I calibrated my speedometer using Karamba today. It is a really great piece of software which I haven't seen discussed on this site so I'm wondering if anyone here knows about it.

Karamba is written by Michael Köcher (six1) and Peter Stefan (Pezi). It is available for download from the Köcher Elektronik web site. The purpose of Karamba is to calibrate a K-bike speedometer and verify that both the speedo and odometer are functioning properly.

The program runs on a PC with Windows XP or Windows 7. The PC interfaces to the motorcycle through the connector joining the speed transducer in the final drive to the main wiring harness. It is necessary to manufacture a very simple cable to connect the plug on the motorcycle to the PC through the 3.5mm audio output of the sound card. The main page of Karamba looks like this:

Once the PC is connected to the speedometer through the transducer connector, and power is applied to the bike, then it is possible to select various road speeds in the software that will cause the speedo to operate and display those speeds as well as get the odometer to start to register distance.

I used the software to display a variety of speeds on my speedo so that I had assurance that the speedo was calibrated properly for my tire size. Really quick and easy to setup and use.

Has anyone else used this software before?

Good find!

I will read about it and test it.

Thanks

CF

Pezi is an absolute whiz at this stuff!

Good find robmack!

Brilliant! I've downloaded it and will explore its possibilities too. I like that the user can choose the size of the tyre on the bike as my K100RS has the K1100LT rear tyre size fitted. I believe my speedo to be optimistic slightly so this will verify my idea. Ta for this.

Crazy Frog wrote:Good find!

I will read about it and test it.

Thanks

CF

There is very little documentation available for the program. I'm in the process of putting together a tutorial which I will post to the Tutorial section in the next day or two.

Two Wheels Better wrote:...I like that the user can choose the size of the tyre on the bike ...

...which is veeeerrry useful for people with a side car...

Thank you Robmack!

This is really interesting and a good find!

Good curves!

Robmack has written a tutorial on how to use this software.
We all have to be thankful for the hard work he has put into this project.
I have lock his post but it can be found Here

Thanks a lot Rob.

Bert

I've just read Robmack's Karamba tutorial and re-read over this post too as I am going to attempt to perform this task since my speedo reads higher than the actual speed I'm travelling by nearly a 10% margin, as far as I can tell.

I see that it reads out info on the PC's screen, but I don't see if it makes an adjustment for you. So what I'm trying to understand is if the Karamba programme will only let you see whether the speedometre, and odo too, are calibrated correctly for actual rear tyre/wheel size based on the signal from the transducer. It's my understanding from reading the last line in the tutorial that if it's not reading correctly it's up to the user to remove the speedometre from the instrument cluster to access and adjust the dashpot to correct for any error? Thanks for this specific clarification.

TWB this is the pin numbers if you want to do it on the bench. It makes it a heap easier to do and about 1/10 of the time

TWB, you're absolutely correct about the adjustment. The Karamba program only diagnoses and displays the miscalibration between the programatic speedo (simulated in the program) and the actual speedo.

It is up to you to disassemble the instrument cluster and get at the adjustment pot deep inside the unit. I remember reading somewhere (possibly IBMWR FAQ) the direction that you turn to get the response you desire (i.e. clockwise or counterclockwise for greater indication...blah, blah, blah). I can't find that page right at the moment but it would be advisable to find out which direction to turn before fiddling.

great write up rob ...

good info k freak just what we needed .


twb ....mate i would be making the odometer adjustment first ...

i think you said that you may have reassembled the speedo needle but misplaced it somewhat .....low from memory ....

i can only think thats the odometer is intricatly synched to the speedo and that after the odo adjustment you may find that needle may need to be repositioned ??

good luck buddie

i may have to do mine too ....as i have no idea what mine is doing ..our group rides never seem to be at a constant speed (hey that aint a problem though ....giggles ) .........although that 5 k odo test the other day on our trip had mine as 1/2 a number low after 5 killometers

question for anybody ????
does any one else notice a slight hesitation in the trip numbers as they are ticking over ?

or am i a candidate for a funny gear somewhere ?

Great info Rob! This is on the list after I get the cluster re-conditioned. Keep us posted on progress twb...

