speedometer inacurate

[jimmy53]

i just noticed that my speedometers on both my bikes are off by four miles an hour if im doing 70 they say 66 miles an hour. i checked it with a gps and also a police speed device do they need to reprogram the computer our do you have to pull the speedometer to fix the problem. i realy did not notice this problem untill my wife and i went up to tenn. while on vacation. kind of werd that both bikes are the same as for one is a 05 and the other one an 08.have not called the honda stealer yet just thought i might get some feed back first .... thanks jimmy

[mbuesing]

All 2001 - 2010's are off about 7%.
The most common fix is to install a SpeedoHealer.

[jimmy53]

whats a speedohealer how does it work and where can i pick one up

[Red Ron]

Checked my '08 and it registers about 2.5 / 3 miles faster than it should according to GPS. This also means that the odometer is registering more miles than what it should which means the bike shows more miles than it should. This also means that you don't get as high on MPG as you would think.

I think most Honda bikes are this way. I had a VTX that registered 5 miles faster than GPS. I have heard it said that Honda did this for safety to make the rider think he is going faster than what he is but that just don't make sense to me. Anybody else know if this is true for other brand of bikes or why Hondas are like this?

[RexAubrey]

I have noticed that all speedometers are off by a little bit. this can be caused by under or over inflated tires, tire wear, wrong/different size tires than original even different brand tires of the same size may be just a little off and throw the speedo off, or just the speedo going out of calibration.

It is much easier to just except the difference rather than to try to recalibrate the speedo everytime you notice it is off again.

Rex

[Steve F]

I fixed my speedo error by going with a 70-series rear tire instead of a 60. Now it's within 2 mph of the GPS at 60 mph.

[dragon2000]

whats a speedohealer how does it work and where can i pick one up

I believe this is what you are looking for. Where I have the Garmin 550 GPS and can select speed, the difference between the Garmin & bike is +4 MPH higher on my GW.

One poster on the GWS website mentioned he put a Dunlop E3 70 size tire to correct his speedometer. It did correct his speedometer however noticed it changed the handling characteristics of the bike a lot. So much so he went back to the Dunlop E3 60 size.

I was also going to go with the 70 size tire to correct the speed. After reading the GWS post for the 70 size I didn't. That said, I am going to get the unit below and install it over the winter.

http://wingstuff.com/pgroup_detail/16_featured_gl1800_accessories/32234_healtech_speedohealer_v4_speedometer_correction/

[MikeB]

You have another option. However I find it odd that you say your indicated speed is lower than your actual speed. Every GL1800 I have heard of that has speedometer issues have higher indicated speeds. If your GL1800 was used when you bought it, perhaps it already has a speedometer corrector installed and it just needs to be calibrated. Look at the picture below to see where the Speed Sensor three wire connector is located:

My 03 GL1800 and a friends 06 GL1800 were both about 6.5 mph faster than actual GPS speed. I installed one of these units in each of your GL1800's. This simple plug & play device calibrates the speedometer to the correct reading plus or minus 0.1 %. This has a manufacturer's 3 yr limited warranty which is transferable .... simply contact 12oclocklabs http://www.12oclocklabs.com/p_sdrd.htm directly if there are any problems with the device.

12oclocklabs.jpg (9.26 KiB) Viewed 860 times

The connectors shown here are for reference only. The unit will come with 3 conductor Hitachi connectors and it is Plug & Play with full instructions.

This item is on Ebay for GL1800 01-10 Models. Item# 110770848966
$70.00, Free Shipping.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&vxp=mtr&item=160681114558

[rabbott5]

whats a speedohealer how does it work and where can i pick one up

I believe this is what you are looking for. Where I have the Garmin 550 GPS and can select speed, the difference between the Garmin & bike is +4 MPH higher on my GW.

One poster on the GWS website mentioned he put a Dunlop E3 70 size tire to correct his speedometer. It did correct his speedometer however noticed it changed the handling characteristics of the bike a lot. So much so he went back to the Dunlop E3 60 size.

I was also going to go with the 70 size tire to correct the speed. After reading the GWS post for the 70 size I didn't. That said, I am going to get the unit below and install it over the winter.

http://wingstuff.com/pgroup_detail/16_featured_gl1800_accessories/32234_healtech_speedohealer_v4_speedometer_correction/

While I am still new to the Goldwing this will be something I add to it. I already have the gps mounted, thats how I noticed how much the speedo is off. With my work schedule, its been a little while since I have ridden, but if I remember at 72mph the speedo reads 80. My Concours is less than half of that. With GL1500 tires on it, the speedo was perfect. I just hated the way the bike handled. So I live with the reading being a little off with it. 10% seems like a lot to me.

