speedo miles and km for usa models...by law?

[pdedse]

I've seen some photos of '17 non-USA speedos of late and they look so clean with only kilometers...with the miles and kms it looks...busy.

Do USA models have both miles and kms by federal regulations, or is it "in case we ever convert to km"? Just curious.

 

[Cormanus]

Can't answer the question, pdedse, but I was thinking exactly the same thing just the other day. I'm so glad my speedo shows only km/h.

 

[Ulvetanna_imp]

Can't answer the question, pdedse, but I was thinking exactly the same thing just the other day. I'm so glad my speedo shows only km/h.

Of course your pillion took that snap! Safety first! :clap: JK, boss!

 

[VLJ_imp]

The U.S. shares a long border with Canada, which uses the metric/kph system. U.S. vehicles are often driven in Canada, thus both readings are included on our speedos.

 

[Banned_imp]

I don't think it's any sort of regulation, HD models have speedos in mph for the US market and kph for Canada and I assume other metric markets.

 

[flynrider]

VLJ got it. It's actually both Canada and Mexico. Both use kilometers. A U.S. vehicle going either north or south of the border is going to need the speedo to read KPH. Most of us Americans can't do the math in our heads.

 

[Guth_imp]

Can't answer the question, pdedse, but I was thinking exactly the same thing just the other day. I'm so glad my speedo shows only km/h.

Cormanus, I don't blame you — when it comes to analog gauges, the simpler / cleaner, the better.

 

[pdedse]

VLJ got it. It's actually both Canada and Mexico. Both use kilometers. A U.S. vehicle going either north or south of the border is going to need the speedo to read KPH. Most of us Americans can't do the math in our heads.

I don't doubt this is the reason why...but that's sad. Why should my asthetics have to suffer because some can't do pretty simple math...I mean, really, 60 is a 100, that makes 30 be 50, so 45 must be 75 and 15 must be 25...

ok 15 is actually 24.1402 and 45 is actually 72.4205 and 30 is actually 48.2803 and 60 is actually 96.5606...but if you can't do that in your head, then just don't drive across the borders...

...and 112 is actually 180.247...but who really cares beyond that?

 

[Ulvetanna_imp]

I was going to suggest removing the gages altogether to clean up the looks, but I just came across that thread where the guy found out the bike wouldn't run without them.

Speaking of digital gages, I have noticed that on the Triumph Street Cup, the gages are programmed to "jiggle" a little just like the old liquid-filled clocks of yesteryear.

Yes, this is absolutely true. I got a real kick out of that; whoever designed them really made an effort to model the behaviour of the original gages. As one revs up through the gears, the needles jiggle as if the bike was vibrating. Funny.

 

[pdedse]

I was going to suggest removing the gages altogether to clean up the looks, but I just came across that thread where the guy found out the bike wouldn't run without them.

Speaking of digital gages, I have noticed that on the Triumph Street Cup, the gages are programmed to "jiggle" a little just like the old liquid-filled clocks of yesteryear.

Yes, this is absolutely true. I got a real kick out of that; whoever designed them really made an effort to model the behaviour of the original gages. As one revs up through the gears, the needles jiggle as if the bike was vibrating. Funny.

I noticed that on my triumph street twin...but I thinks to myself..."wow, my eyes are really getting bad".

 

[Ulvetanna_imp]

Thinking of units of measurement; km/hr is a mixed metaphor. Using miles and hours is a good example of a fully arbitrary display of rate. It's also suggestive of Imperial units or avoirdupois, political anathema, no? Why not divide the clock into a decimal system as well? Then we'd really be onto something, a neutral way to give a speeding ticket.

We could have 100 time units per day, each split into 100 units and so on.

25 km per 0.01 days would be just over 100 km/hr. Could be simplified by calling it 25,000 metres/centidiems which would be 25,000 metres per 1/100th of a day, vernacular being,

"Do you know how fast you were going?"

"No, Officer."

"You were doing 50k!"

Translates to 50,000 metres per centidiem, about 200 km/hr.

pdedse can check my math, lol.

It would only take a couple hundred years for the schools to adopt the new system.

 

[Guth_imp]

You guys can't be serious about the Triumph gauges, really?

 

[pdedse]

Thinking of units of measurement; km/hr is a mixed metaphor. Using miles and hours is a good example of a fully arbitrary display of rate. It's also suggestive of Imperial units or avoirdupois, political anathema, no? Why not divide the clock into a decimal system as well? Then we'd really be onto something, a neutral way to give a speeding ticket.

We could have 100 time units per day, each split into 100 units and so on.

25 km per 0.01 days would be just over 100 km/hr. Could be simplified by calling it 25,000 metres/centidiems which would be 25,000 metres per 1/100th of a day, vernacular being,

"Do you know how fast you were going?"

"No, Officer."

"You were doing 50k!"

Translates to 50,000 metres per centidiem, about 200 km/hr.

pdedse can check my math, lol.

It would only take a couple hundred years for the schools to adopt the new system.

