Replacing F800GS Speedo sensor

[Ceri JC]

After several uneventful rear wheel removals, I've finally been a forgetful idiot and omitted to remove the rear wheel abs/speedo sensor during a tyre change. Predictably, I managed to shear the little black magnetic nub off and the speedo now doesn't work.

I have the BMW DVD (albeit not here, so I can't check it). I have a well equipped garage and a Halfords round the corner if there's anything really esoteric involved, but no GS-911 or equivalent. I've ordered the replacement part from the shop, how hard is it to fit yourself? If anyone could shed any light on this, I'd really appreciate it, thanks.

 

[Greggers]

It should just be a plug'n'play fitment, although the OBC might record an 'event' that could need a dealer re-set. I'd just go ahead and fit it and see what happens ...

FWIW - the ZFE unit (the brain if you like) records every event that occurs in the systems it monitors - so for example, I thought nothing about my horn cable being broken - it didn't even show up on the OBC as a component failure - so fixed it with a new section of cable, but when I took the bike to CW to reset the display (the service indicator had come up since I'd removed the clock unit) the tech there told me that the ZFE had logged the fault and also the date it occurred, as well as the date and time of the failure of my RH heated grip. It even records individual events such as ABS activations..

Did you also know that the 'new' system that BMW are introducing will download the contents of your bike's ZFE to their central database, so any networked dealer anywhere in the world can see your bike's history ...

Big Brother

G

 

[Ceri JC]

Thanks for that Greggers, I'll give it a go.

Did you also know that the 'new' system that BMW are introducing will download the contents of your bike's ZFE to their central database, so any networked dealer anywhere in the world can see your bike's history ...

Big Brother

G

I didn't know that, but it doesn't surprise me. I know the technology is out there and if I were in the manufacturer's boots, I'd do the same thing. I remember Top Gear mentioning that Ferrari were considering rejecting engine-related warranty claims for cars that had been redlined too often (the computer was logging this). It seems inevitable that as the cost of computing comes down and physically small, large capacity storage gets cheaper and cheaper, vehicles will log everything.

It'll be a grim day when this comes in for bikes, particularly once the police forensics lads get the hang of dumping and analysing your data at the roadside in a manner that's acceptable in court. "So, you were doing 110mph at 4.36pm on 17/03/11 sir? Under our sham of a legal system, you're guilty until you can prove you were on a racetrack or private land, or overseas."

 

[divelandy]

It'll be a grim day when this comes in for bikes, particularly once the police forensics lads get the hang of dumping and analysing your data at the roadside in a manner that's acceptable in court. "So, you were doing 110mph at 4.36pm on 17/03/11 sir? Under our sham of a legal system, you're guilty until you can prove you were on a racetrack or private land, or overseas."

An issues i have with the Garmin 660 is that there is no way to turn off the logging which includes location and speed. Hope it's not admissible in court!

 

[ILMV]

"Sorry officer, whilst this GPS says my average speed for this trip is 105mph, I can confirm it's Chinese knock-off and thus inaccurate... bloody TimTim!"

 

[Ceri JC]

An issues i have with the Garmin 660 is that there is no way to turn off the logging which includes location and speed. Hope it's not admissible in court!

I too have a 660 and have wondered the same thing. In a past life, I considered becoming an expert witness for high tech crime cases, so whilst far from an expert, I know a bit about the field and still have some contacts in it and read up on it from time to time.

After analysing my telemetry post-crash in an accident, it was possible to see a level of detail where I had swerved, where exactly the impact occurred, etc. made me immediately think about what I would do with it in a non-fault claim where it might help my case.

I think it probably would be admissible in court, provided it was handled correctly. I would envisage the process would be:

Police officer would need to seize it at the side of the road.
Police officer would power it off.
Police officer would hand it over to the forensics chaps.
They'd store it, analyse it when they got the chance, write a report on it.
If the CPS wanted to go ahead, the defence expert witnesses would have to be given the report and an image of the device in order for them to analyse it.

Fortunately for those who might speed, the average copper doesn't know a great deal about digital forensics. Police on raids (where they might encounter PCs etc.) are given small sets of cards detailing in very simple instructions what they need to do in order to maximise the chances of not tainting the evidence and giving the defence a way out. I've not heard about these covering the handling of GPSes specifically, (yet).

Long story short, I suspect that it would be possible, but the cost of doing it would mean that they would only bother in 160mph cases or where someone has been killed.

If I run into any of my old lecturers, I'll ask the question.