speedometer accuracy

dcedce · Post by **dcedce** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 8:54 pm

Buddy 125 owner new to the forum here. I'm extremely happy with the Buddy -- it gets me back and forth to work every day in style. But I do have two small issues/concerns/complaints -- one is with the seat latch (which I'm going to ask about in another post) and the other is with the speedometer.

I've read and heard that speedometers on the Buddy and other scooters are often "generous," exaggerating the bike's actual speed. I haven't tested my Buddy's speedometer with any accuracy (with a GPS or something) but my loosey goosey test ride beside my wife's car confirms that my speedometer reads about 5mph over my actual speed. Has anyone else looked into this? And, assuming this is a common problem, does anyone know why? Do motorcycles have similar issues?

Shellee · Post by **Shellee** » Mon Jul 24, 2006 10:03 pm

Yup, it's common. From what I've heard and read, most brands of scooters have a similar type of optimistic reading. I don't know if I would consider it a problem. I can understand why it's done. When I ride, I mentally deduct a few miles from the reading on my speedo to try to gauge my actual speed. I think many motorcycle makers do this as well, not just scooters. I've heard it's also done in the automobile industry.

BoneGirl · Post by **BoneGirl** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 12:41 am

Hi! We have used a GPS and the Buddies read 5 mph over your actual speed.

As far as the latch, I just had my scooter in the shop for the 500 mile Warranty work and mentioned it to the mechanic. He lubed it with WD40 and now it works great! I may have to do that every once in awhile but that's OK for now.

golfingirl · Post by **golfingirl** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 8:51 pm

I need some clarification on the speedometer issue. So, it reads 5 mph over when it's at max speed or always? I am new to scootering and want to ensure I am keeping up with the speed limit. Shall I increase my speed 5 mph in a 30 zone for example.

Thanks. Everyone's input is much valued for a scooter virgin such as myself.

dcedce · Post by **dcedce** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 3:06 am

from a post on another forum...

My wife and I took a trip (her in our car, me on the buddy) to gauge
the speeds according to the speedometer and actual top speed.

Here's what we found:

Buddy says ??mph - Actual Speed
30 - 28
35 - 31
40 - 36
45 - 40
50 - 45
55 - 49
60 - 53
65 - 59
That was the top speed I could reach. No modifications made to the bike.

So the question still remains -- why are these speedometers so inaccurate?

golfingirl · Post by **golfingirl** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 4:07 am

Thanks. That is very helpful... assuming that's fairly accurate!

Cheers,

b0gman · Post by **b0gman** » Wed Jul 26, 2006 5:06 am

mine reads about the same its about 10% optomistic according to the police radar things that are set up around richmond

rick71454 · Post by **rick71454** » Sun Jun 02, 2013 7:37 pm

Hello dcedce:

Thank for your clarifcation and chart of your Buddy vs Actual speedometer readings. Mine Buddy 125 gives 20% or twice the gap over actual speed, such as 59 Buddy MPH when 50 Actual MPH.

This kind of thing makes me wonder why manufactures dont produce accurate speedometers.

And 50 Actual MPH is my top speed, which means to me, not all Buddys are created nearly equal in top speed capability, and or some of us needs to check our Buddys to find out if something is wrong.

I wished I had one of the faster ones like yours.

Rick71454

Post by **ericalm** » Sun Jun 02, 2013 11:34 pm

We have a FAQ for that!
topic10818.html#139168

The low down on scooter speedometer accuracy.

Tazio · Post by **Tazio** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 9:18 pm

That's why there are Buddy miles and real miles. You get much better gas milege using the Buddy miles.

CapnK · Post by **CapnK** » Mon Jun 03, 2013 10:51 pm

Tazio wrote:That's why there are Buddy miles and real miles. You get much better gas milege using the Buddy miles.

Hmm... maybe I can put some Buddy Gas into my Astro van and start getting Buddy Miles..

Tazio · Post by **Tazio** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 11:01 pm

I'd like some Buddy gas also. Anything has to be better than the watered down stuff they sell in the SSRK. I just ticked over 9000 Buddy miles today. That's 8100 real miles. By gps, my milege has been 104.4 mpg. Using Buddy miles I'm getting 116 mpg.

Syd · Post by **Syd** » Tue Jun 04, 2013 11:08 pm

Tazio, can you confirm that your odometer is also wrong by the same amount as the speedo? My understanding was that odometers were close, speedos not, both in part due to federal legislation. My old HD200 was just that - optomistic speedo, accurate odo.

I still think the shrinking diameter of the tire causing the difference in the speedo reading idea is all BS. I think the manufacturers are required to read fast, and as long as it's fast, how wrong it is isn't worth worrying about.

