sharpestjim
Member
This will probably seem like a stupid question, but I need to ask:
How do speedometers/odometers operate these days? Do bikes (4-wheeled vehicles, too) have a physical linkage - either mechanical or electronic - from the front wheel to the speedometer? Gee, Mister Spiccoli, I don't know.
I was riding my R1250RS last weekend and noticed that the bike's speedometer seemed to synch almost perfectly with the speed indicated on my Radenso detector which, of course, uses GPS. Do today's vehicles use GPS or do they still have something linking the front wheel to the speedometer? The RS has a wire running up from the left side of the hub, but it is not a cable like bikes once used. I suppose that it could be transmitting front wheel rotational speed to the instruments. I thought that this could be some sort of sensor for the ABS since the wire is tied to the left caliper hydraulic line. Back in the old days, my buddies and I would remove the speedometer cables from our bikes and put a goober of silicone in the sockets on the front hub and the bottom of the speedo to keep nasties out. I don't know if I can do this on my RS, even if I wanted to (I don't).
I was at the Mazda dealership yesterday with the wife's 2020 CX-5. I asked the service manager this same question and he said that autos (at least Mazdas) still use a physical linkage. I did not ask if it was mechanical or electronic.
How do speedometers/odometers operate these days? Do bikes (4-wheeled vehicles, too) have a physical linkage - either mechanical or electronic - from the front wheel to the speedometer? Gee, Mister Spiccoli, I don't know.
I was riding my R1250RS last weekend and noticed that the bike's speedometer seemed to synch almost perfectly with the speed indicated on my Radenso detector which, of course, uses GPS. Do today's vehicles use GPS or do they still have something linking the front wheel to the speedometer? The RS has a wire running up from the left side of the hub, but it is not a cable like bikes once used. I suppose that it could be transmitting front wheel rotational speed to the instruments. I thought that this could be some sort of sensor for the ABS since the wire is tied to the left caliper hydraulic line. Back in the old days, my buddies and I would remove the speedometer cables from our bikes and put a goober of silicone in the sockets on the front hub and the bottom of the speedo to keep nasties out. I don't know if I can do this on my RS, even if I wanted to (I don't).
I was at the Mazda dealership yesterday with the wife's 2020 CX-5. I asked the service manager this same question and he said that autos (at least Mazdas) still use a physical linkage. I did not ask if it was mechanical or electronic.