TOPIC:

My speedometer is running 5 fast. Any suggestions on how to fix this? The front tire is stock size, but if i remember angular velocity from physics, that shouldn't matter with this type setup? it is real irritating to have to do arithmetic everytime i check my speed.

Help?

My 650 runs about 10% off as well (showing 10% faster than I am going). I've yet to come across a way to fix speedo error, but maybe someone else here knows how. I'm with you, it'd be nice to not have to convert in my head by 10%!

5mph off is probably as good as it gets. I think that the meters were originally set "optimistic" by Kaw, and they get worse (faster) with age. Z-Resto can refurb the meters, maybe they can recalibrate them too. Used to be a link to them on this site somewhere....

wheel size will change the error of your speedo. Angular Velocity only remains the same if the speed remains the same but by changing the wheel size means that the wheel has to make more rotations to cover the same amount of ground when you go at any given speed. so slapping a 10' wheel on your bike at 50mph its gonna look like your doing 30mph on the speedo. But as stated above 5mph is as good as it gets.

Post edited by: Makarth, at: 2007/05/22 15:41

The speedometers on the older KZs are magnetic. As they age, they tend to display faster than the bike is actually running. This problem can be fixed but the fix isn't all that simple.

The speedometers on an older BMW are also magnetic and this fella wrote a nice how-to to calibrate a magnetic speedometer. The bad news is that it seems like a lot of work for accuracy:

home.jtan.com/~joe/speedo.htm

every kz series bike I have ever seen is off by at least 5 to 10 mph, to me its not worth trying to fix

Neat stuff on the BMW speedo.. doesn't seem like that much work really.