OG

Good lord what a find, nice one robmack,
K freak nice additions, time to dig out an old laptop for a play

BIG D

The odo numbers do tick over somewhat, not in a smooth rotating way. It's due to the teeth contact in the cluster and the way they're spaced. Think of them as a Swiss watch mechanism. I did feel I pressed the speedo needle on a 'tooth' out when I replaced the odo gears a few weeks back, but my minor error doesn't add up to the actual over-the-road error that the speedo reads. This morning I'm knocking a 3.5 stereo plug and wires together and on the bench per K Freak's suggestion I'm calibrating the bastard once and for all. I'll let youse know how she goes. Time for the day's first cuppa.

Here's the speedo adjustment article: http://www.ibmwr.org/ktech/speedo-adjust2.shtml

Here's the dashpot adjustment:

It's the aluminium thingy with the small, flat slot right above the small, yellow cog.

K Freak wrote:

Pin #	Wire Color	Function
6	Green/black for 2V K bikes	12V+ power
6	Green for 4V K bikes	12V+ power
22	Yellow	Speedometer sensor
23	Brown	Ground

I've got the instruments out and apart on the bench, including the speedometre removed from the cluster, which is the only way to do anything if an adjustment is going to be made. So that means the three main internal instrument cluster pieces (speedo, tacho, and wiring 'foil' holder) will have to be slid back together and the necessary connections of 12 volts, earth and speed sensor will have to be made between checking the calibration and making an adjustment. It takes only three minutes to remove the cluster from the bike using a small, 10mm ratchet and another minute and a half to whiz the mount and back cover off using a number 2 Phillips head screwdriver, and a 5mm Allen head driver, plus a bit o' time to scratch yer belly and have a good think.



There are only 22 'active' pins out of a total of 24 potential pin positions on the two multi-pin connectors on the back of my 11/86 K100RS so I'm being careful to locate the correct pins. The small hinged covers over the wires of the connectors pop up easily and allow you to look at the wires in the back of these connectors. The green/black lead which is 12V power is the number 6, as K Freak suggests, of the right hand side of the two connectors, counting from the top. The yellow speed sensor wire is number 20 (third from the bottom of left hand side connector) and the earth or ground wire pin is number 21 (second to the last on the left hand side connector).



I always define the right hand and left hand side of the bike as in the rider's orientation when sitting astride the motorbike, not in the way you might look at any particular component from the front or back, to avoid confusion. I think the Poms like to say farside (right) and nearside (left) or some such, which used to thoroughly baffle me, and I ride and drive on the same side of the road as you do! Most of the time...

Back to it boys and girls...

I don't have a soft tape measure handy and I'm using a 140/80VB17 tyre out the back so I carefully marked a spot on the tyre's sidewall and marked a spot on the concrete patio using a heavy lead chippy's pencil (that's a carpenter for you 'furriners'). I then rolled the bike backwards until the spot marked on the tyre appeared again and marked another spot on the patio. I repeated this technique to be sure I wasn't all over the place and got the same measurement thrice. Measuring that distance turned up only 203cm which is considerably less than the 206cm shown when the K1100LT's bog standard tyre size is chosen in the Karamba programme. After allowing for some tread wear, I'm glad for the ability to absolutely specify my tyre's rolling radius, and will have to consider said continued tread wear when adjusting the internal dashpot. I'll probably compromise in between those two measurements of 206 and 203 centimetres.

With the speedo on the bench I gently pressed the speedo needle back against the stop. I have determined that it is spot-on as regards reading zero kilometres and pointing straight at the white zero mark. Pulling the needle off and repositioning it shows that due to the spline size on the speedo shaft it would read in approximately three kilometre increments of error up or down so I did not in fact muck it up the last time when I pressed the needle back onto the shaft. Now for the good stuff. Karamba engaged. I found it easier and simpler to fabricate the plug and two wires and connect directly to the bike's transducer connector instead of attempting to wire up to the instrument cluster's pins. I simply left the exposed instruments plugged into their respective connectors and shielded the electrics at the back from earthing to anything.



