Speedometer

yozalo · 05-03-2009, 12:23 AM

I was interested in the bike speedometer but wanted to ask will it work on my atv. They sell them on ebay for about $4. Has anyone done this mod.

KentuckyDonkey · 05-03-2009, 12:59 AM

You mean a bicycle speedometer? No.....it won't work.

yozalo · 05-03-2009, 01:28 AM

Why won't it work. Yes, a bike speedometer. Is there any other way to get the speed on your atv. I already know about a gps, but wanted one installed on my atv.

LynnEdwards · 05-03-2009, 01:44 AM

Yozalo, this is an intriguing idea. At a glance I don't why why it wouldn't work as long as you can enter the non standard wheel size of the quad without the software in the speedometer blowing up.

Check out the following link:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Tach...ometer-cycloc/

It is worth thinking about some more. The magnet could be epoxied into one of the holes on the rear disk brake rotor (inside the grip of the brake pads).

LynnEdwards · 05-03-2009, 01:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yozalo

...Is there any other way to get the speed on your atv...

Well there is always this. But $120 is just plain too much money.

http://www.monstermarketplace.com/Au...g2778a630.html

This one is set up for a Honda, but they sell generic ones also.

forchetto · 05-03-2009, 03:12 AM

I have bicycle speedos on two of my monkey bikes and on my Qingqi. The first two were due to the factory speedos failing, a well-known defect on Jincheng Monkey bikes.

I fitted one to the Qingqi to get the accuracy I can not get from the factory speedo, although that works OK. These speedos can be calibrated to a great degree of accuracy and have all sorts of cool features like recording max speed attained, average speed during a run, a clock, trip meters, readings in Km or miles, etc.

I also had a Tiger Super-Six kit car, capable of hair-raising performance fitted with an auxiliary bike speedo. That worked OK.

My PGO road legal mini buggy has an electronic speedo as standard. If you look at it closer it's just a glorified bicycle instrument. It's just that the display is larger, but the technology is the same.

Some have a magnetic reed switch as a sensor, some a Hall effect sensor. Both can more than cope with the speeds that can be achieved by our sort of bike.

The only thing to watch out for are those "wireless" types where the sensor signal is transmitted to the unit by radio. They sometimes have very short range (0.5 metre) and don't work too well with the longer forks fitted to dual-sport models.

As an example of this here's a site of someone that fitted one of these bicycle speedos to a Lotus-7 type kit-car, with full details:

http://www.strangely.org/owned/bikecomp/index.html

KentuckyDonkey · 05-03-2009, 03:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yozalo

Why won't it work. Yes, a bike speedometer. Is there any other way to get the speed on your atv. I already know about a gps, but wanted one installed on my atv.

LOL- I'm living in the past- I was thinking of those old-fashioned mechanical bike speedos.......

katoranger · 05-03-2009, 09:47 AM

KD. They have come along way in bike speedos.

Yes the speedo will work. You will just need to be alittle creative to install it maybe.

The are designed for most diameters of wheels. Best way to calibrate is to measure the outside circumference of the wheel you wish to use.

Take some paint or chalk and make a mark across the tread. Then roll is on some concrete until you get two marks. Measure the distance between the marks. I think most use centimeters. Use this number to input for a size into your bike speedo.

Allen

yozalo · 05-03-2009, 11:55 AM

Yeah, it only $4 on ebay. I might as well purchase one. I never knew you have to input the wheel circumference.

LynnEdwards · 05-03-2009, 01:04 PM

Well I just bought one. I opted for the schwinn 17 function model (I want to read temperature too). It was $14.25 total including shipping on amazon.com.

Thanks for the great idea yozalo!

yozalo · 05-03-2009, 03:00 PM

Tell me on how this mod goes. I am going to purchase the brand name ones since the chinese ones are made of poor quality.

KentuckyDonkey · 05-03-2009, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yozalo

Tell me on how this mod goes. I am going to purchase the brand name ones since the chinese ones are made of poor quality.

Maybe you should experiment with the cheap one first. It might end up being tricky to mount it and calibrate it properly for ATV use. If you get it to work good with the cheapo, then maybe get a better quality one.

yozalo · 05-03-2009, 07:58 PM

Yes, it will work since you can enter the circumference up to 999 mm.

KentuckyDonkey · 05-03-2009, 10:19 PM

I hope it works for ya.....as it's a great idea, and I'm sure just about everyone would like to have a cheap speedo on their ATV.

Just found someone who tried the bicycle speedo-on-ATV thing with mixed results: http://www.utahatvtrails.com/ATVAccessories.htm

LynnEdwards · 05-04-2009, 01:17 AM

I will definately report back how the schwinn model works.

From the pic's it looks like the spoke mounted magnet that comes standard with these things is really big and clumsy. I'll probably put my own smaller magnet in a hole drilled into the axle drive sprocket. The brake caliper holes looked like an easy solution at first but I think that it might get too hot for both the epoxy holding in the magnet and the nearby sensor.

I hadn't thought about dealing with mud before reading KD's link. I'm thinking about it now. It seems solvable to me. The cold issue is a mystery. LCD displays sometimes don't work very well in cold weather but everything else should work fine (excepting me of course, who refuses to function altogether in cold weather).

