VDO...

[sskillett]

Anybody have one of those brackets for sale?