Speedo..=\

Gorgeous day out today. Go for a quick jaunt, backup where I'm at and heard a strange Ping-Dink sound from the front end. Everythings working fine, so figured it was just calipers releaseing. Get back park for a bit. Go to go for another Ride, and got no Speedo. DANG IT!! unscrew top portion and leave it dangle So I can see if it's turning or not while I drive. Nada. ARGgg! pull back in. Attach the top end, undo bottom end. Plink dink beside me, the speedo end.

Oh Well, off to the Bike bone yard tomorrow and see if they got one. Unless someone has one around me for the xj650?

 

Of course it just gets more fun... Grabbed another Speedo, tossed it on, Worked great...



for 14.9 clicks and then nothing....

GRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr


So headed back, he didn't have another in stock. but had a short new one in. grabbed it, tossed it on.. so far "knock on wood" it's still going =)

 

Ok What in the Heck would cause the Speedo cable's to snap? I"ve checked where it plugs in on the front wheel.. and it's spinning. (this is where it snaps) yes it snapped again!! The guage up top seems fine. is it just bad luck on 2 cables? or am I missing something? got a whole 24.3 clicks out of the new cable.

 

overtightened cables? Thats the first thing that pops to mind, but I'm not very familiar with how they're set up on these bikes yet so that may or may not be it. Worth checking though.

 

OK, heres a shot in the dark.
The speedo gears might be binding.
The bottom section is moving and the top is NOT moving. SNAP!

 

Is there a pic or diagram of the Gear assy in the wheel?

Just wondering if it's when I back up? the only odd thing, is I back the bike out in the morning and it was fine, 35 foot back up. unless? it's cold and when it's hot something not meshing right? thats the other alternative, butttt... if the Gauge gears were't working right, would it snap it at the bottom where it connects to the wheel gears?

EDIT:
"Doh just re read it... "The bottom section is moving and the top is NOT moving. SNAP!"


Yesss i see the Physic in that now. So it's possible that the guage is screwed again? When I bought the bike, they said they had to replace the guages and speedo cause they weren't working... Hmmmm

 

are you getting new or used cables?? A new one at my dealer cost less than $20 with tax and all. You can hook the bottom end to drill motor and go slow with it attached to the speedo you should be able to hear and feel if there is binding with slow speed. Take a note of what your odo. says you should be able to spin it backwards if it matters that much to you. The other thing is if the speedo adaptor at the wheel doesn't have enough grease it gets HOT!!! and can cause some issues next time you take a spin go for a bit the stop and feel down there with your hands. You should be able to hold your fingers on the axle and hub and feel very little warmth. If they are warm or hot you need at least grease and more than liekly bearings.

 

Have checked the gear assembly, best I could without taken the front wheel off. When riding it didn't heat up. So, Double checked to make sure that the cable spins freely down there, and it does. (Centre stand, weight on back, front wheel up and spinning). So the bottom end looks fine.

Cable was used first one, New second one. Passed by today and they had a new cable, but the screw part was broken, so they gave me the inside cable. SO technically, I have another new cable again. Haven't put it on yet.

Have the Cluster on my lap, I've put the cable in and with a drill attached, It spins freely, no glitches, no grinding, no noise.. just smooth. Drill stops and it just drops down normally as it spins down. No jerking.

Sooooo before I stick this (Insert explicit language) cable on the bike and screw the cluster back down. Is it possible that I've just happen to have 2 bad cables in a row by some maricle of Murphys Law? Am I missing something here? The last thing I want to do is put this together and have yet another Cable go (as above, insert explicit language) Ping!!

 

There is most likely a boo-boo (for lack of a better term) in the outer sheath somewhere that is binding the inner cable. I would dismount the entire cable assembly, flush it out REAL GOOD with brake cleaner or contact cleaner and compressed air and then lay it flat and INSPECT it very carefully. I'll bet you find the spot, it will probably be where the "flushage" started spewing out somewhere along the length of the sheath.

If there is just a hole in the sheath and moisture gets in, it will dry out the lubricant. DRY, it will fail almost immdeiately.

Be sure you lube the new cable before it goes in; use motor oil or a GOOD spray lube NOT WD40.

 

Plan on relubing this cable REALLLLY GOOD! before it goes back in and on. The cable that was in it prior, was Well greased when it came out and was packed nicely prior to going on. Have inspected the sheath, but haven't flushed it yet. Will do that tomorrow before Lubing the Snot out of it.

Now I was going to pack it with grease again, but I see you mentioned motor oil, so is it better to soak the cable in motor oil rather then grease the cable? I'm thinking back to when I was younger, and use to just pack the sheath with grease and gum up the cable with grease as well then slide it in.

