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 Long time ago we have started to install some useful special installations to our motorbikes that helped a little
bit to make the long travels in the Alps more comfortable. We simply don’t belong to the type of long distance
motorbike travellers that travel around the world on a hard enduro, fully equipped with tripmaster, satellite phone
and metal top case. We just travel about four times a year through Europe, mostly the Alps and produce a maximum of 3.000 mls during one trip.
In the times where GPS receiver did cost a fortune, navigation system did not survive on a motorbike one rain
ride, we used bicycle speedometers to gain more information on our tours than the original built in speedometer supplied. Besides the trip information you have a watch, maximum speed, average speed, real
drive time etc. These speedometers are low cost, easy to install and we still use them today, since the GPS systems in the Alps don’t
work too good in deep canyons or in the passes lower section, as these are normally covered with wood. We use the BC700 from
Sigma, but you may also use other brands. Just take care that they can handle the speed you can go. Ask the dealer. There are not too many on the market.
We coordinate our day tours and the tour brakes based on the average speed of these speedometers. An average speed of 46km/h /
29mls is absolutely normal when you cruise the Alps. And remember - there is a general speed limit of 80km/h / 50mls in Switzerland
outside of villages and if you exceed that, the fines you have to pay are just sky high. Eleven km/h faster as allowed inside a village 250,-SFR. Everything above that will be handled as a crime.
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The installation of the
bicycle speedometer on the motorbike is relatively easy. The kit comes with an installation mount for the handle bar, a rubber ring for snap on, a magnet for the spoke and if you have purchased the unit
at a motorbike dealer, there will be a magnet for the brake disc in the kit. Below you see the installation on my Honda Varadero.
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