Odometer fading

[RKRuss]

Hi all. My 2000 Road King Classic seems to have an issue with the odometer getting very difficult to read. Bike is on it's original speedo and has 176K+ on the odometer. At first I thought it was just my eyesight, however even viewing it in the garage whilst wearing my glasses I can see that it's very faint.

Are there any known fixes?

In the event that I buy a new speedo, will the mileage be stored in the ECU or will it be stored within the instrument only?

I tried doing a search on the forum but couldn't find what I needed.

Cheers,

Russ.

[smoserx1]

I'm going to guess with one that old the mileage is stored in the instrument.  A long tome ago I remember getting those P&A catalogs and I believe some of the optional instruments (silver faced etc.) could be ordered with your mileage "flashed" into the replacement.  Maybe still possible???  Anyway, if not possible and you need to sell, titles have a mileage disclosure part and one of the things is a part where you can explain any mileage discrepancy, because things like this happen all the time (likely one reason mileage is now on ECMs instead).

[Appowner]

Back around 2010 or so the Moco came out with a series of new speedos with bunches of neat features.  I got one for my 08 FXSTC and in doing the switch I had to connect the two Speedos together so the mileage etc could transfer over.  Everything you needed came with the new Speedo and the instructions as I recall were pretty good.  Don't know if the Moco still offers these or not but worth a look.

At the very least it confirms that for the 08 models the info was held in the speedo.

[RKRuss]

Thanks very much for your replies Gents. I'll check the connections on the back of the speedo and make sure everything is clean and snug. If that doesn't work I'll pop into my local dealer this week and price a new one.

[PC_Hater]

Your speedo has an LCD display that shows the odometer reading yes?
With my electronics engineer head on it is a mere box of electronic bits and pieces.
That LCD will / should be a bog standard part. Possibly obsolete by now, but as with bike parts, somebody out there has some.

I assume it will be surface mount which is a bit of a pain when it breaks - I certainly can't be bothered to buy the tools to work on surface mount stuff.
However, somewhere near you there will be people who can do it.

(and move to a country that isn't so sunny so it will last longer next time!)

[RKRuss]

Thanks PC. Is it actually the strong sunlight that fades the LCD display? That explains why the LCD dash on my SV1000 Suzuki recently cacked itself as well!

We do have a local guy who rebuilds and calibrates all sorts of vehicle instruments and is apparently very good at his craft. Based on what you've said it may be worth while chasing him up to see what he can do eh?

[PC_Hater]

Strong sunlight heat and UV, they'll do it. Happily the UK has none of these things!
It ought to be possible to acquire clear glass that will block both UV A and UV B rays, that will greatly delay it happening again.

The vehicle instruments chap might be able to fix it, it depends if his cut-off period is before or after nice reliable mechanical instruments like the speedo on my 1999 bike. He ought to know someone who can handle it if he can't.

In the 1980s an Australian statistician came to work in the UK with his state-of-the-art solar powered calculator the likes of which we had only read about. It wouldn't work. UK sun wasn't bright enough! He had to use the charger and we fell about laughing!

[RKRuss]

Mate this has been a very interesting chat, thanks heaps for explaining how it all works.

I'd always wrongly assumed that LCD displays were some sort of cheap to manufacture rubbish, simply due to the number of failures I've seen over the years. Wasn't aware that our harsh sun was the culprit! I guess that's what I get for living in the skin cancer capital of the world!

[Hossamania]

Perhaps try a UV resistant coating of some sort, either plastic sheeting, a clear coat spray, or some other.
I would think that the glass itself would be UV resistant, maybe so but it wears out?

[RKRuss]

That's a good idea Hoss - thanks.

[speedzter]

It's possible that it's just the polarizing filter that has been "sun burnt"

[FSG]

visit Tint-A-Car for an off cut   

[Hossamania]

visit Tint-A-Car for an off cut   

👍

[kd]

A UV camera filter lens in the same diameter as the gauge face should do it.  They are available in many sizes up to quite large for telephoto lenses.

[RKRuss]

Popped in to my local dealer yesterday to enquire about a new instrument. No longer available apparently. One of the parts guys who I know quite well was telling me that they've seen quite a lot of discontinuation of parts from the mother ship in recent times.

Like most other things, it's a sign of the times and all about efficiencies I guess. 

[smoserx1]

Looks like J&P cycles has several styles (including some with tachometer functions).  Looks like a stock replica is about $200 (not bad IMO).  Yes cheap parts for older bikes are getting harder to find.  Pretty much that way with everything and always has been...just business sense.

[smoserx1]

Here is another one (probably the same item):
http://americanmademotorcycleparts.com/electronic-speedometer-5-face-oem-67033-99a-part-39-0453
If you look up your item on Ronnie's web site and it has a price of $0.00 I have heard the part is no longer available (like yours).  I believe I would grab one while I could.  There was a comment on the J&P cycle item that the odometer was not programmable.  Personally that would not bother me.  I would just keep a record of the old mileage (and maybe the old instrument) so I could disclose the true mileage at sell/trade time.  And if you don't want to do that you can always calculate your average MPG and begin keeping a log of gasoline purchases so you can calculate mileage intervals for maintenance purposes.  Lots of ways to skin this cat.

[RKRuss]

Thanks for all the responses guys - much appreciated. Yeah it looks like I'll have to go for the replica unit. I was keen to keep the odometer reading but it appears that's not possible,  so it's not a huge deal. I just love this old bike and will be hanging onto it whilst there's breath still in me, so no issue with selling/trading! 

[Hossamania]

Take a picture of the old odometer before removing, then put a tag on it with all the pertinent info, date removed, mileage, bike and vin, etc.

[bump]

The 05 Flhtci I just finished the broken wire had he speedo replaced. I didn't change it the owner of bike changed it trying to get speedo to work. The mileage on odometer is kept in the ECM. Not sure if earlier ones do it that way.

[cheech]

Thanks for all the responses guys - much appreciated. Yeah it looks like I'll have to go for the replica unit. I was keen to keep the odometer reading but it appears that's not possible,  so it's not a huge deal. I just love this old bike and will be hanging onto it whilst there's breath still in me, so no issue with selling/trading! 

I don't know about the replacement gauges you're looking at.
But with ones such as Dakota Digital, the installer, (meaning you), can set the odometer to match your original mileage within the first 100 miles.
After it's locked in.

Point being check the instructions for the one you're buying if you do so. It may have an identical feature or maybe shop for one that does.

[RKRuss]

Thanks Cheech. I did have a look at the Dakota Digital products which look great. The analogue style one would work for me but unfortunately it's MPH only and I need metric. The full digital one is programmable for either MPH or KPH but it's not the style I'd choose for my bike. I'm one of those boring old farts that likes stock!

I think if the fading gets any worse I'll just take a pic of the mileage on the original gauge, and then settle for one of the cheaper analogue replica units to replace it with.

Cheers,

Russ