Strange Speedometer Problem

[chawks]

I have a strange speedometer problem on my '801100G. The speedometer is slow to pick up to actual speed. Once it gets there it is fine but I am actually going about 50 by the time it gets to thirty (honestly I don't lay on the trottle very often). I already replaced the cable but still have the same symtoms. I was thinking it was the speedo drive but not sure. Anyone ever heard of such a problem?

[Dragonrider]

I had the same problem, my XS speedo had been sitting awhile. And I had just lubed the cable . . . I figured the clutching stuff inside the speedo had gotten either sticky or oily, so . . . I ignored it for about 3000 miles, and presto! It fixed itself . . .

[Don Hughes]

Speedo

I had a problem with mine, 78 E, before Big Island Deuce. Was slow to speed up and was slow to wind down the same way. I ignored it last summer and it went away. This spring Herb Johnson took it apart ( a real tough job) It was the needle itself causing the problem. It turns by way of a magnetic field. Two round disks create a magnetic field when it turns and this area needed lubing. A very time consuming tedious job but doable.

Herb, Jump in here and explain what I just said in terms others will understand.

[crunchbird]

I broke the cable off the speedo in a crash. Also, the two screws holding the face of the speedo had come out so it could vibrate and turn, which didn't matter at the time (no cable). I pried off the glass and fixed the face when installing the cable, and now I have the same problem. Since it is a new cable and lubed, I have assumed that the face plate has done a 360 so that the spring that holds the needle to 0mph has been wound a turn tighter. I have not taken it apart to see if I can fix it by turning the face plate counterclockwise one revolution.

Now I am a little motivated to do it and report.

[Bill__Woods]

Hello,
I have been lucky so far, no speedo problems. I put a 160mph speedo off a xs1100sf on my xs1100sh. If anyone needs a great condition 85 mph speedo, email me off forum. billwoods@wideopenwest.com

[crunchbird]

Speedo guts

Working on my speedo, this is what I see. There is a spiral watch spring that controls the needle deflection, but it is very light. My speedo needed lubrication as suggested by Don (thanks!). First, detach the cable. The collar that holds the glass seems to be pressed on, previously I could not remove it without bending it horribly. Others have said be careful or cut the glass or ? I pried it off brutishly.

What's in there?

Remove the two 8 mm nuts. Pull out on the speedo. Pop out the light. Undo the connectors to the two wires that go to the back. They are soldered to a plastic bar. Pop that off. The wires do not connect to the mechanism, but to a strange bimetal electrical part that encroaches. You might be able to lube the inside through this slot, see below. Otherwise…

The needle and its buttonlike base is a press fit on its shaft. Carefully pop it off. Remove the face (two screws). Remove the two screws on the back that hold the guts in.

You do not need to remove the rubber gasket around the trip odometer knob or the rubber vibration collar around the whole speedo. Rather, with the face off, the trip odometer mechanism can be removed from the rest of the mechanism. It is held in place by two U-shaped plastic collars that straddle the notches that it's shaft sits in. Easily slip them off and the number wheel comes free. Now the main mechanism can be removed, leaving the trip odometer in the case.

The needle's shaft is connected to a bell-shaped unit that sits over the spinning magnet at the end of the cable, and is attached to the watch spring. The bell needed lubrication. Oil on the needle end of the shaft won't get there. The spring had no effect before lubrication-wind it up, or unwind it, let go, it just stuck. I sprayed a silicon lube in there. Lubed, I can wind it up until the very light spring will return the bell to its starting position.

In retrospect, I might have been able to lube it through the slot where the wires popped off, but it would be a tricky shot and I don't know if it will work. What you see in the slot is the magnet turned by the cable. It angles into the bottom of a bell-shaped piece that is on the needle's shaft. It is the inside of this bell that needed lube on mine. Next time I will shoot lube forward through the slot and work the needle.

The question is still how tight to wind the spring for 0 mph when I finally press on the needle, but I think winding the spring until the bell just starts returning is where I'll start. Otherwise, calibration will entail removing the needle and repositioning it so that it has more or less tension at 0 mph.

So it is together, but I don't know if it is calibrated correctly yet. Will ride it soon to see.

[Mike Hart]

Hey David, any chance you can get some pictures while it is apart?

[crunchbird]

I took a couple of pix but not digital. I'll scan the prints and e-mail some JPEG in a few days. Or should I set up one of those albums somewhere?

[Mike Hart]

Cool. You could put them on imagestation.com, they allow outside links, so you can post pix directly here on the forums using IMG tag.

[crunchbird]

My speedo is working perfectly now, it had been sluggish and reading low before I lubed it.

The needle should be positioned to point exactly to 0 at 0mph with no preloading of the spring. I tried positioning it to about -5 mph so that the needle would push a little on the 0mph post but it read low and was worse at higher speeds.

Warning! The needle broke from my fiddling, 22 years of ozone and sun had made it very brittle almost crumbly. Fashioned a new one from a sliver of plastic bottle and painted it a very sharp yellow. Another rat joins the crew!

[strom]

Same problem here... got a set of gauges from ebay for the 79.
The rev counter needle didnt work at all... so I used a spare one, that is kinda wobbly above 4000 rpm. Gonna spray it with WD40 or something. Meanwhile a friend found out what was wrong with the ebay one. The thingie near the axle of the counter was off-center. Easy fix. But im still not sure what he was fiddling with.
The speedo is slow. Slow to show the actual speed. It gets there eventually, but it needs a few miles, if I keep the speet constant. Wanted to spray it with WD too.

LP

[DiverRay]

Strim,
WD40 will DRY OUT the system after a short while. I try to use SILICON spray lube. It seems to work well, and won't dry out or attract dust as much as WD40. JMHO
Ray

[strom]

Ran out of silicon spray, so that will have to do.
....dont laugh... used all the silicon stuff on the guns...
Really! hahaha

LP

[DiverRay]

Well, as the owner of a colt gold cup, I think it went for a good cause.

[skids]

I had two speedos that were "slow" to react. They both eventually came around after a few good weeks of running around town.