Riding without clocks

[P.]

Is it legal to ride without a speedo?
Putting the GS500 together again, got a new front end half sorted, just no clocks

[Charlie]

Dunno but is bloody annoying not having clocks, mine has broken twice on a big-ish journey down south. And there no where that stocks them (at the destination not home). So I have to find a small independent garage who will let me rummage in their box of speedo cables to I find one that fits.

Can't you use a pedal bike speedo? I find it really annoying without a speedo cable, I mean I know in 6th at 8,000 rmp is 60mph but I have forgotten what 30 and 40 are and in which gears
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Past: Honda x8rs, Honda City fly, Honda Hornet 250, Honda VFR750, Yamaha xt600e.
Current: Honda CBR929RR & Yamaha XT660Z Tenere

[P.]

I dont really care about the speeds too much, i follow traffic anyway... just dont want to get pulled/fail MOT for no clocks..

[stinkwheel]

Not an MOT fail, the speedo is not tested.

Technically a speedo is a Construction and Use regulations requirement so a particularly well informed and pedantic copper could issue an on the spot fine and rectification notice.

In reality, they'd have to actually ride the bike to see it wasn't working and I've never heard of them doing that.

I've ridden bikes with no speedo for years at a time.

Technically if you sell the bike after having been riding it with no speedo, you should put a sticker over the odometer and state that the mileage shown is not garaunteed to be accurate in the bill of sale to avoid accusations of misrepresenting the mileage.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[cyberglass]

nope you dont legaly need one.

Most of the guys i ride with dont have them as there on crashed bikes HAHA
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DL650 Vstrom 2004
DRZ400S 2003
Yamaha R1 2005

[DrDonnyBrago]

Well I'd stick one on there even if if it doesn't work. It wont fail the MOT but it doesn't take a very observant copper to notice a complete LACK of clocks.

[P.]

yea...problem being the donor bike is also without clocks, my ones were smashed in accident too

Its only a GS500, its got some form of fairing and i'd ride it to and from work...thats it. Its all quiet roads anyway...but as long as it wont fail the MOT and police dont really notice when im riding along.. then safe to say i should be ok?

[G]

Yea, I'd at least stick something on there to look like you have something - be it a broken push bike speedo or motorbike clocks.

When I got stopped after being radar'd at 119mph I gave a speed as 110-115mph before they told me the real speed as I didn't want them to notice I didn't actually have a speedo dial (I had predicted about 120mph, but knocked a little off to be on the safe side.)

[Frost]

Stick a bicycle speedo on it with duct tape and if stopped claim it works fine

[DrDonnyBrago]

[Ingah]

A guy who tried to sell me a dodgy CB500 seemed to think using a bicycle speedo was perfectly legal, and showed it me on his other bike (it was some sort of litre and a bit engine; half and half a bike job). The CB500 clocks were fine, so he had no reason to try to lie on that point.

Do suggest you leave the clocks there too, so you don't stick out like a sore thumb and have a copper that may or may not know what he's talking about giving you a ticket or worse (not i that i myself claim to *know* on this particular issue). Not my style, i far prefer the needle. Although of course, i'd probably be priced out of buying a new speedo if mine ever were to have a little accident.
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-- Ingah

[Alexio]

See one of these threads:

has anyone fitted a pedalbike speedo to motorbike?

Bicycle speedos

Ought to be a cheap fix? Even if it doesn't work, when stopped you could point to it and say it does
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will never give up his CG. I look at my fuel gauge more as a progress bar than a fuel gauge.
G: With my GSXR I do often effectively use it as a scooter with a clutch in town.
ms51ves3: why does it need 500 miles? Are you teaching it how to be a piston?

[G]

Gone through the story a few times before, but quickly...
They were talking dangerous driving as I was undertaking at the time, they chased me for just over 10 miles without me realising, saying they hit 140mph and I was still getting away from them at points in the light traffic - caught up when I slowed down as found the person I was late to meet.
Tried to also do me for a dodgy tyre (just a race scrub, legal) and headlight (held on by computer case, but they claimed it was too small as it projector beam before they were popular - it was e-marked and legal too.)

Total penalty - many months of being scared.
Nothing ever came through the post. Few possible explanations.

[stinkwheel]

[The Artist]

Nothing on my clocks work. No rev counter, speedo, lights etc. Been like that for about 2k miles now. I will be replacing them when a cheap set comes on ebay.

[Alexio]

[Paxovasa]

I always thought a speedo was a necessity and one needed to be fitted for an MOT

Edit: Legally you do need to have a working speedo fitted.
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Suzuki GSF600 K3 (in the fastest colour, black).

[Alexio]

[DrDonnyBrago]

[Blau Zedong]

[b-f-c]