Safe Speed Forums

Hi guys

I've started riding the bike to work again since the weather got decent and I noticed something yesterday that I recon is a bit of a problem. I wondered if anyone else had the same trouble or whether its something I need to work on.

I find with my riding position and the position of the clocks on the GPZ I have to move my head a long way to see the speedo. It takes me significantly longer (about 2 - 3 seconds in total) to look down, read the dial and then get my eyes back on the road than it does in the car. Quite frankly I don't feel very comfortable taking my eyes off the road for that long and so as a result, check my speed less frequently. Trouble is, I find that without constant checks my speed tends to drift up. Now I'm hoping that this is simply because I'm not really used to the bike ATM because I've not had it all that long, and as I do more miles my judgement will improve so I don't have to rely on the speedo as much. The GPZ is much quieter and smoother than I'm used to because I can manage to maintain speed on the XS without too much trouble.

So, does anyone else find it tricky to check the speedo or is it just me?

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

Ouch! I'd say anything over 2 seconds was a serious safety issue.

Since all the talk about speedo checks I have made considerable efforts to understand how 'necessary inattention' is managed by drivers (and riders of course).

The subconsciously controlled visual scan and risk assessment processes gets distinctly worried when no information has arrived for over 2 seconds. However, 1 second seems to have no effect.

Inexperienced drivers do not not have the same concerns.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Paul. I get to the stage where I end up either slowing right down or missing things if I check it regularly and it really does make me feel extremely uneasy. Don't think it would be much defence if I got pinged though.

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

I ride to work throughout the year, so I don't suffer that so much, but what I do suffer from, is when I switch from one bike to the other (got 2 bikes) I do look at the wrong place for the speedo and it does take a bit of getting used to. I wonder if you're just a bit rusty after having the winter months off?

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Pecunia Prius Equitas et Salus

I have got a 2001 Buell X1 Lightning. The V Twin engine mounting system goes into resonance at about 1000-1500rpm (about 30 in second gear). At this point the two clocks are vibrating so badly that they are just a blur.

Harley Big twins can be worse because the speedo is on the tank. You have to look verticaly down is you want to read your speed. Almost impossible with a full face helmet.

BTW its the sun is out and its biker night at the Victoria pub is anyone wants to come over for a ride.

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Speed camera policy Kills

Victoria pub where?

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

What area is the Victoria?

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Pecunia Prius Equitas et Salus

oops sorry. http://www.vicbikerspub.co.uk

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Speed camera policy Kills

The speedo on my VFR is out of my eye range and is concealed by the chin bar on my full face. I'd say that when I check the speedo the "distraction time" is about three seconds.


I rarely check the speedo though I drive by revs and gear knowledge, I ride every day and am pretty confident of my tolerances

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Former Military Police Officer and accident investigator

I never look at the speedo no matter what I am riding or driving, unless I am purposely screwing the bollocks out of the machine to see "what will it do mister?"

I simply drive (or ride) in accordance with a mental state that I am happy with, always have done & always will (and I'm still here & in one piece after 24 years of road experience).

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

That’s only human, Sixy. We all suffer from impatience and a desire for thrill and/or progress and mental impulses (that mostly go unrecognised) impel us to go faster until some negative feedback (risk, usually) puts the shits up us and we slow down. That’s the problem – we are all a little selfish that way.

Occasionally, a lucky escape after a high speed smash into a tree, a pedestrian or an oncoming vehicle permanently changes the way we view risk and we learn to moderate speed by “actual choice”, rather than subliminally.

The fact that you ask the question puts you up there with the thinkers, rather than the “thumb in bum brigade” – good. It is quite easy to achieve steady speed using the state of your machine, rather than the speedo, although safespeed professes to be incapable in that respect.

Try “listening to your engine” once you know your speed – it’s called “dead reckoning”, and it’s dead easy to try for most people.


I'd like some feedback on that - it seems some drivers are really crap at choosing to drive at a certain speed, and I'd like to find if those are the ones who attract tickets.

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I stole this .sig

That's how TIBMIN people think, but what makes you happy may not be right. Think about ethics before you drive - try thinking about what makes the road safer, rather than what makes you happy.

You'll be back in the right track in no time.

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I stole this .sig

This is what I have tried to impart to people here, but I think that some drivers are not capable of sensing their speed well at all, and others (such as you and me) are able to do so through the feel of their machine. Is this simply maturity, that is lacking in some drivers? Can that skill be taught, or are those who are incapable destined to a hopeless life of speeding tickets, bans and whining about cameras?

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I stole this .sig

Must be talking about Neil Kinnock

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Speed camera policy Kills

Some people can learn it some cant. It's easier on some vehicles than others.

I suspect for bikes it's not a problem, but some cars are so quiet now you have no hope, and anyone with an autobox has no hope thanks to not knowing what gear it's in and/or the torque converter messing things up anyway.

I just have an Origin B2 stuck to the dash displaying a huge number that's nice and quick to read. Should be able to fit on to a bike too, I imagine.

You're still assuming that the number on the speedo tells you something about safety. You should know by now that it does not. Or are you wasting your own time as well as ours by hanging about in here?

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Actually, you've got a good point!

And you're right - next time I'm out on the road, I will think about what makes the road safer. But I already know that it's not necessarily blind adherence to an arbitrary speed limit, so I shall stick to Safe, Considerate & Courteous for now...

p.s. BW - where you been? Holiday?

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Pecunia Prius Equitas et Salus

Sod ethics, my only concern is how to get from A to B without smashing anything or anybody up along the way or being the cause of a problem for someone else.


Well it certainly isn't a magic number on a dial.

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What makes you think I'm drunk officer, have I got a fat bird with me?

That's easier said than done BW. I don't have a problem listening to the engine on my XS650, in fact I rode round the M60 one night with a blown backlight on the speedo, was followed by a cop car for about 15 miles and managed to stick to about 70mph the whole time by learning the engine note. On the GPZ I can't do it. Its extremely quiet and the wind-blast off the faring hits me square in the face, creating so much wind noise through my open face that I can't hear anything much.

Gixxer - I'd love to be able to ride to my mood, but the trouble is I live in Wiltshire...

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

He had a nasty bash on the head resulting in memory loss, and temporary damage to the areas of the brain involved in spelling and grammar.... and re-registered as 'the sensible majority' Note that the reasoning lobe was unaffected.

THINK ABOUT IT PEOPLE! bw disappeared, tsm appeared. tsm disappeared, bw reappeared.

When does the bandage come off the head, bw?