[VTX Is Here]

Speedometer is 4-5 mi higher than actual speed
I checked this against Google maps speedometer and also Garmin nuvi speedometer on both my bikes I've had both sizes

 

[PaXman11]

Speedometer is 4-5 mi higher than actual speed
I checked this against Google maps speedometer and also Garmin nuvi speedometer on both my bikes I've had both sizes

ALL Honda speedo's are 5-8% off. Some of the older members have experimented with different tire sizes to correct the error. FWIW, my Darkside 205-65-16 is within 1-1.5 mph of actual.

 

[Beastie Boy]

The VTX 1300 differential on my 1800R put the speedo dead on. With the darkside 205/65/16 GYATT, there was almost no correction in speed. It was still about 8% off. Now I have to remember when riding it that the VTX is NOT off, and to keep close to the speed limit to avoid tickets.

 

[maddog22]

YOU CAN ADD A SPEEDO HEALER TO CORRECT THE SPEEDOMETER

 

[07Blackcherry]

Speedometer is 4-5 mi higher than actual speed
I checked this against Google maps speedometer and also Garmin nuvi speedometer on both my bikes I've had both sizes

your odometer is off, too! Not necessarily by the same %

 

[enduro]

Speedometer is 4-5 mi higher than actual speed...

It will actually be off by a percentage of your speed rather than a set number.

Stock tires had a speedohealer and programmed it at -10.0% putting it right on at all speeds with a gps on a straight road. Curious about the odo effect I did some detailed checking many years ago. Live on a dirt road and with a stick made a line on the edge every time the odometer clicked a tenth for a few cycles. Then went back and parked the bike at a line, walk to the next line and with electronic rangefinder distanced back to the bike (about 176yds). Average distance before the speedohealer was slightly less than +4%, so up to that point accumulated miles showed 4% more than there actually were. And gas mileage was actually 4% lower than it seemed. After the speedohealer I was at about -6% on the odo reclaiming those lost miles.

The +4% and the -6% make sense as there is only 1 wire with electronic pulses feeding the odo and speedo. Alter that signal frequency by -10.0% and they both change that amount. Honda (and others) designing it this way makes the bike "seem" faster and get better gas mileage, and makes for slightly more frequent service intervals. Federal law requires odos to be within a certain tolerance for resale documentation but no standards for speedo. My bmw K1200lt speedo is also off 10%, no aftermarket to correct it but changing a resistor gets it right, the odo is right on. That uses a separate signal for each so changing one does not affect the other.

 

[mildrider]

My wifes Yamaha Vstar is off the same 8% as my 09 VTX.

 

[mrwatcher1]

My vtx 1300 speed meter is about 5 mph slow, My wife was behind me one day, when we stopped, she asked me why I was driving so slow.
Also have seen my speed was off by a Radar speed sign.
So if the speed limit is 55,
I need to show 60 on my speed meter to go 55 ⛔

 

[mildrider]

Being off a percentage means the faster you go the bigger the difference is between your actual speed and what the speedo says. I just add 10 to what the speed limit sign says. I might be going a little fast but have never been stopped.

 

[mrbaumann1]

Like maddog said, add a speedo healer if it bothers you enough to spend the money. I added one to my VTX 1300C many years ago and its' still working fine.

Cheers, Caveman

 

[[email protected]]

All the bikes I've owned are always off. My 2006 VTX1800C2 shows on speedometer 80, and I'm actually doing 76. And I assume my odometer has more miles showing then the actual miles driven. So I think that makes it a 5% discrepancy.

 

[Knox703]

Speedometer is 4-5 mi higher than actual speed
I checked this against Google maps speedometer and also Garmin nuvi speedometer on both my bikes I've had both sizes

This was the same issue on my 05 Goldwing. Speedo and mileage were off from actual. Stock was a 60 series rear tire. I put a 70 series rear tire on and the speedo was accurate. There was a lot of speculation as to why Honda chose to do this, from lowering the bike height to attract more riders to increasing the interval of scheduled matinenenace because the mileage artificially increased.