Speedometer troubles.....anyone?

[Love2Ride]

Everyone I ride with has said "You go too fast".

I started paying very close attention and recently my Dad was like "You were flying!"

Um, no I wasn't. According to HIM I was doing well over 10mph over the speed limit.

He said he was doing the speed limit but what I saw said I was too. I left him in the dirt. er, I mean... Hmmmm?

Has anyone had any trouble with this? Not leaving my Dad in the dirt but being told you're running fast? LOL

[Dudley]

Everyone I ride with has said "You go too fast".

I started paying very close attention and recently my Dad was like "You were flying!"

Um, no I wasn't. According to HIM I was doing well over 10mph over the speed limit.

He said he was doing the speed limit but what I saw said I was too. I left him in the dirt. er, I mean... Hmmmm?

Has anyone had any trouble with this? Not leaving my Dad in the dirt but being told you're running fast? LOL

I have been told that also, on many bikes I have owned. If you have a better way to maintain your throttle stability, you will most likely stay ahead. Look at your tachometer, you should be at 5500 for 75 mph.

[sabunim5]

The Spyder has the most accurate speedometer of any motorcycle I have owned. My speedometer shows 2 mph faster that what my GPS says my speed is. There is always the exception and yours might be it. Just check it against a GPS.

[Justin]

On both of my Spyders at 100kph it's only 91kph on gps.

[woodchuck]

On both of my Spyders at 100kph it's only 91kph on gps.

You may be right about the wrong speed on your speedometer.. I ride with my brother who has a valkyrie. Usually I have more miles on a trip than he does. Granted all speedometers are not the same. But when he is leading I am doing about 61 in a 55 mph zone and I asked him where is his hurry. I don't want to get a speeding ticket and he says he is doing about 56 mph. I always wondered why such a difference.

[Justin]

You may be right about the wrong speed on your speedometer.. I ride with my brother who has a valkyrie. Usually I have more miles on a trip than he does. Granted all speedometers are not the same. But when he is leading I am doing about 61 in a 55 mph zone and I asked him where is his hurry. I don't want to get a speeding ticket and he says he is doing about 56 mph. I always wondered why such a difference.

I believe this is where people are coming up with this 130+mph top speed hoopla.

[canam9]

I believe this is where people are coming up with this 130+mph top speed hoopla.

[ntxYguy2009]

I agree with sabunim5. My Spyder's speedometer is extremely accurate from 0-100 mph compared to my Honda ST1300. I base this on my GPS which has been compared on both bikes and my cage. The Spyder has also been verified via radar.

David

[Firefly]

The Spyder has the most accurate speedometer of any motorcycle I have owned. My speedometer shows 2 mph faster that what my GPS says my speed is. There is always the exception and yours might be it. Just check it against a GPS.

It gradually is further off the faster you go. Around 75 mph you're actually going 72 mph according to GPS (and my Vector II computer).

I've found that on my recent trip when the guys were not at 1,000 miles--- I was over.

If you figure the Spyder is 3~4% off on the speed then this would account for 30-40 miles different at the 1,000 mile mark.

Every Spyder I've seen has been high like this on the MPH--- which doesn't jive with what the original poster is saying. If anything your riding buddies should be asking why you're going so SLOW when you're doing 55.

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As far as the 130+ mph Spyder--- yes-- it's perfectly capable of it. I took mine up to 128 (take off 4% and that's 124.8) and there was more to go but I ran outta road. I can't come anywhere near this with the CHAD installed--- about 115 is it.

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As far as the 75 mph @ 5500 rpms---- certainly that will depend on what gear you're in. You could easily still be in 3rd or 4th depending on what kind of ryding you're doing...

[j45p3r]

I find mine reads faster than I'm actually going. The other day one of those road side "you are going this fast" signs had me at 74 and I had 78 on the speedo.

[scudrunner]

Every vehicle I've owned read a little high. I believe they are designed this way to keep you below the speed limit.....or below the "grace zone" of the speed limit. My cage when locked at 70 reads 68 to 69 on the GPS. Don't remember off hand what my Spyder does, but I think it was about 2 miles high at 70.

[bikeguy]

The Spyder has the most accurate speedometer of any motorcycle I have owned. My speedometer shows 2 mph faster that what my GPS says my speed is. There is always the exception and yours might be it. Just check it against a GPS.

My RT also reads 2 mph fast compared to the GPS at 60, 70, 80, and 90 mph. I agree with Firefly that the discrepancy would normally increase as the speed increases but it just didn't. It was 2 mph fast across the board.

Cotton

[texasride]

hi i have 2010 rt the speedo reads about 4%low compared to the ditigatal one most speedo are + or - a few % so i use both and split the difference i have had the the speedo replace once and it got better i can live with it now i know where my speed.

[Dudley]

My RT also reads 2 mph fast compared to the GPS at 60, 70, 80, and 90 mph. I agree with Firefly that the discrepancy would normally increase as the speed increases but it just didn't. It was 2 mph fast across the board.

Cotton

Ditto for mine...not enough to concern me.

[bjt]

[QUOTE=Firefly;241240]It gradually is further off the faster you go. Around 75 mph you're actually going 72 mph according to GPS (and my Vector II computer).[QUOTE]


+1 Same on my Spyder. The faster I go, the greater the discrepancy.

