Speedo Error Correction?

[Critters]

However I can not begin to fathom how providing a driver accurate information puts Honda at risk. Honestly

Off topic I know but did someone in America not successfully sue McDonalds chain for burning themselves with a hot cup of coffee as there was no warning on the cup to say the contents were hot??

Its a sad world we live in now in that respect.

My old 1100 had a calibrated speedo, I liked having it but not fussed about my 1300 not being accurate, as I know its not I just use error to my advantage.

I know the tolerances for being reported for speeding so as long as the line is not crossed I am fine.

 

[devro]

Devro,
I know your adamantly opposed to spending $$$ to correct your speedo error... but what if there was a device, like a speedo-healer, but packed with more features???? Hmmmmm?
Would this be of interest to you?

Thanks,
Maybe.
Sounds like you have done a great job perfecting your project/product.

I just got back from a 600 mile two day ride with the fender bunny. I relocated my GPS to a position directly in front of the speedo.
There were a LOT of cops, more than I ever expected. When the radar detector went off it was pretty easy to see the big digital speed display on the GPS and slow accordingly.
And that's the only time I'm really interested in just how fast I'm going, when the cops show up!

Right now I need to focus $$ on hardware that will make the bike better for multiple high milage days. I'm sure you can relate to that.

I'll send a PM with my email addy.

Thanks.

 

[devro]

Off topic I know but did someone in America not successfully sue McDonalds chain for burning themselves with a hot cup of coffee as there was no warning on the cup to say the contents were hot??

Its a sad world we live in now in that respect.

My old 1100 had a calibrated speedo, I liked having it but not fussed about my 1300 not being accurate, as I know its not I just use error to my advantage.

I know the tolerances for being reported for speeding so as long as the line is not crossed I am fine.

So Brian, you a cop?
What kind of cop?
Where? Scotland?

What are the "tollerences" for speeding there?

Here in the USA the tollerances seem to be how much revenue the Judge needs and the ticket quota put on the cops. Has not a dam*ed thing to do with safety, it's all about the money.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

Off topic I know but did someone in America not successfully sue McDonalds chain for burning themselves with a hot cup of coffee as there was no warning on the cup to say the contents were hot??

Its a sad world we live in now in that respect.

I completely remember the story and disagree 100% with your analogy. In the McDonald's case the woman's claim was of "gross negligence" for selling coffee that was "unreasonably dangerous" and "defectively manufactured. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liebeck_v._McDonald's_Restaurants
I think the case was nuts on both parties. Why McDonald's was handing out coffee that was that hot seems insane in the first place. Second if you are dumb enough to put a boiling hot cup of liquid in your lap and remove the protective cap be ready for the consequences!

It would be 100% impossible for any person in the USA of suing Honda with similar claim if the spedo meter was simply providing the rider with an accurate reading of the riders speed. The is the sole purpose for it's existence. On top of that why does this seem to be exclusive to motorcycles. I have not ever hear of anyone driving a newer factory spec cage that has this problem.

 

[dduelin]

On top of that why does this seem to be exclusive to motorcycles. I have not ever hear of anyone driving a newer factory spec cage that has this problem.

I have owned a few Honda cars and 2 Acuras. Except for one the cars had speedos that were very close but my 1999 Odyessy van was off about 9% (slow - like the ST1300's). I took my complaint as far as a Honda regional service rep with no satisfaction. Honda's consistent position was that a speedometer is a gauge, not an instrument, and gauges can have up to 10% error before warranty replacement. The odometer was 2% slow ( The flip side - I got 102% of factory warranty!). I was not happy about the error but I got over it. I think what bothered me the most because it was a Honda and they normally sweat the little details.

If I recall there was a class action suit that Honda lost concerning late 90's Accords that had optimistic odometers that acted to shorten mileage recorded which reduced warranty coverage.

Where do you live that you get tickets for less than 10 off the posted limit?

 

[Critters]

disagree 100% with your analogy.

I appreciate that and accept your opinion but I did say I was off topic but you have to ask yourself.

Does Honda have the technology available to make a speedometer accurate? I think that would be yes they do.

my thoughts for are as previously posted and that is MY opinion.

 

[hojo70]

Doesn't bother me since I drive 5-10 over the limit regularly. At least my brain percieves it that way. I've come over hills more times than I care to recall to find a cop.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

I appreciate that and accept your opinion but I did say I was off topic but you have to ask yourself.

Does Honda have the technology available to make a speedometer accurate? I think that would be yes they do.

my thoughts for are as previously posted and that is MY opinion.

No worries I was just pointing out my opinion as to the flaw your logic. I agree 100% that Honda has the capability to produce an accurate speedometer. There are plenty of member that have the police version of our bike and say their speedometers are right on.

 

[BakerBoy]

...
If I recall there was a class action suit that Honda lost concerning late 90's Accords that had optimistic odometers that acted to shorten mileage recorded which reduced warranty coverage.
...

There used to be a post somewhere on this forum that described it, but the new search function doesn't work well enough [for me] to find it.

