Speedometer not working

I rode my XJ550 into work last week and I noticed that the speedometer was not working. At lunch I took off the speedometer cable and saw that it was broke. I ordered a new one and have replaced the broken one. I decided to ride the bike into work this morning and my speedometer was still not working. I am going to take the cable off and make sure that it is aligned. Does anybody have any other suggestions in case it is not just the cable?

 

My speedo didn't work for over 30k miles. I replaced the cable just like you did with no response. So for 30k I used the tach. Last year I pulled the front wheel bearings and installed new ones. Packed them well with ep grease and greased the speedo gear and speedo dog. My speedo then worked and has worked ever since. I attribute this to repacking the grease on the speedo gear and dog.

 

More likely the dogs were not engaging properly in the speedo drive. Had to bend them on my 550 to make the speedo work as the PO hadbeen a bit brutal with the drive unit and it wasn't locked in correctly.

 

I thought about that but I never touched the tabs on the gear dogs.

 

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the gear dogs?

 

That is the part in the wheel hub that spins the speedo gear with the cable attached to it. It has two tabs that stick out like a dogs ears that the speedo gear must engage. If you put the wheel back on without them in the correct place the speedo won't work. The speedo gear has a slot that it fits into on the fork leg and the gear dog has these tabs that fit into the gear. That help? Or is it clear as mud?

 

I did not have to take the wheel apart. I took the speedometer cable back off and made sure that it was seated properly when I re-inserted it into the wheel. I took XJ550 out for a short spin and the speedometer was working okay.

 

I didn't think you would have to take the wheel apart. The speedo gear dog is on the outside of the bearing. I took my wheel apart to change the bearings which were bad. A little grease on the outside can do wonders. Just like making sure the gear is engaging the dog. My speedo working after so long was a bonus I didnt' expect! Glad to hear yours is doing fine.

 

Yesterday, on my way to work, my speedo stopped working. I got home and pulled the front wheel. I found that the speedo gear dog was bent and warped. I hammered the bugger back into shape, took a die grinder to fix the deformed edges and replaced. Everything seems to be working just fine, just need a road test to confirm. I have no idea how this piece got bent and warped. As far as I can tell, the wheel and guts were assembled properly.