speedo clean and lube

[Azoroth]

So a while ago I bought a 140mph speedo for my 80 SG. (Found an OEM tool kit as well. Got both the gauge and kit for 10 bucks!) I've been waiting until my mileage was the same as the new gauge(however I screwed that up. Just took a 4 day ride and so bit went over D@mnit!). Anyways... I just took apart the new gauge and am cleaning it out a little. I have been just using q tips with some cleaner on it. (Simple green in this case.) Anybody recommend a specific lube? I was either gonna use some lithium grease or some light gun oil.

Thanks
Kade

[donebysunday]

No oil

So a while ago I bought a 140mph speedo for my 80 SG. (Found an OEM tool kit as well. Got both the gauge and kit for 10 bucks!) I've been waiting until my mileage was the same as the new gauge(however I screwed that up. Just took a 4 day ride and so bit went over D@mnit!). Anyways... I just took apart the new gauge and am cleaning it out a little. I have been just using q tips with some cleaner on it. (Simple green in this case.) Anybody recommend a specific lube? I was either gonna use some lithium grease or some light gun oil.

Thanks
Kade

Hi Kade !

Have You tried it yet to see if it works ? ? ?

I've ruined one by getting either to much oil or in the wrong place !

I learned this by accident by leaving a bike with a slow acting speedo in the hot sun. When I took it for a ride after being heated it worked perfectly.
So now I check them with a drill in reverse ( I can get them up to 70 mph. on the bench depending on the speed of the drill I'm using ) if they don't react smoothly or slow getting started, I'll heat it in the oven at WARM and keep an eye on it ( all ovens are different ) once it's real warm to the touch I'll try it with the drill again. I've seldom failed on the 1st try but if it still does not work right I'll heat it again.
This makes the old stiff oil/grease inside loosen up and start lubing again.

Put it in a pan just in case of a melt down !

[Azoroth]

Yeah it moves. I've hooked it up to my drill and my dremel. Drill gets it up to about 40. (Its not the fastest drill) dremel turns the wrong way. Makes the odometer go backwards. Which sucks. I need it to go up to get the right milage now that I went over on the trip sigh

[donebysunday]

Yeah it moves. I've hooked it up to my drill and my dremel. Drill gets it up to about 40. (Its not the fastest drill) dremel turns the wrong way. Makes the odometer go backwards. Which sucks. I need it to go up to get the right milage now that I went over on the trip sigh

Back when I was in my early teens my neighbor rigged a drill or some other electric motor to a board, had it under his car ? I asked what it was and he said it was a motor hooked to the speedo cable to turn the mileage back so he could sell his AMC Rebel. Even at that age I thought to myself YOU CROOK.

Your case is different as you want to match the miles !

[Azoroth]

Your case is different as you want to match the miles !

Yup. That and I actually need to go up in miles haha. Backwards would be easy and quick since that's what the dremel does. I need a reversible dremel. Drill goes WAY too slow.

[donebysunday]

Backwards

Yup. That and I actually need to go up in miles haha. Backwards would be easy and quick since that's what the dremel does. I need a reversible dremel. Drill goes WAY too slow.

You could just lower the miles on your old speedo to match ?

[jwhughes3]

Yeah it moves. I've hooked it up to my drill and my dremel. Drill gets it up to about 40. (Its not the fastest drill) dremel turns the wrong way. Makes the odometer go backwards. Which sucks. I need it to go up to get the right milage now that I went over on the trip sigh

First world problems.....pick a route with the known difference in mileage between old and new. Do the ride without any speedo at all then hook up the new one - the mileage will now match the bike's history.

I was gonna say something else about OCD but leave it to your imagination.

John

[natemoen]

It is a 33 year old bike....why do you really care about the mileage?

It obviously is not the correct speedo so no one will believe it anyways.

[fredintoon]

Yup. That and I actually need to go up in miles haha. Backwards would be easy and quick since that's what the dremel does. I need a reversible dremel. Drill goes WAY too slow.

Hi Az,
Unless you're aware of the bike's history from new you have no idea if the speedo being replaced is the original or not.
My own SG is on speedo #3 and that's the ones I know about.
Me, I'd obsess about something important, like what's the oil level & where's the next gas pump (and from recent personal experience) does the low fuel light still work?