Later that sunny morning...after an hour or more of fiddling with the Karamba programme and getting absolutely nothing in the way of forward progress from it (the German to English translation is puzzling, and I'm usually reasonably good at determining what's meant), I am putting it away for a while and will come back to it later on. It DOES NOT allow the user to input specific tyre dimensions but instead only allows for standard tyre sizes, even under the "Free Tire Size" fields. For example, when attempting to input that the rolling radius of my back tyre is 203cm it will only allow for the standard 140/80VB17's 206cm measurement to be input. In short, the Karamba programme is not for the faint hearted or those lacking in patience (). At the least I have determined that I did not replace the speedo needle incorrectly. I'm simply gunna turn that little dashpot screw clockwise a tad and see if it made any difference when I go for a ride this arvo. Time for that second cuppa.

I thought you had to turn the dashpot screw anticlockwise to bring it back to giving a more correct speed reading?

Anticlockwise to 'correct' it if it's reading too fast, yes.

Cor blimy TWB, thats some work you have produced there boy with reports like this even muppets can follow top job.

BIG D

awww ...i wanted to see pics of the speedo doing staggered jumps from 60 to 200 in 2 secs .....all bare and naked like ....giggles
and the odo spinning round like a 60s style olympic clock .....



i guess we'll have to wait .......sighs


grin

I'm the Muppet today, Big D. I couldn't make a hide nor hair of sense out of the information 'Aye Karamba' was trying to tell me this arvo! I reckon it's someone's idea of good old fashioned German Schadenfreude. I'll have another crack at it tomorrow. The tea has turned into beer. Thanks, Charlie!

It looks like the program is written in VB or C++ so while I have limited capacity for the next few weeks I will try to take it apart and translate it to English.

Hope its just VB coz c++ is not easy to do as there is no debuging.

The Karamba programme is switched on and the proper tyre sizes have been selected, the speedo & odo work when I ride the bike, the connectors and 3.5mm stereo plug have been fabricated, are isolated from one another, have polarity, and are plugged in, and when the radio button is selected on Karamba and a speed selected, the bike's key switched to power, Karamba registers a speed that is about 15 kilometres higher than the 100 kms I've selected. It does that right through the speed scale but down low in the speed scale it actually registers a lower speed than you select. I'm not sure why it would do that.....and then, wait for it......ready, steady, here we go....as suggested it will in the tutorial, the speedometre & odometre on my bike register absolutely.........nothing. I reckoned Karamba instructed the motor in the speedo & odo to function which would show they're functioning and also show any error between the two sources of information, Karamba and the instruments on the bike.



Karamba registering 115kmh when 100kmh was selected. It does that all the way to the top end of the scale. For example, if 200kmh is selected it reads 220kmh, but if I select 70kmh it shows 60kmh, 50kmh registers 30kmh and 25kmh shows minus 10kmh...puzzling.


Isolated connectors properly soldered to the wires and a 3.5mm stereo plug, correct as measured with an ohm metre, and plugged into the correct plug on the bike's harness.


Plugged into the right hole on the 'puter.


The speedo with key switched on waiting patiently for Karamba to 'talk' to it. How's that tape over the BMU lamp!!!


This dialogue box opens when the 'Free Tire Size' field is opened and says something like 'Input Daily Kilometer' and 'Abort'.

Is it a possibility that there's a wiring loom issue, or instrument cluster problem, and if so, why do the speedo/odo function properly on the bike?

I'll delete 'Aye Aye Aye Karamba' and then download it again in case of a software glitch. This day, as yesterday, I have had my froost ration (pardon the poor German). I un-installed and re-installed to no avail.

UPDATE: I'm happy to report that if you experience what I have in trying to use Karamba you should try another 'puter, like I've just done. On a newer laptop the functions of Karamba work as intended. Apparently my 2007 hotrodded Compaq with Windows 7 won't let it function. Now to rip into the cluster and adjust the dashpot to compensate for the error. Kewl!

Does the software funtion correctly if the cable is unplugged from the computer?

Is the volume muted on the computer?

Seems the bike must be ok if the speedo functions ok.

Thanks, pjjms, all good. Volume correct, etc. It was my laptop. On another here in the house she works as intended.

Glad it worked out on the other laptop. Computers can be frustrating things at times.
How accurate was your speedo?

Success! I'm a believer now. Get behind me Satan!

