QUESTION: Can an LS Speedo be adapted to...

[Milo_357]

a standard R65?

I have a working speedo off my LS parts bike, but it goes to 120 and is calibrated different than my bike that has the 80 mph speedo on it.

I've seen some comments in various places that implied they could be changed out?  Is this true, and if so, how?

Thanks,

Milo

[Bob_Roller]

There is a small size green number at the bottom of the speedometer face, if those numbers are the same, you can swap them out, if they don't, I believe there are different size gears inside of the speedometer .

I think you would have to change the gears inside to get it to work correctly .

But, there's only one way to find out for sure, install it and see how close to being accurate it is with the bike being ridden .

[Barry]

As Bob said you should match the speedo ratio with the final drive. Here's a recent post with a table of which speedo ratios match which final drives.
If yours is not correct it will at least tell you how far out you are.


http://www.bmwr65.org/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1327443341/13#13

[tvrla]

Very true. The LS and standard R65 came with the same final drives usually (The LS was mostly a cosmetically altered R65), so if nothing was changed, they should be interchangeable. So check the numbers at the bottom of the speedo to be certain.

[Milo_357]

Guys,

The numbers match exactly.  But I could have SWORN it wasn't reading correctly when it switched them out once.  it seemed to be too slow to me.

I'll try it again, and see if I cant get the local cop to tag me with his radar.  The local guys are kinda cool.  

[bruce_launceston]

Borrow a GPS, even if you put it in your pocket and don't watch the screen it will record your maximum speed which is at least a quick check against what you saw on the speedo.

From experience the BM speedos have a limited life, mine has been rebuilt once and re-lubed another time to get the needle to settle down and read consistently.