BMW R1200R R1150R/T F800 K1200R R1100R/T R1250R RnineT Message Board

Has anybody else noticed the strangness of the ambient temperature gauge? While you think you are getting one decimal place precision, you are actually getting changes in 0.9 F degree increments, not 0.1, as you might think from the display (nn.n). After days of watching it and puzzling, I finally figured out that that is equal to exactly 0.5 C degree.

I just thought I'd mention it. It is obviously an observation of note.

Peter

This was beat to death somewhere "in true BMW fashion". Sometimes I wish the stupid thing wasn't even there, if I'm 300 miles out and heading home, I can figure out if I'm hot or not, I don't have to know that it's 100.9F. But then again if it jumps from 100.1 to 100.9 then it might really be 100.4 and then I would feel cooler.
It's like the average miles, MPG and miles to empty - just a toy.

The temp gauge reads in 0.5 degree C increments. So when 15.0 C is converted, you get 59.0 F exactly. Unfortunately, since 0.5C=0.9F, as the temp rises the US gauge reads 59.9, 60.8, 61.7, etc. It implies great precision, which is misleading.

Cheers, Tom

mogu83 wrote:This was beat to death somewhere "in true BMW fashion". Sometimes I wish the stupid thing wasn't even there, if I'm 300 miles out and heading home, I can figure out if I'm hot or not, I don't have to know that it's 100.9F. But then again if it jumps from 100.1 to 100.9 then it might really be 100.4 and then I would feel cooler.
It's like the average miles, MPG and miles to empty - just a toy.

Since I don't have an MP3 player, I actually enjoy watching it on long stretches of desolate highway. It is no more useless than "miles to empty" (which I don't believe) or mpg (which I don't believe, either).

famousperson wrote:

mogu83 wrote:This was beat to death somewhere "in true BMW fashion". Sometimes I wish the stupid thing wasn't even there, if I'm 300 miles out and heading home, I can figure out if I'm hot or not, I don't have to know that it's 100.9F. But then again if it jumps from 100.1 to 100.9 then it might really be 100.4 and then I would feel cooler.
It's like the average miles, MPG and miles to empty - just a toy.

Since I don't have an MP3 player, I actually enjoy watching it on long stretches of desolate highway. It is no more useless than "miles to empty" (which I don't believe) or mpg (which I don't believe, either).

I like it also. I keep it on the temp display at least 80% of the time. I wish I had an altimeter too. But that's just me.

Mark

celticus wrote:

famousperson wrote:

mogu83 wrote:This was beat to death somewhere "in true BMW fashion". Sometimes I wish the stupid thing wasn't even there, if I'm 300 miles out and heading home, I can figure out if I'm hot or not, I don't have to know that it's 100.9F. But then again if it jumps from 100.1 to 100.9 then it might really be 100.4 and then I would feel cooler.
It's like the average miles, MPG and miles to empty - just a toy.

Since I don't have an MP3 player, I actually enjoy watching it on long stretches of desolate highway. It is no more useless than "miles to empty" (which I don't believe) or mpg (which I don't believe, either).

I like it also. I keep it on the temp display at least 80% of the time. I wish I had an altimeter too. But that's just me.

Mark

Altimeter, yes! I yearn for one. I have a Garmin (not my Zumo) that gives the altitude but it is on some fairly inaccessible screen. You can get cheapie dash stick-ons for cars that work great but 1) I don't know where it would fit and 2) I doubt if they're weatherproof.

What I would really love to see is one along the lines of the nice little clocks and temerature gauges that are made for motorcycles.

Peter

famousperson wrote:It is no more useless than "miles to empty" (which I don't believe)......

I believe mine. Filled up this morning at 219 miles with it showing 15 miles to empty and took on 20 litres. That's 10.85 miles per litre consumption. 1 litre left in the tank and it reading 15 miles to go isn't far off - I run the tank on this bike far closer to empty than I have on any other bike precisely becasue I trust the coundown plus or minus a few miles. The fuel consumption readout isn't more than +/- 2mpg out on what I calculate either - usually closer.

