Tachometer Busted? NEED HELP PLS

[Mikeinho]

Hi. I think my tacho is busted. Why? Well, I’ve been checking out vids on YouTube of guys gunning it on FZ6’s.

For instance, take a look at this one... (p.s. it's not me... just some crazy dude)

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb0ADt8ZJEQ]YouTube - FZ6 almost top speed[/ame]

As a matter of performance testing, I’ve been opening up the pipes a bit, but can’t seem to get it above 10K rpm (in any gear). However, the bike is making all the right noises, and there’s no shortage of acceleration or speed.

By the time my tacho reads 10K rpm, it sounds like the limiter should be in operation. I mean it’s absolutely screaming like a banshee. Like I say, the actual performance of the bike is solid, but I think the tacho is not telling the whole truth, i.e it should be at least 3K rpm higher than it’s showing.

My worry is that if the tacho is not reading the engine speed correctly, how will the limiter protect it? Is there anyway of checking this for faults, other than sticking it on one of those dyno machines?

P.S. My bike is a stock FZ6-SA (not restricted... never has been)

 

[RJ2112]

The rev limiter is going to kick in, in every gear..... if you really want to know if it is disabled somehow run it as hard as you can in first. Stock gearing will not let the bike exceed 52 MPH in first, the RPM will hit 13K and change, and the motor will start missing. If it will go to 55 or higher, on stock gearing in first shut it down.

Highest number I saw on that clip was 231 KPH, which converts to 143 MPH.... subtract ~ 10% for speedo error, and it's a reasonable 130 MPH in real world numbers. If the gearing was changed to make acceleration stronger, the error could be a lot higher than that..... as the enging RPM is used to calculate vehicle speed, it can lie to you.

 

[VEGASRIDER]

The rev limiter is going to kick in, in every gear..... if you really want to know if it is disabled somehow run it as hard as you can in first. Stock gearing will not let the bike exceed 52 MPH in first, the RPM will hit 13K and change

You sure about that? I recalled I've gone much faster than 50mph in 1st, and I have stock gearing.

 

[CombatPenguin]

You sure about that? I recalled I've gone much faster than 50mph in 1st, and I have stock gearing.

I agree I can hit 61mph indicated right as the rev limiter kicks in in first gear.

 

[FZ1inNH]

On my FZ6, the rev limiter kicked in before redline... Speed doesn't matter, it is solely RPM. Whatever speed you can get out of it is limited by the reve limiter period. I know I went faster than 52 in 1st gear as well.

The FZ1? It limits at 81 mph on the GPS in 1st gear. :thumbup:

 

[RJ2112]

You sure about that? I recalled I've gone much faster than 50mph in 1st, and I have stock gearing.

Check it and tell me what you see. 57? Certainly, not 60.

 

[RJ2112]

On my FZ6, the rev limiter kicked in before redline... Speed doesn't matter, it is solely RPM. Whatever speed you can get out of it is limited by the reve limiter period. I know I went faster than 52 in 1st gear as well.

The FZ1? It limits at 81 mph on the GPS in 1st gear. :thumbup:

That's the idea of the limiter, after all..... to not let the bike hit redline. 52 might be off by 5 MPH...... but I know you won't see 60 in first.

 

[RJ2112]

I agree I can hit 61mph indicated right as the rev limiter kicks in in first gear.

Stock gearing? If we're 'moving the bar' to 61 or -2; I'm okay with that...... for the purpose of finding out if the rev limiter kicks in it's probably safest to figure that out in first at relatively sane speeds, rather than trying to see if it works in 3rd or 4th. If it works in first, it works in every gear, as I said.

I personally don't hit the limiter all that often, as power starts to drop off above 11K.... no real need to do so, IMHO.

 

[CHEMIKER]

Like others have said, the rev limiter kicks in based on RPM, not speed. I have shifted many times over 13k RPM, in several gears. You'll know when the rev limiter kicks in; acceleration drops hard like you have chopped the throttle. Not sure when exactly that happens (I don't tend to be looking at my tach near redline LOL), but it's around 14k RPM for sure, and not 10k.

Probably what's happening is that the motor sounds to you like it's going to blow, when in actuality that's prefectly normal - it's just what 10k RPM sounds like. The motor works fine at 10k RPM and can actually take more. This bike loves to take more.

P. S. trying to relate what you see/hear on a youtube vid to what you see/hear when riding is tough.

 

[Mikeinho]

Stock gearing? If we're 'moving the bar' to 61 or -2; I'm okay with that...... for the purpose of finding out if the rev limiter kicks in it's probably safest to figure that out in first at relatively sane speeds, rather than trying to see if it works in 3rd or 4th. If it works in first, it works in every gear, as I said.

I personally don't hit the limiter all that often, as power starts to drop off above 11K.... no real need to do so, IMHO.

Firstly, thanks for all the posts. I'll be trying the 'max-out' in 1st option to see if it hits the limiter. I'm not bothered about what speed I need to go, as I'll just pick a stretch of road long enough to get the limiter to start skipping revs.

