Case for Tachometers on all Bikes and Scooters

[anjan_c2007]

I know its a very tall order and very high expectations in a country, where even all the lower A and some B segment cars also don't come with OE tachometers.Why speak of A and B segments? Even my 2001 Bolero too has not come with an OE tachometer.
The bike makers have benchmarked the 145cc plus bikes for the fitment of
tachometers. A tachometer is very useful as a tool for better engine
life, less pollution and fuel efficiency. The driver becomes the best
judge to extract the best out of his machine with a tachometer. Over a
period of time one becomes adept in the art of reading the tacho needle
and then giving the inputs to the machine. Its thus not understood why
bike makers think that only the 145 cc plus bike riders deserve it.
Remember the Kawasaki Bajaj KB 100 that made its début in 1987. It came
with a factory fitted tachometer borrowed straight from the Japanese design (of course with Bjaja Auto's concurrence).Even the Bajaj Caliber (110 cc) came with OE tachometers- a fallout of something good carried over from Kawasaki to Bajaj. The TVS Victor (110 cc)didnt have a
tachometer but came very near it by offering a green (fuel efficiency)
light on its instrument console.
Tachometers can be made optional by our bike and scooter makers for the 90 to 100cc plus segment, to be featured in variants.
For all lower end bikes and scooters the manufacturers can at least offer the tacho as an option for those who understand its utility.

[SuperSyn]

You are preaching to the converted!
Yes, all vehicles and two wheelers in particular must come with tachometers. Unfortunately, the two wheeler market is very price sensitive, so no one wants to take the 'risk' of giving a tacho as OE in a 100cc or 125cc bike.

[bblost]

I don't care much for the tachometer. Instead depend on my feel of the bike.
The entire cluster speedo/odo/tacho has long been removed from my bike.

Did not bother much with it when I had them. Don't miss them now either.

[narayan]

I dont quite understand this obsession with the tachometer ...

what difference does it make to regular driving ? I have never checked the tacho while driving bikes or even my OHC

as far as i know, its used by some ppl to shift gears at the right rpm - almost all of us can do that even without having to look at the tacho

if its some kind of race and one wants to shift at just the right rpm to extract max power/torque in that gear i can understand - but how many times that is done in the normal course ?

[aaggoswami]

I think it must be made a rule to offer a tachometer on all two wheelers. I had Bajaj Caliber ( not 9.5 bhp, but with Kwacker one ) and let me tell you that I learned how to ride a bike literally with the help of tachometer. It helps a lot.
My present ride is Zeus, again a bike with a tachometer. I prefer to have tachometers as standard equipment in two and four wheelers.

[Sankar]

A tach is a useful thing to have for someone who really understand it's value. It is a tool which can be used in many ways than one.

[blue_pulsar]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

The TVS Victor (110 cc)didnt have a
tachometer but came very near it by offering a green (fuel efficiency)
light on its instrument console.

After the accelerator reached a certain point, the green light would turn Orange. It didn't depend on gears. That way, all HH bikes, all Honda scooters have the speed limit 40-60kmph marked in green and have "ECONONY" in green. TVS only found a workaround, thats all .

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by blue_pulsar

After the accelerator reached a certain point, the green light would turn Orange. It didn't depend on gears. That way, all HH bikes, all Honda scooters have the speed limit 40-60kmph marked in green and have "ECONOMY" in green. TVS only found a workaround, thats all .

Thanks for the update blue_pulsar.Yes that was TVS' way to do a cheap shortcut to the real thing.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Tachometer should be banned on bikes!

Nobody should (err... maybe unless they are on a racetrack?) ever see the tachometer to change gear. Those eyes should be on the road, not the instrument panel.

It is useless gadget: anyone who needs a tachometer to change gears should be driving an automatic.

[Xeno]

well tachometers are okay. it shouldn't be banned or you shouldn't say its a must either. I just observe the tacho to note how responsive the engine is, and not to when change a gear. "using the tacho" to change gears is kind of b.s period. You change gears only when you feel the engine can take the load of the next gear , i.e it wont stall or stutter. to me its just a fancy addition to a desi bike to "lend" it a sporty feature, i.e the Bajaj Discover 135. Also to add the tacho isnt quite accurate when you hit the rpm limiter, it keeps jumping 500-600 rpm in the top range.

OT
Even in race bikes the rpm meter is useless, its just there and anything below 6k rpm is useless on a track bike, the tacho should start from 6k only.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Well, OK, "banned" was a bit over the the top <Blush>

[dkamath]

Might be a bit off-topic. Our car just went in for a major service (requiring timing belts to be changed, injectors to be cleaned, fuel lines to be replaced, etc). Ours is an older model year car which didn't come equipped with a tachometer. On asking the Service Advisor on how would they set the idle speed, he said it was by hearing the engine noise. And with other cars roaring in the service bay, wonder how would they filter out the noise produced by our engine, hehe. Nice if a vehicle comes equipped with a tachometer. Purely my thoughts.

[supremeBaleno]

Agree with bblost & narayan.

While it is a good thing to have a tacho, it is not really a necessity in a bike/car for everyday driving. I mean, are there really people who change gears every single time by looking at the tacho ? As far as I am concerned, it is just a cool thing to have.

P.S. : For those who are into racing and all, I do understand the role that a tacho plays, but here we are discussing everyday riding/driving.

[blue_pulsar]

I too agree that Tacho should be there. An extremely useful gadget. You guys need to get used to changing gears by looking at the tacho. Well, not everytime, but sometimes atleast. And its a cool thing to have!

But cars not having tachos is a shame. Even Nano should have it. Even the A-star VXi doesn't have it. Shame!

[aaggoswami]

There are more than one facility provided by Tachometer. Specially during running in period it helps infinitely and when we have the super smooth honda or Suzuki engines, we have to look at the tacho during running in. Once an engineer from Pune was visiting the Bajaj dealership. He told my dad that Caliber engine was designed to work the best in 2k-4k rpm range. Was very useful to us.
Apart from over-revvign the bike, other benefits are during raniy season when we have to clear water logged roads. Yes its possible to do without it also, but you save a few critical seconds mostly if you have a look at it.
Moreover, we can come to know about any issue with clutch. For example my Zeus will be doing 12.8 kmph per 1000 rpm in 5th gear. So accordingly if at 3k rpm if the speedo is not near the 40 kmph mark and nearer to 35, I can detect problem early.
There are a lot of advantages if this featuer is used in positive way. Mostly I ride the bike looking at tacho and not speedo.