Sluggish Speedometer

[HalfCentury]

I grafted a 120 mph speedo from an XS650 into the XJ1100 instrument cluster. The response of the speedo is very sluggish. It works but is very slow to respond. Has anyone corrected a sluggish speedo problem?

[BA80]

I have a 140 MPH from a 750 on my SG. I have been through a few of them.

When I get them I usually pop out the reed switch and I can see most of the hard working gears in there. I'll take a small screwdriver and get some grease on those gears because they wear out quick when they dry out. The points inside that make it sluggish are impossible to get to without tearing it apart though and if you try and spray something in there it'll usually end up on the inside of the face glass.

Usually if you just deal with the sluggishness for a while it will loosen up with use.

[HalfCentury]

I have a 140 MPH from a 750 on my SG. I have been through a few of them.

When I get them I usually pop out the reed switch and I can see most of the hard working gears in there. I'll take a small screwdriver and get some grease on those gears because they wear out quick when they dry out. The points inside that make it sluggish are impossible to get to without tearing it apart though and if you try and spray something in there it'll usually end up on the inside of the face glass.

Usually if you just deal with the sluggishness for a while it will loosen up with use.

The story of the speedo is that the bike was crashed brand new and just sat. So, there has been 40+ years of inertia keeping this speedo at zero. I am amazed that the there are only 60-ish miles on it.

It would be great if this speedo breaks in and works properly in time.

Thanks for the help!

[BA80]

If it's not too tough to remove it and do what I said with the gears inside, especially the worm gear, it will last a lot longer. The grease dries out over time and becomes more of an abrasive than a lubricant.

Nearly all of them I've worn out were due to that worm gear being dry and grinding the teeth off the nylon gear it meshes with.

[HalfCentury]

It is do-able. I had it apart to graft the XS speedo into the cluster.

Thanks for the prod. I do want to set it up properly before riding any distance. I have just been riding it around my neighborhood checking out how it works.

The previous speedo squealed like a worn out serpentine belt on a car. No amount of cleaning and lubricating would get rid of the squeal.

It would be helpful if the speedo parts were easy to take apart and clean or replace. These speedos are difficult to rejuvenate.

[BA80]

These speedos are difficult to rejuvenate.

I have a tote full of them that I tried with.

[Radioguylogs]

There's hope for the easy fix

I had a sluggish speedometer, after it had been sitting, and it became normal after a season of riding and has been working fine ever since for the past 5-6 years.

[Ranger_xs1100]

wd40

My original 85mph speedo was sluggish and I planned on replacing it.

So I figured I had nothing to lose with this experiment:

With the speedo off the bike, I sprayed wd-40 into every opening that I could find, i really saturated it and let soak in for a couple of days. That was 2 years ago and the speedo has worked great ever since.

The only problem was the failed attempt at avoiding getting some of the spray on the glass. Even that mostly dried away eventually but the glass isn't quite as clear as the tach, but hardly noticeable.

BTW. If anyone has a spare....I am looking for a clean 160mph speedo with a nice clear lens that has less than 25k miles showing on it! Thanks

[BA80]

BTW. If anyone has a spare....I am looking for a clean 160mph speedo with a nice clear lens that has less than 25k miles showing on it! Thanks

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...............oh wait............you AREN'T joking are you?

[Ranger_xs1100]

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...............oh wait............you AREN'T joking are you?

HA!, Does that mean there is not a plentiful excess of 160's ?
Oh well, ignorance is bliss and I'll dream on!

hahaha

[HalfCentury]

There is a NOS one on ebay for $550. He is proud of that speedo

[BA80]

HA!, Does that mean there is not a plentiful excess of 160's ?
Oh well, ignorance is bliss and I'll dream on!

hahaha

Go to ebay and search XS750 speedometers. They only go to 140 but I think that's fast enough. Don't you?

The 750 uses the same front wheel as the 11 so it reads the same.

Be careful though, there are 2 different versions. One has an ugly green face that won't match the tach, you need to be sure it's the black one. That one matches perfectly. You just need to change the wiring harness on it and it's plug and play.

And, they are fairly cheap and plentiful.

[Ranger_xs1100]

Thanks Greg!