Speedometer problem

[Guest]

I put my bike in the hands of a struggling shop nearby for a tire change. Putting the front wheel back on, they overtightened one of the two nuts and broke one of the studs that holds the bottom of the axle clamp onto the fork. Charged me for the time it took to install a new stud. The front tire was leaking 2 lbs. a day so took it back. They took the wheel off to put in the water tank only to discover what I should have discovered myself - simply a valve core not tightened. A couple days ago I noticed the speedometer had stopped working and reading some posts on this forum it seems the part the cable screws into on the axle housing has spun, crimping the cable. I'm guessing I need to loosen the axle nut, turn the cable receiver back into position and tighten the axle. Why did the cable receiver spin? Is it simply because the axle wasn't tightened properly?

Yes I know . . . changing tires is something I should do myself. I'm paying extra for my laziness.

My regular "tire guy" that I've gone to for tire changes for many years died of a heart attack. He was relatively young, but smoked cigarettes so I'm guessing dying young is the penalty he paid. Or maybe he had a defective heart from birth . . . who knows. I was really surprised to find out he had died since he's always seemed healthy and strong. If you have one of these guys that you can trust your bike to, treasure them. They can suddenly disappear.

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Mike, you need to have a service manual to see and read how these things go together. BikeCliffs Website has all the info for your bike. See link in my signature.

[MikeS]

Mike, you need to have a service manual to see and read how these things go together. BikeCliffs Website has all the info for your bike. See link in my signature.

Thanks. I'll go look. I'm glad I asked about this before doing anything.

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Not finding anything. I have manuals myself so just need to open them . The link to Cliff's site takes me to a blank page. Maybe the server is down.

[MikeS]

Would someone take a look at the front ends where the speedometer cable goes into the housing. They are from my '79 parts bike and my daily driver '82.

https://tinyurl.com/y4nykb94

Each picture is labeled which bike the picture is from. There are 8 pictures. Please tell me what you see. Something is screwey. The speedometer gear housing has a mark on it that says "top", which what the manual says it is supposed to show when installed correctly. So apparently it is installed correctly. What I can't figure out is why I've got this terrible kink in the cable.

[steveb922]

Your speedo drive is mis-aligned. It needs to be rotated maybe 45 degrees clockwise.

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Yeah the drive should connect to the cable in a horizontal line.

That cable is surely toast. Get a new one. When you tighten the axle nut and fork cap bolts, you have to first have made sure that the tabs of the speedo drive are engaged, and that the bottom of the drive is on the bottom, and horizontal.

[Rich82GS750TZ]

And find a new shop or learn to do things yourself. That shop does not deserve your, or anyone else’s business. If they put your front end back together and your drive spun, they owe you a new cable, at the very least.

[Grimly]

It's quite possible the securing stud on the base of the fork leg was wasted with corrosion, so I'd be inclined to give them a pass on that, but to re-assemble the speedo drive in such a slapdash manner is unacceptable.
I've done it myself when re-assembling in the dark, but it becomes immediately obvious that something isn't right before you tighten things up.
That they got it so wrong just speaks of carelessness and I wonder if the monkey doing the job used an air ratchet on the nuts the first time around - so maybe the stud wasn't corroded.

[Rob S.]

And find a new shop...

Absolutely.

The local Kaw-Yam-Suzi dealer said they couldn't give me an inspection sticker because the fork seals were leaking. Except they reassembled the crimp piece below the axle backwards. I finally found someone I have 100% confidence in.

[MikeS]

"I wonder if the monkey doing the job used an air ratchet on the nuts the first time around - so maybe the stud wasn't corroded."

It wasn't corroded. I looked at it and asked the owner the exact same question about using an air tool on the nut. He claimed he or his assistant were using a torque wrench. (Right.) I ended up paying for the guy to find and install a new stud and figured supporting the shop, which is very near my house and very convenient and clearly not doing really well, deserved supporting. So I've paid and not complained, but it's clear asking this shop to put my new tires on has been a terrible mistake.

Changing tires and replacing wheels correctly are things I can do and have done. I have tire tools and wrenches and a compressor and absolutely no excuse to turn my bike over to somebody I don't know. It's just that I'm getting old and lazy and have several vehicles to stay on top of and, back when I had my "tire guy", putting new tires on was an effortless process. In thinking about this, I've really screwed up. I didn't even think to take my special moly grease over to them to use on the drive gears - and I've got the gold metal. Eight thousand miles ago it was fine but I should have had more attention on this. I guess I was assuming these guys would be as competent as Ken Marohn was.

I've been doing some really poor decision making lately. I could have at least looked over my front end when picking up the bike. I would have noticed the kink easily had I been thinking straight. I should have not been so eager to trust these bozos sinply because their shop (an industrial stall) is located conveniently.

Thanks for all the feedback. The speedo gear housing has an arrow on top of the housing that says "UP" on it, so it would make sense for someone who doesn't know what they're doing to put the top of the housing in the position it seems to indicate. The gear housing is positioned according to the book . . . I think. Something is screwy with the caliper position in relation to the speedo housing and cable. Something is misaligned and I'm not sure it's the speedo gear housing. My bike has possibly been

I'm ashamed of myself for being such an idiot in trusting someone I had no experience with.

[Rich82GS750TZ]

Don’t beat yourself up. It’s admirable to want to support local business, until given a reason not to.

[bwringer]

Like the oil filter studs, the fork studs are made of pressed cheddar cheese and sawdust. So it's certainly not the least bit surprising when they strip out; I keep these studs on hand.

And yeah, that shop allowed an idiot to monkey with your bike. I'd have a word with the owner. Their response or lack thereof will tell you whether you'll ever darken their doorstep again.

[GSXR7ED]

Wow!

That connection to the speedometer gear box assembly is badly kinked!

Mine is pretty much at a 90 degree angle and the clamp loop keeps it away from the front rotor.

Ed

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