Total Motorcycle Community Forums

On my Valk, I was just about bang on at slow speeds, but as I picked up speed, the faster I went the further out the speedo was. I was using my GPS for accuracy...

For what its worth I remember reading a review in MCN (Motorcycle News - British version) which checked the speedo readings of various makes and models of bikes against actual velocity. The accuracy of the speedos varied between +2% and +8%. I don't remember individual details except that Triumphs had speedos that were calibrated cosest to actual speeds.

If you get caught speeding the responsibility is yours unless you can demonstrate it is the manufacturer's - unless, that is, you can show that the speedo is under-calibrated and registers a slower than actual speed.

No manufacterer is going to risk being taken to court over that. They all build in a safety margin on their speedo settings - as the MCN report demonstrates.

jonnythan wrote:

ofblong wrote:

mydlyfkryzis wrote:The Speedometer can be in MPH, but is the speedometer correct? Most speedos on bikes are 10% high, plus changes in sprockets can make the speedo read quite a bit higher than actual speed.

where do you get this 10% high thing? Maybe if the bike has been modified but I mean even on my bike its only 1mph off of what the police radars are set at. When my wife is doing 30mph in the mini van I am doing about 31mph.

You also ride a cruiser.

yes very true. thats why I asked about the 10% thing cause I didnt know.

Totally within spec for companies to build a vehicle with a speedo error up to 10%.

The VTX's are notoriously known for a high (close to 9 or 10%) speedo error stock. SO when I say i've done 132mph indicated, I was most likely doing closer to 119mph actual...(My VTX has a 135 actual top speed) still plenty fast for a cruiser.

Doing the 1300 gear swap brings the speedo much closer to actual.

Next time your out even in your car, if you pass a police radar setup (the ones that show you how fast your going) set your cruise at a steady rate (say 35 mph) and see what the Radar Says.

My old SV-1000 was the most accurate out of all my vehicles I've tested, only 1 mph difference (slower).

I've had two camry's, one about 2 mph faster than indicated, the other 4 miles lower than indicated.

Of course your air pressure can affect this as well, so make sure your tires and air pressure are up to spec.

The companies that design speedo's tend to under-calibrate rather than over-calibrate just for that same speeding issue you guys talked about...




I vote that movie is in Kph not mph because you can see his reflection when takes that sweeping turn at over 100 "mph" and he doesn't lean practically at all...I think he would have had to muscle the bike more through that turn at over 100mph!

And then the drivers are driving smaller cars ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD and that tells me europe...where they drive screwy....and what do they use?

KPH!!!

I've been to 143 (indicated) on my SV-1000... and I think it looked faster than that...

Plus that red van at the end would have had to be going like 120!

Still a Nice video, speed thing (kph/mph) doesn't diminish it in my eyes at all.


Just Sayin'

Venarius wrote:
And then the drivers are driving smaller cars ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD and that tells me europe...where they drive screwy....and what do they use?

KPH!!!

The English use MPH. Part of Europe? That's another issue.

Venarius wrote:
And then the drivers are driving smaller cars ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD and that tells me europe...where they drive screwy....and what do they use?

KPH!!!

I've been to 143 (indicated) on my SV-1000... and I think it looked faster than that...

Plus that red van at the end would have had to be going like 120!

Still a Nice video, speed thing (kph/mph) doesn't diminish it in my eyes at all.


Just Sayin'

Oh dear! I feel a fact coming on.

FYI Venarius. The Europeans (i.e. that lot down there on the continental landmass) drive on the wrong side of the road, just as you do - ie on the right. They also have a nasty habit of using KPH. Here in the UK, we drive on the right side of the road (i.e. on the left) and use MPH - even though we use metric for just about everything else. (We like to keep things a bit complicated here.)

It is not only in England (hem, Eddy!) that we drive on the left but in the rest of the UK as well - and also on the Isle of Man where the vid was recorded.

Although 'The Island' (as the Isle of Man is known to bikers) is part of the British Isles, constitutionally it is not part of England; nor is it part of Great Britain, or even the United Kingdom. It is a crown dependency - i.e. the Queen is head of state, and her representative, The Attorney General has a seat in the island's own elected parliament, the Tynwald. Unlike the UK, the Isle of Man is not part of the European Union, either. Clear? As I said, we like things complicated over here.

So the Isle of Man elects its own politicians and makes its own laws.

It's only because The Island is not subject to the laws of the British parliament that the TT can take place at all, and that motorcycles hit speeds of 200 mph and above on these roads - quite regularly and quite legally - during TT week.

So, I'm still for MPH. It would be a shame to think that anyone could pootle around the TT course and peak at nothing more than 170kph (100mph.) That would be infinitely slow for these roads and nothing to boast about on Mad Sunday. C'mon guys; have some imagination.

Cheers