Speedo making noise

[bbb88]

Hey all,
I have an '82 XS650, craigslist special. I don't know if they're original gauges for this bike or from another year.

I took off the gauge cluster to rewire the center turn signal indicator after doing a LED replacement for the break lights and turn signals, and replace the tachometer due to the needle breaking. .

I also installed new tach and speedometer cables from mike's due to the original ones being rusty and making noise.

After putting the gauge cluster back on with the new cable, the speedo is making a whining noise just free spinning the tire. Here's a video:

I tried taking the cable out on both ends and making sure it was seated properly, but its still making the noise.

I also have another speedometer but the trip lever is broken off on it, attached photo. Is this something that can be repaired?

 

[nj1639]

That's an earlier speedo but it shouldn't matter. I'd be putting some lube in there to see if it quiets down.....not too much where you drown it but enough to satisfy yourself that it's been lubed. You can pull the flex drive out of the old speedo cable, clean it up and try it and see what that sounds like but I think the noise is in the unit itself.

The other speedo can be broken down by prying the metal bezel off. A slot screwdriver placed between the metal bezel and the plastic housing and then turn the screwdriver to push the crimp out. It seems to take forever and patience is a virtue......lol. Go all the way around for the ease of putting it back together, and then really work on about 2/3rds of it to be able to lift the face off and slide it out. Remove the guts and see what it will take to clear the broken end of the knob out. With it apart, broken needles and faceplates can be replaced (though I never have much luck there) and the odo can be set back to zero for a rebuilt engine or whatever. Caveat emptor. Ethically that should be disclosed on a sale. I will say that I have seen xs's sold as low mileage bikes that have speedo's on them that weren't proper for the year.

Putting it all back together requires sliding the faceplate back on to the housing and then laying the unit facedown on a surface that won't mar the bezel and then tapping the crimp back down.
Some will just cut the plastic housing all the way around to access the guts and then use some 4" shrink tube to put it back together.

On buying used speedo's and tachs,
ALWAYS test them! You can use a small screwdriver to see if the receiver will turn at all or you can use a piece of the end of a flex drive chucked in a drill. You can get a piece of the drive end of a speedo cable by not testing one before running it.........

 

[bbb88]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply.

I sprayed some wd40 and cable lube, then hooked up the end of the cable to a drill. The gauge whined for a second, then it stopped and started working. Shrug...

The noise was definitely in the speedo, not in the cable. Prying apart the spare I have doesn't sound like a ton of fun, so I'll save that for if this current one breaks

 

[bbb88]

On another note, the diodes fixed the 4-way flasher problem, and changing the wiring on the different replacement tach I got on eBay all worked

 

[nj1639]

On the broken trip odo knob,
The knob threads on to a small, counter threaded shaft. If the knob was broken off then there's probably the small plastic threaded end still on that counter thread/counter clockwise metal shaft. The issue is getting in far enough to hold that shaft from turning while also getting in there to unthread that broken piece. It's not impossible to do but.....