File speedometer complaint

[josh]

I'd prefer an oldschool analog speedometer. I have had many issues with the screen, especially on slightly overcast days, or if I am wearing sunglasses.

Side Note:  I'm happy for people that don't have an issue, but piping up to say "that didn't happen to me at all" when people are looking for, "here's what I did to fix it" is annoying; if it didnt happen to you, how could you possibly be furthering a discussion aimed at fixing it?

Maybe your input would be better suited to a poll.........
-Kyle

I've never had a problem with mine, Until yesterday and a state patrol was behind me. Wished it worked so bad right then. 

[Tom G]

Hey Josh,  I agree with everything you said.  Some folks just like to be "heard" so they say much of nothing knowing they have an audience.  Creeps, Yes?

I have the same speedometer problem as you and other Bolt owners, and I filed a report with the National Highway Safety Administration, and also with Yamaha via my dealer.

All a waste of time. 

So, I bought a cheap Garmin GPS at "China-Mart" for about $90.00, to use strictly as a speedometer,  plus RAM brackets from GPS city for $30 or $40 bucks.  Works O.K., and keeps me from getting speeding tickets.

[chrisknight]

I filed a complaint directly with Yamaha about this.

[Tom G]

And, What good did it do? I actually telephone the Yamaha Customer Service department several months ago, and the "Doofus" who answer said he never heard of the problem.

So,  did you receive any feed back from Yamaha? 

Thanks,

Tom G

[tahenke]

The only thing I dislike about my Bolt and it looks like Yammy is turning their head to it. Sucks 

[Jonesin]

Yeah, I was cursing about this on a four hour ride my first day with the Bolt. At least I know what makes me drink.

[chrisknight]

Yamaha played dumb when I called and I still have heard nothing.  I have also filed a complaint with NHTSA.  I may be looking at buying a 2015 meter.  Sigh.

If anyone is having this trouble please file a complaint.  I thought enough people had filed so I wouldn't need to.  We need to stand in numbers.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchResults;jsessionid=f7yyVJ8QFnqtvpqBMpJlTTJcQ5PQ1y2hMmTjTssT1npTpgpx04Gk!-358755916?prodType=V&searchType=PROD&targetCategory=A&searchCriteria.model=BOLT&stats=1882292%2C1%2C0%2C60%2C0%2CBOLT&makeStats=&jsonBaseURL=%2Fdownloads%2Ffolders%2F&searchCriteria.model_yr=2014&searchCriteria.make=YAMAHA&searchCriteria.prod_ids=1882292

[Shane45_1911]

You're wasting your time.
Yamaha only made a few thousand 2014 Bolts.  Then they corrected the speedo on the 2015 models.  Case closed.
If this was an ongoing issue, you might have a leg to stand on. 
In the grand scheme of things, there might be a couple hundred 2014 owners that are upset enough to do - or say - something about this issue.  And a couple hundred voices is but a cricket chirp to a big company like Yamaha.
Suck it up.

[G8T0R]

Place an anti-glare cover over your speedometer. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G4SA1FG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I used one for my iPad and one to create a cover, 3 inches wide, with plenty of area in case i messed up and needed to create another.  For $7, can't beat it.

It isn't perfect but it does the job.

Beats calling and waiting.

[7udro]

shut off the sun 

[G8T0R]

That's my next course of action with the help of Mr. Burns!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyjJbhuwGkU

So far it has worked quite well.  Visibility has improved greatly!

[cas2047]

LOL - love the video!

The lack of speedometer visibility still bothers me.  I guess just not enough to make me do anything about it yet... I do wonder though why that terrible design flaw got past whatever quality control measures were in place through design/production.

[ShakerNorm]

Nothing you can do to the old speedo will help it - except what Art did - he tore it apart and took out the smoked glass inside. and he did NOT recommend anyone else do it - it's a nasty finicky job, apparently.  Luckily, Yamaha figured out the same thing and got rid of the glass for the next year.  Unfortunately, they didn't do anything for those of us with the original speedos.

Knowing some anatomy - here's the problem.....  Your eye only has a certain range of contrast that it can handle - and when the sun is bright, your irises close down and lessens the amount of light actually hitting the retina, so you don't burn it out. Of course, that means that the contrast at the darker end of what you can see (like the contrast between the lighter grey and black of the speedo) goes WAY down, and all you can see is a black circle.  When the sun is a bit dimmer, or when it's behind you - your irises open up, and the contrast increases to a visible level.  Of course, you don't really NOTICE that your irises are closing, since it looks like there's the same amount of light hitting your retinas - but that's the AVERAGE amount of light - not pinpoint values like the stupid black circle on your gas tank....  Removing that smoked glass increased the contrast enough to solve the problem - unfortunately, it's not a retrofix - you have to replace the thing with a newer one.

And that is why I prefer a needle and dial....... a nice orange needle is ALWAYS visible!  I can't wait till someone invents one!

[lunkhead]

I have a 2015 C-Spec and it doesn't seem to be a problem determining my speed with a quick glance. The big analog speedo on my Silverado is just as easy to read but I have to look down at the tank to read it. You might find that with a clearer readout and higher mounting, a dial isn't much better.

With a tachometer, there's a definite advantage having the visual clues from a bright sweeping pointer moving towards a red area to let you know when to shift. Showing just a number would be next to useless.

[lunkhead]

Didn't really think about it but you guys with speedos measuring km have the digits changing almost twice as fast. I can see that being a problem when accelerating.