tkyler Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 Anybody out there test their speedo? If so, what's you're percentage error? I'm looking at getting a speedo healer and curious as to how well they perform. The principle is sound enough. Now if you're one of those who actually believe you've ever been over 185 mph on your unmodified blackbird, then move on to another forum post! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartonmd Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 Anybody out there test their speedo? If so, what's you're percentage error? I'm looking at getting a speedo healer and curious as to how well they perform. The principle is sound enough. Now if you're one of those who actually believe you've ever been over 185 mph on your unmodified blackbird, then move on to another forum post! HAHA! About 8% is standard thought I believe... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exskibum Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 I put one on my '03 and now it seems to be pretty accurate if roadside radar displays are a reliable indicator. I didn't have the time to really check the true error between putting it on the day before TBME and the meet, so I estimated that my stock speedo was off by 7 %. Then, since I put a 46T rear sprocket on the bike, I figured that in (46/45) and figured I'd be between 9.3% and 9.4% off. Set the Speedo Healer to correct for 9.3% error, adn like I said: it seems to be right there at 55 mph. I probably should take the time to actually calibrate it, but it's nice knowing I'm a lot closer to accurate. Bad thing is that now the 40+ MPG gas mileage I thought I was getting turns out not to be so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartonmd Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 Bad thing is that now the 40+ MPG gas mileage I thought I was getting turns out not to be so. Factory ODO was right, but speedo was off... When adding the healer, the speedo will be right, but the ODO will read low... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beondwacko Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 Bad thing is that now the 40+ MPG gas mileage I thought I was getting turns out not to be so. Factory ODO was right, but speedo was off... When adding the healer, the speedo will be right, but the ODO will read low... Mike Mike, Are you sure of that? I never heard of a situation where if the spedo was off that the odometer was accurate. BTW,,,, since I went to the 47T rear sprocket,,,,, my speedo is was the hell off. Somewhere between 12-15 mph at 80ish. I'll have some of the guys pace me going to FUXXT this weekend to see how badly is really is off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartonmd Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 Mike, Are you sure of that? I never heard of a situation where if the spedo was off that the odometer was accurate. That's what everybody's said... Stock, right out of the box, the speedo is about 8% optomistic, and the ODO is spot-on... Since the ODO counts pulses from the VSS, then if you fix the speedo, the ODO will be pessimistic by 8%... I know it shows 80 miles round trip on my car to work, and only shows like 73-74 miles on the bike with the 18T front sprocket, which, incidently, makes the speedo spot-on. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shovelstrokeed Posted June 23, 2006 Share Posted June 23, 2006 I have stock gearing on mine and when compared to the GPS I am right at 8% off. Actually 7.78% but who is quibbling. 90 mph indicated, 83.5 mph GPS. I pay no attention to the stock speedo as the GPS gives me nice, accurate information. The nice thing is I am right at 5000 rpm at that speed and the 'bird seems to like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MileHi Posted June 23, 2006 Share Posted June 23, 2006 Factory ODO was right, but speedo was off... When adding the healer, the speedo will be right, but the ODO will read low... Mike Yuppers, funny how that works... My speedo is off by about 8% and the odo is spot on according to the GPS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobicus Posted June 23, 2006 Share Posted June 23, 2006 I've got the speedo healer, it's set at 7.5% correction, which still makes it read a tad fast. The ODO is off by about 4%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GadgetXX Posted June 23, 2006 Share Posted June 23, 2006 Factory ODO was right, but speedo was off... When adding the healer, the speedo will be right, but the ODO will read low... Mike Yuppers, funny how that works... My speedo is off by about 8% and the odo is spot on according to the GPS. Same results here, I used my GPS to check both the speedo and the ODO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99Birdman Posted June 23, 2006 Share Posted June 23, 2006 I've got the speedo healer, it's set at 7.5% correction, which still makes it read a tad fast. The ODO is off by about 4%. So, if I understand how the speedohealer works, if I've changed gearing and set the speedohealer to make the speedo acurate, the ODO will be off by approx. 4%. The gearing change will not have any effect because the speedohealere will change the number of pulses seen by both the speedo and ODO to the same as Rich experienced, Right? :icon_think: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartonmd Posted June 23, 2006 Share Posted June 23, 2006 I've got the speedo healer, it's set at 7.5% correction, which still makes it read a tad fast. The ODO is off by about 4%. So, if I understand how the speedohealer works, if I've changed gearing and set the speedohealer to make the speedo acurate, the ODO will be off by approx. 