FXR150 Digital Speedo, needs Calibrating..

[WanaGo]

Hey,

On my FXR 150, the speedo is reading wrong. I think its standard, as I was told where the bikes are made, its government rules that the bikes have to read faster than they are actually going, no idea why.... but anyway, I was going for a cruze today with my 2 mates, and we were burning along a really long straight, and I was going full tit, as fast as the bike would go, and it was reading 135km/h, well my mate came up beside me, and afterwards, he said I was doing about 107km/h. My other mate said basically the same thing... anyone had this trouble? I also find that around town, even following granny drivers, I have to go about 62km/h to keep up with them, or there abouts. My tires are basically new, the bike has done 3500km, and I weight about 76kg. Any ideas anyone??

Is it possible to get digital speedo's recalibrated ?

Also, I cant get past 135km/h on the speedo of my bike, but others have said they have got to around the 150km/h mark, which of course isnt that fast, but still, I cant get to that speed... any ideas? Im running 91 from Caltex. Is there any tuning that can be done?

Please help if you can.
Thanks
WanaGo

[Antallica]

I doubt the speedo can be calibrated, for cheap anyway. A new one would cost a mint too heh.

Just put it in to be serviced. They should be able to give it a once over before they actually charge you for anything. But seeing as you're near the 4k mark. You might as well put her in a bit early before she spits you onto the gravel if there's a real problem beneath.

[wkid_one]

Tyres are usually the biggest cause of the speedo being incorrect (especially on cars) - check whether the bike has the original OEM size wheels and rims on the bike, this can greatly affect the speedo reading - tyre pressure to a lessor degree can affect it also.

Check with Autoelectricians to see whether the speed thing is wrong.

A quick cheats test:  Take two bikes and drive the one you believe with the correct speedo for 5km - then drive yours down the same route - if your speedo is incorrect by a significant margin they won't finish near one another!!  Given distance is just a factor of speed and time - this will give you an idea of how 'out' your speedo may be?

 

 

[Antallica]

Good one wikid :) I'll remember that!

From his pics I can say that he still has the orig tyres and rims. So I think there's something more sinister behind it. Like I said to him, he should yank out the speedo cable and re-insert it.

Loose cables can wreak havok in these beasts from what I've seen from my mates one. He dropped his once at the dump spinning it out, popped the molex loose and he had no gearing & apparently he was doing 80km/hr most of the way home where I was doing 130km/h ;)

Funny stuff :D

[What?]

The cable could even be broken, so the top half is turning slower than the bottom. Quite why this should give a high reading beats me, but it would be far from the first time I have seen it happen. Same effect as a loose fitting??

As for in-built error, speedo error, like any instrument, is in terms of a percentage. To engineer out error is very expensive, so error is generally engineered in to be on the high (safe) side. Also, this error is normally within 10%. If it is over 10% and the bike is still under warranty, try to get it replaced as the error should be less than 10% to meet WoF standard,:done:

[WanaGo]

Hey,

thanks for the replys, but like I said, I think these bikes are manafactured to be out. My mate has a RGV 150, and his is out too. He went into a bike shop, and they told him that info, that these 150's of Suzuki's are out, and they were designed like that for the country they were made in, Indonesia I think.

Its not the plug problem antellica, tried that.

The wheels are standard, as with the tires, its only done 3500km, everything is origional.

Can someone with some tuning experience please tell me if there is very much you can do to a FXR 150 in terms of tuning. Antellica said he got his bike up to 150km/h, I was on a straight with my mate biking beside me, straight for about 3 or 4 minutes, and I was going full tit in 5th and 6th, tried both, but I wouldnt get over what my bike reckoned was 135km/h, which my mate said was actually about 107km/h on his bike. 5th gear it reved up to redline at 12.5k, but 6th wouldnt get over 10.

any ideas?

Thanks
Wanago

[Antallica]

Drain your tank/carbs and put in some fresh '96 and see what happens.

[WanaGo]

Yo,

Just went for another cruze in a break I had today, went with my mate on his RGV150. I got up to 154km/h :)
Must have just been the wet weather that caused the lack of speed yesterday.
I still reckon the spedo is out.

WanaGo

[Antallica]

You got 154km/h on your FXR :gob: yeah get your speedo checked. Was that on his speedo or yours?

[WanaGo]

His speedo is out aswell, as its the same principle as why mine is out. They are made to be out, both of them. His was about 5km/h different than mine, I think his said about 159 or something.

In reality, its probably only 120-130 or so. Its just what FXR150's and RGV150's are calibrated to. Antellica, yours will be out aswell. Have you ever got a car to go at 100km/h and you follow it, or vice versa, and see what speed you actually are doing?

Im going to do that in the next couple of days.

