[Gills]

I have noticed that the Speedometer on my '09 V-Star 950 is off by as much as 10 mph. At first I just figured everyone else was just driving way to fast, then I hooked up my GPS.

In my truck the GPS is maybe one or two mph off. On my bike it is off by up to 10 mph at highway speeds.

I peg my bike at 55mph on the highway and every single car on the road passes me. I crank it up to 65 and I hold even with the slow lane, thus solidifying my fears that my speedo is off.

Is there anything I can do to fix it, or just take it back to the dealer and make them?

 

[rexmitchell]

Speedo healers are an option. Almost all speedometers are off by 5-10% from the factory.

http://www.speedohealer.com/eng/faq.htm

 

[Gills]

Interesting. You would think that the speedo would be set correctly.

Thanks for the link.

 

[internationalballer]

I live in a small town so if I was worried about it I'd go up to a cop tell him whats up and ask him to clock me.

 

[rexmitchell]

Interesting. You would think that the speedo would be set correctly.

Thanks for the link.

At high speeds they are just inaccurate in general, thats why they set them a little fast so that you don't get pulled over for speeding when you think your not.

 

[YamahaFan]

At high speeds they are just inaccurate in general, thats why they set them a little fast so that you don't get pulled over for speeding when you think your not.

That's exactly why I don't get it fixed

 

[roadster]

Question is why aren't they accurate from the factory? Auto speedometer's are accurate. Now motorcyclist now can buy the speed-o-healer, if they have a device that corrects the speed then it should given in a recall. It is just plain stupid selling a defective speedometer with a machine that cost thousands of dollars.

 

[rexmitchell]

Question is why aren't they accurate from the factory? Auto speedometer's are accurate. Now motorcyclist now can buy the speed-o-healer, if they have a device that corrects the speed then it should given in a recall. It is just plain stupid selling a defective speedometer with a machine that cost thousands of dollars.

Its more inaccuracy in the sportbikes due to the speeds they reach....car, motorcycle or whatever, speedos are not accurate at high speeds, they are definitely not accurate at 100+ my speedo is off by about 3 MPH at 55, at 100 off by about 4-6 MPH.....And again, they favor in the positive side and not negative if it is going to be inaccurate.

 

[HarveyCreek]

What I find interesting it seems that all the guys I know who have Metric Cruisers have speedometers that report 10% to 15% fast, while the Harley Riders I know have bikes that report 0 to 3% fast. But I had an 60's Chevy that always reported 10% fast, though that might have been the 50 series wide profile tires.

 

[iamgumby]

Pretty common actually. Bandits are know to read about 10 MPH faster than real speed. The first time I saw this was on a RADAR warning sign at a construction site just outside of Ruidosa, NM. I believed I was "running at speed whicih might cause me to be selected for making a monetary contribution for the good of the State of NM; but the sign said, meh, probably not. Explains why a number of HPs have came after me! I've checked with GPS and this is about right. Saved my bacon more than once! I ain't gonna change it!

 

[Gills]

Question is why aren't they accurate from the factory? Auto speedometer's are accurate. Now motorcyclist now can buy the speed-o-healer, if they have a device that corrects the speed then it should given in a recall. It is just plain stupid selling a defective speedometer with a machine that cost thousands of dollars.

That's what I'm thinking.

I paid a lot of money for my bike and I would like it to work from head to toe. I'm going to take it back to the dealership and see what they can do.

 

[daw840]

I wondered this too. My friend and I went on a ride and after 25 miles, my odometer read 25 miles exactly and his read 24 miles exactly. This makes me think my bike has significantly less miles on it than indicated.

 

[Chuck289]

Manufacturers purposely make spedometers optimistic on both cars and bikes. Why? It's a liability thing. They don't wanna get sued. So they play it safe and have it read a little high. And yes i've seen on some vehicles as much as 10%.

 

[InfiniteMiles]

Be happy, my spedo only reads k/h!

I just ride with the flow of traffic. I'm going to find one of those signs that they set up in speed trap areas and clock my bike at different speeds.

 

[Gills]

I ran through two of those on todays ride. Both were off by 4mph at low speeds. I pretty much just have to live with it. Dealer said that there is nothing they can do. Oh well. Glad I am not the only one with this issue.

 

[roadster]

Odd, speedometers on our bikes are electronic speedometers and they have to be calibrated before they can be used so there has to be some way to recalibrate the speedometer to reflect a more accurate reading. I am guessing this is what the"speedometer healer" is based on. I am not an electronics tech but there are most likely some in the forum. Be a good way to make some extra cash, build a small simple device like the turn signal reminder buzzer to recalibrate a motorcycle speedometer.

 

[rexmitchell]

Odd, speedometers on our bikes are electronic speedometers and they have to be calibrated before they can be used so there has to be some way to recalibrate the speedometer to reflect a more accurate reading. I am guessing this is what the"speedometer healer" is based on. I am not an electronics tech but there are most likely some in the forum. Be a good way to make some extra cash, build a small simple device like the turn signal reminder buzzer to recalibrate a motorcycle speedometer.

Correct on the speedohealer....

Manufacturers purposely make spedometers optimistic on both cars and bikes. Why? It's a liability thing. They don't wanna get sued. So they play it safe and have it read a little high. And yes i've seen on some vehicles as much as 10%.

And correct again, it is somewhat based on liability.

 

[louturks]

My Virago is 4mph off. My Harley is accurate

 

[bcane98]

If I might add... it's like setting you clock 5 mins fast. Eventually you will forget about it and if you are 5 min late you will be on time... or maybe you set the wifes car clock 5 mins fast so you're not waiting in the rain for her to pick you up :| Perhaps you set you alarm 45 mins early cause you know it will take that long to get up.

Either way it's for your benefit especially when you look down and your speedo says 65, in the 55, and your actually doing 62 and the cop let's roll on by.

A friend of mine who worked for Toyota stated to me that manufacturers do this for a reason... they know people are going to speed, so they offset the speed by a couple mph (few kph) in our favor not the law's... As soon as you mess with your speedo, you might be putting yourself a little closer to donating to the next Law Enforcement Ball...

Just my 2¢ though... take it for what it's worth.

 

[ashinc]

I had a 92 yamaha seca II that did the same thing. I always looked at it as a good thing. Prevents speeding when you're alone on the road.