Well...I might have used a calculator.

Thinking of units of measurement; km/hr is a mixed metaphor. Using miles and hours is a good example of a fully arbitrary display of rate. It's also suggestive of Imperial units or avoirdupois, political anathema, no? Why not divide the clock into a decimal system as well? Then we'd really be onto something, a neutral way to give a speeding ticket.

We could have 100 time units per day, each split into 100 units and so on.

25 km per 0.01 days would be just over 100 km/hr. Could be simplified by calling it 25,000 metres/centidiems which would be 25,000 metres per 1/100th of a day, vernacular being,

"Do you know how fast you were going?"

"No, Officer."

"You were doing 50k!"

Translates to 50,000 metres per centidiem, about 200 km/hr.

pdedse can check my math, lol.

It would only take a couple hundred years for the schools to adopt the new system.

Still waiting for metric to take.

Funny-strange...I've lived on/off in Costa Rica over the years where my wife is from. Nearly everything is metric, km, kg, meters, cm, etc, for signs, match calculations, distances, etc. But....we built a house down there and whenever we had a carpenter help with this or that, all short measurements were in inches, halves, 1/4, 3/8, 5/16...but then if they got beyond a a couple of yards, back to meters. House size was in sq meters, but they would measure a shelf in inches...36 pulgadas (inches), the guy would say, "casi un metro" (almost a meter). Maybe their tape measures only had inches? I know they can calculate inches / centimeters back and forth as if they're reciting the alphabet.

 

[Lord Popgun]

I perfer to measure speed in furlongs per fortnight

 

[Rocky_imp]

FWIW, my CB has both scales on the speedo and so does my Subaru.
Even though we've had metric for ages, I was brought up on Imperial measures and can recognise and understand those measure in an instant, but I still have to pause and "recalculate" when it comes to metric

 

[Ulvetanna_imp]

You guys can't be serious about the Triumph gauges, really?

Serious. Absolutely true, I couldn't believe my eyes at first; "Those needles are jiggling?" There's no way needles in a modern electronic gage jiggle, they're damped and well-controlled. The Street Cup's bounce like the old-school gages. Not hard to program. It's funny.

 

[Nortoon_imp]

When the metric system was introduced in Canada in the early 70s I was in my mid-20s. As it was based on units of tens like money, counting, my fingers; I thought it should be easier than 12 inches to the foot, 3 feet to a yard, 16 ounces to a pound, etc.

But I soon found out that many things still used the Imperial system: anything made in the USA or Britain, lumber, clothing, etc. Which is good because size 48 Alpinestars motorcycle boots mean nothing to me, but 12.5 was a perfect fit.

The worst change made was measuring gas mileage in so many liters per 100 kilometers. Still means nothing to me today. My CB1100 gets 21 kilometers to the liter. That I can understand because I pay for gas by the liter.

When it is warm I use the Fahrenheit scale. I understand how warm 60F is, but 18.3C means nothing to me. However in the winter I use the Centigrade scale because zero is the freezing point of water. Anything above zero in the winter is mild day (to a Canadian). -10C is a nice winter’s day, -20C is cold but you can dress for it, -30C is I’ll wait for a better day to go out.

I am too old to convert miles to kilometers in my head while driving in America. Fortunately Canadian cars have a function to change the digital display to MPH.

For my American friends I just tell them to drop the zero and multiply by 6 to convert to KPH and they will be close. 40 KPG is (4 x6) 25 MPH, 50 KPH is 30 MPH, 60 KPH is 35 MPH, etc.

But there are always exceptions. After buying “Made in the USA” (Moto Werk) mirror extenders, I had to use a 6mm Allen key to tighten the aluminum bolt. A 1/4 inch key would not fit and a 7/32nd inch key would slip. They now include the 6mm in their mirror extender package.

As most of the world’s goods are now being made in the Orient, the metric system will probably become a worldwide standard over time. Right now the Unites States, Burma, and Liberia are the only countries that don’t.

 

[the Ferret]

I don't think my brother's needles jiggle on his T-120. At least I never noticed when I rode it. I will see him this afternoon and try and remember to ask him. Mine were rock steady on my T-100

 

[Nortoon_imp]

I don't remember the needles of the Smith instruments wiggling on my BSAs. But I don't remember much anymore. However the voltmeter needle on my 1966 Lightning wagged like a happy dog's tail.

I bought an oil temperature gauge for that BSA and had a friend machine a bracket for it so I see it as I rode. When the bike was cold the needle rested on the left of the gauge, after a few miles it was pegged on the right.

Just looked at my BSA brochure that I have kept for half a century. BSAs had their tach and speedo mounted in rubber cups. That is probably why I do not remember them wiggling.

 

[VLJ_imp]

I don't think my brother's needles jiggle on his T-120. At least I never noticed when I rode it. I will see him this afternoon and try and remember to ask him. Mine were rock steady on my T-100

The needles remained steady on the three T120s I've ridden.