1980 GS850G-Speedometer Help

[trdhrdr007]

I rebuilt my forks last week, & it finally stopped raining so I could take her for a test ride. Everything seemed to be working just fine, except I started hearing a strange, intermittant, "whirring" noise. The noise got worse as I slowed, & quit completely once I was stopped. I finally realized the speedometer needle wasn't rock solid, & jumped a little bit whenever the noise occured.

Anyway, long story short, when I disconnect the speedometer cable I no longer have the problem. I've disconnected & reconnected a couple times without results. Any suggestions?

[marvinsc]

Sounds like the cable is Broke.

[BassCliff]

Lube?

Mr. trdhrdr007,

I've had the "whirring" sound a couple of times. When this happens I've made it go away by putting some light lubricating oil into the hole where the cable connects to the speedometer. You may want to disconnect your gauges, turn them upside down, and put in a few drops. Lube the cable too. Protectall makes Cable Life motorcycle cable lubrication kits and Motion Pro makes motorcycle cable lube tools. I'm sure other members have their favorites too.

Check both ends of your speedometer cable to see if they are worn or rounded off and not able to turn (or be turned by) their respective mechanisms.

If neither of these suggestions work then it could possibly be time for a new speedometer. Check out this page for a suggestion on how to get inside your gauges or, if necessary, pick up a used speedo on ebay.

That's all I got. I hope it helps. Good luck. Keep us informed. One of the guys here may have some extra gauges in their garage.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[cberkeley]

I had the same problem with my '83 GS650GL when I started the rebuild. The cable was fine so too was the sending gear at the wheel. My noise was coming from inside the speedo. Figuring that I was faced with having to invest in a replacement, I decided I could do no further damage by opening the unit to see what gave. I used a Dremel with a cutting disk and carefully circumcised the speedo opening it. I found that the entire mechanics of it was void of all lubricant and indeed squeal when I rotated it with a small motor. Some 3 in 1 oil in the mechanism solved the problem. The cut halves were mated together, tacked in three places with crazy glue then carefully bonded/sealed with epoxy. It's been working well since.
I'm well known for doing crazy stuff like this ....I just hae when people tell me it "Can't" be fixed.

[simon kuether]

I disconnect the speedo cable from the wheel and the tacho cable from the engine then lift the free ends ABOVE the guages then lubricate.The lube runs down the cables and I guess into the gauges.Let the free end dangle down for a while to let excess run out.Reconnect.Boom Boom.Job done.Cheers,Simon.:-D

[trdhrdr007]

Thanks for all the helpful hints. After I posted I went back out to the garage & tried a few things. I pulled the cable at the gauges & spun the front wheel. The part that goes into the gauges spun freely, so I dripped some 3 in 1 oil down the cable. Hooked everything back up & went for a very short test ride. That seems to have solved the problem, but I think I'm going to try to figure out a way to get some lubricant up into the speedometer itself.