Although the instrument cluster gauge assembly on the Ultimate Motorcycling Yamaha Ténéré 700 Project Bike is easy to read on paved roads, it is difficult to read when riding on the gravel and washboard roads in the Pacific Northwest. I didn’t notice any gauge unit shake when riding over 1100 miles of highway from Los Angeles to Portland. However, on my first excursion off-road, navigation told me to take the trail on the left at 0.4 miles in from the paved road. I headed down the gravel road expecting to be able to watch the digital odometer count up. To my surprise, the dash was vibrating so much that I couldn’t read the numbers.
The logistics of obtaining a Yamaha Ténéré 700 for this project took several months. The anticipation period turned into a preparation period—I watched every video and read every review I could find. One of those reviews led me to Camel ADV Products, based in Calgary and owned by a talented inventor. Cory Hanson started Camel ADV by creating a hard-mounted auxiliary fuel tank for adventure bikes that automatically transfers its fuel to the main tank. Hanson has since gone on manufacture many products that add durability or rideability for many brands of adventure motorcycles.
The Hanson creative invention I was interested in this time is the Camel ADV Products T7 Anti-Bobble-Head kit. It’s supposed to help me read the instrument gauge unit when riding on the average fire road in the PNW.
The bracket kit is humorously named after the small toy figurines whose spring-mounted heads wiggles from the slightest movement. The $69 kit consists of two powdercoated, stainless steel rods that you bolt to the instrument gauge unit to stiffen its mounting system, and two set screws.
I watched the 16-minute instruction video on the Camel ADV website, and then started my iPhone stopwatch to time myself during installation. It took exactly 30 minutes, and I was working at a careful pace. The instruction video is spot-on for taking you through the entire install. You do need to have the appropriate size metric hex keys—T3, T4, and T5—with some short ones for the lower bolts. No, the T7 does not require a T7 hex key.
The next morning, I headed out for a 92-mile gravel road ride. No matter my speed or how washboard the surface was, the LCD display did not vibrate at all. Quite simply, the T7 Anti-Bobble-Head kit works.
I am a rider who uses most of the information provided on the display. I never had to glance twice. Both small- and large-font information is always in focus when I glance at the dash.
The Camel ADV Products T7 Anti-Bobble-Head kit is a simple solution to a vibration problem. By stiffening the instrument-cluster mounting, it also firms up the support of the headlight cluster—a two-for-one corrective action. If you only ride on the street, you probably won’t notice the instrument cluster vibration. However, if you are riding off-road on your Yamaha Ténéré 700, you will want this kit.
