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  1. #1
    Active Member SpyderCruiser's Avatar
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    Lightbulb How to calibrate your speedometer to agree with your GPS speed

    How to calibrate your Spyders speedometer to read the same as your gps speed. You need BRP BUDS with a Megatech license in order to perform this calibration procedure. This worked on our 2015 Spyder but have not tried in on other models.

    https://youtu.be/QxUfciTfEO4
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    Very Active Member RICZ's Avatar
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    Easier and better is replacing the OEM rear tire with a 215/60-15 car tire, preferably a General Altimax RT43. There are other tires that will correct the speedo as well.
    Ours is a red, black and chrome 2017 F3 Limited. Bought new in 2/2019. The avatar is my first bike back in 1952, a Simplex Servi-Cycle. Photo taken at the Barber Museum.
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    Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie Peter Aawen's Avatar
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    Thanks SpyderCruiser It really is handy to know that it can be done that way with BUDS & a MegaTech licence.

    Altho, if you don't have both of those (relatively expensive) things you can always fit just about any good brand of auto tire in a 225/55, 215/60, or 205/65 R15 tire on the rear and get very close to correcting your speedo that way; and if you run said auto tire at something close to the correct pressure for the (lighter) load the Spyder puts on its tires (saaay, 16-18 psi ) then you'll also get the added benefit of better ride, handling, traction, tire puncture resistance, longer tire life, more compliance with the suspension, et al!

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    One drawback of the larger tire, though, is that your odometer will now be off.

    Not that much of a problem, though. Can-Am warranties are time-based, not miles. About the only real "problem" is if you are trying to accurately determine miles per gallon or if you are laying out a route for something that requires accurate distance meaurements.

    I cured the mpg problem by observing the difference between GPS mileage and odometer readings while on a trip, where there were no interruptions between fuel stops. Found that the odometer is now about 1.5% slow, so I take any mpg calculation and multiply it by 1.015 to get a better number.

    Bottom line: since instantaneous speed readings are referenced a LOT more often than calculating mpg, I'll go with the larger tire method of correction.

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    Very Active Member PMK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SpyderCruiser View Post
    How to calibrate your Spyders speedometer to read the same as your gps speed. You need BRP BUDS with a Megatech license in order to perform this calibration procedure. This worked on our 2015 Spyder but have not tried in on other models.

    https://youtu.be/QxUfciTfEO4
    Did this on ours years ago. Forget what correction factor it required.

    Besides BUDS Megatech, you must have a GPS that is easily readable in MPH mode to use as reference. Depending upon rear tire size, it may require a different correction factor.

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    Very Active Member canamjhb's Avatar
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    On one of my previous Goldwings I installed a Speedo Healer. If memory is correct, I think it was about a hundred bucks. It is an adjustable electronic device that corrects speedometer error by percentage. I did several highway runs with a hand held GPS and noted the difference in speeds. I needed to apply a 6 1/2% correction. It got sold with the bike. As I got old, I don't obsess so much with accuracy..... Jim
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    Very Active Member BLUEKNIGHT911's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve W. View Post
    One drawback of the larger tire, though, is that your odometer will now be off.

    Not that much of a problem, though. Can-Am warranties are time-based, not miles. About the only real "problem" is if you are trying to accurately determine miles per gallon or if you are laying out a route for something that requires accurate distance meaurements.

    I cured the mpg problem by observing the difference between GPS mileage and odometer readings while on a trip, where there were no interruptions between fuel stops. Found that the odometer is now about 1.5% slow, so I take any mpg calculation and multiply it by 1.015 to get a better number.

    Bottom line: since instantaneous speed readings are referenced a LOT more often than calculating mpg, I'll go with the larger tire method of correction.

    .
    I don't believe this to be true ..( the larger tire thing )... the speedo and odo are linked together .... imho the size of the tire calibrates both ..... Mike
    Last edited by BLUEKNIGHT911; 12-03-2021 at 10:05 AM.

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    Very Active Member Bfromla's Avatar
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    Just a thought- How many miles are air time from all the bumps?

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    Very Active Member ARtraveler's Avatar
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    Good discussion. I'll have another cup of coffee and just read on.

    Currently Owned: 2019 F3 Limited, 2020 F3 Limited: SOLD BOTH LIMITEDS in October of 2023.

