Speedo Cable

[miatamarty]

I have a factory Yamaha and Haynes repair manuals. Near as I can tell I'll have to take the fairing off to access the speedo cable at the speedometer. Both manuals had no mention of the cable except to disconnect at the front axle. The needle is bouncing quite a bit. I'm thinking the cable is very dry causing it to wind up and release. Can you lube these or should I just buy a new one given that this one is 50 years old?

[Pat Conlon]

Lube the cable first.

If you move the horn out of the way, you should be able to reach up with your pliers and loosen the cable collar.

Same with reinstall, only snug the collar, not too tight.

If the needle still bounces, it's the Speedo acting up.
There is a shop in San Diego called Foreign Speedo that rebuilds the FJ speedos. I've had several of mine done and they do great work. https://foreignspeedoinc.com/index.php
Note: If you take your Speedo apart and then send it to them to fix, they charge you extra.

Cheers

[miatamarty]

Thanks yet again Pat

[red]

Marty,

Agreed, lube for the cable is Plan A.  Any decent petroleum lube will do it. If you disconnect the cable from the speedo, you can slide the core out of the sheathing to apply a thin grease.

Plan B is to replace the speedo cable outright.  They are available and inexpensive.

Instrument repairs, as Pat said, are available if needed, but I believe the issue is just with the cable.