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Just bought a 1984 FXST and waiting for it to be delivered. It has what looks like an aftermarket speedo on it reading 32,010 miles on it. Previous owner has no info on it. I received the title, still in the old owners name, and it has a spot that says odometer date, xx/xx/ 1992.I haven't seen the bike in person yet but saw plenty of pics and videos and appears to be in great shape. All numbers match. I know there's no way tell how many miles are on the bike. Even if it had the original odometer, it could have had a broken speedo cable for years. Just wondering if these were a popular upgrade and did they have to be registered or anything if I can find a serial number on it. Not having history on the bike bugs me while I not so patiently wait for it's arrival.
The old Stewart-Warner OEM speedo on my Shovelhead rolled over, got up to 49000-something miles, and fell apart. The needle popped off and the face started spinning around. After I got pulled over once for underestimating my speed (he let me go), I got a new "Police Special" aftermarket ( which just meant it was calibrated), and installed it. The mileage of the bike is whatever is on that one plus 100,000 plus 49000+, as if it matters at this point. Still have the old one laying in a parts bin. The aftermarket speedo is pretty accurate.
I got a friend with a Panhead that has no idea how many miles are on it.
The old Stewart-Warner OEM speedo on my Shovelhead rolled over, got up to 49000-something miles, and fell apart. The needle popped off and the face started spinning around. After I got pulled over once for underestimating my speed (he let me go), I got a new "Police Special" aftermarket ( which just meant it was calibrated), and installed it. The mileage of the bike is whatever is on that one plus 100,000 plus 49000+, as if it matters at this point. Still have the old one laying in a parts bin. The aftermarket speedo is pretty accurate.
I got a friend with a Panhead that has no idea how many miles are on it.
I can visualize the needle popping off and the face spinning. I hear a "boing" sound followed by a whizzing sound. The mileage on the bike I bought is unknown as far as I am concerned. It also reads not actual mileage on the title. Seller says the mileage on the speedo is actual, so maybe the story that was handed down was it was set to whatever the old speedo was when the new one was installed.
As far as "registering" mileage goes, many states have an exemption after a certain amount of years so it really doesn't matter. I know in my state after a vehicle is 10 years old or more the titles show mileage as exempt because of the age. But that's going to vary from state to state.
Depending on your state, you may have a TMU title (not a bad thing, just certain states do not have confirmed milage after x-amt of years)... There is no way to tell unless you can get a 'bikefax' and it has the milage at each yearly inspection. Your 'new' odo may have been set with the mileage when it was swapped...
I added a similar speedo/tach combo on my 2002 Fat Boy. But mine is HD. When I ordered the part (many years ago now) I told them what to put on it for mileage before they sent it. The bike might have a couple hundred miles more at most than the odometer shows but it's close enough.
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Aftermarket speedo/odometer
