Hello Guys, I just bought my brothers old DS1000 engined Multistrada. It's only done 7k since new in 2003 and it was still good for a 1215mile trip on a Britt Butt rally (done over 30hrs). While I had the GPS fitted it was apparent that the GPS speed and the Bike speedo were at odds. 70mph on the GPS was around 77mph on the bike. Has anyone else come across this and is there a fix. I fitted new tyres when I Mot'd it for the rally, but it was the same tyres as were already fitted. Any suggestions welcome. Thanks.
I did expect some error, but not as much as 10%. To be honest, if I didn't have the GPS fitted it would not have bothered me too much (ignorance is bliss). On some bikes you can calibrate it based on tyre circumference, that's why I asked. Thanks for the feedback anyway. Jack
10% is the legal limit for speedo accuracy, and they all over read. If you tried different makes of tyre and worn against new tyres then you might find that it is in the range of 7% to 10%. The handbook on my 848 even tells me that the speedo is designed to over read. Quote: "This function displays the motorcycle speed. The instrument panel receives actual speed value (expressed in km/h) from the ECU and displays the value increased by 8%."
I've used a device called a speedodrd on my Honda 250. It's basically a plug and play device that lets you make adjustments. I rode around with a GPS and did a calculation (they tell you how to do this) to make the speedo accurate. On the 12 o clock labs website it is available for mts 2003-2012 without abs or traction control. Not sure if it works for your bike.
Thanks gents, What Bob said sounds about right as the odometer was pretty close to the GPS trip after 1215 miles. Only a few miles different. I guess there will be a legal requirement to keep that a bit more accurate. I can live with it knowing what the difference is and and that it's not because anything is "wrong". When doing rally's in future I will use the GPS for speed and the bike odometer for distance. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
If do a marked 85 everywhere, that caters for the fact that your speedo is too high and the law also allows another 10%, in fact using this technique you could easily do around 100mph and still be within speeding ticket bracket rather than total ban.
Just be aware that ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) some months ago said that the 10% +2 is no longer a guideline that they support. It will now come down to the Traffic Officer to make a judgement based on what he sees. Unfortunately Speed Cameras don't have any inbuilt judgement!
If you happen to visit the continent, just be aware that most countries enforce a zero tolerance for speed. A mate complained that he was fined for doing 53 kmh in a 50 kmh limit, but he did admit that his speedo was showing 65+. No excuse then.
