Speedometer not reading correctly

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Pink Scooter Girl
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Speedometer not reading correctly

Post by Pink Scooter Girl »

My 50cc genuine buddy speedometer is not reading correctly. It's about 5mph slower than what the reading is. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to fix this. Thanks in advance.
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eggsalad
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Post by eggsalad »

All Buddys (and probably all Genuine scooters) have this problem. There are already countless threads on this forum about this issue.

To sum up all of those threads, there really isn't a viable way to fix this. You can either just subtract 5mph (give or take) in your head from what you read on your speedo, or put some stickers on the speedometer face with correct numbers.
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Guff
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Post by Guff »

I've noticed all my scoot speedometers (Genuine, RA, Vespa) are about 10% optimistic.
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Dooglas
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Post by Dooglas »

Guff wrote:I've noticed all my scoot speedometers (Genuine, RA, Vespa) are about 10% optimistic.
Ditto!
MYSCTR
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SCOOTER HELP: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Post by MYSCTR »

To ride close to the speed limit we would suggest you ride 5 mph over yet in this area to not get run over, we generally ride close to 10 mph over the posted speed limit and with over 80,000 miles (for three riders) we have never been in accident or had a speeding ticket. Cheers!

Check out the answer from Genuine on their FAQ page:

ACCORDING TO MY GPS, YOUR SPEEDOMETER SAYS I'M GOING FASTER THAN I REALLY AM. IS THAT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY?

Practically all scooter and motorcycle manufactures calibrate their speedometers to read optimistically. This is because several safety studies conducted by the motorcycle industry proved that if the speedometer read slightly fast, accidents are dramatically reduced. People also have found that their fuel economy goes up because they are traveling at slightly slower speeds, and they are less likely to get tickets for speeding.

http://www.genuinescooters.com/genuine_faqs.html
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JettaKnight
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Re: SCOOTER HELP: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Post by JettaKnight »

Practically all scooter and motorcycle manufactures calibrate their speedometers to read optimistically. This is because several safety studies conducted by the motorcycle industry proved that if the speedometer read slightly fast, accidents are dramatically reduced. People also have found that their fuel economy goes up because they are traveling at slightly slower speeds, and they are less likely to get tickets for speeding.

http://www.genuinescooters.com/genuine_faqs.html
In other words, "you can't be trusted with the truth, so we intentionally lie to you."


For me, that needle and number never actually dictate my speed - traffic and road conditions do. YMMV.
JJScoot
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Re: Speedometer not reading correctly

Post by JJScoot »

Pink Scooter Girl wrote:My 50cc genuine buddy speedometer is not reading correctly. It's about 5mph slower than what the reading is. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to fix this. Thanks in advance.
Just download a GPS app and you will have the correct speed on your phone. X ram mount and you're good.
Alzero
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Post by Alzero »

Put a larger diameter tire on the front, it will also slightly increase trail and add to stability.
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BuddyRaton
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Post by BuddyRaton »

Welcome to the world of PTW vehicles. I think it annoys everyone at first, probably me too but I don't remember, but that's the way it is.

Almost all speedos are off by about 10% or so. For me I just knock off the 10% in my head.

Honestly though I generally don't care what it says anyway. I ride with traffic or close to posted...all the time...almost all the time...most of the time...sometimes...ok maybe not on the Dragster.
"Things fall apart - it's scientific" - David Byrne
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'06 Cream Buddy 125, 11 Blur 220, 13 BMW C 650 GT, 68 Vespa SS180, 64 Vespa GS MK II, 65 Lambretta TV 175, 67 Vespa GT, 64 Vespa 150 VBB 64 Vespa GL
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