Here's a shortcut to the Honda settlement details:
http://www.autosafety.org/honda-odometer-settlement
http://www.odosettlementinfo.com/Vaughn Final FAQs.pdf
http://www.odosettlementinfo.com/Vaughn Final Mailed Notice.pdf

Honda had odometers clicking off the miles ~3.75% too fast. In the settlement, Honda agreed to extend warranty and reduce lease mileage rates of certain 2002 to 2006 Honda vehicles by 5% (for example, a 36k mile warranty became 37.8k miles).

The point that was conceded is that manufacturers can accurately measure miles.

Although not part of the suit, there's no reason the same accuracy can't be applied to speedometers. On my ST, the odometer is only a small fraction of a percent off (per GPS miles and those 5 mile test sections), yet the speedometer indicates 6% higher than actual. If I understand correctly, both mileage and speed are based on the same pulse signal--so if you reduce the signal so that the speedometer shows a reduction, you artificially reduce the rate that the odometer accumulates mileage. It is all in the electronics.

As an aside, if you google "odometer class action lawsuit" you'll see Subaru and Nissan are in the fray on similar odometer issues right now.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

If I understand correctly, both mileage and speed are based on the same pulse signal--so if you reduce the signal so that the speedometer shows a reduction, you artificially reduce the rate that the odometer accumulates mileage. It is all in the electronics.

I will have to report back after I get my spedo healer installed and tested. Should have it done in the next few weeks.

 

[dduelin]

I will have to report back after I get my spedo healer installed and tested. Should have it done in the next few weeks.

There is no doubt. When you correct the speedometer you will increase the odometer error as others have done in installing the Speedohealer. But you will have corrected the speedometer. I think everyone that has checked finds the odometer error is not the same as the speed. My speedo is off about 7% slow and the odometer is a bit less than 2% off - 100 odometer miles is about 98 GPS miles instead of the 100 mph indicated/93 mph actual relationship.

 

[Scooby-Doo]

There is no doubt. When you correct the speedometer you will increase the odometer error as others have done in installing the Speedohealer.

Ok Now I am curious how far out my odometer is. I am so anal when it comes to numbers it's not even funny. You would think being an artistic type that I would not even give this a second thought. However it really bugs me.

 

[Kevin_56]

Yep, my Speedo is spot on now, but my ODO is now 4% short. I do a 1.04 calculation to miles shown on bike to get actual mile driven to calculate my MPG figure. I have done several GPS comparisions to come up with the 4% error. I like the accurate speed readout, even though I am running a ZUMO 100% of the time, there is a lag till it reads my speed. Not speedo.

 

[pdfruth]

If I understand correctly, both mileage and speed are based on the same pulse signal--so if you reduce the signal so that the speedometer shows a reduction, you artificially reduce the rate that the odometer accumulates mileage. It is all in the electronics.

You are correct sir

Yep, my Speedo is spot on now, but my ODO is now 4% short. I do a 1.04 calculation to miles shown on bike to get actual mile driven to calculate my MPG figure. I have done several GPS comparisions to come up with the 4% error. I like the accurate speed readout, even though I am running a ZUMO 100% of the time, there is a lag till it reads my speed. Not speedo.

Ditto... My exact experience on my 2003.

 

[dduelin]

If I don't have the GPS on the bike I just subtract 5 mph from the indicated speed. It's easy to do and is accurate within 2 mph or so from 35 to 100 indicated mph. Above that is doesn't matter much.

LEO to rider "Do you know why I pulled you over? You were doing 100!" Rider says "Whew! I thought I was doing 107."

 

[okcst1300]

mine is 7 over so 70 on the spedo is 63

 

[dduelin]

mine is 7 over so 70 on the spedo is 63

70/63 is 9% over

7% over would be 100/93 or 70/65.1 (indicated/actual mph).

35/32.5
40/37.2
45/42
50/46.5
55/51
60/55.8
65/60.5
70/65.1
75/69.8
80/74.4
85/79
90/83.7
95/88.4
100/93
105/97.7
140/151

 

[dduelin]

Just remember that your satnav tells you the speed you were doing about 12 seconds ago..... not your accurate current speed, unless your speed is constant.

My current 1100 speedo is actually quite good, compared to one or two of the 1300's I have ridden with....

Garmin GPS units were updating about every second when they went from single channel multiplexing receivers to 8 or 12 channel receivers about 15 years ago. I don't know how fast they update now but it is at least 60 times a minute for my five year old 2730. The spec is in the owners manual.

 

[BakerBoy]

to Dave's point. My Garmin 550 lag is very very short. When I go from cracked to WOT, the speed numbers instantly rack up, and when I return to cracked throttle from WOT, the numbers are 'instantly' correct. Seems the delay is less than a second.

 

[pdfruth]

I had the pleasure of renting a Toyota Prius (NOT), whilst in KC this week.
You'd think that, with all that sophisticated electronic fuel consumption monitoring etc, they'd have an accurate speedo, right??? NOPE.
It was 2.8% optimistic (70 indicated = 68 actual).