[NancysToy]

It is surprising if your speedo is actually reading low...causing you to go faster than the speed you think you're doing. Almost all motorcycle speedometers are optimistic, reading faster than the actual speed. The Spyder is pretty close, with most being with 1-3 mph over at any posted speed limit. My RTS is slightly closer to actual than Nancy's RS. The Spyder speedos usually work out to read about 2-4% high. This could be, in part, due to the fact that speedos are calibrated using the tire's full diameter, yet the rolling diameter is actually less, due to tire compression. Just for comparison, the average BMW speedo reads 10-12% high. My ex-CHP bike is an exception, with its calibrated speedometer. That has thrown Nancy off sometimes, and she has asked why I was speeding. In reality, I was doing the speed limit, but her speedometer read higher.

I would check yours for accuracy. Difficult to do from highway mile markers, unless someone in a car times you, but a radar display or a friendly police officer might help. A gps is another way, but you need a flat, straight road. GPS readings are off when traveling uphill or on sharp curves. Taking an average is a good idea if comparing to a gps, too.

[Raptor]

It gradually is further off the faster you go. Around 75 mph you're actually going 72 mph according to GPS (and my Vector II computer).

I've found that on my recent trip when the guys were not at 1,000 miles--- I was over.

If you figure the Spyder is 3~4% off on the speed then this would account for 30-40 miles different at the 1,000 mile mark.

Every Spyder I've seen has been high like this on the MPH--- which doesn't jive with what the original poster is saying. If anything your riding buddies should be asking why you're going so SLOW when you're doing 55.

----------------

As far as the 130+ mph Spyder--- yes-- it's perfectly capable of it. I took mine up to 128 (take off 4% and that's 124.8) and there was more to go but I ran outta road. I can't come anywhere near this with the CHAD installed--- about 115 is it.

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As far as the 75 mph @ 5500 rpms---- certainly that will depend on what gear you're in. You could easily still be in 3rd or 4th depending on what kind of ryding you're doing...

I would concur with your assesment. I passed by one of those police planted "your speed is" things just the other day and I looked at the speed it said I was going (54) and I looked at my speedo and it was fluttering btween 55 and 56. When the roadside would blink it fluctuated as well by 1 MPH (54-55). now that to me is not too bad.

[NancysToy]

I would concur with your assesment. I passed by one of those police planted "your speed is" things just the other day and I looked at the speed it said I was going (54) and I looked at my speedo and it was fluttering btween 55 and 56. When the roadside would blink it fluctuated as well by 1 MPH (54-55). now that to me is not too bad.

Thank goodness you got an accurate one. I was all alone on the road the other day, and I got flashed a speed that was 10 mph over the limit...my speedo said I was doing the limit. I went around again, and same thing. I think they were trying to put the scare into folks, getting them to slow down for the suddenly reduced speed zone.

[SpyderWolf]

My speedometer consistently reads 2 mph faster than the GPS reading does, and you never walk away from me like that. When we get a chance I will hook the GPS up to your Spyder and you can take it for a spin to see what it says. If you were using your Throttle Meister and maintaining a steady speed, your dad may have had trouble keeping his throttle steady and maintaining distance. This is somewhat funny though, as he is usually the one doing the most speeding.

[boborgera]

Thank goodness you got an accurate one. I was all alone on the road the other day, and I got flashed a speed that was 10 mph over the limit...my speedo said I was doing the limit. I went around again, and same thing. I think they were trying to put the scare into folks, getting them to slow down for the suddenly reduced speed zone.

I know one of the guy's who sets them up in my town,

The SOP For those radar signs are, After they move the sign put a cop car there and give tickets to speeders.
But in reality they don't always do that.

[chuck58]

My Spydometer reads about 2 mph higher than my GPS at pretty much all speeds.

[smoothride]

Good day Sir,

when i hook up my gps the ready is always 10 km faster on the spyder.
i do beleive that my gps is right on as in my honda ridgeline it's right on!

[bone crusher]

I have been told that also, on many bikes I have owned. If you have a better way to maintain your throttle stability, you will most likely stay ahead. Look at your tachometer, you should be at 5500 for 75 mph.

That's EXACTLY the number for me too...5500 at 75mph...right on the dime!

[bone crusher]

My digital is 2 mph faster than the stick speedometer...my zumo 550 is generally a little slower (by 1 or 2 mph) than the digital (or roughly the same as the stick)...

I don't go by my Zumo as it's lagging...using a satellite to determine my speed is nice, but I'd rather go with something on the bike than bouncing the signal off the atmosphere and back...

I rely on the digital as it's the easiest to read...if it's off by a couple of MPH, I don't really care...good enough...

[NancysToy]

My digital is 2 mph faster than the stick speedometer...my zumo 550 is generally a little slower (by 1 or 2 mph) than the digital (or roughly the same as the stick)...

I don't go by my Zumo as it's lagging...using a satellite to determine my speed is nice, but I'd rather go with something on the bike than bouncing the signal off the atmosphere and back...

I rely on the digital as it's the easiest to read...if it's off by a couple of MPH, I don't really care...good enough...

Many people do not understand that the analog speedo on the Spyder is actually digitally driven. It does not have a cable, as do typical analog speedometers. It shares the same signal that the digital speedo uses. As such, they should read the same, except for minor calibration error and the error caused by the direction you are viewing from. The needle is higher than the scale, so reading from anything but directly in line with the needle will make it look a bit off. If you are right-eyed dominant, as the majority are, this effect will always be there.

I agree about the digital. It respond in "chunks" sometimes, but it is easier to read and follow than the analog speedometer, that only uses a bit over half the scale when set to "mph". Old folks with bifocals need all the help they can get.