The initial reading of the speedo was about <8 kilometres per hour faster than I was actually travelling at motorway speeds. I've managed to adjust it to be accurate to within two or three kilometres plus @ 200 kmh! Interestingly, it is far more accurate from 70kmh through about 130kmh then it starts to gain speed. Down low it reads high, then, as I said, it levels out, then begins to read slightly high again. This could be a quirk of my speedometre. I've always wondered how accurate it was in school zones which here are set at 40 kmh. It's reading 42 kmh now. I'll have to be careful to not get nicked by the safety coppers. Good though, that at 110 kmh indicated, our motorway's absolute limit, I would actually be travelling at 110 kmh.

To paraphrase what Charlie99 & K Freak said a few weeks back when we went for a ride, that's accurate information that you can use in your own way. I am not the sort of person who sets his bedroom clock five minutes ahead to fool myself into getting up in time.

Another thing...selecting slightly different tyre sizes doesn't change the accuracy very much at all. For example, if 100 kmh is desired, specifying a 130/90-17 tyre shows 99.5 kmh, a 140/80-17 shows 100 kmh spot-on, and a 160/60-18 displays barely 101 kmh. So, those of us who've replaced a stock 130/90-17 with a plus-one 140/80-17, or even gone up to the 4.5"X18" wheel with a 160/60ZR18 can breathe easy that we're not way out on our indicated speed.


With Karamba displaying 110 kph on the laptop this is what I was able to adjust my speedo to with the exposed guts plugged into the bike, shielded from debris and resting against the inner fairing. Perty good for non-government work, I'd say.

The odometre appeared to be accurate to less than a click or <1/10th of a tenth of 1 km over the course of 5 kms travelled that I observed it at 100 kmh on the snout. I'll take that minor error. Tyre wear would change it that little.


It took no time to knock out this 1 metre-length plug and connectors. Any locals wanting to borrow it are welcome.


The Karamba monkey say 200 kmh...what's this, maybe 202 kmh...close enough for this fool. Now I know when a coupla years ago I got flat out on my unladen 'bike on a remote, piney woods stretch of Summerland Way in northern NSW, with my helmet down behind the fairing, and my brains in my boots, and saw an indicated 245 kph @ 9000 rpm. I was actually travelling at a more realistic 225 kph when calculating using the previous 8% margin of error.

ahhh ....at last a good result twb .....good work brother ..


you know, youll have a line at your place with eager beavers wanting to sort out their kilometer misallignments ......hehe ...i recon that would be good for a "few dozen" classic coldies huh ?

oh i know the story ...."my computer wont run the program properly , or ,,,,"can you help me sort it ?"

but i see you got in first with the ..."you can borrow the cable " heheh

nice finish mate ....cheers (clinks stubbies )

Sussed!

Top job TWB you got it sorted thanks for doing the hard work mate.


BIG D

Nice mate!!

OG

Ta, it was frustrating at first when I got nothing for my efforts after a day spent fumbling about trying all manner of fixes, going over the details, re-reading the instructions, pulling out a few more of the already rapidly diminishing hair supply, never realising that it could be an error with my own, old 'puter. Then Liz came out with a hot cuppa in hand and casually suggested 'why don't we download it onto my laptop?'

What would we do without them?!

Lol, so true mate!

I took a longish ride yesterday arvo and the speedo needle seems eerily low compared to what it was, like I could step off and stroll along beside the bike, so just for fun I went back and forth through a roadworks site where they had one of those 'slow down ya bloody idiot!' flashing signs with radar that show your approach speed. Five times out of six it read what my speedo was suggesting until a loaded B-Double roared down the hill and blocked me view!

As Geoff Adams suggests in his IBMWR.org article on speedo adjustments, "A normal K100RS [2.81 final gear] characteristic is that when in 5th gear, both the speedo and tach needles remain exactly parallel to each other at all speeds."

I concur.

Thanks so very much, TWB, for your long, informative postings about Karamba. I was inspired to calibrate my speedo this evening from your experiences. I'm in the process of updating the tutorial with the good information you've provided and with my experiences. For example, I setup a bench test layout based on K-Freak's pinouts and found a way to adjust the potentiometer while watching the effect on the speedo realtime. Really speeds up the calibration process and it's not hard. While on the bench, it is also possible to test lights and other parts of the instrument cluster. I'll post to the tutorial when I'm done.

