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"1997 R1100RT is too slow"

2mikebike gets it...........the advice posted on the nuts and bolts has been great and never, on my part dismissed.

In the interests of keeping this from getting out hand, I have a speedo in hand. I am going to take the advice I have received and see how big a mess I can make this. photo.jpg

I'm a gonna mess this up but good but I think I will learn from it. FYI darrylri, we "have zero tolerance" towards speeding in Manitoba, BC, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick..............sure, go with it when you are following a speed limited commercial vehicle. It's the law after all and everybody obeys the law.

Now, I hear another brown soldier calling my name at a BBQ. I got the Salmon, they got the brews and somebody has the extras. If you didn't know, fresh Salmon is a rare treat on the prairies and everybody should include wild, Pacific Salmon as part of a heart healthy diet.

Oh, me bad, that should be in the "just ridding" section. Just as well, I need to check to see how much horsepower and fuel I use on my almost antique oilhead.

Stay tuned as I break this fine piece of German instrumentation, made in the same place as Lucas electrics.
 
I think we'll all be interested to see what you find out and how your speedo dissection goes. But I also think I speak for a lot of others when I say your slagging of other members work on this forum is not appreciated or warranted. I for one really don't give a crap about how many dead soldiers you quaff while you ride around with your buddies. Your life, your business. Maybe you should keep it that way. I know they have really no fooling speed limits in Manitoba. They have breathalyzers too? Just sayin.

For the record, some of us are _very_ interested to better understand the mysteries of the Motronic, possible improvements to fueling and other engine performance info. The 1100 series are great bikes but do have some downsides like surging and other minor rideability issues that get discussed here at length. If this stuff bugs you maybe the forum is not for you.
 
Obviously, my intention to make this string light hearted and simple has offended....

These are motorcycles we are talking about? Pretty tough to use them to earn a living and care for a family in my opinion, correction, humble opinion. It's a hobby? Maybe a reason to enjoy being on two wheels? A reason to hang out with like minded?

Look, for those that are offended, I apologize. Sincerely.

Really though, instead of trying to prove we are so smart, aren't we better off admitting that we aren't and allow for open, frank discussion? I know what I know and I also know that at my age, I've got a ways to go before I know it all. It took me over fifty years to realize that, slow learner that I might be. I am willing to bet, any given human being has different knowledge than I do and just because they don't share my knowledge, doesn't make them as dumb as a fence post.

If a digital-analog convertor is so interesting, I'll bet the dealer gets the vehicle you own that is multiplexed.

Now, if I could get a picture that shows clearly on the speedo/odo I took apart, the bell attached to the dial has been rubbing on it's guide because of two possible reasons: the screw was overtightened at the factory or the crimps on the guide plate are loose. Not sure how that makes the speedo go faster?

I also noticed that the plastic gears had no grease on them and are worn out. This speedo head has less than thirty thousand miles on it.

Looks like R100Rturbo and rdhudson have the best answer, pull the needle off and replace it to "closer" than it is.

As soon as I can get clear pictures, I'll post them.

In the mean time, I will try to refrain from offending the minority as after all, they speak for everyone.
 
Power drill suggestion

Try a power drill with a #2 Square drive to turn the speedo and see what it registers. Be careful to have the drill in the correct direction, found by a slow and judicious trial. Say it gives you an indicated 53. Remove the needle and try the adjustment and then run the drill again, say its now 50. You "corrected" 6 percent. Now you have a way to quickly readjust the needle w/o riding. When you think it's right-on strap the GPS on the tank, bars, whatever and get to the common speed limit and see how you did. This saves a bunch of time.
Best luck and we'd like to see the pics of the inside of the go gauge!
 
They're made in the same place as Lucas electrics??? Then where are the oil drips???

And speaking independently, I'm extremely difficult to offend, and I enjoy the levity :nyah and occasional deviations from the technical.
 
These are motorcycles we are talking about? Pretty tough to use them to earn a living and care for a family in my opinion, correction, humble opinion. It's a hobby? Maybe a reason to enjoy being on two wheels? A reason to hang out with like minded?

