[emskee]

Fine People,

Going home yesterday on freeway.  Merge onto the interstate where the speed is 65 mph.  As I pass through 60, the needle starts to bounce between 60 and 65.  I feel like I'm accelerating, but needle stays in that 5 mph slot.  I find that I'm actually passing people, not common.  Speedo still dancing between 60-65.  Give the throttle a little twist and I find that I'm just a zillionth of a degree off of WOT.  So, I figure I must be going a bit faster that 60-65.  I get off the throttle and I know I'm slowing down (very sensitive to the physical world am I) and the needle is still in there. 

It was not until I got her under what she felt to be 60 that the needle locked in and "appeared" to register my "actual" speed. 

I pull onto the county road and the needle is smooth in the 35 zone, the 40 and the 50.

So.....I'm visiting the dealer today and will bring this up there, but I still would like to know if anyone else has observed such a thing.

Thanks,

Mike

[GreenMachine]

i think i once noticed it but it went away..to be honest, after i hit 60, i tend to keep my eyes straight ahead and my head tucked in behind the the windscreen..i have noticed the speedometer indicating 65--70 but I don't believe any of it  ..Maybe a little oil down the cable is what u need....

[csbdr]

I think  the bouncing is common, but  to "stick " in one limited range doesn't sound right.  Mine is generally pretty steady, although I see a little bounce one in a while.  And of course, mine is the only accurate one!  

[raycopper]

Check the speedo cable connection is tight behind the headlight. Mine used to do the same, but found cable nut had loosened again. Have now put a blob of silicone sealant to prevent it loosening

Ray

[2bikebill]

They have a tendency to come loose at the wheel hub...

[Ducati Scotty]

Had the exact same thing a few weeks ago.  Tighten the connections at both ends and remove the inner cable and grease it very well.  It should slide right out from the bottom, just butter it up heavily with grease as you reinsert it.

Scott

[emskee]

Outstanding!!  Thanks to you all.

I'll give it a go........

Mike

[Andy]

Had the exact same thing a few weeks ago.  Tighten the connections at both ends and remove the inner cable and grease it very well. 

But don't do it in that order.   

[Ducati Scotty]

Picky picky.

[emskee]

TOO LATE!

I tightened both ends, then split the cable jacket with my pocket knife, pulled out the cable core, greased it, threaded it back in.  It flew out before I got to the end of the driveway and wrapped itself around the left hind leg of the neighbor's dog.  Should have tie wrapped the jacked shut.

No wait, none of that happened.

Never mind...............

By the way, both ends are tight.  Hmmmmm.

[gashousegorilla]

  Take a look at the speedo drive at the front axle, Is it positioned correctly? Either pointing too far up or down, causing the inner cable to bind? Or pulling the sqaure cable ends out of there recievers at the drive or at the speedo? If it is, loosen the front axle and adjust it. Is the cable binding anywhere else on the bike, as you turn the bars? If you have loosened and removed the inner cable from the bottom, did it look frayed at all?
 It sounds like the the sqare ends on the inner cable are not seated and are slipping as you go faster.

[Andy]

GHG, any chance you could post a pic of the "correct" position/angle/whatever?

My speedo still goes wonky at an indicated 130 km/h. And once it starts, it won't go away until I've shut the bike down.   It doesn't LOOK like it's binding anywhere.  I replaced the cable last year when the stock unit snapped close to the hub.

Mostly I don't worry about it, because don't try to do those speeds any more, but, you know, tailwinds happen. 

[Ducati Scotty]

To all:  grease the cable, even and especially if it is brand new.  These cables just don't have enough grease in them from the factory.  And grease it every oil change.

Scott

[gashousegorilla]

GHG, any chance you could post a pic of the "correct" position/angle/whatever?

My speedo still goes wonky at an indicated 130 km/h. And once it starts, it won't go away until I've shut the bike down.   It doesn't LOOK like it's binding anywhere.  I replaced the cable last year when the stock unit snapped close to the hub.

Mostly I don't worry about it, because don't try to do those speeds any more, but, you know, tailwinds happen. 

No Andy, I don't have a close up of the drive. But take a look at this anyway. You should get the Idea by looking at the cable and following it back.The  cable should be laying in there natural like.  You get the idea, of what would happen. if the cable where it screws onto the drive, were to point to far up, or down. It's an easy thing to forget about, after you have had the front wheel off.  As you tighten the axle , it spins with it. So you have to hold it back , as you snug up the axle nut. It may also move a bit over time, especially if that axle nut needs some tightening..... Just a thought.

[singhg5]

When the speedo-cable nut at the wheel is turned, the cable jacket also turns with it on my G5. This happens just before the nut is fully tight. The more the nut is tightened, the more the jacket twists -  this essentially reduces free movement of the steel braided cable inside the jacket.  Holding the jacket with my fingers did not stop it from twisting.

To solve this problem, I twist the jacket in opposite direction just before the nut reaches the required tightness.  With the rotation of nut, the twist in the jacket is undone.  

Picture of my G5 front wheel / speedo cable.

[Andy]

Thanks for the pics - just wanted to confirm mine was the same (it is).

Turns out the feckin' thing was just loose again.    

