Digital speedo's

Just wanted to get peoples opinion on digital speedos, I've never been a
great fan, but then I've never had any mode of transportation utilise one.
Are they a prick to keep your eye on your speed or is it not really a big
deal???

JM

 

In aus.motorcycles on Sat, 17 Jan 2004 18:24:27 +1000

Do you have trouble with an analogue one?

Are you someone who can't control the speed of the bike with ease, but
find it always hunting and speeding up?

If so, you won't like it.

If, on the other hand, you can keep the bike pretty steady and just need
it to check now and then, it's fine.

Zebee

 

I had the same feelings about digital speedos but now that I've
had a digital bicycle speedo on the bike I find that I use that
almost exclusively rather than the analogue one.

They're fine if you're not changing speed rapidly and if you are
it probably isn't the speedo you should be focussing on.

Besides, I've found that after getting used to a bike you can
pretty much tell what speed you're at without a speedo.

 

I'm the same; in fact I squint in the dark to try and see the digits on the
imperfectly-lit Sigma and forget that there's a fully illuminated analogue
speedo right alongside!
Clem

 

Mine is a digital speedo,i dont mind them,ofcourse its easy to speed but
keeping it at a constant speed isnt too hard.I prefer them and are much
easier to read especially at speed.
Tim GSXR6 03

 

when I put a Sigma BC800 on the last bike, my first ride I thought to my
self why did I bother, after the second ride I didnt look back.
they are IMHO a little strange at first, but just as easy to read once you
get use to them

mh

 

Then digital speedo's arnt for me....

 

Dunno about hand in your licence, but reading it on the internet
is no substitute for experience. I used to think digital speedos
would make the buying decision, but not now.

I suspect the LED tacho wouldn't be as bad as they seem. I've
never tried a bike with one but they've been used on race
cars for years. It'd be intersting to try one out for myself.

 

I don't have any problem with the one on the VFR. I think it's just what
you're use too. When I get a loan bike with an analogue speedo, it takes me
a few minutes to adjust, but no big deal.

Cheers,

Paul

 

I used to have a two-digit tacho on my Datto and it was totally useless
when you were accellerating cause it'd change so fast it'd just read 88!
Clem

 

I use a digital speedo on the pushy, while both the GS and the K have
analogue. Unless the digital readout is pretty large, I think you'll
find it harder to easily tell what speed you're doing - although when
you do see it, it will be more precise (eg 27.5 kph).

With the pushbike, I have to actually READ the numbers in order to know
what speed I'm going whereas, with the analogue speedos I can tell at a
quick glance where the needle is (straight up, or slightly to the left
of up, or at ninety degrees) to give me a fair idea of how fast I'm
going - albeit not precisely (eg 120 kph +/- 5 kph).

The downside of the analogue is that I've ridden the GS for far longer
than the K, and the needle sticking straight up on the GS is 100 kph,
while on the K it's 120 kph. I still instinctively look for that needle
sticking straight up at the 12 o'clock position. (which is why I've got
a better chance of getting a speeding ticket on the K than I do on the
GS (aside from horsepower etc)

---
Cheers

PeterC [aka MildThing]
'81 Suzuki GS450-s
'87 BMW K100RT

www.dmcsc.org.au

 

I love mine. Easy to read and great for chucking the vid cam on my bike and
breaking land speed records. My lovers got a vtr with a non-digital speedo
and ya cant even see the bloody thing nless ya really look at it.

 

Zebee said....

ZJ> If, on the other hand, you can keep the bike pretty steady and just need
ZJ> it to check now and then, it's fine.

I find it easier to quickly glance at a digital speedo, such as my cycle
computer, is easier than a longer glance at the analog speedo to check
the speed.

 

NickZX6R said....

Ni> Besides, I've found that after getting used to a bike you can
Ni> pretty much tell what speed you're at without a speedo.

Until you get that speed camera fine in the mail that alleges your speed
to be 10 km/h more than what you thought you were doing.

Or in my case, 4 km/h, which resulted in a $200 versus an expected $165
fine when I spotted the camera.....

 

GB said....

GB> Anyway, that's how the research reads. Digital instruments
GB> take longer for heads to interpret therefore they suck.

I can't say authoritatively one way or the other which is better. I work
in a control room environment where we have a mixture of analog and
digital instrumentation.

Mostly it's a combination of LED displays and meters, with a mixture of
trend/chart recorders, both paper based and LCD types.

I'd have to say, from my perspective, that a digital display conveys
info more quickly than an analog one, particularly one that isn't finely
calibrated.

On one of the LCD chart recorders, you can select the digital values on
or off in conjunction with the analog bar that the "pens" line up with.
I usually have them set to on, as I can quickly glance at the display to
see instantly what the reading is.

With gauges, often I have to work out how far past the major increment
the needle is to get a figure. Say, halfway between 530 and 540 degs C
on a temp gauge there is the 5 deg increment but the needle is to one
side of it. A digital readout tells me exactly what it is, without the
mental process of locating the needle's position, then lining it up with
the figures on the dial.

But that's me.

But as far as bike dashes go, I reckon that the combination of analog
tacho and digital speedo looks pox. But that's purely a style thing.
Then there's the Kawasaki thing with one singl round instro cluster with
an LCD "bar" type tacho surrounding a digital speedo readout...

 

Nah, I think it's the environment. You speak of an environment
where you have to read and interpret many many different
instruments regularly. I'm speaking of one where you have to
read and interpret *one* over and over again, day in, day
out. You become more familiar with the single instrument, so
you can read it quicker.

I'm guessing the analog speedo or tacho is right, and in your
control environment, a lot of the digital stuff is better.

G

 

My lovers got a vtr with a non-digital speedo and ya cant even see the bloody thing nless ya really look at it.

Cause you cant see your boyfriends speedo means you probably dont see
half the things on the road, or VTR speedos really suck, cause for ~50
years bikes had analog speedos that people could read..

 

I borrowed a mate's VTR for a week early last year and trust me, the
speedo sucks ...

Cheers



-------------
Kevin Gleeson
Technical Director
Blue Rocket Productions
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
www.blue-rocket.com.au

 

I have the '03 ZX-6R with the digital speedo and the digital tacho.
Looking at the speedo it is amazing how you can be holding a constant
throttle setting and you speed changes with the road gradient, even on
the flat roads around home (NE VIC) the speed constantly changes 1-2
km/h around the desired speed, probably hidden in the damping of an
analogue speedo. The tacho can be hard to read with the ambient light
conditions, but I don't us it that mush anyway in normal riding, only
when I'm pushing hard, but that's what the flashing light is for

Steve

 

In aus.motorcycles on Mon, 19 Jan 2004 09:51:23 +1100

Or he's spending most of his time out of the Speedo.

Or the beer belly is *that* bad?

Zebee