Speedometer cable won't go back in!

[CatatonicBug]

I got a squeeking sound this last week, coming from the front wheel. So, since I have never torn into the speedo or the wheel bearings, I decided to take a crack at it.

Having read a post a couple of days ago about how to remove and lube the speedo cable, I figured that would be a sinch! NOT! I got it out just fine, lubed it up really good, and got it ALMOST all the way back in. IT won't go in the last 2 inches! Any tips or tricks to getting it in the rest of the way? I tried using a drill to spin it into place, but that didn't work. I tried sticking a piece of all-thread up into the other end to convince it that it was ok to come out that end - That didn't work either.

What can I do to get it to go all the way through?

[XS1100 Newbie]

Run a piece of fine wire up from the other end, and tape it to the cable. It will help convince it to go on through. Just like pulling wire through conduit.

[CatatonicBug]

I managed to get it back in. I removed the whole thing from the bike, and chucked up the end in a drill press. Then, while running the drill press, I wiggled the outer tube like crazy, right where the hang-up seemed to be. It finally slid right on.

[XS1100 Newbie]

Good job. Glad it went in.

[DiverRay]

So NOW order the new cable! You have a problem with the sheath, and the cable WILL break sooner rather than later.DAMHIKIJK.

[Larrym]

Urban Legend??

C-bug,

"chucked up the end in a drill press."

Then you connected it to the speedo, set the drill in reverse, turned it on, and left it running overnight??

I've wondered if this trick works to turn back the odometer on our bikes....

Probly too late to test this cause you've got it all back together. Maybe next year.....?

[DGXSER]

I tend to agree with Ray, I took mine apart and coated with cabel lube, slid right back in smooth as a babies bottom. Something in your sheeth is loose or pinched to cause that much issue with getting it back in.

[trbig]

I've wondered if this trick works to turn back the odometer on our bikes....

Yes it does work.. BUT.. at the speed of most drills, you're going to register @ 25-30 mph in reverse. So.. imagine you'd like to have ohhhh.. .say 10k miles off of the odometer. Just turn the drill on and leave it for... 333 hours, or nearly 14 days!


Tod

[Ivan]

From what you described, your cable sheath has kinked where it attaches to the fitting on the end near the wheel. If it didn't break the structural wire inside the sheath, you can straighten it out and then slide a piece of heat shrink over the joint to ensure weather proofing. If the core does end up breaking, thats an easy fix. New cores are available at auto parts stores, and you cut then to length and crimp the end on.

The best cable lube I have found is that crappy lubriplate grease that comes in a big tube that looks like a toothpaste tube. Its pretty worthless for anything else, since it dries out over time to a waxy consistency that plugs oil passeges and such, but that is exactly what you want to happen in a speedo cable.

Another thought. Spinning the core in a drill and putting force on it is just causing extraneous wear. Probably best to avoid that.

[CatatonicBug]

So NOW order the new cable! You have a problem with the sheath, and the cable WILL break sooner rather than later.DAMHIKIJK.

Yeah, you're probably right. The inner structure of the sheath is actually visible through a crack in the rubber shell right at that point. The inner structure isn't broken that I can see, but it definitely has some rust on it. I'll end up replacing it this year, I imagine.

I used the drill idea, because the cable itself is a coil, and spinning it literally screwed it down into the tube. It made insertion VERY smooth and easy. When adding pressure and spinning it, my hope was that it might be caught on something and it just needed a little convincing. Obviously, it's not supposed to get caught on anything, and that is indicative of some kind of problem. Hopefully it won't be a fatal problem any time in the immediate future.

I used the same synthetic grease I used on the speedo gears for the cable. I put on a glove, and scooped up some in my fingers and ran the cable through them. The speedo gears were REALLY nasty though. I cleaned them out with gasoline and a toothbrush, and they came out nice and pretty. Re-packed them with grease, and now there is no more squeaking.

I didn't take the wheel bearings out and re-pack those, as they didn't want to come out willingly, and it was getting late. I'll attack that some time in the spring when it's a bit warmer out. Perhaps it will be a task to accomplish at the MOTM rally!