tachometer cable broken

[kevinwcarr]

1983 gs 850. my tach cable is broken. when i order it will i get just the inner cable or will i get the outside as well? thanks in advance.

[rustybronco]

1983 gs 850. my tach cable is broken. when i order it will i get just the inner cable or will i get the outside as well? thanks in advance.

both the sheath and the core will come as one. if it is a "g" --- p/n 34940-45212

[kevinwcarr]

thank you very much

[kevinwcarr]

ok i fixed the tach cable, now i just need to know what to clean it with and what do i use to lube the cable?

[chef1366]

I used to recommend chain wax on cable lubing but it has proven to to more damage than good. You're best bet is to clean out the cable tubing with WD-40 and let it drip dry.
Do the same with the cable.
If it is new I wouldnt' worry about for awhile.

[J_C]

They sell cable lube. Motion pro I think sells it? And there's a little doodad to use to connect to the cable, then you connect the straw from the can to the doodad.

[posplayr]

Drip Dry, cable lube ???

Boy I would use wheel bearing grease for something that is spinning continuously. Cable lube is for pull cables not tach or speedo cables

In fact I have noticed a significant drop in needle bounce from a liberal greasing of a tach and speedo cable. So the damping effect of the lubrication was sufficient to dampen the cable which acts like a spring. With light oil I think the speedo/tach would be much more likely to bounce

Chef, that sticky tach I had on the gS1100ED is more than likely the oil that I drizzled into the guage and not the cable grease.

Posplayr

[jmanz6]

I will second the bearing grease. I would even suggest using synthetic bearing grease since it doesn't break down and isn't as affected by heat it should last forever in a tach or speedo cable. I use it in my car speedo cables and haven't had any problems over years of use. A new cable should come pre-packed though so it should be good to just install it and go. I would be sure to check first though.

[J_C]

Ahhh, good call. Wasnt even thinking about that

[chef1366]

I got that from you Jim. It actually worked on my speedo cable.
The chain wax gets old and sticky and it eventually starts to jump.

[bwringer]

A new cable from Suzuki will come already packed with a clear/white grease. Just install and ride.

Motion Pro cables don't seem to come with any visible lube and are poor quality in many other ways. They're a buck, maybe a buck fifty cheaper than OEM Suzuki cables.

If you got an MP cable, grease it and hope for the best.

[waterman]

I am rehashing this thread with a twist. Now that the weather is getting cooler, maybe cold (32 degrees this morning), I have noticed that my speedometer cable is singing. Like chef, I had been using Chain Wax since it said it could be used for cable lubing. I am having second thoughts since I have had to replace clutch and tach cable in last year. I believe the chain wax is getting sticky and causing it to bind.

At this point, I think my best option is to clean off wax with solvent (brake or carb cleaner spray). Should I go to a light machine oil (3 in 1), motor oil, or some form of grease? Or does anyone know of a better cold temperature lubricant? I will usually ride until ice starts to form on roadways (25 degrees is cut off point).

[twistedwankel]

ok i fixed the tach cable, now i just need to know what to clean it with and what do i use to lube the cable?

I got a large tube of Motorex 2000 made in Switzerland from Bike bandit who recommended it due to discontinued old factory grease (face it all new bikes are electrical speedo and tachs). It is stiff enough to do the job and so far is superior to the factory grease that came on the cable which started breaking down in 2k miles. Of course now I have enough grease to do 500,000 speedo's and tach cables but it should work nicely in any other grease application too. If you lived close I'd be glad to give you a lifetime supply for free.

I just wipe it off with a clean shop rag and load the wire with grease = steady as a rock. Some use WD-40 to rinse them off first.

Also note if you are still getting bounce on speedo after regreasing, disconnect the cable and see it's still spinning smoothly, then it's time to take off the two nuts holding on the instrument cluster flip it over and fill speedo fitting with silicone spray then spin slowly with small screw driver until you feel the mechanizm spin much more freely. All the bounce will disappear. My speedo actually developed a buzzing noise very abruptly. BE WARNED doing this to the tach head will slow it down (in operation reaction) for quite along time and the tach spins only counter clockwise so don't break it. So you might want to use a lighter spray like WD40 on that very sparingly - or not at all. It's taken 200 miles for mine to get back to normal and I wasn't having any problem with it before PM lubing.