Servicing the speedometer

[T Legg]

last month I was riding home from Carson City late at night. The temperature had dropped into the low thirty's and my speedometer began to howl . It's not the first time this has happened to me. In the past I have been able to ride it home and pull the speedometer then I would lubricate the cable receptacle with pb blaster lithium grease spray. The fix would last about six months. On this trip home when the speedometer hit 120 mph the cable snapped and the receptacle seized.when I got the speedometer out I had to spray the bearing with pb blaster and slowly work it loose with a square head bit in my nut driver to break it loose. I figured the speedometer was a lost cause. This time I cut the end off of the broken cable and stuck a zirk fitting Into the end with JB weld then I pumped thick red grease into it. I also put a small dab on the odometer gear shaft. Since then I have put five hundred miles on it in temperatures down to 28 degrees Fahrenheit with no howling and fairly smooth needle action. You must clean up any excess grease so it doesn't get on your number wheels. There isn't any other parts that cause a howling speedometer other than the cable receptacle bearing and the odometer gear shaft. I have now preemptively greased the bearing on all my FJ's.

[fj1289]

Awesome idea using google the ferrule off the end of the broken cable to mount a zirk fitting.   

[Sparky84]

Mine used to howl when it was only 2 yrs old, just disconnected it and used tach for speed but could only estimate when in 5th.

You could have mentioned this much earlier 

[red]

TLegg,

Good fix.  I have flipped the cowling/instruments out forward (remove four bolts, a few screws, and connectors) to inverted, and dribbled a good lube into the speedometer cable opening, but a light grease, applied carefully, is probably the better deal.

For those who have abandoned their speedo as a lost cause, I recommend something like this, for less than US$30.

https://www.amazon.com/LeaningTech-Universal-Speedometer-Overspeed-Windshield/dp/B01LJCA1B0

It has a HUD function, but the digits are not bright enough for that trick, on a motorcycle.  I read the gadget in plain digits (not HUD), and it works well.  Keep the display clean, and you can easily read it, even  in sunlight.  It's especially good in slow small towns and school zones, where the stock speedometer is not trustworthy.

[T Legg]

I've posted an update after reading the post by Jono about his non working speedometer. I don't think the speedometer can run backwards unless the speedo cable is turning backwards. It would be worth checking the old speedometer cable receptacle bearing . If it is shot and you buy a used speedometer it should be lubricated. The one that seized on me now has almost two thousand new miles on it and is still operating smoothly and quietly in low temperatures.