Recalibrate the speedo?

[Lassesand]

Is it possible to adjust the speedo? Mine is showing about 20 kph too little at normal speeds. I use a digital speedo (with a magnet attached to the front wheel). It works fine except when it's dark outside. No illumination included.

 

 

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[Lassesand]

oh, my bike is 1.st gen XVZ12 from 1984. Totally mechanical speedo.

 

 

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[MiCarl]

The needle just pushes onto the shaft so it can be adjusted to a different angle. To do it you need to remove the cluster and the speedo from the cluster so you can hold the back side while you spin the needle. Delicate work......

 

Is the odometer pretty accurate? If not you might have the wrong size tire, wrong speedometer drive etc.

 

If you do tackle the speedometer take some time to lubricate the input shaft and odometer gears. A drop of very light machine oil (clock or sewing machine oil) in the bearings of the speedometer shaft is also probably a good idea.

[Lassesand]

The odo is accurate. I have the correct rear tire. OK, I'll se if I can spin the needle a bit!

 

 

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[Venturous Randy]

The odo is accurate. I have the correct rear tire. OK, I'll se if I can spin the needle a bit!

 

 

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First, your speedo runs off your front wheel.

I did this on my 1st gen years ago and it is off 1 mph at 70 mph according to my GPS.

The way I did it was to determine how far it is off in distance from being right (and in your case we will say it is 1/4 inch too much counter clockwise). I then removed the speedo and lifted the needle over the stop pin. I moved the needle several times and let it come back to the natural point it would stop. Once I was comfortable with that point, I marked it on the face.

I then gently pulled the needle off with some curved needle nose pliers and repositioned the needle back on the pin the distance I first measured it being off( and in your case to be moved 1/4 inch clockwise). Again, I moved the needle and let it go back to its natural resting place to determine if it was where I wanted it. Once I was comfortable with where it was, I gently pecked the needle tighter. I then placed the needle on the correct side of the stop pin.

As MiCarl said, this is a good time to lube your speedo, especially the bearing in the bottom on the inside where the cable sticks in from the outside. You can use light oil, or as I have always done, some light grease that will migrate downward around the bearing as it is turning. I think I used a long thin screwdriver, with a dab of grease on the tip.

Anyway, this procedure worked good for me and if you have anymore questions, just ask.

RandyA

[spear]

My understanding is the speedo on the Second Gen is around 10% out of whack. Sit on 110km/hr indicated and you're only doing 100. This is true for my bike when I check it against my satnav.

I've also been told the reason Yamaha is no longer importing the Venture to Australia is because this variation is outside those allowed by our Australian Design Rules.

I've suggested a simple re-calibration (after all the speedo is a digital read out) but that seems too hard to do. I believe there has not been an import here since around 2011. I may be wrong.

[darthandy]

My understanding is the speedo on the Second Gen is around 10% out of whack. Sit on 110km/hr indicated and you're only doing 100. This is true for my bike when I check it against my satnav.

I've also been told the reason Yamaha is no longer importing the Venture to Australia is because this variation is outside those allowed by our Australian Design Rules.

I've suggested a simple re-calibration (after all the speedo is a digital read out) but that seems too hard to do. I believe there has not been an import here since around 2011. I may be wrong.

 

Actually, the variance in most motorcycle speedos can be anywhere from completely accurate to 10% off. My RSV is off by 8% according to my GPS while my Triumph is off by 6%. My buddy's Harley is dead on accurate but zero is always zero when you're not moving. :rotf::rotf:

 

As far as not importing the RSV - well, it's no longer being produced so it would be very difficult to import it. Or did they stop prior to this year?

 

Andy

[Lassesand]

I did move the needle slightly so no it shows the correct speed but only above 60kph. I can live with that.

[Lassesand]

Thanks Venturous!!

[saddlebum]

If your needle is off the same physical distance regardless of speed (for example 1/4") then it most likely the location of the needle on the spindle. But if the variance is a percentage and the variance increases/decreases with speed than the gear ratio of the drive in the front wheel is wrong or the tire is the wrong size.