[ernest62]

I put a Speedohealer on my ST1300. It was easy to install and itworked great. It was also easy to adjust. I don't' think I'll bother putting one on my wing though. I ride with a group alot and I was the only one with the corrected speedo so when others thought we were speeding, I could see that we weren't even up to the speed limit. I found that frustrating.

[jimmy53]

thanks for the info will check out the devices and yes my bikes are 4 miles an hour faster than actl. miles an hour

[MikeB]

Its not really frustrating knowing that you are the only one in the group with a correct speedometer. The frustration is when no one else cares enough to do anything about their problem.

However, it is self satisfying to know that your equipment is working properly even if theirs is not.

[Steve F]

I put a Speedohealer on my ST1300. It was easy to install and itworked great. It was also easy to adjust. I don't' think I'll bother putting one on my wing though. I ride with a group alot and I was the only one with the corrected speedo so when others thought we were speeding, I could see that we weren't even up to the speed limit. I found that frustrating.

That's funny, because most of them I'd bet have GPS, and can see they have a speedo problem. I'd believe the GPS before the speedo.

[dayser7]

It seems that in deed most of the GW's show you are going faster than you are...I just figured out where the actual speed was mostly run by the tachometer which is right on even though the speedometer says 4 miles faster...also if you ever have your needle stick...tap the cover and it lets loose.

[DCBiker]

Hi, I have an 01 and did a lot of research on this issue. Most per-2010 bikes had the speedo 7.5% fast and the odometer 5% fast. A 70 series rear makes the speedometer right-on, and the odo 2.5% slow.

Honda got sued, and corrected the speedo for new bikes. HOWEVER the odometer is still 2.5% Fast!

Why wouldn't they correct both, and why did they do it in the first place? You're reallyI driving slower and going fewer miles, so your MPG looks great, so perhaps it's a sales thing.

Hope you enjoy your ride,

Rick

[dayser7]

Hey..thanks much...yes I find I need to run about 69 in order to go 65...used a stop watch:)..also noticed that it shows a few more miles than I actually go...your calculations match that perfectly...love the ride...thanks again

[Sally]

My son said they're made that way so old guys think their going faster than they are.. Makes them fell young... HA HA HA SALLY

[DCBiker]

Cruel, Sally, Cruel

[wayne ian]

All manufactures speedo's are out to some degree and the Federal gov allows a small percentage. Honda was fined in 2010 for being to far out. They did this to shorten warranty on their cars. They also lost a class action suit in Cal the same year. One would think they corrected the problem. As for me, I have never checked my GW speedo. I do know the speedo on my Ford E250 is out by 4-7% against my GPS. I have also noted my GPS will show 1 or 2 mph when I'm not moving, so it's not 100%.

[Techdude2000]

The 10s and 12s are corrected.

[2008retiredplb]

I have a 2009 and the speedometer is only 1 or 2 mph off at 65 mph. It does not have the speed-o-healer and has 60R tires.

But the 2001 I used to have was around 8% off. At 65 mph I was actually going about 60 mph. The only good thing was if you went by the speedo you will never get a speeding ticket.
I also changed the 2001 rear tire to the Elite-3 70R and it did correct the speedo but as some have commented, the bike does handle a little differently. Just took a little time to get used to. The other thing is, when you put the bike up on the center stand the 70R rear tire may still be on the ground, I used a 1/2 in board under the stand when I wanted to be able to spin the rear tire. Another reason I went to the E-3 70R tire was the load rating was higher. Now the E-3 60R has the higher rating.

I ride a lot with my brother that has a 2004 and his is the same as my 2001 was. Acording to the speedo's we were both doing the same speed.

[themainviking]

My portable GPS says my speedo is off by 4%, and I ride about 10% over the limit, so I just make it 14% over the limit and I feel like I am good to go. I do like to lead our pack though (or should I say our flock?? ), because others do not do as I do.

[DLCwing]

I am on my 3rd Goldwing and have always ran the next size larger tire on the rear to correct the speedometer. Have never noticed any difference in handling of the bike. I still go around curves in the mountains with one peg occasionally hitting the pavement. Handles good.

[ScottR]

The SpeedOHealer works extremely well with one caveat. While my Speedometer is now accurate, my odometer now reads 4% short. That is something I can live with.

[dayser7]

I just settled on knowing where the tac and speedometer are when I am at the right speed...just used my stop watch and figured it that way:)