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[BakedInMN]

I recently took a round trip that according to the odometer was just over 3,000 miles. In general I traveled the posted speed limit +/- 5 - 10 MPH. The GPS showed an average speed (compared to the speedometer) of about 5 MPH less than  what was indicated at speeds above 65 - 70 MPH on the speedometer. This worked out to approximately 300 miles more logged on the odometer than the GPS (and 10 % increase in actual miles traveled). Over the life of the bike this will work out to 10% more miles on the odometer than the bike actually has. (NOTE - I also verified the discrepancy with the electronic "Your Speed" trailers that the DOT put on the side of roads, usually when there is a speed decrease ahead, and the speed displayed was dead on when compared to the GPS.)

Assume that the bike has 20,000 miles on the odometer, in actuality it is probably closer to 18,000 miles.

The MPH discrepancy varies with with the speed at which the MC is being ridden. At lower speeds I calculate a discrepancy of 1 - 3 MPH and I don't have a good reading on speeds above 80 MPH. I aware that the discrepancies could also be related to tire wear, but I have a total of just over 4,000 miles on the bike, so wear should be minimal and is probably not a major factor in my calculations.

Which brings me to the main point of this topic. If our odometers are showing 10% higher mileage than actual mileage, how does this affect resale value, later on down the road. These are touring bikes, and they are expected to be ridden long distances. Which means racking up miles is the norm. Let's say that two - three years from now I decide to upgrade again (that is about normal for me), and I have 50,000 miles on the odometer ( yes that would be about over 16K miles per year, but this is just an example), how much would I lose for the 5000 mile discrepancy when trading it or selling it out right? That is a significant amount of miles when pricing a used MC.

Has anyone else noticed this (I have a FLHTCUSE8)? Do you think the discrepancy is worth bringing to the dealers attention? Is there a more accurate way of measuring the actual speed of the bike? I'm sure I could figure it out using gear ratio, actual tire diameter, and RPM, but even with those numbers it would be a guesstimate when trying to interpolate the actual RPM ( what does 3000 RPM look like compared to 3010 RPM).

I have never used a dynometer for a bike, and am not sure where the speed sensor is located. If the speed sensor is not on the front wheel, a dyno would work. If it is on the front wheel, not so much. The last bike/time I had to fool around with the speed sensor was on an early 90's Springer with the speed sensor on the front wheel (and that was a long time ago). I am assuming that the newer method is not the same (time to go home and open my shop manuals).

If anyone else is experiencing this or knows a definitive way of verifying speed, I'd appreciate a post.

Rich

[Twolanerider]

Nearly all factory speedometers read a bit fast.  It's a safety margin.  Probably some bean counter's idea that he might psychologically manipulate a particular driving cohort to go a little slower overall.  But more to the point is the mftr's don't want to continually deal with whiny owners saying it is the manufacturer's fault the driver/rider got a speeding ticket.

Sure, more miles means less value; writ large.  The small difference in mileage versus the statistical value isn't going to bite you hard though.  Also, since it's pretty even across the fleet we all end up with the same measured application and impact.  So there is either no loss or a loss that's felt (actually not felt or even noticed by 99.99% of us) evenly by everyone; which again becomes no loss.

In other words, don't worry be happy.  There's lots of actually important, troublesome stuff going in out there that really will screw you if you let it. 

[hdaliaconis]

Yes, just got back from 2000 mile trip and used the GPS that showed about 3-5 mph slower than the speedo.  If it's a concern to you the the TTS or SERT has a function that adjusts the speedo.  Have the dealer make an adjustment.