Speedo noise

VMAX  Forum

Help Support VMAX Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

walkman

Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2012
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Location
fairfield
Hello, new here . Check site didn't find info or not looking in right spot. Question, how to get into speedo to lube. Making screaming noise at 30 mph+ when cold.
 
Remove the headlight. There are two screws that hold it in. 4 oclock and 7 oclock. They go thru the bucket.

Inside the housing you will see connections for the turn signals. Unplug the connections.

Remove the steering crown (part the turn signals bolt to) two allen head bolts.

You now have access to the back of the speedo. Most guys get away with just lubing the cable.
 
Welcome to VMF.

More likely to be the cable rather than the speedo head.

When the cable is disconnected from the speedo the inner cable can be pulled out and lubricated.
 
Yea and just in case you didn't know, best way to lubricate the speedo cable is to disconnect it from the speedo end, use a syringe or similar to put 2-3 drops of oil on the cable and let gravity do the rest. The lighter the oil the quicker it'll drip down, the thicker the oil the better it'll stay on the cable for a while.
 
Here is what I did. Unfasten the cable at the wheel,and pull the whole inner cable out. I then oiled it down pretty good, and wiped it clean. Then I wiped a thin coat of oil all over it, and slid it back into the housing. Make sure it drops int the speedometer. You will feel it when it does. Re-hook the cable up at the wheel, and go enjoy your peaceful ride
 
Here is what I did. Unfasten the cable at the wheel,and pull the whole inner cable out. I then oiled it down pretty good, and wiped it clean. Then I wiped a thin coat of oil all over it, and slid it back into the housing. Make sure it drops int the speedometer. You will feel it when it does. Re-hook the cable up at the wheel, and go enjoy your peaceful ride

Depending on how-long the squeal has been there, it also makes sense to try to clean-out the metal helix (the cable housing) by at-least flushing it w/some WD-40, CRC or mineral spirits. If the drive cable comes-out w/difficulty or when you remove it, it's dry and rusty with 'powder' coming-off on your hands, you need to clean/flush the cable and housing both. From working on my bicycles I know that a bit of rust in the cable housing will interfere w/the cable free operation, and may cause your cable to bind, which could cause the inner drive cable to fail, in a worst-case. That said, in 40+ years of wrenching on my rides, I've only had one drive cable fail.

I've seen where a needle will 'jump' erratically from a dry housing and cable as the gauge works, due-to a dry or corroded cable & housing.

I usually use general-purpose grease or wheel bearing grease, smeared-liberally along the cable, after using some solvent to clean it, and then reinsert the cable.

It may seem evident or a simple thing, but for someone who isn't mechanically-inclined, you may have to rotate the drive cable a bit to get it to insert in the female on the mechanical drive for the speedo by the front wheel axle, or the speedo housing on the other end, at the instrument (the gauge).

I always use a pair of slip-joint pliers to snug-up the knurled cable end into the front wheel drive to prevent its loosening.
 
Thank you all, will try the cable first. Have done it once before oiling from top down. I will use a 70-90 weight rear end oil. But I think the squell may be comming from the inside of the unit. If it is, is there a way to get inside the unit.:confused2: I have a 1979 Honda CBX and had to do the same, grease just dryed out/ got hard. Only way to do that one was to cut housing in half, used 3-1 oil to lube than epoxy back together. Work well.:punk:
 
dropping a little oil down the cable, especially gear lube is half assed, and probably will not solve your problem. Using grease on your inner cable is too much, and will probably have problems when it is cold. Reread my post, and follow it. It only takes a couple minutes, and it is what I have done to my own bikes, and what I do to customers bikes
 
dwarf717 thanks it worked, and easy. Will check it out again when it gets a little colder. Low 60's now.:punk:
 
My Max did the same as yours, months ago. No noise since, and I had my bike out yesterday, and today, for 30 miles each, and on the hwy....I;m in Ontario. 40s to 50s here
 
Here is what I did. Unfasten the cable at the wheel,and pull the whole inner cable out. I then oiled it down pretty good, and wiped it clean. Then I wiped a thin coat of oil all over it, and slid it back into the housing. Make sure it drops int the speedometer. You will feel it when it does. Re-hook the cable up at the wheel, and go enjoy your peaceful ride
Thanks for the tip. I was having a speedo cable noise, did your fix in about 5 minutes. Seems to have done the trick.
 
Back
Top