4%. The gearing change will not have any effect because the speedohealere will change the number of pulses seen by both the speedo and ODO to the same as Rich experienced, Right? :icon_think: yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcticflipper Posted June 23, 2006 Share Posted June 23, 2006 Mine was off on speed - 7.9% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X1rider Posted June 23, 2006 Share Posted June 23, 2006 What is VSS? :icon_think: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartonmd Posted June 23, 2006 Share Posted June 23, 2006 What is VSS? :icon_think: vehicle speed sensor... It's on the output of the transmission and it replaces the speedo cable from the front wheel on bikes of old.. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in PA Posted June 24, 2006 Share Posted June 24, 2006 Mike, Are you sure of that? I never heard of a situation where if the spedo was off that the odometer was accurate. That's what everybody's said... Stock, right out of the box, the speedo is about 8% optomistic, and the ODO is spot-on... Since the ODO counts pulses from the VSS, then if you fix the speedo, the ODO will be pessimistic by 8%... I know it shows 80 miles round trip on my car to work, and only shows like 73-74 miles on the bike with the 18T front sprocket, which, incidently, makes the speedo spot-on. Mike Exactly my experience. I now enjoy having my speed almost exactly right with the 18 tooth but now I'll get even less mileage out of tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXBIRD Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 Duriing the last trip, my GPS and ODO both showed 1879 miles home to home all the while speed was off about 8-9% between the two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbracerx Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 Any suggestions on a good place to source one of these? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99Birdman Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 Any suggestions on a good place to source one of these? Here is the one I have. I like the fact6 that it is "plug and play" (don't have to splice into any wires). Ahlman Speedo Healer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrganDonor Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 Mine's about 7% off. Of course, anytime I mention this Mark, he gets pissy, and insists that my GPS must be wrong. He doesn't grasp the concept of GPS. He insists that the mechanical speedo would be MUCH more accurate than my GPS, since GPS has a accuracy of only 6 to 8 feet, depending upon conditions. He's also thrilled that his 00 titbird is getting better mileage than my 97... forgetting the fact that I outweigh him by 110 pounds, and have more crap in my GIVIs when we are touring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jab13 Posted June 29, 2006 Share Posted June 29, 2006 Any suggestions on a good place to source one of these? I ordred mine from: http://www.amotostuff.com/thestore/speedohealer.html I enterd my error at 8% and the speedometer seems to be really close. I haven't had a chance to compare it to my GPS because all I have is a hand held and haven't taken it out with me. I liked the ease of installation and the highest speed replay feature. As mentioned above, my 40 MPG has gone now since it changed the odometer. The reason I noticed my speed was off was that I was checking mile markers on interstate and they were constantly over a mile apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runninn Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 It's good to know that lots of other birds are off too. Mine is optimistic around the 8-9 % range. Funny, I always use the mile markers on the interstate for judging speed. 60mph = EXACTLY 60 seconds per mile. (Slower than 60 seconds = speedo reading the % slower, etc.) It's really fun when the speed is faster than reported on the speedo...it has happened! I have been doing this for decades with Jeeps with oversized tires, various street bikes, etc. I will now use one of the mentioned methods for corrections...Curiously, my odo IS off too! (8-9 %...an exception to the rule). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RodeRash Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 Based on a 20 mile ride with a borrowed GPS (at a bunch of different speeds), and what has been posted online, I assumed an 8% speedometer error. I found it was not all that easy on a short ride with a GPS stuck by velcro to my tank bag to verify the speedometer to the GPS. After the ride, my odometer showed a 3% error, which was confirmed by boring rides on the interstate where I could check my mileage against mile markers. I decided to set my speedohealer at 6% as a compromise between the speedometer and the odometer. To my surprise, the 6% adjustment brought my speedometer almost dead on. This has been confirmed by a number of those side-of-the road radar trailers, and at least one LEO. My odometer is now 3% slow instead of 3% fast. My perceived fuel mileage has dropped by about 6% :icon_think: Duh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Bird Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 Why can't Honda get it accurate from the factory, or are all bike like this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sykotek-xx Posted September 15, 2006 Share Posted September 15, 2006 Personally I think Honda did it intentionally. Think about it. If the ODO is right, there shouled be absolutely no reason, especially on a digital dash, that the speedo would be wrong unless it was intentionally programmed that way. Every asian-born bike I have owned has had an optimistic speedo, and I have owned six so far. I've always thought it was for a psycological factor, to keep you moving a little slower. FWIW, every H-D that my dad has owned and I have ridden has been dead on. It's a mystery. Oddly, on my XX, the speedo is off by the typical 8-9%, however my odometer also reads high by just under 4%, according to my GPS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.