Product Review – Trail Tech Vapor ATV Computer
A Speedometer & So Much More
by Jason Giacchino
Most modern ATVs, utility models in particular, come stock with full instrumentation, but this wasn’t always the case. Plus many sport/ performance quads ignore the idea entirely in favor of a simple light-based “dummy gauge” setup.
Trail Tech has the solution for this problem and bundles in a whole bunch of additional useful features into their Vapor computer. The handlebar (or dash) mounted backlit LCD system retails for 9 and includes everything a backyard mechanic needs for installation.
Feature Set
The Vapor packs an awful lot of goodies into its small form factor. For starters it’s constructed of billet aluminum, boasts backlighting for bright daytime visibility, provides data such as speed, tach, programmable shift lights, engine temperature, clock, distance traveled and so on.
Installation
We’re not going to candy coat it, riders planning on making the most of the Vapor’s rich feature set need plan on devoting some time for proper installation. We estimate a good 3 + hour period in fact. The speedometer itself operates exactly like that of a cyclist computer except without the convenience of spoked wheels for mounting the sensor/ wheel magnet, the Vapor requires a hole be drilled through the spindle for the sensor and a disc bolt be replaced with a threaded magnet.
Additional considerations include running wiring to the vehicle’s battery to power the unit, a tachometer wire run to the spark plug, and a temperature sending unit to be inserted within a cooling line.
Fortunately, the included instructions are surprisingly thorough. Aside from perhaps the drill for popping a hole through your ATV’s spindle, just about everything else can be performed from items already residing in your toolbox.
Operation
Once installed, the Vapor is a charming little source of usable information. Call us sentimental toward KIT from Knight Rider (kids ask your parents, they’ll remember) but the rising digital bar tachometer is really slick. Reviewing distance of your rides isn’t just fun, but is a requisite to calculating the fuel economy of your ATV.
Trail Tech realizes that not everyone feels comfortable fiddling with an iPhone like interface, especially while operating an ATV, and keeps the Vapor nice and simple with a large center-mounted “Mode” button for shifting through the operation menus and an up and down arrow key to make selections.
Conclusion
It’s hard not to appreciate the ease of use and functionality of the Vapor. Temperature readings in degrees, top speed numbers, shift lights for beginners – these are features even the most decked out-of-stock ATVs lack. Installation can be a bit intimidating to neophyte mechanics, but truly the benefits of the unit are strong enough to warrant having a mechanically inclined buddy or local shop do the dirty work for you.
Just be sure to check out Trail Tech’s site before ordering, as the units are model-specific due to changes in the mounting hardware. Contact http://trailtech.net/atv_vapor_kits.html