Accurate speedometer/clock

[Jinx]

I know I'm slow! Never worried 'bout "the man" and speed limits. School zones are the only places I worry 'bout going over!    I kind'a know how fast(or slow) I'm going by the number of cars passing me! 
 Been eyeballing thoes green backlit "80 mph Smiths" on Feabay and some retro looking tachs and a all metal speedo gear. I see they have one for the back wheel? Hmmmmm. Be nice if the new dealer had some on the shelves. Hint,hint........
 Do I really need to start messing with stuff again! 

[barenekd]

After owning several 150+ mph machines, and occasionally riding them there, it's a definite change to have to look down to see if I'm going fast enough!
Bare

[olhogrider]

After owning several 150+ mph machines, and occasionally riding them there, it's a definite change to have to look down to see if I'm going fast enough!
Bare

Funny! and true.

[bman734]

What's with all the speedo problems. Mine seems tried and true?

[barenekd]

I checked mine out with a tach and it's actually quite accurate from 40-75. Didn't go faster than that, but slower it's a bit off, and below 40, who cares.
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[DNash]

The speed hypothesizer on my '09 AVL pretty consistently read right at 10% above actual speed (at least going by the maybe-not-any-more-trustworthy speedometers on my friends' Japanese bikes). The speed hypothesizer on my '01 is a different story - it seems pretty accurate, so long as I overlook the needle's constant swaying.

[barenekd]

Japanese bikes have notoriously fast speedometers. They run about 10% off. So do Hinkley Triumphs.
I originally thought my speedo ran about 10% fast and rode the bike accordingly, but I kept wondering why I was outrunning most of the traffic I wouldn't have thought I would be. So I attached a tach and compared my speed to a RPM/MPH chart I have. the spedo and ttach were very close.
Have you ever lubed your speedo cable? That might get rid of the swaying needle. There are speedo cable lubes available at your local Auto Parts store. Or just white lithium grease works. Don't get carried away, a thin coat is plenty. Too much can get up into your speedo, not a good thing.
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[bman734]

I've heard that the tire size may make a difference. Mine seems pretty close to true so I'm not concerned. If the 10% is true then all those boasting their mileage milestones are actually 10% off. 1000 miles is actually 900 miles etc. Not that it really matters I suppose.

[barenekd]

Not necessarily true. The US law requires odometers to be accurate, Speedos not so much. If you're running stock tires it should be on. However, like you say, tire size changes will affect the accuracy
The odometer works off mechanical gearing. The speedo works off a magnetic gap. The gap can be changed to correct the reading.
However a 10% tire size change would be pretty significant, so in actuality the error with a normal tire change would be much. You would have to have an inch larger diameter tire to change the speedo by 10% from 27"
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[bman734]

Like many posts on this subject, just keep your head up while cruising on your RE and forget about that GD speedo. It's really hard to speed on these things and you will get to know your approximate speed by knowing which gear you are in and just the sound of the engine. The wider the grin on your face is also an indicator of speed I find.

[Alan LaRue]

I agree with barenekd on this. I've had a V-Star 650, an FZ1, a Shadow Aero 1100, and a ZX-6R, and based on traffic during rush hour comparing it with my average passing/being passed rate in my car, I would estimate that an indicated 77mph on all of them equaled something very near 70mph actual. On the Bullet, it seems very close to 70=70. I plan to mount a GPS for traffic info someday (future farkel), so then I'll know for sure.

Not that I ever expect to actually speed on the Bullet, but I just have to know!

[Lwt Big Cheese]

Like many posts on this subject, just keep your head up while cruising on your RE and forget about that GD speedo. It's really hard to speed on these things and you will get to know your approximate speed by knowing which gear you are in and just the sound of the engine. The wider the grin on your face is also an indicator of speed I find.

Agree with that.

I put a cycle speedo on by Bullet and found that my guesses had been pretty much spot on.

And now I know my cadence and how many calories I'm burning 

[Alan LaRue]

Are cadence and calories easily convertible to RPM and gallons?

[Lwt Big Cheese]

No, but when I get to my destination I can justify two extra beers with the calories I burnt off getting there!!!

 

[barenekd]

I always figured about 200 miles to the hamburger.
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