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    Very Active Member canamjhb's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BLUEKNIGHT911 View Post
    I don't believe this to be true ..( the larger tire thing )... the speedo and odo are linked together .... imho the size of the tire calibrates both ..... Mike


    What I found when adding a SpeedoHealer to my Goldwing was that the odometer was very accurate BEFORE installation. But the speedometer was off by 6 1/2%. So, in their wisdom, Honda made the mileage accurate but the speed inaccurate. Mike is correct that both speed and distance are calculated by a common link (tire rotation). So when I corrected the speed, the odometer was off a little and showed slightly fewer miles traveled than actually were being traveled. Others may experience things differently. That is just mine on one bike..... back in the days when I was anal about such things. But I got over it. .... Jim
    Last edited by canamjhb; 12-03-2021 at 12:39 PM.
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  11. #11
    Very Active Member Bfromla's Avatar
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    Not to get off track maybe falls in with speed tickets arguments if radar gun not calibrated.
    Also understand there is +- % acceptability range for OEM

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  12. #12
    Active Member redrazor's Avatar
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    I don't see why I would care that my dashboard speedo is 2mph faster than my mounted Garman GPS(??) I kind of like that fact. It keeps me from going over the posted speed limits in "speed trap zones, etc. RIDE MORE ...... WORRY LESS!
    Last edited by redrazor; 12-03-2021 at 04:23 PM. Reason: add sentence

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    Very Active Member cruisinTX's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BLUEKNIGHT911 View Post
    I don't believe this to be true ..( the larger tire thing )... the speedo and odo are linked together .... imho the size of the tire calibrates both ..... Mike
    This was what I found as well. My speedo and odo were off by the same percentage and when I installed the 205/65 rear tire, I got pretty close an exact match with GPS on both speed and distance. Now, at an indicated 75mph, the GPS (2 different ones) show my actual speed to be 74.5mph. The odometer seems to vary though; sometimes over the course of maybe 100 miles it will indicate from half to a mile off sometime low, sometimes high.

    Just to address the inevitable comments about needing x # of satellites for a certain period of time; when I did the speed tests, it was here in the Texas Panhandle where we have some roads that are very nearly dead straight and flat for miles on end. There are a few places very close by where I can drive 20 miles dead straight with almost no change in elevations.

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  14. #14
    Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie Peter Aawen's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bfromla View Post
    Not to get off track maybe falls in with speed tickets arguments if radar gun not calibrated.
    Also understand there is +- % acceptability range for OEM
    There is an Internationally Agreed allowance for OEM Speedo/Odo variations, but it's not a 'plus/minus %' thing - it's JUST a plus!! OEM Speedo/odo's can read up to 10% OVER the vehicle's true/accurate speed, but they're not allowed to read UNDER at all! And given that most manufacturers really don't want to get caught up in the litigation that would surely follow if people relied on their speedo/odo's to avoid speeding tickets, only to find their speedo was telling them they were under the speed limit only they weren't really, almost every speedo leaves the factory reading something faster than the true/accurate speed & usually their odo's also read that they've travelled more miles than is strictly accurate... both often by something close to 10%!

    So Joe Bloggs in his Bowling hat & shirt tooling along happily in his brand new car on its standard sized tires at what he thinks is a reasonable 60 mph & not giving a crap about making it easy for anyone caught behind to get past is far more likely to be doing something closer to 54mph than he is to be doing 60 mph!

    That might not seem to be a biggie in the overall scheme of things for him, especially if he's only driving the 2-5 or maybe even 30 miles or so to the Bowling Alley; it might not be too bad for anyone caught behind him who's only travelling the same sort of distances or who has no time constraints on their travel; but for those who drive for a living &/or work/drive/live on a tight schedule, or for anyone who's got 600 or maybe even as much as a 1000 miles to travel today, all they need is a few 'Joe Bloggs' holding them up and suddenly their schedule's blown out the window or their day became a few hours longer - and if they have a limit on the number of hours per day that they're permitted to travel before risking massive fines (like the truckies do here in Oz!) that could mean the difference between making ends meet or losing money &/or business if not their livelihood!! Besides, you never know if that other driver who is trying to get past is a Doctor racing to save a life; a parent racing a sick child to hospital; or someone with another perfectly valid reason for them to be trying to travel closer to (or over??) the speed limit than your deliberately inaccurate OEM speedo suggests is the speed limit - so it's really only common courtesy to let them past at the first safe opportunity and if they're just speeding for the heck of it, as some might do ( ) surely it's better to have them pass & get out of your way as quickly as they see fit instead of risking you becoming their bonnet ornament?!?

    Btw, due to the way these speedo/odo's &/or dash modules are manufactured & driven (& Mike is right about them usually being linked & driven by the same things! ) generally both the speedo & the odo in any one dash will read both faster mph's & more miles travelled than is strictly true/accurate, but they won't necessarily have the same discrepancy - they might, but that's usually a coincidence! So if you change tire sizes to change one/make one reading more accurate, you'll usually change them both by the same percent. Similarly, if you do anything to change the sender/sensor signal, their proportional error will generally remain the same if/when any correction is applied, unless you change the programming on one & not the other, which isn't easy!