Look, for those that are offended, I apologize. Sincerely.

Really though, instead of trying to prove we are so smart, aren't we better off admitting that we aren't and allow for open, frank discussion? I know what I know and I also know that at my age, I've got a ways to go before I know it all. It took me over fifty years to realize that, slow learner that I might be. I am willing to bet, any given human being has different knowledge than I do and just because they don't share my knowledge, doesn't make them as dumb as a fence post.

If a digital-analog convertor is so interesting, I'll bet the dealer gets the vehicle you own that is multiplexed.

Now, if I could get a picture that shows clearly on the speedo/odo I took apart, the bell attached to the dial has been rubbing on it's guide because of two possible reasons: the screw was overtightened at the factory or the crimps on the guide plate are loose. Not sure how that makes the speedo go faster?

I also noticed that the plastic gears had no grease on them and are worn out. This speedo head has less than thirty thousand miles on it.

Looks like R100Rturbo and rdhudson have the best answer, pull the needle off and replace it to "closer" than it is.

As soon as I can get clear pictures, I'll post them.

In the mean time, I will try to refrain from offending the minority as after all, they speak for everyone.

My Grandmother used to say "Talk is cheap, it takes money to buy Whiskey" - doesn't really apply here but I find it entertaining and helps diffuse potential forum site stress.
For what its worth, my method to compare bike speedo with my son beside me in a vehicle - that vehicle speedo accuracy had been confirmed to an acceptable level so I allowed that type of dumb ass procedure to carry forth. Hence the corrective value I chose had a pretty reasonable potential for success. I had taken mine fully apart earlier due to a bouncing needle (classic preamble to cable failure which wasn't bad) and changed out the upper gear set which had ever so slight, almost invisible gear tooth wear. That may have developed by reason of general lack of lubrication (not sure of a recommended maintenance lube schedule for those little internals) but things were quite dry and I added some lubriplate to sweeten things up.
Lorne
 
I couldn't get the speedo head to leak oil, only blood. When I was taking it apart and let the smoke out of it, I hear a voice," Blimey mate, let's screw with those square head bastards. They bombed my grams sixty years ago. Let's bugger every odd one, take many a fort-night to figure it out."


Because the beauty ring was rolled on pretty tight, I figured the easiest way to unroll was to use a screwdriver as a can opener. I'm sure there is a better way. I got the re-assembly part already figured out, I'm giving it to someone else.

Inside looked at lot like my '67 Ford pick-up truck head. It didn't bleed so much when I took it apart many years ago. I really noticed the lack of any lube, as has been pointed out, pretty dry.

I also noticed an itsy-bitsy, tiny weight in the bell. I'm was thinking of screwing with that before I took the simple and obvious route.
 

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I couldn't get the speedo head to leak oil, only blood. When I was taking it apart and let the smoke out of it, I hear a voice," Blimey mate, let's screw with those square head bastards. They bombed my grams sixty years ago. Let's bugger every odd one, take many a fort-night to figure it out."

You're pretty funny - for a guy from Manitoba. :laugh
 
All bikes use the same speedo?

My R 1150 R has a 17 inch front wheel and the GS can be a 19 or 21, right? The speedo pickup is on the front, so would they not have to have different speedos? Does this bike have the original speedo?
 
My R 1150 R has a 17 inch front wheel and the GS can be a 19 or 21, right? The speedo pickup is on the front, so would they not have to have different speedos? Does this bike have the original speedo?

not sure about the internal differences, but the speedo part numbers are completely different between R and GS models.
airhead speedos were all indexed to specific rear end gear ratios.
 
Not trying to make this string extend forever.............

You're pretty funny - for a guy from Manitoba. :laugh

Funny, except I grew up in Maple Ridge..................Albeit, I was born in Alberta. Then again, if you don't have a sense of humor living on the prairies, you could turn into one of those Salt Spring Island people pretty quick.

