Buddy Speedometer

andy · Post by **andy** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 11:03 pm

Yesterday I went for a 75 mile with my son who has a Honda cycle. He told me my speedometer was generally 5 miles faster than his. I thought I was going about 55 and he told me I was going 50. Has anyone else experienced this? What are others thoughts and experiences with the Buddy 125. Oh by the way I had a great ride. The Buddy was terrific

sunshinen · Post by **sunshinen** » Sun Apr 22, 2007 11:42 pm

That seems to be fairly common. See this thread.

Mine, however seems to be accurate, so for those who have not had yours tested by being followed, radar, or GPS, I wouldn't simply assume yours is indicating 5mph slower than indicated.

I've had 2 people follow me: one said I was going the speed indicated by the speedo and the other that I was going faster than indicated. It's not a GPS measurement, and there are lots of variables, but it's enough for me to feel confident that my actual speed is at least close to what is indicated.

gt1000 · Post by **gt1000** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:10 am

Most 2 wheelers have speedometer inaccuracy issues so a 5 mph difference is pretty insignificant. It's also quite possible that the speedo on the Honda is just as inaccurate as the Buddy's.

The old rule of thumb is that moto speedos are about 10% optimistic. How true this actually still is? I have no idea.

Post by **ericalm** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 4:46 am

gt1000 wrote:The old rule of thumb is that moto speedos are about 10% optimistic. How true this actually still is? I have no idea.

Testing with GPS and digital speedos shows that it's true, at least for most scoots and MCs. From what I've seen the Buddy tends to run 10-12% over but we'd have to get some repeated testing at various speeds to be sure.

As discussed elsewhere (see link above), this is pretty standard for 2-wheelers.

San Francisco · Post by **San Francisco** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 6:03 am

andy wrote:Yesterday I went for a 75 mile with my son who has a Honda cycle. He told me my speedometer was generally 5 miles faster than his. I thought I was going about 55 and he told me I was going 50. Has anyone else experienced this? What are others thoughts and experiences with the Buddy 125. Oh by the way I had a great ride. The Buddy was terrific

My $18k Ducati bikes, straight from the factory, indicate about 5 mph off
[faster] up to about 50 mph, then about 7 to 10 mph off from about
55 mph +.

As others have said, all motorcycles and scooters speedometers are
inaccurate, on average about 10%.

Tonight I was taking the Buddy on a test ride after installing the Stebel
horn. I got carried away on take off from a light. I was doing 55 mph in
a 35 mph zone. Passed an SFPD car who did not glance much at me.

Maybe I was only doing 45?

weaseltamer · Post by **weaseltamer** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 2:20 pm

San Francisco wrote:
Tonight I was taking the Buddy on a test ride after installing the Stebel
horn I got carried away on take off from a light. I was doing 55 mph in
a 35 mph zone. Passed an SFPD car who did not glance much at me.

Maybe I was only doing 45?

I live near the local university, so the cops are kindof always around watching for the local drag racers, i've never been stopped since september, i usually go 50 indicated, and the whole street is 35mph. at that speed i pass more cars than not.

MrNatural · Post by **MrNatural** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 2:07 pm

Next time I see a cop here in MPLS on a quiet day I'm going to ask him to clock me on the radar. I'll report back someday.

vitaminC · Post by **vitaminC** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 3:13 pm

andy wrote:Yesterday I went for a 75 mile with my son who has a Honda cycle. He told me my speedometer was generally 5 miles faster than his.

Amusingly, the speedos on both your rides are probably wrong!

As mentioned above, the speedos on two-wheelers are notoriously inaccurate. Beg/borrow/steal a GPS, or a have a friendly cop light you up with radar- that's about the only way you'll know your "true" speed, although I suppose you could calculate it out with RPM, tire size, and gear ratio (bit harder with the CVT).

jallen013 · Post by **jallen013** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 4:27 pm

MrNatural wrote:Next time I see a cop here in MPLS on a quiet day I'm going to ask him to clock me on the radar. I'll report back someday.

it seems like about once a month my local police department sets up one of those "your speed" trailers with the radar gun somewhere in my extended neighborhood. they're great for checking a speedometer.

KidDynomite · Post by **KidDynomite** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 4:32 pm

MrNatural wrote:Next time I see a cop here in MPLS on a quiet day I'm going to ask him to clock me on the radar. I'll report back someday.

Already did it long ago. I was going 40 and the cop said I was doing 33.

Thread is here....
viewtopic.php?t=372&highlight=radar

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 7:50 pm

jallen013 wrote:
MrNatural wrote:Next time I see a cop here in MPLS on a quiet day I'm going to ask him to clock me on the radar. I'll report back someday.
it seems like about once a month my local police department sets up one of those "your speed" trailers with the radar gun somewhere in my extended neighborhood. they're great for checking a speedometer.

Those things are woefully inaccurate: I was sitting at a light in a line of cars, no one moving at all, no traffic crossing the intersection. The "your speed" sign on the other side of the light kept registering a variety of speeds, from 15mph-22mph. Wind, maybe?

Tazio · Post by **Tazio** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 9:20 pm

I ride a bicycle past the speed indicators in Simi and 1000 Oaks fairly often and they are spot on with my GPS indicated speed on a Garmin Edge 305.

axiom007 · Post by **axiom007** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 9:45 pm

I used to live in Thousand Oaks, and I think the speed indicators and radars are far too accurate there(speeding tickets=5).

Post by **ericalm** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 10:25 pm

Maybe I got a faulty one? Or the police are trying to get people to slow down on that street by jacking up the MPH?

BlueMark · Post by **BlueMark** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 3:00 am

I would not assume that a traffic radar would accurately measure a Buddy's speed.

My guess is that a moving Buddy looks like a cloud of objects all moving at different speeds.

The body is plastic, the largest cross sectional body is the rider - who probably does a pretty good job of absorbing radar (people are made of 'stealth' material). The good radar reflecting metallic parts are down very low where road scatter interferes with an accurate reading, and if shot from the front or behind - which it almost certainly is - the predominant radar reflecting surface is the tire rim - which is moving at a whole bunch of different speeds relative to the road surface all at once.

Not that I'm saying you can speed with impunity.

Also there are new digital radars and laser speed detectors that will nail you in an instant.

-Mark

Tazio · Post by **Tazio** » Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:20 am

The one I like to trip is on Mulholland Highway coming down what our bicycle club calls Cardiac Arrest. The speed limit indicator only flashes your speed if you are exceeding the 45 mph limit. With our tandem I've hit over 50 mph on more than one occassion.

Because of the long wheelbase and resultant stability on the tandem, I'm more comfortable at 50 than I am on my single at 40.

Modern Buddy

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