    And it's also pretty rare for any two vehicles to have exactly the same discrepancy/s too, so however much YOUR speedo/odo is out doesn't necessarily mean that anyone else's speedo/odo will have exactly the same discrepancy - and then there's the differences introduced by varying tire sizes, tire pressures, road surfaces, rolling resistance, and a bunch more besides!! But at least in these days of electronic instruments & dash units, senders, sensors etc, the variation/errors between speedo/odo's on different vehicles are usually reasonably similar & relatively easily corrected, be it by re-programming, changing tire sizes, or intercepting & modifying the signal!

    Just Sayin'
    Last edited by Peter Aawen; 12-03-2021 at 06:00 PM.
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    Active Member Baron14y's Avatar
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    Not by the Spyder to look, and can't remember what size auto tire I replaced the OEM with, but my speedo shows it is within 1 mph of the GPS speed.

  16. #16
    Very Active Member BLUEKNIGHT911's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Baron14y View Post
    Not by the Spyder to look, and can't remember what size auto tire I replaced the OEM with, but my speedo shows it is within 1 mph of the GPS speed.
    In another post above ( #3 ) Peter listed the tire sizes that will produce approx. the same amount of change ..... Mike
    Last edited by BLUEKNIGHT911; 12-04-2021 at 12:14 AM.

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    Very Active Member IdahoMtnSpyder's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Aawen View Post
    There is an Internationally Agreed allowance for OEM Speedo/Odo variations, but it's not a 'plus/minus %' thing - it's JUST a plus!! OEM Speedo/odo's can read up to 10% OVER the vehicle's true/accurate speed, but they're not allowed to read UNDER at all!
    Here is the pertinent quote from UN Regulation 39.

    5.4. The speed indicated shall not be less than the true speed of the vehicle. At the test speeds specified in paragraph 5.3.5 above, there shall be the following relationship between the speed displayed (V1) and the true speed (V2).
    0 ≤ (V1 – V2) ≤ 0,1 V2 + 4 km/h
    As you can see the speedometer can vary above the true speed as much as 10% plus 4 km/h (~2.4 mph)

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    Quote Originally Posted by BLUEKNIGHT911 View Post
    I don't believe this to be true ..( the larger tire thing )... the speedo and odo are linked together .... imho the size of the tire calibrates both ..... Mike
    Very true, ... BUT ... I checked both before changing tires. The odometer was off by a couple of tenths in 100 miles, so it was pretty much dead-on. When the speedo was showing 60 MPH, the GPS was showing 57. Changing the tire DID change both of them, but it brought the speedo into the "dead-on" category and pushed the odometer into the "oops, it's off" category. See canamjhb's comment, also.

    Quote Originally Posted by canamjhb View Post
    What I found when adding a SpeedoHealer to my Goldwing was that the odometer was very accurate BEFORE installation. But the speedometer was off by 6 1/2%. So, in their wisdom, Honda made the mileage accurate but the speed inaccurate. Mike is correct that both speed and distance are calculated by a common link (tire rotation). So when I corrected the speed, the odometer was off a little and showed slightly fewer miles traveled than actually were being traveled.
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    Interesting. That's one thing that BRP have stuffed up - the speedo. On some days the difference between my GPS, the digital display and the "analogue style display can be as much as 20k. Coming home from a weekend away with the chief cook on the back travelling alone one of our freeways, the GPs showed 110, Digital 117, "analogue" 125 ish.

    In this day and age it takes real incompetence to stuff this kind of system up - well done BRP - please never make altimeters for planes
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    Very Active Member cruisinTX's Avatar
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    This cracked me up; and is also spot on.
    In this day and age it takes real incompetence to stuff this kind of system up - well done BRP - please never make altimeters for planes

    The technology has been there for many years. The least companies could do is reach an agreed upon percentage of error and build that into ALL speedometers. It's as simple as what the photography industry did many, many years ago so ALL cameras and ALL tri-pods use the same thread 1/4 x 20. This doesn't even border on rocket science.

    A little off topic; if they can calibrate the speedometers using BUDs why the heck can't they get rid of the stupid message about reading the warning tab so we do not have to wait for that before starting our engines? Having that pop up every time for the next 20 years and 200K miles is a little redundant.
    Last edited by cruisinTX; 12-04-2021 at 10:06 AM.

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    Very Active Member Bfromla's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by askitee View Post
    Interesting. That's one thing that BRP have stuffed up - the speedo. On some days the difference between my GPS, the digital display and the "analogue style display can be as much as 20k. Coming home from a weekend away with the chief cook on the back travelling alone one of our freeways, the GPs showed 110, Digital 117, "analogue" 125 ish.

    In this day and age it takes real incompetence to stuff this kind of system up - well done BRP - please never make altimeters for planes
    hopefully sometimes its just to see if (or help)you paying attention 16F4BF9B-F104-4368-8C13-577C8BA5439A.jpg

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