 

I'm dealing with this EXACT problem. I have a spare sheath that I'm going to try in case mine also has a "boo boo". I also fear that my speedo is binding up somehow.

 

I wouldn't pack the cable with grease.
I would use a machine oil on the cable or motor oil.

 

i am having the same problem with my spedo. ive tried SOAKING my cable in heavy synthetic and conventional oil, but neither worked, i will have to check for binding. i will keep an eye on this thread for an answer.

 

I'm not trying to poke fun at anyone's plight here but this is kind of funny; my Norton has its speedometer driven off the REAR wheel (yeah, makes all sorts of sense, doesn't it?) by a cable that's about 4 1/2 feet long. Said cable has to move with the swingarm, and suffers through some interesting routing to boot. Needless to say, "boo-boos" in the outer sheath are not uncommon, nor is the problem you guys are fighting. It's just that the cable on the XJ is so short you could probably look through it if you lay it flat on the workbench.

There is one other thing I should mention: If the inside of the outer sheath is worn through at some spot allowing the inner cable to come in "metal-to-metal" contact with the windings in the outer casing, it will grind through cables at that spot. You may not be able to see that. If your cable keeps self destructing you may simply need to replace the whole thing not just the cable itself. Been there, done that.

 

Here's a word that will make you laugh.
I first heard it back when I had speedo-related noises to deal with!

"Krudation" Crud-eh-shun.

The accumulation of nasty buildup of grease, oil, dust, rust and moisture-related crap within the Speedo Cable Sheath.

When there is a spot on the cable sheath worn-through ... moisture gets pulled inside and away from where the cable cover is compromised and travels the length of the sheath for as far as the "Screw-auger" motion will drag it.

The cable Mix-Masters the stuff and drags it as far as it will go ... where it begins to accumulate.
When there is enough stuff in there to cause problems ... the first sign is a FLUCTUATING Speedometer reading.

When the stuff really gets "Thick" (and OLD) rust happens and either the cable BINDS and STRIPS-OUT the Cable Drive at the Axle -or- SNAPS a Cable.

 

Ok, so I have the Speedometer ripped apart. Everything seems fine with the drill spinning it. Didn't feel any jerks or graps. But I've got the thing apart,figured might as well lube it all up while it's apart. Well I see a whack load of looks like grungy brake dust in it. So I'm thinking it's probably dried up and picked up so much road dust over the years it's created this grunge crap inside. I spin the magentic wheel part with my finger and it's not smooth at all. I Can feel it grabbing slightly. SO thinking it might have been enough at slow speeds. (backing up). To grind and stop the cable from spinning. Now it's clean and lube time.... see how it goes from there =)

 

The magnetic wheel not spinning freely can be --the input bearing itself, or if there is enough CRUD built up in the gear teeth on the cross-shaft, it will keep it from spinning freely too. Use a toothpick to clean out all the "flutes" in the cross-shaft. You can flush/lube the input bearing too, from both sides.

DO NOT USE WD40 for any of this, it gums up.

 

kk, was trying to figure out how to lube the !$%# input bearing! Grrr... found this =)

http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=1 ... gears.html

Now, I noticed the Speedo and Tach lights were burnt out. Shot down to parts store.. and they didn't have 158 bulbs.. so got 168.. Is this going to be an issue with anything?

 

Man like a new set of gauges on the bike!!!!! SweeeT.

So far, knock on wood, all is good. Cables cleaned, lubed and in place. Speedometer is spinning like new.

*Note: Don't think because needle isn't jumpy that gauge might be spinning correctly.

Once all cleaned and lubed, everything was running smoothly. Needle never showed signs of Speedometer not functioning right, no jerk or jumps. And spinning it by Hand, while still intact and where the cable goes in, never showed either. But when you open it and turn it by hand inside the gauge, you can feel if there's grinding. Connection in wheel is spinning and rotating correctly.

So I'm down to Murphys Law on the previous cables.... Or that slight grind, (normal wear and tear), inside the speedomter gauge was enough to cause enough friction on the cable and make it bind and snap.

*Note if you open your gauge and you have a Trip meter on it, Hold the blue gear with a screw driver and Spin the trip arm backwards, it will unscrew. I couldn't find anywhere on here if the turny thing was either pressed on screwed on. It's screwed on. =)

 

OOPS! I forgot about that; both the speedos I used for the pics had their trip odos lopped off for different reasons.

Yes, the side-mounted turn to reset trip odo knob screws on BACKWARDS it's reverse threaded.

The push-to-reset style unbolts from the speedo frame.