Regarding the above quote, that pretty much sums up what I'm getting at here. I feel that the power drops off at between 8-9K rpm on my bike as opposed to closer to 11K rpm.

It was good weather today (for Scotland), so I went out on the back roads and gave it the beans. Just as a test, I noticed that if I used the throttle as a pseudo on/off switch (in any gear), I seemed to get the best instant torque at around 5K rpm, but after 9K rpm I wasn't getting much acceleration at all.

I'll say this much, that was some of the most aggressive riding I've done so far. Has anyone else noticed how much the seat heats up when you ride hard for a few miles? My ar$e was on fire after about 15 miles!!

 

[RJ2112]

The power on this bike is not even... there are RPM regions where it's not as strong as others. You seem to still be getting used to what your engine can do.

If you are still trying to look at the tach as you are passing through 9-10K....... stop that. You need to be looking at where you are going far more than what RPM your motor is at. The rev limiter will prevent you from blowing up your baby. You still have quite a bit to go, but the 'peak' on my bike is right around 11K. The power gets just a bit softer the farther you rev it out.... to the point that I don't feel there is much need to do so. Take it to 10K or so, and shift.... the RPM should only drop off to 8K or so in the next gear, still well in the power band.

 

[Mikeinho]

The power on this bike is not even... there are RPM regions where it's not as strong as others. You seem to still be getting used to what your engine can do.

If you are still trying to look at the tach as you are passing through 9-10K....... stop that. You need to be looking at where you are going far more than what RPM your motor is at. The rev limiter will prevent you from blowing up your baby. You still have quite a bit to go, but the 'peak' on my bike is right around 11K. The power gets just a bit softer the farther you rev it out.... to the point that I don't feel there is much need to do so. Take it to 10K or so, and shift.... the RPM should only drop off to 8K or so in the next gear, still well in the power band.

Don't worry my friend, it's purely a technical exercise. Just trying to figure out if my bike is working the way it should be.

I'm a novice rider, so I keep the safety on and the big guns locked away for the most part.

:scared:

 

[ant_mb]

The FZ1? It limits at 81 mph on the GPS in 1st gear.

That's sick!!!!! Why do you even need third?

 

[ant_mb]

Hi. I think my tacho is busted. Why? Well, I’ve been checking out vids on YouTube of guys gunning it on FZ6’s.

For instance, take a look at this one... (p.s. it's not me... just some crazy dude)

YouTube - FZ6 almost top speed

As a matter of performance testing, I’ve been opening up the pipes a bit, but can’t seem to get it above 10K rpm (in any gear). However, the bike is making all the right noises, and there’s no shortage of acceleration or speed.

By the time my tacho reads 10K rpm, it sounds like the limiter should be in operation. I mean it’s absolutely screaming like a banshee. Like I say, the actual performance of the bike is solid, but I think the tacho is not telling the whole truth, i.e it should be at least 3K rpm higher than it’s showing.

My worry is that if the tacho is not reading the engine speed correctly, how will the limiter protect it? Is there anyway of checking this for faults, other than sticking it on one of those dyno machines?

P.S. My bike is a stock FZ6-SA (not restricted... never has been)

The first couple months I owned the bike I also was afraid of the RPM. I wasn't afraid of the speed, or riding hard, but the RPM. It sounded like the bike was going to grenade itself it was running so fast. I rarely got it over 10,000. I installed Two Brothers and couldn't hear the engine over the exhaust. I revved freely and took it to 13,000 every ride, and enjoyed the hell out of it! A year later I took the TB exhaust off, and the engine once again sounded like it was going to explode.

You'll get used to the high pitched sound of a finely tuned high revving engine, and the fear will go away. Trust me when I say it's fear! The bike will be just fine.

 

[Mikeinho]

Holy crap batman!!!

I tried running the bike to the limiter in 1st gear today, and hit 60mph (in a bloody strong head-wind).

So that's how you're supposed to ride a fizzer?!?!? Magic!!!

:rockon:

 

[alanrim]

Has the bike been restricted to 33bhp for someone in the two year restricted period ?

P.S. My bike is a stock FZ6-SA (not restricted... never has been)

Just noticed this, are you absolutely sure, as it describes to a t how a restricted bike would respond.

As for the tacho, the engine management tells the tacho what to display, so even if tacho not displaying correctly engine rpm would still be controlled correctly.

 

[alanrim]

Holy crap batman!!!

I tried running the bike to the limiter in 1st gear today, and hit 60mph (in a bloody strong head-wind).

So that's how you're supposed to ride a fizzer?!?!? Magic!!!

:rockon:

So you are sorted ? :thumbup:

 

[RJ2112]

Holy crap batman!!!

I tried running the bike to the limiter in 1st gear today, and hit 60mph (in a bloody strong head-wind).

So that's how you're supposed to ride a fizzer?!?!? Magic!!!

:rockon:

<grins> Why Yes, Johnny.:wav: