Smith electric speedometers

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YING

YING

Pittsboro,NC
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Does anyone know why the new speedo does not go to the initial set-up?Needle goes around and lights work but nothing on the gauge registers other than the trip meter?Any help would be appreciated.
 
Torontonian said:
I gave up on mine.
I'll be asking for help with it at the N.Y. Rally next season.
Click to expand...
Hi There,
You make me afraid Gents, I just buy a Speedo and Tacho, both electronic from Smith, I will put it on the Sunburst in the coming weeks.
Do you use a GPS or a magneet speed sensor?
Regards
Yves
 
Yves, I run a magnet type sensor.

Read the instructions carefully and fully, and do so 2 or 3 times before embarking on the job, and refer to them step by step as you are doing the job.

It is a big and time consuming job, and you need a good stock of wiring materials and tools.

But if you take your time and follow the instructions properly you should be fine.

I’ve done it twice now, it’s a job I hate, but both times the end result has been perfect satisfaction and well worth the effort.
 
It's a PITA and you will probably use your entire stock of swear words (and possibly come up with some new ones) before it's done. BUT, FastEd is right, the gauges work well once the calibration (@^%X!!!) is complete. ;)
 
MexicoMike said:
It's a PITA and you will probably use your entire stock of swear words (and possibly come up with some new ones) before it's done. BUT, FastEd is right, the gauges work well once the calibration (@^%X!!!) is complete. ;)
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Agreed.
But bear in mind that if you calibrate using the tyre circumference measurement method then you will probably have to make a correcting adjustment in the light of experience using it on the road. They often seem to need adjustment and by different amounts ie they all calibrate differently.
 
Got mine pretty close, reading 5 or 6 high and to be honest I've lost the will to correct it. I guess reading a little high is no bat thing. Both gauges work very well, and brings a smile to my face every time I see them go through their techy boot up every time I turn it on.
They do mist up a bit in the damp though.
Terry
 
Hi There
At this moment I have a Motogadged electronic tacho with needle and a small window with the digits for the speed, the problem is that the digits are way to small to be read.
The speed sensor from Motogadged is a singel magneet on one of the bolts holding the rear disk, so, I hope that I can use this sensor with the Smiths??
The good thing with the Motogadget: In the instruction manual you find a tabel with all the different tires sizes and the coresponding diameter.
The main reason for changing the Motogadged for two Smiths is the look, two Smiths are more vintage and you can read your speed.
Keep you posted
Yves
 
I have a bicycle-type speedometer that works on tyre circumference, 100% exact on straight roads.
But when riding in the mountains, and compare distances with my friend's satnavs, (GPS) we see a considerable difference in distance covered.
Reason: on twisty roads, a tyre based speedo is no longer correct, but exaggerates quite a bit.
( depending on lean angle..)
 
In the twisties I'd put my money on a well-calibrated mechanical/electronic speedo over GPS.

I often saw our boats GPS speed readout show 40 Knots while sitting in the slip on a windy day as the boat would shift in the water while tied to the dock. Heading did the same - all over the place.
 
Is the tachometer accurate? With standard Commando gearing and 4.10-19 tyres it's very close to 16 mph per 1000 rpm.
 
Myford said:
Got mine pretty close, reading 5 or 6 high and to be honest I've lost the will to correct it. I guess reading a little high is no bat thing. Both gauges work very well, and brings a smile to my face every time I see them go through their techy boot up every time I turn it on.
They do mist up a bit in the damp though.
Terry
Click to expand...
Mine misted up, and so I removed it and left it for several days (with the fitting for the wires unscrewed) in a sealed box with some silica gel sachets. Replaced on bike and probably a little better but still mists up, but clears after half an hour or so as it did before.
Only other disadvantage is that it is hard to read the mileage in bright sunlight, mist or no mist.
 
ludwig said:
I have a bicycle-type speedometer that works on tyre circumference, 100% exact on straight roads.
But when riding in the mountains, and compare distances with my friend's satnavs, (GPS) we see a considerable difference in distance covered.
Reason: on twisty roads, a tyre based speedo is no longer correct, but exaggerates quite a bit.
( depending on lean angle..)
Click to expand...
The original stock Smith's are circumference based as well, as they are gear driven off the wheel rotation. So, they would be prone to the same errors for lower tire profile and lean angle differences over distances.
 
ludwig said:
I have a bicycle-type speedometer that works on tyre circumference, 100% exact on straight roads.
But when riding in the mountains, and compare distances with my friend's satnavs, (GPS) we see a considerable difference in distance covered.
Reason: on twisty roads, a tyre based speedo is no longer correct, but exaggerates quite a bit.
( depending on lean angle..)
Click to expand...

The GPS under-reads speed and distance on any gradient, obviously.
 
GPS nav units can calculate elevation from ephemeris data off the satellite. We did that to correct distance calcs.
 
As long as you have 4 satellites you have a 3D position. Speed is a product of distance covered over time. So even if you were going vertically up the speedo should tell you by how fast. I think the only problem with GPS are tunnels and if riding around a war zone.
I personally would go GPS, but I like the wild gyrations of the mechanicals.
There are several constellations WAAS in the US, EGNOS in Europe, Russia, China have satellites and I think India is in the process. Depending on your EPU value your speed and distance should be very accurate (except tunnels through the Alps etc)
 
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