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Author Topic: Speedo  (Read 692 times)

Krill

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Speedo
« on: April 08, 2013, 09:19:35 AM »
Hi, I have a speedo from my R65 but am told it might be from a R45, it has 1441 just below the MPH, can anyone help please

Offline nhmaf

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Re: Speedo
« Reply #1 on: April 08, 2013, 09:46:47 AM »
Yes, if you have "1441" for the "W" number at the bottom of the speedometer face, then that definitely is from an R45 (meant to go with 35/9 final drive, which was only factory installed on the R45 35HP model).

It is *possible* that someone may have used the speedometer, but adjusted the internal gearing for it to operate with a different calibration - but doing this without changing the face would be very unusual - to recalibrate the internal workings is not cheap, and if one were to go to that effort, spending a little more to replace the face of the speedometer to reflect the new "W" number would be expected.

You want to look at the silver/gray final drive unit (cardan drive) on your motorcycle (I don't know the year of your bike).  Toward the top surface, near where it is bolted onto the black painted swingarm which encloses the driveshaft, you should see a numeric ratio stamped into the silver metal.  It will be something like "32/9" or "31/9" as those were the standard ratios used on the R65 models (though as you may know, these things are interchangeable among different airheads, so may have been swapped).   Let us know what you find and we can tell you what speedometer ratio you should be looking for.   As it is, unless you have a "35/9" final drive on there already, your odometer and speedometer readings are quite a bit in error.   If you do have a 35/9 final drive on there, you'll have great acceleration, but a much lower top speed and buzzier cruising as the R65 power plant has considerably more usable power and can use the taller gearsets.
Airhead #12178 ? BMWMOA #123173 ?BMWRA #33525 ?GSBMWR #563 ?1982 BMW R65LS ?1978 BMW R100/7 1998 Kawasaki Concours

Krill

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Re: Speedo
« Reply #2 on: April 09, 2013, 02:17:17 PM »
Thank's for the reply, the number is 31/9 and the bike is 1982 so looks like it had the wrong speedo fitted at some time, it has been about a bit, I'm the fifteenth owner

Offline nhmaf

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Re: Speedo
« Reply #3 on: April 10, 2013, 11:30:50 AM »
OK.  31/9 = 3.44 gear ratio on the rear end, which indicates that the speedometer you need should be one with a W1259 on its face.  It actually may be "1.259" and indicates the number of revolutions per mile (1259).  

With the 31/9 final drive, your engine RPMs should be around 3600 RPM @ 55 MPH, and 4600 RPM @ 70 MPH, to give you a frame of reference.

This is assuming that you have a normal 18 inch rear wheel and 4x18 rear tire - different tire profiles will affect the result, but only by a very small amount compared to the error that you've been experiencing with an incorrect calibration speedometer.
Airhead #12178 ? BMWMOA #123173 ?BMWRA #33525 ?GSBMWR #563 ?1982 BMW R65LS ?1978 BMW R100/7 1998 Kawasaki Concours