Excellent! I did find it time consuming to have to piece the cluster back together each time between the minor speedometre dashpot tweaks. Though I enjoy the process of working on this stuff anyway. So I'll look forward to the description of your method. Thanks.

Just outstanding Rob and thanks to both you guys for putting in so much time on this one!

OG

Mine was required. After that odometre surgery I'd performed it just wasn't right. I'm glad I got through it 'cause I was about to give up on aye Karamba and just make adjustments and go for as many rides past radar signs until it was right. As I said, now I'm a believer, and as the kids would say, it's the shit!

I made this a few years ago.  Unfortunately, my netbook at the time didn't have enough amplitude for Karamba to work properly so I resorted to using a soldering iron to generate a 60 Hz field at the sensor. The laptop I have now does put out enough amplitude, even at 50% volume, so I was able to use this on the K75 I just rehabbed. Instead of using Karamba, I did the math and used the sine wave generator feature of the freeware Audacity.

Hello robmack,
Wanted to calibrate my speedometer with the Karamba calibration program, but unfortunately the website you refer to doesn't exist anymore.
Is there an other way to obtain the program?
I understood that the program is somewhere on this website, but I can't find it.
By the way, very nice tutorial, description is crystal clear.

Hi elukros,

The program is available in the Downloads section of this website. Refer to the instructions to access the area.

Robmack,

Don't want to sound silly, but where do I find the instructions to access the Download area?
I tried via the portal, but apparently 'only users granted special access can read topics in that (download)forum' .
I experimented with Audacity to get a 50 Hz block wave to the instrument cluster, but the results are not satisfactory.

Send a PM to Crazy Frog and ask for a password to the downloads section.

Thanks RicK G,

Will do.
I'm also gathering some pictures of my K1100 RS overhauling project. The bike is almost finished.
Will post a thread soon

Hi,
I'm about to bench test/calibrate the Speedometer with the Karamba software.
Instrument cluster has been removed from the bike, 3,5 mm stereo plug connected to pin 22 and pin 23. Connected a 12V+ power supply to pin 6. Made sure that the ground of the stereo plug is connected to pin 23.
I was wondering, should I connect the 12V- of the pôwer supply to pin 23 or not? Or should I use pin 13 (which is also used as electrical grounding).
I'd rather not connect the 12v- together with the stereo gnd on the same pin (23). I'm afraid that this might fry the Sound card.
Any suggestions?

Don't ground pin 23 even though is looks like a ground because of the brown wire colour. the VR sender should remain floating (or at least tied to your PC's ground. Use Pin 13 for 12V return and Pin 6 for 12V supply.

Thank you Michael.

It's such an honor to finally meet you (virtually).
I am sure that our members will do everything possible to help you develop version 2.

CF

great news Michael
we wish you success

cheers from downunder

Great news.

I just downloaded the latest version of Karamba in English.
Michael did a fantastic job as now you have a pull down menu where you can select between German, English, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish and Portuguese.

Each language is setup with a dictionary file, but only German and English are set.

As we are an International community of multi ethnicity, I would need a couple of people speaking one of these languages: Italian, Dutch, Polish and Portuguese to help me to fill up the dictionary files.

This is a very easy job and should not take more than 15 min.

Here is a small sample of the English dictionary. Basically, you would replace one string with one of the other language. Only the msgstr (which stands for message string in programming) would have to be translated.


#: unit1.K_Sprache
msgctxt "unit1.rs_aktiv"
msgid "Select Language"
This will become: msgstr "Select Langue" in French


#: unit1.K_Hinterrad
msgctxt "unit1.K_Hinterrad"
msgstr "Rear"
This will become: msgstr "Arrière" in French

#: unit1.K_Durchmesser
msgctxt "unit1.K_Durchmesser"
msgstr "Diameter"
This will become: msgstr "diamètre" in French

If you want to volunteer, please send me a PM with the language that you select and I will send you a sample of the dictionary file.

I know, Google translate could work but Google is not as good as us when it's about bikes.
As soon as these files are done, Michael will compile a Linux version too(That may even work on a Mac).

Thanks in advance for your help.

CF