Rebuilding the speedo

[EvelKeevil]

My speedo has broken. It was making unpleasant whirring noises and the tripmeter was spinning randomly. I took her out for a ride the other day and the needle fell off. I've had a good look and can't see how to separate the bezel to get inside and see if I can fix it. Has anybody else had the same problem? How did you deal with it? Being a '79 the bike has a 160mph speedo. I can get an '80 onwards 85mph speedo as a temporary replacement but it seems finding another '79 160mph speedo in good condition is very tough. I'd prefer to fix the original if I can.

[DEEBS11]

Here are a few available:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/36416126547...Bk9SR4rP-t2_Yg

https://www.ebay.com/itm/26632590409...Bk9SR4TP-t2_Yg

https://www.ebay.com/itm/40441339927...Bk9SR4LP-t2_Yg

[EvelKeevil]

Here are a few available:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/36416126547...Bk9SR4rP-t2_Yg

https://www.ebay.com/itm/26632590409...Bk9SR4TP-t2_Yg

https://www.ebay.com/itm/40441339927...Bk9SR4LP-t2_Yg

Thank you. Part of the problem is that I'm in South West England and US shops don't like to freight stuff here. I think my best option is probably to try to get advice on rebuilding the speedo I have. I was wondering if anybody has any experience of that.

[auxtian]

Check out Steptoe's library at https://xs1100.com.au/forum

Speedo squeal in-depth (xs1100.com.au)

[Mathh]

Take the cover (bottom part) off. You can then pry the ring around the glass open with a small screwdriver carefully. On the bottom side , not on the glass side. Make sure you don't open it up too much, but enough to remove the ring. When you take it off the glass and gasket(s?) can fall out. Pull the needle off carefully and unscrew the two tiny screws. You can then reach the mechanism. When repaired place the ring, glass and gaskets back and pry the opened side back in its original position.
Anothe option is to remove the bucket and carefully cut open the metal housing (with a dremel tool) so the bottom can be removed and you can reach the mechanism that is still attached to the upper part and the glass. Afterwards you can put it back on and spotweld it back in place (mark the correct position before you begin). Take care it stays cool enough during welding.
Even when you use one of above methods chances are that you still need repair parts or a complete mechanism to replace the damaged parts so buying another one is not a bad option.

[EvelKeevil]

Take the cover (bottom part) off. You can then pry the ring around the glass open with a small screwdriver carefully. On the bottom side , not on the glass side. Make sure you don't open it up too much, but enough to remove the ring. When you take it off the glass and gasket(s?) can fall out. Pull the needle off carefully and unscrew the two tiny screws. You can then reach the mechanism. When repaired place the ring, glass and gaskets back and pry the opened side back in its original position.
Anothe option is to remove the bucket and carefully cut open the metal housing (with a dremel tool) so the bottom can be removed and you can reach the mechanism that is still attached to the upper part and the glass. Afterwards you can put it back on and spotweld it back in place (mark the correct position before you begin). Take care it stays cool enough during welding.
Even when you use one of above methods chances are that you still need repair parts or a complete mechanism to replace the damaged parts so buying another one is not a bad option.

Thank you, much appreciated, that sounds like great advice.

[EvelKeevil]

Check out Steptoe's library at https://xs1100.com.au/forum

Speedo squeal in-depth (xs1100.com.au)

That's excellent, thank you! Another brilliant new forum to join too!