So I tried screwing with the little weight inside the bell and quickly determined that it was the same as trying to find penguins in the Arctic. Next came the springy doo dad and realized that any tool I own is way too big for that little arm.

I had an old cable with a square end on it. I might be a bit of a hoarder when it comes to keeping crap in my shop. I did a major clean up once and when I was putting stuff in my truck, I realized I had good stuff. I did get almost two bucks at scrap metal. Now, where did I put that bracket for the clutch on a Fargo truck?

Sorry, "squirrel"............Oh yeah, my story...........I took the square drive and chucked it up and spun the speedo. Full speed and I made a little paint mark and figured I would just adjust it back a little. I had it figured out and I was feeling a bit like the "rain man" and found myself saying, "K-Mart sucks" repeatedly. It sort of was a very nice feeling to realize that the best solution is the simplest. I proceeded to try to pull off the needle. I tried again. At this point my neighbor came over to complain that I hadn't painted our mutual fence as I had promised. I asked him to pull the needle off as he is a bit younger and his hands don't look like old mechanic's hands.

Well, they can't build computers and love their new Prince a bit too much if you ask me but damn, they can press a little needle onto a bitty shaft.

My other neighbor hears some pretty harsh, ear bleeding words between the two us and volunteers that he is an Avionics guy. Quick Google to find out what Avionics meant and he's my new best friend almost. "No Problem" he says. "What is this?" he asks. I explain the story and let him read this string. He quickly pointed out that it is inherently a poor design and not very accurate. He tried pulling the needle off.................

Now, he is coming back with a pitot tube and air speed indicator for me to install on my buddies bike. I am going to end my comments by saying I need to go now and Google "pitot tube".

You're never too old to learn something stupid.
 
My unimplemented solution - piss on it, modernize and make room for a GPS. I must say that the UK built speedo in the oilhead is a fine POS. I have one in my bike which is inaccurate and no longer resets properly. I have another with a damaged bezel which I disassembled to see what it would take to fix the first one. I found that disassembly is a treat and that getting the gear shafts out to fix the trip odo is challenging since everything is staked in place. I have decided to leave it alone 'til I feel ambitious. At that point a Trail Tech Vapor will replace both the speedo and tach, leaving room for a GPS hard wired in next to it. Someday...

http://www.trailtech.net/75-704.html

Have your friend start wearing a Go Pro after you "fix" his bike. I really want to see the look on the officer's face when the conversation about air speed and the impact of tailwinds on radar accuracy starts.
 
Antique "Motor" manual suggestions:

I am a bit of an antique service manual collector. Oh crap, that makes me sound like I wear black socks with my Birkie's and a Tilley hat with pleated shorts and a pressed short sleeve dress shirt.

If you are familiar with "Motor" manuals, they were the teaching standard for mechanics back before WWII. Neat stuff in them and some of the absolute wildest mechanisms and basic fundamentals. The kind of stuff that we forget and as to how stuff got more sophisticated. Well, I came across a description of how the speedo works and I might be paraphrasing a bit. The description goes something like this, "a fine piece of crap....can't be accurate....designed by angry people that want the rest of the planet to suffer." It wasn't exactly like that but reading between the lines, a pretty accurate description.

I looked at rxcrider's comments and came back with a brilliant suggestion, "piss on it". The other gadget mentioned looked pretty promising too. I could use it on a basket case I have that I can't find a speedo for.

Thank you for the weigh-ins. You proved these forums don't have to be heavy or complicated and some fun is allowed. I'm off to post on winguyd's string that rxcrider posted and ask the obvious question; "really, you want another what mpg?" I'll refrain from asking him if he missed the boat entirely and forgot it's about the riding. Maybe I will ask him to read this string and he will get that accuracy on a Beemer is marketing gone wild. Or maybe I will go with just, "piss on it".

At risk of offending a ton of people by posting in the wrong forum section, I need parts for a South Bend 9. I couldn't find that section here..............Have fun, ride often, ride safe and ride by example. Snow could be just two months away.............:doh
 
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