SonnyD · Post by **SonnyD** » Wed Jun 05, 2013 2:14 am

Yeah, I thought when I posted this question in a round about way, that the odometer was a separate drive, and was pretty darn accurate? Now I'm wondering again.... Bur I'm to nervous to ask again, lolol

Post by **ericalm** » Wed Jun 05, 2013 8:52 am

The odometer uses the same cable, but different gears/mechanism and should be fairly accurate. Certainly shouldn't have the degree of deviation that the speedometer has. Deviant speedos.

SonnyD · Post by **SonnyD** » Wed Jun 05, 2013 5:07 pm

ericalm wrote:The odometer uses the same cable, but different gears/mechanism and should be fairly accurate. Certainly shouldn't have the degree of deviation that the speedometer has. Deviant speedos.

Cool, that what I thought...I need to check mine with the GPS and some mile markers... I spent about 6 hours one day after installing a "speedo healer" calibrating it... for a Motorcycle I had, they even give the option to input tire wear+tire size and about 100 other things....Only good for digital meters though..

rick71454 · Post by **rick71454** » Wed Jun 05, 2013 6:12 pm

Hello Syd;BuddyLand:

Hey Sid........so funny in your post......

If one were to measure the circumference on their front tire where the speedometer sensor is.... with full tread........ then compare the circumference after the tire wore out to the cords, about 1/4 inch for some tires, one would find a higher speedometer reading, due to a smaller tire circumference and more RPM,,,,,,,,, compared to actual speed.

How much difference?.......
not enough that most people would care, that I can agree with you on.

My Buddy 125 is 20% too fast on the speedometer and
6% too high on the odometer.

Rick71454

Rusty Shackleford · Post by **Rusty Shackleford** » Wed Jun 05, 2013 7:01 pm

My speedometer 16.7% optimistic. Riding 5mph over in slow areas and 10mph over is fast areas has been the easiest way to deal with it. A taller front tire would help, but there's not much room. It's become an accepted (frustrating) reality.

Tazio · Post by **Tazio** » Wed Jun 05, 2013 9:44 pm

My odometer is high by 9.8% I never pay any attention to the speedometer. That's probably because I ignore it on my Porsche where it's not visible between 60 and 160 because of the steering wheel spoke.

SonnyD · Post by **SonnyD** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 2:03 am

Well that kind of sucks about the odometer.... I'm going to check mine if we ever have any decent weather for more then one day at a time!!!!!!!!

OldGuy · Post by **OldGuy** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 4:37 am

My RH50 speedometer bugged me also. I found I could adjust it (by repositioning the needle, then it would be accurate at a speed I chose. But still inaccurate above and below that speed. There is a trick to doing what I did, and I am not sure tampering with it is strictly legal, so I would rather not explain how. And I would rather you don't try it unless you know what to do. But I'll give you my much better solution.

I had a Trail Tech digital speedometer on one of my old dirt bikes. These are very accurate ((within about 1% if you set them up correctly). I highly recommend this. Mine is an older model; the current equivalent is the Endurance II. By the way, mine is 13 years old now and still works perfecty.

See:
http://www.trailtech.net/enduranceIIkits-adventure.html

These are about $80, and will take some (not difficult) work to install. I can't say for sure which "kit" is the most appropriate. Perhaps the Ruckus one? Mine was for a Honda XR250 but was easy to adapt to the Roughhouse. I did have to make one bracket to fasten the magnet sensor to the right fork. And the magnet is epoxied to the wheel rim. Works great.

Now I have an accurate speedometer, plus a clock, average speed, highest speed, trip time, and etc. And this sits higher than the stock speedometer so I don't have to glance down so far to see my speed.

I installed the unit above the disk brake resevoir, fastening it's clamp on the top screw behind my throttle assembly housing. The wire runs into the top plastic speedometer/handlebar housing, behind the front panel (behind the RH50 headlight) and down to the right front with the existing speedometer cable.

My magnet sensor is installed on a bracket I fab'd which attaches where the speedometer cable guide loop screws into the fork. I positioned the sensor near the wheel rim to sense the magnet.

The speedometer unit itself is easy to remove, like a bicycle speedo, and I store it in my pet carrier when parked.

A simple bicycle "computer" would do the same thing. Check your bike shop for choices and colors! I hope this helps someone!

weirdsong1 · Post by **weirdsong1** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 7:41 pm

The odometer is definitely optimistic. My ride to work is 7.3 miles on the buddy, and 6.4 in the car. GPS testing confirmed the mileage from the car. Oh well. I'm most bummed by the lesser gas mileage. My indicated 85 mpgs is more like 76 mpg.

JHScoot · Post by **JHScoot** » Thu Jun 06, 2013 8:08 pm

speedometer accuracy