Thermometers/Drink holders/coolers

[kantuckid]

I have a Formotion thermometer that i have stuck to the very center of my tach lens with emblem mounting tape(can be removed easily) which allows for easy reading of the tach and temp. The thing is apparently accurate as I have compared it to good thermometers on the wall in my house and to my automotive AC one in shop. The question is- obviously it reads hot in the sun but it also reads hot most of the time- say on a very cloudy day for example. I want to know the "real temperature " not some inflated figure.Surely the tach isn't generating much heat? I can't put it on the cap under the handle bar as my setbacks will make it non-viewable. I prefer that it not be on a bracket on the bar -any ideas out there???

Areostitch has several drink holders for bikes and I have my eye on one model plus the evaporative drink cooler-anybody tried it yet???

[awagnon]

I mounted an accurate digital thermometer on a bracket from the right handlebar mount so that it sits just in front of the tach. It reads perfectly when the bike is sitting in my garage or outdoors as long as the engine isn't running. When I ride, it consistently reads quite a bit higher than the actual temperature. I've tried to figure out where the heat is coming from. I guess its off the oil coolers. Mine doesn't actually touch the tach, so I don't think the tach is the problem. I eventually removed it out of frustration.

[R4R&R]

I have oneo f those thermometers stuck on the top of the triple-clamp, just under the speedometer. It too reads a bit high, but at least I have an idea if it's getting close to freezing. Since the tach is lit, you may be getting a slightly higher reading because of the heat from the light.

[kantuckid]

To make the story a bit more interesting:I got mine from Bob's and they were out of them except for this one which some guy had returned , saying that it read too high a temp. They were being nice and took it back but the parts guy is telling me that he has had it laying there on the counter for awhile and that it reads the same as the room temp , so must have been the first owners imagination,ect.. They made me a price and said the sticky was gone and now I've got it wondering the same thing-EXCEPT- when I compare it to other thermos it is OK? I just cant imagine that the tach gives off that much heat? I need to take a non contact thermo reading of the tach vs. another inert surface on the bike while out of the sun and compare. I guess you could call this "bike science" HA!

[Sit]

I had one stuck on the triple tree too, just below the handlebars. Thing read accurately in the garage, but as soon as I got on the road and the sun started hitting it, it always read way warm. Even on very cold yet sunny days, it would read much warmer than I knew it to be. I took the thing off since it did me no good in figuring out if it was getting icey. I stuck it on the outside frame of my garage door so as I pull out of the garage, I can see it and get an idea of what the temp is.

[Croc]

To get a true reading the therm itself must not be in the sun or subject to any other heat.
On a car the "sensor" will be placed in a wheel arch or under an outside mirror.
The only way to get a true reading on a bike would be to have a remote sensor stck under the seat or rear wheel arch or somewhere like that. Any others are just for looks and to tell you the temp in the garage!!!

[toolinalong]

after several frustrations with circular ones, i bought a little keychain thermometer ($5, standard glass tube full of mercury type) and hang it off the zipper pull on my tankbag...works fine. i don't try to read it while in motion. it hangs down along the side of the bag, and can be placed in the shade most of the time, depending on where i place the zipper pull.
if i don't want to take the bag but still want to carry the thermo, i suppose i could put it on my jacket somewhere, though i haven't done that yet.
i have checked it a few times against the one on my weather radio which lives in the tankbag (on long trips), and it is close enough.

[kantuckid]

Looks like the UK crowd-Croc- would want a barometer/rain gauge on their bike!!!

[bransan]

I used a duct temp probe for several years. I just zip-tied it to the throttle cable near the speedo housing. it worked great until someone else liked it more than Me.After it was stolen I never missed it. Then at a garage sale I found a Cessna thermometer,(has a probe that fits in a tube near the windshield of the airplane) so I zip-tied it to the cable again. Works great! The duct temp unit was more accurate, but the Cessna brings up conversation.

[gilx]

Since I live in the land of temp extremes: so far 104F in the Salt Lake City area this summer, and single digit temps in the winter, I have searched high and low for the "perfect" thermometer and how to locate it. What I finally found turned out to be not only cheap, but accurate and reliable: an aquarium thermometer for about $7 that has a water proof external probe. Mount the probe anywhere on the bike out of direct sun light, away from the engine. I ride an RT. I have the probe mounted just under the front of the fairing. At stops I get a little residual heat from the engine trapped by the fairing. However, as soon as I start moving, the probe is bathed in outside ambient air. The other end of the thermometer can be mounted just about anywhere convenient. It's about an inch wide, inch and a half long, and about half an inch thick. I've used double sticky tape, but that eventually degrades in the weather. So far I've had good luck with adhesive backed velcro to any smooth surface. Here is link to an ebay site that shows the thermometer: http://cgi.ebay.com/ESU-Digital-Thermom ... dZViewItem

[acejones]

Its either going to show: too cold, O.K., or too hot. You can actually determine that by going outside.