How do I open my speedometer drive?

[Guest]

'83 GS750ES.

[Edit: this is about the drive at the fork, not the speedometer itself]

I read one post from SqdancerLynn saying not to try or "you'll be looking for a new unit" but....come on, really? Can there be more than a couple of dears in there ir is it because you'll ruin the seal?

My speedo drive feels like its full of old grease and since when I took the first few outer parts off I thought I was seeing a ton of loose, tiny, ball bearings which turned out to be grease and dirt balls.... I'm prolly right.

I tried using a solvent/lubricant to get the gunk out via the cable drive port but it doesn't seem to be doing much. It feels a little freer now but I think I've just turned my grease balls into muck.


"I put the spring and ball back in my monoshock."
/\/\ac

[Hoomgar]

http://www.thegsresources.com/garage/gs_inside_gauges.htm

[Macmatic]

Thanks Hoomgar but I need info on the speedo drive, at the wheel. I've read the article you linked to a few times in the past.

---


And while we're in the neighborhood...

When I took the air fitting collars off of my forks I didn't plan to and now I've got parts here that I'm not sure how to put back on and I don't see them in the parts blow up in the factory manual. (Or on BikeBandit)

What I have for each fork tube is the metal collar with o-rings, a metal washer or spacer of the same diameter (3mm thick)which is flat on one side with a chamfered inner rim on the same side and a rubber washer or spacer (6mm thick).

I've taken pretty careful notes taking most things off but these kinda came off when I wasn't planning on it. If no one has a better idea I'll put them on with the metal ring firstm chamfer side down over the metal clip in the groove on the fork leg, then the air collar and the rubber ring/spacer on top.

Thanks,
/\/\ac

[chuckycheese]

Speedo

There are shops that work on sealed speedos but I'm sure the labor cost would probably make it prohibitive. It wouldn't hurt to check with one because they would probably be very generous with a little advice.

Otherwise, they seem to come up often on Ebay and usually sell at very reasonable prices.

[Hoomgar]

Sorry dood. That's all I know. From there I just replace them.

[chrissinc]

I've taken mine apart to replace the instrument glass. It's not that hard. You take off the 4 back screws off the back this will expose the electrics and what not. If you're like me and don't want to take the tank and/or fairing off. The best thing to do is unscrew the two screws holding the gear indicator lights in there. Unplug the big white plug and then you can unscrew the three little brass bolts holding the instrument cluster on there and the speedo cable and you should be able to gently twist the unit out of there. The instrument glass is held on with 9 little screws that can be taken out. You can then A. Take the entire thing apart by unscewing the screws on the speedo gear or B. the thing will be apart enough you can get in there with some lube/q-tips to clean. Be very carefull you don't hit any of those plastic needles they bend very easily!!!!!! I almost snapped off the fuel guage needle by accident, crack it slightly but crazy glued it to give it some strength and so far so good. Be carefull!! You can just replace the speedo drive with a new one from Bike bandit.


Here is a link to the microfiche

http://houseofmotorcycles.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/oem_schematic_view~mp_id~~mscssid~9GVQN32KG8CU8M60RS7VQUJWQ8UJ9DC7~schem_dept_id~711742~section_dept_id~1~section_dept_name~OEM+%28Stock%29+Parts~dept_type_id~2~model_dept_year~1985~model_dept_mfr~Suzuki~model_dept_id~703236~model_dept_name~GS700EF.asp

It's 88 bucks for a new speedo gear, alot cheaper than a whole cluster.

[Macmatic]

Wheel mounted speedo drives are a black art it seems.

Thanks for the info peoples... I'm still a couple of weeks from having her ready to ride so I've got time. For now I'll just lube it up with Sosametal 5 in 1 and let it sit. I've got a spare on the parts bike so when I get that taken down I can use that one or experiment with it.

/\/\ac

[debby]

There were a couple of threads about cleaning the drive unit posted a year or so ago. You should be able to search for them.

Don't pry out the seal, it will be ruined and replacements are not available. What you can do, is carefully unscrew the threaded plug where the cable attaches. You can then remove the plug and driven gear and do some cleaning and regreasing.

On my old 550 the speedo needle was pretty bouncy. I cleaned out the drive by squirting WD40 inside then drained it and refilled with grease. Made a big improvement.

I used needle nose plier to unscrew the plug. It's plastic and mine was really tight so be careful.

hope that helps,
Debby

[redliner1973]

I did mine, also, same way, needlenose pliers and alot of patients. It is very tight. once you break the thing loose, it will unscrew, and you can replace all that old grease-looking stuff with real actual grease. It made a big difference in mine.

[Macmatic]

I did mine, also, same way, needlenose pliers and alot of patients. It is very tight. once you break the thing loose, it will unscrew, and you can replace all that old grease-looking stuff with real actual grease. It made a big difference in mine.

What part is plastic? I have an aluminum drive body, the part that the axle passes through, which has a threaded aluminum part where the speedo cable goes attaches that looks like its held in with a set screw.

I've got it back on the bike now because I wanted to get the wheels back under the frame before it got scratched up around the garage but next time I have it off I'll remove the set screw and tape up the threads and see if I can turn it out.

The only place I can see that I might want needle nose this the tang inside the threaded part that mates with the end of the speedo cable, I assume this doesn't come out unless the threaded part is out.

Thanks again....once I finish the GS and move I've got to send some $ this way!

/\/\ac

[redliner1973]

The only place I can see that I might want needle nose this the tang inside the threaded part that mates with the end of the speedo cable, I assume this doesn't come out unless the threaded part is out.

Thanks again....once I finish the GS and move I've got to send some $ this way!

/\/\ac

'
Thats the one. should have 4 evenly spaced 'notches' in it once you get it out, the rest is easy.

[crag antler]

Macmatic, I have just put on my second drive gear box within 3 years.
My last one I took apart to see where the failure was and it seems that the bearings internally fail. Not a whole lot you can do from there.
I go to Paul Miller and he has plenty of Suzuki GS NOS parts and is perfect.
Give him a call. 1 -860-828-1220

[Macmatic]

Macmatic, I have just put on my second drive gear box within 3 years.
My last one I took apart to see where the failure was and it seems that the bearings internally fail. Not a whole lot you can do from there.
I go to Paul Miller and he has plenty of Suzuki GS NOS parts and is perfect.
Give him a call. 1 -860-828-1220

Thanks for the info Doug, I'm going to run the one I've got for now but from the sounds of it I'll be needing one before too many miles. I was just trying to Google up Paul Millers #.

Hey, look on the bright side, you'll never be from there but your grandkids will be Mainers!


/\/\ac

[crag antler]

Mine always lets me know it is getting ready to go when I get a wicked squeak fromt the front wheel 8O
No kids from us, but as a Florida native, Maine is my home, from here on out now. 8) 8) 8) 8)

[Planecrazy]

I haven't played with those units so I'm not that familiar with them, but it would seem to me that if you removed the unit and dropped it in a parts washer and let it soak a few days you'd be able to break down the "gunk" and then flush it out or blow it out with compressed air.

Assuming the bearings aren't completely toasted you could then "grease gun" the thing to force new grease well inside.

My .02 ... let me know if this is completely unworkable.

Regards,
Steve 8)