[prof_stack]

Thanks for the pics - just wanted to confirm mine was the same (it is).

Turns out the feckin' thing was just loose again.    

Blue threadlocker is your best friend.   

[singhg5]

To all:  grease the cable, even and especially if it is brand new.  These cables just don't have enough grease in them from the factory.  And grease it every oil change.

Yesterday while I was browsing in a bookstore, there was May 2011 issue of Classic Motor Cycle, a UK magazine and coincidently its Technical Section's topic was Speedo Drive.  It was an interesting article that covered its history and some technical aspects.

A couple of tips from the author of that article were - leave ungreased 10" off the cable from the speedometer end since the grease may wind up in the speedo as the cable rotates.  The rest of the cable grease lightly.  The other was the thimble nuts be only finger tightened.  This UK magazine's logic of not overly greasing is still carried on in REs coming from India  .  

The author also had a few sentences on terminology that I found interesting. Though he does not mind everyone else calling it 'cable', he says it is a flexible drive shaft.  Reminded me of my days in school when we were corrected for using proper English words to describe things - it is part of British education  .

[Andy]

Of course it's a flexible drive shaft - what else could it be, passing so close to the trafficators?

(And my first job was as a petroleum transfer technician).   

[Ducati Scotty]

A couple of tips from the author of that article were - leave ungreased 10" off the cable from the speedometer end since the grease may wind up in the speedo as the cable rotates.  

Well that's a good point but grease doesn't run uphill.  I'll leave maybe 4" ungreased.

The rest of the cable grease lightly.  

I'm still going with lots of grease.

The other was the thimble nuts be only finger tightened.  

Ok, that one's just gotta be BS!   Or maybe it's just old English mechanics.  You're going to be wrenching for an hour or two after every ride anyway so just re-tighten the thimble nuts every time.

Scott

[singhg5]

maybe it's just old English mechanics.

You are right about that 'Old English mechanic'   !  He had mentioned something to that effect that he has been working on these 'Classics' I mean 'Old' bikes for many years. Don't expect a young guy writing Tech sections on these bikes in a Classic motorcycle magazine from UK.

But what it is worth - I have not put grease at the speedo end, not even once in 2 years riding 14K miles on my G5, may be it was made on Monday . You guys are scaring me to grease it may be now !

[GreenMachine]

i brought some speedo lube from our sponsor...says the same thing as u hate to see your speedometer face plate get screwed up with a oily face..

[Arizoni]

There are several different "dry lubes" made for use on motorcycle chains available.

Because they dry they tend to stay in place.

Is there a reason one of these could not be used on the upper end of the speedometer cable?

[GreenMachine]

good question..personally i would remove the cable from the top and at the bottom, use dry lube at both ends and let it  sit a day elevated to make sure the dry lube has worked its way from both ends...if you were just using a light oil i would remove both ends wrap the bottom end in a clean white rag and oil from the top and let it sit for a day or two and verify that the oil has worked it way down..the idea is u don't want the cable loaded up with excessive lubricant where the revolving cable acts like a Ar chimedian screw where it sucks the oil back up and all over the faceplate..i guess u could play the game of dry lube up front and oil from the rear...sounds a bit kinky to me...i have another bike, so 2 days of no enfield is acceptable (somewhat)..assuming their are little gears at the botton where the cable goes, u can put a dab of grease in there too...i think we covered the  outpatient surgery..i'll have my admin folks call ya in the morning for the insurnace info..if u have any other health rekated enfield issues , feel free to call and schedule a appointment...goodbye..

[Ducati Scotty]

This is the kind of thing where the lube gets rubbed away from where it needs to be.  Dry lube doesn't flow back.  That and dry lubes are more like oil than grease.

The place you need lube on the cable is the bend, which is mostly the bottom half or two thirds of the cable.

And if it's been working fine for two years DON'T MESS WITH IT!

Scott

[GreenMachine]

well yes of course if its working fine why mess with it,,,that goes with everything with these machines...i never had to lube the speed cable..it works just fine for the past 4 years..but he did ask...

[Andy]

Well that's a good point but grease doesn't run uphill. 

Depends which way the shaft is threaded and which way it's spinning. 

Take a long screw, put it into a tube, insert one end of the tube into a bucket of water, then apply a power drill to the screw in both forward and reverse.  Let me know if you get wet.   

[Ducati Scotty]

Good point, and the cable inner does look threaded since a wire is wound around the outside.  Still, if it were spinning the grease uphill it would get there eventually even if there were very little.  I think it's spinning downhill.

Scott

[Andy]

Probably.  I have no idea really.  I was just being pedantic.

[Ducati Scotty]

Pedantic!  I have to remember that word next time someone calls me a smarta$$

Scott

[Anon]

Pedantic!  I have to remember that word next time someone calls me a smarta$$

Scott

You know, the next time someone calls you a smartass, just smile and say thank you!  I mean it is, after all, the opposite of dumbass, right?   

Eamon

[Ducati Scotty]

I thought it was someone who could sit on ice cream and tell you what flavor it is.

There I go being pedantic again.

Scott

[GreenMachine]

all this spinning is getting me dizzy..they say below the equator that the toilets flush and sprial the opposite direction..never checked it out myself..