International Distance Converter Missing on Gen III

[Spud]

So as I just rode about 1000 miles through Canada last week, I realized how nice it is to have the international distance converter wheel printed right on my dash. The Gen III got rid of this handy feature with the digital readout.

You've been there--you pass a sign that says the next town is 40km, what the hell is that and who wants to do math? So you look at the wheel: there it is 25 miles. The wheel on my Gen II converts up to 180 miles to km's, giving you about a tank's full worth of range. A most useful device!

 

[RossKean]

I could do that too - except I would have to get out my reading glasses and squint a lot!

(The secondary numbers aren't very large.)

Miles are minutes and kilometers (x 100) are hours at secondary highway speeds (as a first approximation).

 

[JREW]

On the Gen III you can easily change your speedo to KM's while in Canada, then change it back. It's part of the menu system, at least it is on mine.

 

[stealth1]

On the Gen III you can easily change your speedo to KM's while in Canada, then change it back. It's part of the menu system, at least it is on mine.

That would be a speed converter.

Spud is talking about a distance converter.

 

[Spud]

On the Gen III you can easily change your speedo to KM's while in Canada, then change it back. It's part of the menu system, at least it is on mine.

That would be a speed converter.

Spud is talking about a distance converter.

Correct, two completely different things lol. These are the strange things I contemplate on long solo rides

 

[RossKean]

On the other hand, for a Gen III, you could note the distance (in km), get going at that speed, set the cruise, switch the display to miles and voila - instant digital conversion and reading glasses not needed. A bit problematic if the distance is ten km or less (you will piss people off doing 6 mph on the highway). Won't work for a 2013 at anything over 128 km (80 miles) because of cruise limitation. Could be a bit dicey at higher distances - "Officer, I was just trying to find the distance in miles to Toronto. That's why I was doing 250 km/hr"...

 

[HotRodZilla]

On the Gen III you can easily change your speedo to KM's while in Canada, then change it back. It's part of the menu system, at least it is on mine.

That would be a speed converter.

Spud is talking about a distance converter.

Exactly, but as Ross so cleverly pointed out, if the next town is 40km away and the bike is moving at 80kmh, the rider will arrive in half-an-hour. It's math, but at least it's simple. Lol...

 

[bergmen]

Kilometer to miles: divide by 8, multiply by 5. Easy to do in your head (we had to do this when we lived in Japan, mostly for speed limits). 40 Km = 25 miles.

Dan

 

[raesewell]

As a rough calculation it's about 2/3 mile to 1 Km, Simples

 

[Spud]

Kilometer to miles: divide by 8, multiply by 5. Easy to do in your head (we had to do this when we lived in Japan, mostly for speed limits). 40 Km = 25 miles.

Dan

60 km's to the next town. 60 / 8 = 7.5. 7.5 x 5 = 37.5. Screw that noise! Look at the wheel: 60 = 37.5.

 

[El Toro Joe]

...or you could just say "F" it and not ride in Canada...

 

[bergmen]

Kilometer to miles: divide by 8, multiply by 5. Easy to do in your head (we had to do this when we lived in Japan, mostly for speed limits). 40 Km = 25 miles.

Dan

60 km's to the next town. 60 / 8 = 7.5. 7.5 x 5 = 37.5. Screw that noise! Look at the wheel: 60 = 37.5.

Gen IIIs ain't got no wheel. Mental math to the rescue.

Dan

 

[RossKean]

Kilometer to miles: divide by 8, multiply by 5. Easy to do in your head (we had to do this when we lived in Japan, mostly for speed limits). 40 Km = 25 miles.

Dan

60 km's to the next town. 60 / 8 = 7.5. 7.5 x 5 = 37.5. Screw that noise! Look at the wheel: 60 = 37.5.

60 km - 60% of one hour @ ~60 mph (~100 km/h) 36 minutes or 36 miles

(I understand that the original post was more-or-less in jest...)

 

[Mr_Canoehead]

Doesn't everyone multiply (or divide) by 0.621 in their head? Is it just us OCD engineers?

Here's the millennial way: Press phone button on Sena - "OK, Google; How far to <insert town name here>?" or "OK, Google; how many miles is 85km?"

 

[Uncle Hud]

Mr_Canoehead posted: Doesn't everyone multiply (or divide) by 0.621 in their head? Is it just us OCD engineers?
Here's the millennial way: Press phone button on Sena - "OK, Google; How far to <insert town name here>?" or "OK, Google; how many miles is 85km?"

This OCD engineer multiplies/divides by 0.6. On a 100-mile journey, the difference is only 2.1 miles. (I don't think the FJR odometer reads to +-2% accuracy anyway.)

Hmmmmm. Google Maps automatically "welcomes" me to new states and new time zones. Wonder if Miss Google auto-switches to km when in Canader or Mehico?

 

[stealth1]

Thanks for starting this thread Spud.

Your distance converter works on the same basic principle as the slide rules we used back in my school days.

Made me wax nostalgic.

 

[eflyguy]

Hmmmmm. Google Maps automatically "welcomes" me to new states and new time zones. Wonder if Miss Google auto-switches to km when in Canader or Mehico?

Not sure if it would switch mid-route, but it will use the local units when planning/starting a route.

 

[chazglenn3]

On a somewhat related note, I was once considering the purchase of a Gen III bike from up north of the border. I was told the bikes up there DO NOT have the ability to switch from KM's to miles. True? The purchase plan fell through but that would have been a bummer.

 

[Fred W]

Here ya go: Print this. then hang it on your bike for doing conversions. You're welcome.