I trust my odometer and my personal knowledge (from keeping track at fill-ups) that I get 45 mpg, highway. I use the fuel gauge (the accuracy of which I question, also) only to tell me when to start paying attention to the odometer.

Now, I will confess I am probably negatively biased against milage computers because my truck's computer really is wildly inaccurate. The mpg and dte figures are jokes. I guess it is unfair to compare a a Dodge truck with a BMW motorcycle but I simply don't want to run out of gas. Since you know for a fact that your computer is accurate, by all means use it. That's what it's for--when it works.

1 degree Fahrenheit = 5/9 degrees Celcius, hence 0.5C = 0.9F (plus 32, of course, since 0C=32F)

When are you septics gonna catch up?

I like watching the temp, too, especially when riding through variable country ...

celticus wrote:I like it also. I keep it on the temp display at least 80% of the time.Mark

Temperature display and Tripmeter 1 are the most meaningful readouts for me, especially in winter, so I'll see your 80 percent and raise temp. to 99 percent of the time.

The residual range part of the OBC has left me stranded twice, once at 30 miles to 0, so I ignore it. That's probably the reason BMW recommends not trying to use the full range before refueling.

Caroanbill wrote:1 degree Fahrenheit = 5/9 degrees Celcius, hence 0.5C = 0.9F (plus 32, of course, since 0C=32F)
...

I just wish there were a way to tell the unit to read out in C rather than F. The false precision bothers me.

Re altimeters, there's this thingie:

http://www.chinavasion.com/product_info ... ermometer/

The weather prediction aspect caught my eye.

Good roads,

- Lewellen

websterize wrote:

celticus wrote:That's probably the reason BMW recommends not trying to use the full range before refueling.

I think most of the reason is that recommendation is that running the fuel pump dry is likely to damage it. And the closer you get to a 0 mile range the closer you are to running the pump dry.

sproggy wrote:

websterize wrote:

celticus wrote:That's probably the reason BMW recommends not trying to use the full range before refueling.

I think most of the reason is that recommendation is that running the fuel pump dry is likely to damage it. And the closer you get to a 0 mile range the closer you are to running the pump dry.

Celticus did not write that. Someone is "snipping" over fervently.

Mark

lewellen wrote:I just wish there were a way to tell the unit to read out in C rather than F. The false precision bothers me.

Anyone know if this is possible with a GS911 diagnostic tool? If not, maybe the dealer can do? You can easily switch from Celsius to Fahrenheit in BMW autos.

I like the ambient temp guage, like tonight riding home from work i reached the lowest low temp so far (for me) 4C or last summer i reached a high of 45C. Its also good when crossing mountains & back down into the valley, the difference a few k's up or down is fun to watch.

websterize wrote:

lewellen wrote:I just wish there were a way to tell the unit to read out in C rather than F. The false precision bothers me.

Anyone know if this is possible with a GS911 diagnostic tool? If not, maybe the dealer can do? You can easily switch from Celsius to Fahrenheit in BMW autos.

The GS-911 information page doesn't really say; I think the info. on the website refers to being able to change the units the GS-911 software uses, not what the bike shows: http://www.hexcode.co.za/products/gs-91 ... ion-button

Good roads,

- Lewellen

Seems a dealer computer can do it, but it's probably gonna cost you. The last time my dealer plugged in the computer — to clear a LAMP error after I installed the OEM LED tail light — it cost $74.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but Fahrenheit is the accepted temperature scale in the US, right? So why do you want to change to Celsius - just because you don't like seeing fractions of a degree on the scale? Imagine what we have to put up with - half the time there's an annoyingly untidy ".5" after our temperature readings and........get this.......just because it says ".5" it doesn't necessarily mean it is - it could be ".4" or even ".6". Or ".3" or ".7". The horror of it all - temperatures rounded to a non-round figure. And the boredom - always ".0" or ".5" - no variety at all.

I'm going to have to sell the bike.