speedo inacuracy [Archive] - Kawasaki Versys Forum

: speedo inacuracy


Vs.
05-07-2008, 11:33 AM
I noticed that my speedo is off when compared to my GPS. I saw a previous post that people had changed there sprockets and it made it better. Is there another way to fix this problem and keep the bike in the stock set-up. The "problem" gets worse at higher speeds.

Bear on a bicycle
05-07-2008, 03:48 PM
This is common with many bikes. As far as fixing it, the sprocket method is probably the cheapest, other than just relying on your GPS.

dstarman
05-08-2008, 06:03 PM
Vs,

Simple fix---slow down!

Clue---If you're going faster than the satellite signal can reach your gps chances are you're going way too fast. :D

Brock
05-10-2008, 06:26 AM
How does the odometer reading compare to the GPS distance? It seems that if the speedo is off, then the odometer reading may be off as well.

Vs.
05-12-2008, 08:52 PM
I tested the odometer against the GPS yesterday and found that after a 64kms round trip both the GPS and bike's odometer said 64km

thecreeper77
05-15-2008, 01:02 PM
Has anyone brought this to the attention to Kawasaki? This is a potentially dangerous problem. Not to mention any unnecessary speeding tickets.

yoyo
05-15-2008, 03:29 PM
Has anyone brought this to the attention to Kawasaki? This is a potentially dangerous problem. Not to mention any unnecessary speeding tickets.

Almost every vehicle speedometer has a small variation,, IE they are not all accurate. whether its a potentially dangerous problem or not depends on the level of inacurracy, but a stock speedo, digital or cable will be a % off a true reading.
If its more than 5% scoot the bike back to the dealer,,,,

Thunderbox
05-15-2008, 04:55 PM
It's not dangerous at all. The speedometers are reading higher than actual speed. That means you are really going slower than you think you are. If you want to know how fast you are really going you need a radar to test your speed. GPS will be very acurate but not bang on because it only has an acuracy of X number of metres which will show as error.

If you lived in Saskatoon I would bring our radar tester out and we could test it. I could even issue you a certificate that is legal for court purposes in this province.

stargazer
06-29-2008, 12:10 PM
I purchased and installed the SpeedoHealer for my V. Installation was easy. The SH harness connects behind the left side plastic trim piece that covers the frame members. Taking the trim piece off made it easier. I installed the SH electronic unit under the seat - it is velcro'ed (vertically) to the right side seat latch bracket. Routing the wire was easy enough and I didn't need to loosen the tank. I didn't install the harness for the top speed memory - just isn't a feature that matters to me. I used the 65 indicated, 60.8 actual that a member on this forum had found in a review for the calibration value (-06.5). I will check sometime when I pass a radar speed indicator or can borrow a GPS unit that shows speed. My backpacking GPS doesn't show speed. Entering the calibration value is easy enough. The difference is easily noticeable. This is a good product.

hacktracker
06-30-2008, 09:54 AM
FYI, from the factory, the odometer is accurate and the speedometer reads high. So, if you set the speedometer to read accurately via a SpeedoHealer, the miles will show as less than actual. While not enough to materially affect service intervals, it might mess up you MPG calculations.

stargazer
07-01-2008, 05:22 PM
If I apply the calibration factor to the indicated miles I should get the actual, shouldn't I? For example, I'm using -6.5% so wouldn't I multiply indicated miles by 1.065 to get the actual miles?

Bear on a bicycle
07-01-2008, 05:26 PM
Yes.