WanaGo...
:p beat the 150km/h :p

[WanaGo]

wkid_one what you were saying about the "driving for 5km with a mate etc, and see where you finish" stuff, I dont think that is actaully valid for the FXR150. I think the speedo is purposly out, but the actual distance/trip meter/odo etc are correct.
When I went out with my mate, the origional ride that I could only get to 134km/h, he was on a Honda NV400, and he was doing about 107hm/h at that same time, but when we both got back to our place, we checked the trip meters, and mine was only 0.7km different to his... (250km trip, or there abouts)

So I think the actual speedo is different to the odo in terms of measurement, both off the same measuring device, but I think the speedo has a multiplier of some kind. :o

WanaGo...

[Coldkiwi]

re:top speeds, this can vary with air temp and is largely dependant on the apparetn wind speed (and how hunched/smooth through the air you are.) my ZX-6R dropped 20kmhr off its top speed last time out at Puke (I won't post the actual speed here! ) simply because of the slight head wind. There's also a heap of factors in how much HP your bike will generate too (running in, fuel, tuning, sparks, chain friction etc etc)

[WanaGo]

Yep, I realise all that, hence why I think it was the wet weather that made me bike go slower yesterday. Wasnt really any wind here today on that run. Hunching down seems to add about 2km/h more to the top speed.
Also, how much tuning would there be on the FXR150? Like, is mixture etc able to be changed?
Also, what fuel would go best in me bike? Some reckon 96, some reckon 91, I know all the octane stuff and burning time etc, but what would be the best for this bike? Longer burning fuel, ie 98, or shorter, ie 91 ?
Cheers for the feedback.

[Antallica]

Mine is out slightly but not by much (about 2-3km/h)... but hell that's life... why do you think the law created the 10km/h allowance bro ;)

I'm not fixated on the top end but on how well it performs in general. What speed I max out on isn't really a priority for me but yours seems mental, get it checked.

Oh and Premium Unleaded from BP is the best! :P

[MikeL]

Pardon my ignorance in this matter, but if you know the gear ratios, sprockets, rims and tyre dimensions (see service manual!), shouldn't you be able to work out the road speed from the rpm?
Assuming the rev counter is accurate...

[WanaGo]

Antellica,

I wouldnt have detected a slight bit of jealousy would I?
You told me your top speed on your bike that you got up to was 150km/h, mine was 154km/h and you reckon mine is way out becuase of it, when its only 4km/h faster than yours.... whats the deal??

You reckon mine is way out and deffinitly needs looking at becuase I got up to that speed, when yours isnt that much different.
Yes I think my speedo is probably out, but I think its only out by its factory specs. Ill get it tested during the week if I can. And anyway, my mates RGV150 was reading the same as mine, so what does that tell ya. Unless they are both out by the same amount, which is highly likely cos they are both set to the same factory settings, cos I dont think they would be both incorrect, and by chance have the same error in the reading.

my 2c.
WanaGo.

[Antallica]

Ahh well, can't win 'em all :(

I got confused, from what you were saying in previous posts it seemed like yours was out by like 15km/h. Yeah I know thery are out, more than other speedos too, but what isn't eh ;)

[Antallica]

Originally posted by MikeL
Pardon my ignorance in this matter, but if you know the gear ratios, sprockets, rims and tyre dimensions (see service manual!), shouldn't you be able to work out the road speed from the rpm?
Assuming the rev counter is accurate...

Wouldn't know where to start on that one mate :(

[aff-man]

revs * gear ratio = revs at front sprocket

revs at front sprocket * sprocket ratio = revs at back wheel

circumference of wheel* revs at back wheel = speed in meters per minute

This looks right i think??

[WanaGo]

Sweet dude.

Just measured my spedo next to my mates Toyota Levin, he did exactially 50 on his spedo (so he reckoned) and I was doing about 57, so yeah, 7km/h out is what I was told was standard.

That gear ratio stuff looks about rite to me too...

WanaGo

[WanaGo]

Yucky, just changed the oil in me bike, a bit earlier than necessary, only done about 3600km now, but the oil was pretty poo. Black as, with grey swirly bits, yuuummmmy..

Antellica, does yours take exactially 1L, or do you put a bit more in?

What do they do extactially on your 4000km service?

WanaGo

[bungbung]

I don't suppose you have one of those 'odo check' sign things near where you live, with the measured 5km sign posted? that'll give you an idea as to if your odo/trip is accurate, but not the speedo.

[WanaGo]

Thats a good point actually. Are those signs that say "Auckland 50km" or whatever accurate?

WanaGo

[Coldkiwi]

nope! not those ones. (they'd be lucky to be within a kilometer i suspect)

There's an odo check series of signs just before the bombay hills going south on the motoray. Small yellow signs every km for about 5km before the hill. check it out next time you're out there

[WanaGo]

I live in Palmy, was using Auckland as an example...
dont think there are any of those signs around here.

WanaGo

[Coldkiwi]

ahhh right... well then my advice is quite useless then!

right idea at least

[bungbung]

I think those signs are looked after by the AA. Try ringing the local office in your area and ask where the nearest check is. I'm sure the will be one around Palmersto North.