Speedo adjusting?

[sunhuntin]

ok, so it seems im stuck with it. bummer. lol. gps could be an option. might look into it.

allan... i had a cop accuse me speeding last time i was down south. was a 70k zone, and i had my speedo sitting exactly on the 70. going by the new info, i was actually going 5k slower than the speed.

[pritch]

eventually the police will tell you exactly how fast you were travelling at

This is a current worry of mine. (There's always something. )

The Ducati speedo reads slow by at least 10kph but possibly more, I don't know exactly... I'm hoping it won't be the Highway Patrol that informs me.

[bogan]

if its possible (i havent figured out how to do this without breaking shit) take off the speedo glass etc, and just replace the numbered backing with an accurate one. Record the major speeds with gps, and mark on glass/original backing to aid in calibrating the new one.

[Goblin]

I reckon those "Your speed is..." thingies are there to lull you into a false sense of security, then just around the next corner there'll be a ready to dish out speeding tickets.

My bike and car always read faster than the speed on those things. I like to speed up so it tells me to "SLOW DOWN!"

[Cheshire Cat]

I reckon those "Your speed is..." thingies are there to lull you into a false sense of security, then just around the next corner there'll be a ready to dish out speeding tickets.

My bike and car always read faster than the speed on those things. I like to speed up so it tells me to "SLOW DOWN!"

Me too!

[keithbuckby]

checked with gps, showing 60, actually going 50, just remember what to ride at and you will be fine. if you are passing too many cars maybe a bit quick tho! lol

[CookMySock]

i had a cop accuse me speeding last time i was down south. was a 70k zone, and i had my speedo sitting exactly on the 70.

I hope you told him to jam it up his bum.

take off the speedo glass etc, and just replace the numbered backing with an accurate one.

You don't need to do that. Just lever the indicator needle off with two screwdrivers and slide it back on in the correct location, and give the needle-boss a whap with the screwdriver handle to seat it. The hard part is figuring out how it comes apart.


Steve

[Warr]

.....
Just get a bicycle computer and use that. You can get wireless ones.

No dont get a wireless one...
The ones I have seen & tried require as good as line of sight between sender & receiver and distance is a problem on a m/bike.
To conserve battery life the transmitters are Very low power and Any obstruction will render them useless. Go for a cable one tho tis a good chance you'll need to lengthen it.
The most difficult thing is mounting the fixed magnet on the rim somewhere. But there are ways and means

.......
Otherwise bike speedos are great but don't read above 99kmh usually.

No last one I bought CATEYE Velo 8, nothing flash, goes to 299kph and my previous Echo was the same I think.

[slofox]

Another option that I have used is to wait until you come across some gentlemen in blue playing with their tools....err I mean, laser guns.
When I saw them, I stopped and asked one of them if he would be so kind as to check my speed with his little toy, which he very happily did. With my speedo flicking between 49 and 50k, his gun read 47....so maybe 5% over.
Personally I think it over-reads more than that...(that way I can go faster without thinking I am too far over the limit...hurhurhur). At around the 100 - 120 k mark, I deduct some 8k from what the dial reads...so far so good...

[slofox]

I like to speed up so it tells me to "SLOW DOWN!"

There's a permanent electronic warning sign just south of Pirongia on SH39, on the way to Otorohanga. It's set up just before an interesting set of S bends...so far I have never gone through it without it saying "SLOW DOWN". But I have never managed to get it to say "YOU FOOL!!!!!" yet...

[bogan]

You don't need to do that. Just lever the indicator needle off with two screwdrivers and slide it back on in the correct location, and give the needle-boss a whap with the screwdriver handle to seat it. The hard part is figuring out how it comes apart.

Thatll just be a speed offset though, and at 10kmhr itll still show 0 etc. So youd still be out at either 100, or 50, wouldnt you? An if you replace the backing you can also bling it up somewhat

[vifferman]

Note that bikes of European origin often have a deliberate 7% error built in. This is because in Europe manufacturers aren't allowed to make a speedo that tells you you are going faster than you actually are. So to fix this problem, they make them deliberately say you are going 7% faster than you really are.

This makes no sense - I think you meant, "This is because in Europe manufacturers aren't allowed to make a speedo that tells you you are going slower than you actually are."
In any case, you are incorrect. My wife's Peugeot's speedo has only around 2% optimism.
I suspect it's a general vehicle manufacturers thing, to avoid any comeback from people getting tickets, then saying, "It's not my fault - I had the speedo checked and it's wrong, therefore it's the car/bike/truck manufacturer who should be liable!".
It also allows for some variation in tyre sizes/profiles, so that even if they decrease the speedo reading, it's still not going to be reading low.

Note that even though speedos are invariably optimistic, the odometer is usually pretty accurate.

On the VFR, ihave the gearing lowered by 6%, and the speedo was already around 6% optimisitic. I fitted a kitset speedo correctr (from Jaycar Electronics) and adjusted it based on a guesstimate to give a 12% reduction (making the odometer 6% pessimistic). Subsequent testing against a GPS found it was under-reading, so I dropped it to 10% correction, which was spot on. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, it carked it.

[vifferman]

There's a permanent electronic warning sign just south of Pirongia on SH39, on the way to Otorohanga. It's set up just before an interesting set of S bends...so far I have never gone through it without it saying "SLOW DOWN". But I have never managed to get it to say "YOU FOOL!!!!!" yet...

The first ones I saw used to give your speed, no matter how fast you were going. My favourite trick on spotting them was to chop down a gear or two, to see how fast I could go in the short time between when I spotted the sign, and passing it.
Then the next type I saw displayed your speed up to the local speed limit, then over that flashed up money, like "$60....$90...$120...etc."
Kewl! I've just earned $200!

Now they're REALLY lame, just flashing "Slow Down!!" Where's the sport in that?!?

The most sensible use of these devices was in the Hunter Valley at some road works, where their deployment was a good safety measure. They flashed up something like, "Road Workers Ahead!! Speed limit: 35km/h.... Your speed: 45km/h. .... SLOW DOWN ... SLOW DOWN"

[Bass]

The roadside speed indicating signs told me that my speedo was about 10% optimistic in the 50 kph region. No surprises there.
However, the cop with the laser explained that it was only 3% optimistic at about 120 kph.
Bugger!

[CookMySock]

Thatll just be a speed offset though, and at 10kmhr itll still show 0 etc. So youd still be out at either 100, or 50, wouldnt you? An if you replace the backing you can also bling it up somewhat

Normally it sits on the stopper needle at 0 km/hr. It doesn't matter if there is an error at 10km/hr, what you need is it most accurate where it counts, and that is at either 50k or 100k.

Steve