Rolling back odometers

[Guest]

My bike has 25K on it, but I trashed the gauges in my little shunt last year. I'm looking at new sets, but finding some with less than 25K on them is hard. Is it possible to roll the odometer back on a set that has more?

[spyug]

With some odometers they won't roll back but will go forward so you need to roll through. Stick the one end of the cable in a 3/8" drill and let it wind on. It will take some time. Some can be moved manually if you can open the case.

You do have to be careful with the legalities though as tampering with an odometer is a big no no in many jurisdictions, even with a used one. For instance,in Ontario vehicle histories are maintained with a record of mileage at each sticker renewal or ownership change. When a vehicle changes hands there is a document package that goes to the new buyer with this info so the buyer can check against the vehicle odo. If it is substantially off, the seller can have a problem and it can queer the deal. Ask me how I know. You may need to get clearance from your DOT.

If your not intending on selling the bike then this likely won't be an issue for you.

Hope it helps a bit.

Cheers,
Spyug.

[brveagle]

I thought this had been proven that the drill technique would take years due to how many revolutions it took to turn the odometer

[Philly_Chris]

It sounds like he's altering the mileage on the new(to him) gauges so that it WILL match up with the actual mileage on his bike. This would match up with his service records etc. and not foul up any future sales.

The only problem might lie in any visible evidence that shows the odometer was opened up/rolled back.

[UncleMike]

Yeah, that's what I'm looking to do, and in NY, vehicles over ten years are mileage exempt. I'm just a perfectionist.

[themess]

I thought this had been proven that the drill technique would take years due to how many revolutions it took to turn the odometer

5000 RPM is about 60 MPH. Suppose the drill goes 500 RPM, that would be ten minutes per mile, 10,000 minutes per thousand miles.

A day has 1440 minutes, so it would take 6.94 days per thousand miles. If the old odometer had 25,000 miles on it, that would be about six months. For the cost of the electricity and a drill, I think that a professional speedometer/odometer repair shop could reset it.

[n1elkyfan]

What if you hooked it two a dremel that has a speed of 35,000 rpms. Which means you would be doing about 7 miles a minute, which means it would take about 14286 minutes to go 100,000 miles or 238 hours or 9 days. Thats if my math is right

[TheCafeKid]

ehh...wouldnt that cause some sort of gear damage to the odometer?? i dont think its meant to turn at 35000rpm...lol

[n1elkyfan]

Yea 420 mph probally wouldn't be good

[TheCafeKid]

Mike you could always hook it up to your Dads Ferarri, jack the back end up and put it in reverse...hehehe

[tkent02]

Or just ride the bike several thousand miles until the true mileage matches what's on the odometer. Much more fun.

[Steve]

5000 RPM is about 60 MPH. Suppose the drill goes 500 RPM, that would be ten minutes per mile, 10,000 minutes per thousand miles.

A day has 1440 minutes, so it would take 6.94 days per thousand miles. If the old odometer had 25,000 miles on it, that would be about six months. For the cost of the electricity and a drill, I think that a professional speedometer/odometer repair shop could reset it.

I have always been under the impression that speedo input is about 1000 per mile, not 5000. You could check this by removing the cable from the driver at the front axle, elevating the front wheel and turning it while counting the turns of the speedo drive. The front tire on my wife's 850L is 26 inches tall, making it 81.7 inches or 6.8 feet around. This requires 775 tire revolutions per mile. If the speedo ratio is indeed 1000 per mile, this means the speedo drive would turn just over 1.25 turns per tire revolution.

Now for the rest of it. Most electric drills (not the battery-powered ones) turn over 1000 rpm. Again, assuming the 1000 revs/mile, the speedo will show 60 mph with a drill speed of 1000 rpm. If the drill turns at 1200, speedo will show 72 mph. Divide the number of miles you want to adjust by those numbers to see how many hours it will take.

Note that this only works in the forward direction. To go backward, definitely check in to having it done by a speedo shop. At the very least, just record the mileages on both odometers so you can fill in the odometer statement when it comes time to transfer the title.



.

[BentRod]

pull your guages appart from the back, you should be able to find where the odometer mechanically connects to the cable. there should be a step down gear set up there.

take off the step down gears, and find the shaft that connects to your counter... then find your dremel tool.

Have done this to cars that needed the guages replaced, haven't done it to my GS

by the way. it is illegal to falsely represent the condition of your vehicle, in the same way that it is illegal to sell 89 octane gas at 91 octane.

[themess]

I have always been under the impression that speedo input is about 1000 per mile, not 5000. You could check this by removing the cable from the driver at the front axle, elevating the front wheel and turning it while counting the turns of the speedo drive. The front tire on my wife's 850L is 26 inches tall, making it 81.7 inches or 6.8 feet around. This requires 775 tire revolutions per mile. If the speedo ratio is indeed 1000 per mile, this means the speedo drive would turn just over 1.25 turns per tire revolution.

Good point. I'm thinking of the tachometer take-off from the engine's valve train, not the speedometer/odometer take-off from the front wheel. Important difference. And the worm gear on the tachometer drive probably steps that down, too.

[chuckycheese]

Calculator

Maybe you should take some duct tape and attach a solar powered calculator to the dash. Then, when you want to know how many miles you have on the bike, you can just subtract the difference between the original speedometer and the new one!\\/