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Changing from mph to kph

moto-cavallo

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Anyone know if it's possible to change the bike speedometer from miles per hour to kilometers per hour easily? Just curious as it would be useful while doing international touring.
 
Anyone know if it's possible to change the bike speedometer from miles per hour to kilometers per hour easily? Just curious as it would be useful while doing international touring.
It doesn't look possible, at least on Beemers delivered to the USA market and without using some of those devices that mess with the firmware.

I can't recall seeing anything on the forum here, and I did a quick check of the owner and shop PDF manuals that I have for the C 400.

However, you may want to read through this reasonably short BMW LT forum thread from 2022:


... which also references this slightly older Adventure Rider thread:


That "LT" forum may have originated to discuss the long-defunct BMW LTs, but it doesn't restrict itself to that model. Actually, I think there are more threads dealing with RTs than LTs, for instance. In any case, that's not a C 400 forum, but it is a BMW bike forum, and my guess is that what those two threads describe is what also applies to the C 400s.

And if this is really the case, I agree with the sentiments of those folks who think this is pretty silly. My (non-BMW model-year 2018) car has a digital speedometer display that can be switched between mph and kph with a couple of clicks, and when my wife and I make the four-hour drive to Canada that's exactly what we do.

Good luck in your quest.
 
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It doesn't look possible, at least on Beemers delivered to the USA market and without using some of those devices that mess with the firmware.

I can't recall seeing anything on the forum here, and I did a quick check of the owner and shop PDF manuals that I have for the C 400.

However, you may want to read through this reasonably short BMW LT forum thread from 2021:


... which also references this slightly older Adventure Rider thread:


That "LT" forum may have originated to discuss the long-defunct BMW LTs, but it doesn't restrict itself to that model. Actually, I think there are more threads dealing with RTs than LTs, for instance. In any case, that's not a C 400 forum, but it is a BMW bike forum, and my guess is that what those two threads describe is what also applies to the C 400s.

And if this is really the case, I agree with the sentiments of those folks who think this is pretty silly. My (non-BMW model-year 2018) car has a digital speedometer display that can be switched between mph and kph with a couple of clicks, and when my wife and I make the four-hour drive to Canada that's exactly what we do.

Good luck in your quest.

Thanks as always to your research and insight Bill!
 
With my GS-911 tool plugged in yesterday I found this screen.
I believe I could change from miles to kilometres. But didn’t try.

Next time it’s plugged in. I will see if I can select both. Then get the option to change in the bike menu.

Also just noticed ‘pressure unit’ perhaps there might be a program for tyre pressure?!

UK supplied C400X 2023.


IMG_4484.webp
 
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Also just noticed ‘pressure unit’ perhaps there might be a program for tyre pressure?!

UK supplied C400X 2023.
Harry:

Yep, there's an independent BMW-focused (car and bike) tech in Thailand who has added internal TPMS sensors to a C 400. A few of us have researched this, and I've actually communicated with him about this a few times via WhatsApp. You can read up on this in this thread from last October:


Given the difficulty of having this work done -- both in terms of tire removal, internal sensor procurement and installation, and firmware updating -- and the possibility of voiding my warranty, I have given up on this project.

Instead, I'm sticking with my rear-wheel-only system, i.e., having added, right after getting my former and current C 400 GTs, an external TPMS sensor (from FOBO) only on the rear wheel. (Adding an external sensor -- apparently from any manufacturer of external sensors -- to the valve stem on the front would result in its smacking into a brake caliper.)

In related news, I recently purchased an Aoocci C6 CarPlay-capable device, for about $170. This is a low-end device similar to the increasingly popular (but more expensive) Carpuride devices, and came with its own external TPMS sensors. I have that set up on my Royal Endfield Meteor 350, including those sensors. I may change to some quick-release mounting systems such that I can swap the C6 over to my C 400 GT: I still won't be able to have a sensor on the front wheel, but at least I'll be able to see what the FOBO-on-the-rear-wheel is reporting without having my phone mounted on the bike (or buying helmet speakers, which I've never owned).
 
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