Odometer 'scale' question

[FoothillRyder]

I bought a non-CA bike and ran the odo up to the legal number using an electric motor connected to the speedo cable. I noticed while making that 'adjustment' that the number of 'miles' registered was high based on the speedo reading and the elapsed time.

Having just completed a rideabout of ~1000 miles I had many opportunities to capture data about this error, and I've concluded that my odometer is registering kilometers, not miles. Odo said 300 'units', GPS reported 191 miles.

My question is - does the Scrambler's odometer have any sort of switch or mechanism to change the 'scale'?

The speedo is almost dead-nuts on, reading 60mph when the GPS reports 59-ish.

TIA.

 

[Frank]

I have a 2009 Triumph Speedmaster and the Speedo is off quite a bit. I utilize a GPS when I'm riding and constantly compare the Speedo to the GPS. At 60mph on the Speedo the GPS shows 55mph and at 70mph on the Speedo the GPS shows 64 mph & at 80mph on the speedo the GPS shows 73mph.

 

[FoothillRyder]

Just to clarify...

My speedo is freakin' perfect. 60mph is 60mph (within a half mph).

It's the odometer that registers 1.6 'units' for every mile travelled.

 

[BlueJ]

My question is - does the Scrambler's odometer have any sort of switch or mechanism to change the 'scale'?

Nope. But I bet your GPS does, if you want those "units" to match. Sounds funky, with kms on the odo and miles on the speedo, but I guess it could happen.

 

[FoothillRyder]

Nope. But I bet your GPS does, if you want those "units" to match. Sounds funky, with kms on the odo and miles on the speedo, but I guess it could happen.

The speedo has both mph and kph scales.

It is possible that this particular bike was originally sold in Canada.

I have a 'spare' speedometer/odometer unit I could plug in; but it really makes no difference as I don't plan to sell the bike. Would be nice to know though.

 

[BlueJ]

It is possible that this particular bike was originally sold in Canada. .

You might be able to tell from a VIN decoder - try searching here and on the other forum - I remember seeing one but I don't recall where.

 

[wiseanhyzer]

Just to clarify...

My speedo is freakin' perfect. 60mph is 60mph (within a half mph).

It's the odometer that registers 1.6 'units' for every mile travelled.

Hmmmm. I don't have a GPS on my bike but I've always read that the Triumph speedometers read roughly 9% high, like Frank suggested above. If your speedo and your GPS "match" then that would be unusual. So maybe your speedo is off somehow.

 

[FoothillRyder]

Okay guys, the speedo is not the problem. The fact that my speedo and GPS match (within reason), and the speedo is NOT 9% off doesn't bother me at all. Could very well be that the new tire I installed is 9% larger in circumference than the OEM tire, which would correct an OEM error.

The problem (if it can be described as such) is that my odometer has a 50% error. Seems as though nobody has any ideas - other than my own idea that perhaps this is a Canadian bike reading correctly in kilometers.

So be it. :cheers:

 

[Skeeter]

what hes sayin is he travels 5 miles and it says he went 4 miles pre say

 

[wiseanhyzer]

what hes sayin is he travels 5 miles and it says he went 4 miles pre say

Yeah, I understand the odometer is in error. What I was suggesting is that the stock speedometer and the GPS should NOT read the same. That raises a red flag in my opinion. In conjunction with the odometer being off, the problem may not be a unit (km/mi) issue. However, the (possible) 9% speedo error and the 50% odometer error are not equal. So... :d

Okay guys, the speedo is not the problem. The fact that my speedo and GPS match (within reason), and the speedo is NOT 9% off doesn't bother me at all. Could very well be that the new tire I installed is 9% larger in circumference than the OEM tire, which would correct an OEM error.

That very well could be the case. Good point.

The problem (if it can be described as such) is that my odometer has a 50% error. Seems as though nobody has any ideas - other than my own idea that perhaps this is a Canadian bike reading correctly in kilometers.

So be it. :cheers:

Yeah, I really don't have any good ideas. I'm stumped. If you're bike is partly Canadian I'm sure it's enjoying the NHL playoffs.

 

[DIRK]

all the speedos will be off a bit. its the way all the factories do it.

 

[BlueJ]

I guess I'm missing the point here. Sounds like the OP has reported that his odo reads in kilometers. No surprise given that it was apparently originally sold in Canada. And that his speedo and gps agree better than those with stock tire sizes, which is explained by the larger tire, since those with stock tires find that the speedo overstates the speed, and a larger tire will reduce the stated speed. Again, no surprise.

Is the thread done yet?

 

[FoothillRyder]

I guess I'm missing the point here. Sounds like the OP has reported that his odo reads in kilometers. No surprise given that it was apparently originally sold in Canada. And that his speedo and gps agree better than those with stock tire sizes, which is explained by the larger tire, since those with stock tires find that the speedo overstates the speed, and a larger tire will reduce the stated speed. Again, no surprise.

Is the thread done yet?

Don't know yet about the Canada thing, it was just a possibility.

And I certainly hope so. :cheers: