finally a speedo that works

[motorpsycho]

I picked up a digital speedo / computer at wal mart, made by schwinn.
it works great. there have been a few people who bought those el-cheapo digital speedo's off ebay (including myself) and found that they will not work with the engine running due to r.f. interference from the engine ignition. (yes, tried all the suggested things to fix it from isolating the speedo with rubber pads, to changing to a sheilded spark plug wire)
the schwinn speedo works great, is fairly accurate from what i can tell, and it gives more info that just mph / kph and mileage.
best of all, i got it for $9.99.

 

[TOTAL CARNAGE]

I used one of the Schwinn spedo's on my spaceliner and it works great!
Got another for the Phantom and it won't work! It's fine until the engine starts.
I have tried everything to get it to work...shielded plug wire, shortened and shielded the wire on the spedo, I even put it on the rear wheel of a different bike (well away from any electrical noise from the ignition) and still won't work. I don't understand the difference but have given up on it. I'll just go with a good old mechanical spedo....It'll fit the style of the bike better anyway!

 

[motorpsycho]

yeah i wanted a mechanical speedo too (which woudl fit the look of my bike better as well).
so i bought one and it lasted about 2 days because it was all plastic inside. it literally melted the plastic gears and busted them all up after running it maxed out (40 kph) a few times.
this was an cheap e-bay speedo by the way, but i'd like to find a mechanical one that can actually handle the abuse of running it at fast speeds for a long time, without having to pay an arm and a leg for it.

 

[loquin]

The whizzer chrome speedometer is a sturdy, mechanical speedo with a metal drive gears. It's not cheap, but, it works in our application. The black whizzer speedometer has plastic gears, though, & the guts aren't much (if any) better than the EBay plastic speedos

 

[Member 5549]

I have

Been using the cheap Schwinn Wal-Mart speedo for 1 1/2 years now...
It works very well and was under 10 bucks !!!!!!

 

[AussieSteve]

Cateye Speedos are fine too - 400 km and never missed a beat. (A wired model.)
'Sunding', ($8 on eBay), was what I tried previously - it reset every time the engine was started.

 

[Hajuu]

Wow, that's really good to know. I had no idea, and almost bought one the other day

 

[AussieSteve]

I tried everything with that cheap one before putting it aside.
As you know, I have an electronics background. I tried shielded cable and shielding the speedo unit, coil, HT lead, then tried holding the unit in the air well away from the bike, with the wire well clear, tried disconnecting the reed switch in case magnetism was pulling it in as the engine turned, even soldered the wires to the contacts of the speedo - all to no avail.
With the Cateye, I followed the instructions of running the cable down the front brake cable, (I twisted it around the brake cable), and it's always worked perfectly.
For best calibration of an electronic speedo, don't simply enter the value in the supplied chart for diameter/circumference, either.
Sit your weight on the bike with normal tyre pressure and roll forward one turn of the wheel. Measure the distance covered and enter that. (Put valve-stem at bottom, chalk mark on ground, etc etc.)
* If your speedo requires a diameter entry, divide the circumference by pi, of course.)
You'll be assured of really accurate speedo readings.

I still have a 'Sunding' on my electric bike and it works fine, except that on a hot day in the garage the odometer resets. (45C+)

 

[Al.Fisherman]

Going to China Mart tomorrow to pick one up if they have them here....Thanks

 

[AussieSteve]

Mine's a 'Cateye VELO5', if it helps.
Got it from eBay.