Imperial to metric units for continental touring

[Deleted account 260105001]

Hey-Ho,

Any pointers as to how to change on a 2017 GS, the digital display from miles to kilometers?

Off to Spain to cross the Pyrenees this weekend

Many thanks.

 

[EVskiy]

BMW dealership would be your friend. That my take on this.
It'll involve plugging it into a computer, relieving you of a few pounds and when you get back it'll be same process all over again.

However if you use Nav V or Nav VI you can display speed there and it will adjust automatically to Km/h


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[wessie]

I used my Garmin Zumo 350 for speed monitoring - it displays the prevailing limit (mostly accurate) and your current speed - I left it in mph so the satnav converted the speed limit to something that was intuitive for me.

 

[Wapping]

Divide by eight, multiply by five.

 

[Andy B]

If it's miles to kilometers you want most Garmin satnavs offer you the option to switch between the two. If it is miles per hour and kilometers per hour then you need the BMW Nav 5 or 6 plumbed into BMW telemetry.

 

[N111BJG]

Put post-it notes around the dial

In that way if you think the speed in Km's is too high (or low) you can just move them round a bit

 

[RedRick Esq.]

I never bother and just rely on the NAV 5 speed display turning red or not depending on wether I am speeding

 

[JohnnyBoxer]

Divide by eight, multiply by five.

My rule of thumb too

 

[Wapping]

My rule of thumb too

Failing those sums (though some might call it high powered mathematics) work out that continental speed limits are broadly similar to our own. You near enough know what they are here, so just apply the same on the continent, you'll not go too far wrong.

Towns 30 mph = 50 kph. An easy enough one to start with and an easy one from which to calculate (guess at) other limits. 100 kph = 60 mph for example, a straightforward doubling. 120 is 20% more than 100, therefore 60 increased by 20% = 72 mph. It will keep your brain active, even if you are 'hooning in the zone', as they say or just bimbling along with your tunes and GPS unit, feeling alive.

Then work out that you take very little notice * of national and dual carriageway / mototorway limits in the UK, so why suddenly start doing so in Spain?


* Preferring to follow the Bikermates' Law number 17: Riding to whatever speed you deem appropriate, not to one set by some unelected faceless suit who's never ridden a motorbike.

 

[RedRick Esq.]

What I tend to do in reality is do the speed it says on the signs !

So when in Spain for example and it says 90 i do 90

No need to bother with all this conversion malarkey

 

[MickDB1]

My rule of thumb too

There is an easier option, Archie on here educated me to the, knock last digit off and X by 6
110kmph = 11 X 6 = 66mph or maybe, distance to go is 250km. 25 X 6 = 150mls
130kms would be 78mph

 

[Wapping]

What I tend to do in reality is do the speed it says on the signs !

So when in Spain for example and it says 90 i do 90

No need to bother with all this conversion malarkey

All road signs in foreign can be interpreted exactly as one pleases. If these people want British bikermates to come to their door, they should have the common courtesy to express them in English. Same for menus and talking. Rude feckers they is.

 

[Khulu]

Divide by eight, multiply by five.

Or just multiply by 0.625!

 

[ShakeyGS]

There is an easier option, Archie on here educated me to the, knock last digit off and X by 6
110kmph = 11 X 6 = 66mph or maybe, distance to go is 250km. 25 X 6 = 150mls
130kms would be 78mph

Not bad, but 130 kph is actually closer to 72mph - take it from somebody with a collection of international speeding tickets

 

[Wapping]

Or just multiply by 0.625!

Now you are really testing them!

 

[Deleted account 260105001]

All very helpful with the man-maths and much appreciated.

I have a Nav V so will set that the KMs however I do find it strange that main display on the GS can't be more easily changed between imperial and metric. I'd find this especially useful with the trip meter, for example when its 40KM to the next petrol station, I'm not having to rely on my man-maths to see if I have enough range when doing the miles->km computation in my head on the fly!

Having built a bike for Touring I'm really surprised BMW haven't made this easier. I've owned other makes of bikes (Honda) and this was easy-peasy to change the speedo and distance trip from mph to kmh and back again without have to visit a dealer and be relieved of more pounds.

 

[POL382]

Not bad, but 130 kph is actually closer to 72mph - take it from somebody with a collection of international speeding tickets

And that'll be because 130kph is nearly 81mph!

 

[Wapping]

I have a Nav V so will set that the KMs however I do find it strange that main display on the GS can't be more easily changed between imperial and metric. I'd find this especially useful with the trip meter, for example when its 40KM to the next petrol station, I'm not having to rely on my man-maths to see if I have enough range when doing the miles->km computation in my head on the fly!

Having built a bike for Touring I'm really surprised BMW haven't made this easier. I've owned other makes of bikes (Honda) and this was easy-peasy to change the speedo and distance trip from mph to kmh and back again without have to visit a dealer and be relieved of more pounds.

It is indeed an outrage. How did people manage before the days of 'At the push of a button' aids to continental motorised travel?

Vote with your wallet when next you come to replace your awesome touring steed.

 

[Wapping]

And that'll be because 130kph is nearly 81mph!

Whooooosh!

 

[fred_jb]

All very helpful with the man-maths and much appreciated.

I have a Nav V so will set that the KMs however I do find it strange that main display on the GS can't be more easily changed between imperial and metric. I'd find this especially useful with the trip meter, for example when its 40KM to the next petrol station, I'm not having to rely on my man-maths to see if I have enough range when doing the miles->km computation in my head on the fly!

Having built a bike for Touring I'm really surprised BMW haven't made this easier. I've owned other makes of bikes (Honda) and this was easy-peasy to change the speedo and distance trip from mph to kmh and back again without have to visit a dealer and be relieved of more pounds.

Having had this facility on other bikes, I also found it very surprising that the GS doesn't have it. This is the other reason why I fitted an auxiliary GPS driven speedo to my bike, which can be changed between mph and km/h at the press of a button. (The other reason was to have a readout big enough to take in at a glance with my aging eyes!)