Wintersdark Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 I've wanted to see if this would work for a very long time, but was dubious. I've wanted a bluetooth ODB2 scantool connection on my bike forever - I keep one on my Jeep, and being able to live-monitor engine data is extremely useful for troubleshooting problems. Also, it allows you to make really bitch'n dashboard displays (the real reason right here!) The handheld Autel scanners... well, they work for reading codes and resetting them, but that's all and they're kind of shitty to use. Having a smartphone or tablet able to read/reset codes, but also graph sensor data in realtime is WAY more useful. Those bluetooth scantools that allow you to live monitor engine data are awesome in cars, but I feared Yamaha's 4-pin connector wouldn't have everything they require to work, or just plain wouldn't work with Yamaha's ODB2 implementation. I ordered an adapter regardless, though, because hey - I want to be able to reset codes if nothing else, like if I run the bike on the centerstand, for example. But it works. It really works. Now, I'm not using one of the cheap $5 blue ELM323 adapters, for two reasons: First, they're notoriously unreliable. Second, they draw full power all the time. In a car, this isn't a really big deal, as your battery can hold up to a couple weeks of this before you notice it when starting, but on a motorcycle? Our batteries are notoriously... Limited. As my goal is to leave the adapter connected 24/7, so it Just Works whenever I've got my phone in the mount, I need one that can go to sleep when the key is turned off. Enter the Scantool ODBLink LX: OBDLink LX Bluetooth OBD-II Scan Tool for Android & Windows OBDLink LX Bluetooth will turn your Android or Windows device... The MX costs more, but it's only advantages is that it works with some manufacturer specific features (Ford, GM, and Mazda) and we don't care about that. The LX is still spendier than the $5 AliExpress dongle, but at $60 it's still pretty damn cheap for a motorcycle tool/farkle. Tada! I ended up routing the wire under the seat latch bracket, but here we have it. Scantool provides the ODBLink software which is pretty great, but if you want more customization the Torque Pro app Torque Pro (OBD 2 & Car) – Apps on Google Play See what your car is doing in realtime, get OBD fault codes, car... for android and IOS, is bloody amazing. Now, obviously, this allows you to check and clear codes. But wait! There's more! Other cool stuff you can do: Graph and log engine data - Compare absolute throttle position with actual ECU throttle position (unsure if your engine is limited in 1st? Now you'll know), compare RPM/load/fuel consumption, track actual fuel trim levels, monitor fuel consumption (instant fuel consumption in graph form, particularly paired with other engine data, can be quite handy) - there's literally hundreds of data points. And download this data for import into spreadsheets, too. Track actual wheel HP produced calculated by weight (bike and you) vs actual acceleration Track 0-60mph / 0-100kph times automatically in the background (high scores! Yay! Practice launches with real data!) Show (and graph, and log if you want) current lean angle Show (and graph, and log if you want) current acceleration/deceleration g-forces Include GPS display in your dashboards (with full mapping functionality) And so much more. I'm too excited to really go into detail. Once I get an appropriate MC dashboard set up, I'll post some videos Yeah, yeah, yeah, but screens are distracting and you'll die! Clearly, use responsibly. 6 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wintersdark Posted July 9, 2020 Author Share Posted July 9, 2020 Fun plugins for torque include the ability to record video overlaid with sensor data: Track Recorder(Torque OBD/Car) - Apps on Google Play This is a plugin for the 'Torque' android app that allows you to... Which allows this sort of thing: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member betoney Posted July 9, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted July 9, 2020 2 hours ago, Wintersdark said: Fun plugins for torque include the ability to record video overlaid with sensor data: Track Recorder(Torque OBD/Car) - Apps on Google Play This is a plugin for the 'Torque' android app that allows you to... Which allows this sort of thing: I can see how that would be distracting, wanting to watch it all the time but also VERY COOL!😎👍 2 ***2015 Candy Red FJ-09*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member knyte Posted July 9, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted July 9, 2020 (edited) SWEEEET I've been wanting this for my bike. I have one of those $5 ELM323's (it was actually $12 so NYA lol) in my Ranger; works fine. Had it in a Mazda Tribute happily logging all kinds of data for many years. Torque is a great app, and the ability to add plugins really makes it useful. Edited July 9, 2020 by knyte 2015 FJ-09 / FJR touring bags / oil plug mod / Evotech rad guard / SW Motech bash plate / VStream touring windshield / Seat Concepts: Sport Touring / Vcyclenut ABS rings (speedo correction) / Cosmo RAM mount Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKYFLIX Posted July 9, 2020 Share Posted July 9, 2020 Man, ya'll are killing me. As if I haven't already spent enough on this bike in the past two weeks....::sigh:: fine... https://amazo...... 