05-03-2009, 12:23 AM	#1
yozalo Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 330	Speedometer I was interested in the bike speedometer but wanted to ask will it work on my atv. They sell them on ebay for about $4. Has anyone done this mod.
	0

05-03-2009, 03:12 AM	#6
forchetto Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Gijon, Asturias,Northern Spain Posts: 396	I have bicycle speedos on two of my monkey bikes and on my Qingqi. The first two were due to the factory speedos failing, a well-known defect on Jincheng Monkey bikes. I fitted one to the Qingqi to get the accuracy I can not get from the factory speedo, although that works OK. These speedos can be calibrated to a great degree of accuracy and have all sorts of cool features like recording max speed attained, average speed during a run, a clock, trip meters, readings in Km or miles, etc. I also had a Tiger Super-Six kit car, capable of hair-raising performance fitted with an auxiliary bike speedo. That worked OK. My PGO road legal mini buggy has an electronic speedo as standard. If you look at it closer it's just a glorified bicycle instrument. It's just that the display is larger, but the technology is the same. Some have a magnetic reed switch as a sensor, some a Hall effect sensor. Both can more than cope with the speeds that can be achieved by our sort of bike. The only thing to watch out for are those "wireless" types where the sensor signal is transmitted to the unit by radio. They sometimes have very short range (0.5 metre) and don't work too well with the longer forks fitted to dual-sport models. As an example of this here's a site of someone that fitted one of these bicycle speedos to a Lotus-7 type kit-car, with full details: http://www.strangely.org/owned/bikecomp/index.html __________________ Jincheng Monkey JC50Q-7 (two of them) Skyteam Dax replica ST110-6 (two of them) Zongshen ZS125-43 Qingqi QM200GY-BA Super Motard Yamaha Virago XV1100 Triumph Bonneville SE Qingqi QM110GY PGO Bug rider 250 Buggy
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05-03-2009, 09:47 AM	#8
katoranger Join Date: May 2007 Location: Altamont, Kansas Posts: 15,103	KD. They have come along way in bike speedos. Yes the speedo will work. You will just need to be alittle creative to install it maybe. The are designed for most diameters of wheels. Best way to calibrate is to measure the outside circumference of the wheel you wish to use. Take some paint or chalk and make a mark across the tread. Then roll is on some concrete until you get two marks. Measure the distance between the marks. I think most use centimeters. Use this number to input for a size into your bike speedo. Allen __________________ You meet the nicest people on a Honda Clone.
	0

05-03-2009, 12:59 AM	#2
KentuckyDonkey Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 331	You mean a *bicycle* speedometer? No.....it won't work.
	0

05-03-2009, 01:28 AM	#3
yozalo Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 330	Why won't it work. Yes, a bike speedometer. Is there any other way to get the speed on your atv. I already know about a gps, but wanted one installed on my atv.
	0

05-03-2009, 01:44 AM	#4
LynnEdwards Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Tracy, California Posts: 83	Yozalo, this is an intriguing idea. At a glance I don't why why it wouldn't work as long as you can enter the non standard wheel size of the quad without the software in the speedometer blowing up. Check out the following link: http://www.instructables.com/id/Tach...ometer-cycloc/ It is worth thinking about some more. The magnet could be epoxied into one of the holes on the rear disk brake rotor (inside the grip of the brake pads).
	0

05-03-2009, 11:55 AM	#9
yozalo Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 330	Yeah, it only $4 on ebay. I might as well purchase one. I never knew you have to input the wheel circumference.
	0

05-03-2009, 01:04 PM	#10
LynnEdwards Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Tracy, California Posts: 83	Well I just bought one. I opted for the schwinn 17 function model (I want to read temperature too). It was $14.25 total including shipping on amazon.com. Thanks for the great idea yozalo!
	0

05-03-2009, 03:00 PM	#11
yozalo Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 330	Tell me on how this mod goes. I am going to purchase the brand name ones since the chinese ones are made of poor quality.
	0

05-03-2009, 07:58 PM	#13
yozalo Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 330	Yes, it will work since you can enter the circumference up to 999 mm.
	0

05-03-2009, 10:19 PM	#14
KentuckyDonkey Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 331	I hope it works for ya.....as it's a great idea, and I'm sure just about everyone would like to have a cheap speedo on their ATV. Just found someone who tried the bicycle speedo-on-ATV thing with mixed results: http://www.utahatvtrails.com/ATVAccessories.htm
	0

05-04-2009, 01:17 AM	#15
LynnEdwards Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Tracy, California Posts: 83	I will definately report back how the schwinn model works. From the pic's it looks like the spoke mounted magnet that comes standard with these things is really big and clumsy. I'll probably put my own smaller magnet in a hole drilled into the axle drive sprocket. The brake caliper holes looked like an easy solution at first but I think that it might get too hot for both the epoxy holding in the magnet and the nearby sensor. I hadn't thought about dealing with mud before reading KD's link. I'm thinking about it now. It seems solvable to me. The cold issue is a mystery. LCD displays sometimes don't work very well in cold weather but everything else should work fine (excepting me of course, who refuses to function altogether in cold weather).
	0