First Page

Hyosung GT250 Review

Royal Enfield C5

Bike Clock Review

One of the reasons a lot of us ride is to escape from our busy schedules. We want to live by "motorcycle time" and not be constrained by schedules. Well, sometimes anyway. When it comes to day-to-day commuting and even a fair amount of recreational riding we often need to know what time it is. If the group ride you are heading toward leaves at 10:00AM do you have time for a leisurely cruise through the parkways? Do you need to hit the freeway to make it on time? If you're riding in Minnesota during one of our many colder months, your wristwatch is probably buried under the cuff of your jacket AND the gauntlet of your glove. What to do?

Some motorcycles and scooters come from the factory with a clock, usually a digital one. There are numerous "spot clocks" that can be had for a few bucks and are supposed to stick on to "any" smooth surface. In my experience, you can pretty well skip these as they tend to come off and frequently fail. They aren't really made for a platform that is in motion and often vibrates or experiences rough conditions. Formotion is probably the best-known brand of clocks for motorcycles and I have used their stick-on spot clocks with good success on some scooters. They utilize a 3M adhesive that hold very well and stand up to the elements and the road well. Formotion also makes several models with varying mounting methodologies and can, frankly, get fairly pricey pretty quickly ($85 for a steering head mount).

For my (relatively) new Royal Enfield Bullet C5 I elected to go with a piece from Clocks4Bikes which was suggested by a friend (thanks Dennis). This is a very small company owned by Ross & Linda Harjes in Flora Mississippi. Ross is self-taught machinist and I can say from experience that he makes a nice piece. The "About Us" section of the Clocks4Bikes site is worth a read. I chose the stem-mounted 30mm (to fit the Royal Enfield) white-faced non-illuminated model at about $45.

The purchasing transaction online with Clocks4Bikes was as good as any I have experienced. Communication was excellent and shipping (at no additional charge) was very fast. One of the first things I noticed upon opening the package was the warranty card: 3 Years Even If You Lose It. Wow. A small Allen wrench is included to facilitate mounting.

I am kind of a watch nut, and the first thing I did was take the back off and have a look at the innards of the clock. (DON'T do this yourself unless you have the tools and experience.) The clock is a good quality time-piece utilizing a quartz movement from Miyota (Citizen) in Japan. For reference, the battery is a 377, a common size that should be readily available when you need replacement. The clock assembly is held in the housing by compression fit utilizing a gasket. It holds position very well and makes it simple to install the clock in a correct orientation.

The housing went right over the stem nut and is held in place by a set-screw which should be aligned with a flat side of the nut. Once the housing is securely in place, press the clock assembly into the housing. That's it, you're done. I like the look on my Royal Enfield Bullet C5 and the location is handy without interfering with any part of the bike or detracting from the overall look.

My commute to the office involves some rough surface roads (Springtime in Minnesota means potholes. Lots and lots of potholes.) and the clock works just fine in these rough conditions. No loosening of the mount, and the clock sits securely in its housing. For the price, a Clocks4Bikes timepiece is an outstanding value.

David Harrington