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wintersdark Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share Posted July 10, 2020 4 hours ago, SKYFLIX said: Man, ya'll are killing me. As if I haven't already spent enough on this bike in the past two weeks....::sigh:: fine... https://amazo...... If you do want to do this, you need the ODB2 adapter (any one is fine, so long as the scantool isn't attached obviously) and you will definitely want this ODBLink LX so it can sleep when the ECU is off - that is, ignition off - it gets power 24/7 but sleeps when it cannot communicate with the ECU. The cheaper amazon/ebay ones (blue adapters) stay on drawing full power all the time and will kill your battery over [some unknown amount of time; a few weeks with a car battery]. Link to the correct adapter in the first post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wintersdark Posted July 10, 2020 Author Share Posted July 10, 2020 5 hours ago, knyte said: SWEEEET I've been wanting this for my bike. I have one of those $5 ELM323's (it was actually $12 so NYA lol) in my Ranger; works fine. Had it in a Mazda Tribute happily logging all kinds of data for many years. Torque is a great app, and the ability to add plugins really makes it useful. Yes! I've had probably a half dozen of the ELM323's, I keep giving them away and ordering new ones. But the inability to always leave it connected prompted the odblink LX purchase. It's tremendously useful for diagnosing problems, as well as lots of fun. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member knyte Posted July 10, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted July 10, 2020 Absolutely. Finding something with auto-sleep...strong work!! 2015 FJ-09 / FJR touring bags / oil plug mod / Evotech rad guard / SW Motech bash plate / VStream touring windshield / Seat Concepts: Sport Touring / Vcyclenut ABS rings (speedo correction) / Cosmo RAM mount Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKYFLIX Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 8 hours ago, Wintersdark said: If you do want to do this, you need the ODB2 adapter (any one is fine, so long as the scantool isn't attached obviously) and you will definitely want this ODBLink LX so it can sleep when the ECU is off - that is, ignition off - it gets power 24/7 but sleeps when it cannot communicate with the ECU. The cheaper amazon/ebay ones (blue adapters) stay on drawing full power all the time and will kill your battery over [some unknown amount of time; a few weeks with a car battery]. Link to the correct adapter in the first post. Indeed. That's what I ordered, and remembered the adapter cable as well. I actually went with the MX+ since I'd like to try this with my other vehicles as well (one of which is a Ford). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKYFLIX Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 Got the reader working today. That's bloody cool! I find it interesting that the speed reported via the OBD2 is actually identical to my GPS, but my dash reads about 2km too fast. I'm wondering if they are using different wheel speed sensors. Tried the dash overlay over video, but the video footage was terrible. Gonna try that again tomorrow after tweaking my mount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member piotrek Posted July 14, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted July 14, 2020 (edited) Does this tool (the app) help you access any variable values that can be monitored... I am thinking APS and TPS specifically, but I am sure others would be useful. Sounds like a nice tool. Edited July 14, 2020 by piotrek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wintersdark Posted July 14, 2020 Author Share Posted July 14, 2020 16 minutes ago, SKYFLIX said: Got the reader working today. That's bloody cool! I find it interesting that the speed reported via the OBD2 is actually identical to my GPS, but my dash reads about 2km too fast. I'm wondering if they are using different wheel speed sensors. Tried the dash overlay over video, but the video footage was terrible. Gonna try that again tomorrow after tweaking my mount. I can't get good video off my mount; it vibrates too much. TBH; I'd be totally unsurprised if the ECU actually had correct speed numbers but it fudged them up a couple MPH. I've always noted they read high - basically ALL speedos read high - but assumed they roughed in the calibration, not that they fudged it at display time. I mean, there's *lots* of reasons to have them read high. One that reads low exposes the mfg to legal risk, for example. What's interesting is it'll directly compare too if you want - you can put gauges up watching your phone's GPS speed, and the ODB2 reported speed, side by side, and in the setup you can put in your own correction factor to apply to the ODB2 reported speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wintersdark Posted July 14, 2020 Author Share Posted July 14, 2020 2 minutes ago, piotrek said: Does this tool (the app) help you access any variable values that can be monitored... I am thinking APS and TPS specifically, but I am sure others would be useful. Sounds like a nice tool. Yes, but it's somewhat complicated. You can add custom PID's, but you need to know what they are to add them. The Torque forums discusses how to do it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhchris Posted July 15, 2020 Share Posted July 15, 2020 Yikes, I get distracted by the "CRNT FUEL" readout, 1 1968 Triumph Bonneville 650 1971 Norton Commando Roadster 2002 Harley 1200 Sportster 2003 Honda ST 1300 2016 FJ 09 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member piotrek Posted July 15, 2020 Supporting Member Share Posted July 15, 2020 8 minutes ago, nhchris said: Yikes, I get distracted by the "CRNT FUEL" readout, LOL... these are great for troubleshooting. I have a tuner app on my Android head unit in my car... looks cool and display absolutely everything. Novelty wears off within a few days though. Speedo, RPM and ECT all in front of you on a dash anyway... all you really need to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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