how to clean speedo?

[boathead]

i have my front wheel off, awaiting a fork seal in the mail.

trying to do some clean up while i have everything apart.....what can i do to clean up the speedo that attaches to the axle?

spray it with brake cleaner? does it need to be greased?

i'm pretty sure that nothing has been cleaned in 27 years, am unsure how to proceed. never did this before, so any suggestions welcome, not only on the speedo, but anything else while i have it apart.

[feelergaugephil]

i have my front wheel off, awaiting a fork seal in the mail.

trying to do some clean up while i have everything apart.....what can i do to clean up the speedo that attaches to the axle?

spray it with brake cleaner? does it need to be greased?

i'm pretty sure that nothing has been cleaned in 27 years, am unsure how to proceed. never did this before, so any suggestions welcome, not only on the speedo, but anything else while i have it apart.

Hopefully your doing BOTH fork seals and not just one!
Clean out the grease as best as you can then yes, you can use brake cleaner or purplepower/ simple green strong and wash out with hose pipe, then regrease everything back up again.
More than likely the 27 year old fork spring will be shot, go buy some progressive springs, this will help raise the front end up rather than sagging and will improve handling.

[boathead]

my plan is to do both seals, but i'll be honest that i am going to see how the problem fork goes first. i'm a little nervous that i won't be able to get the damper unit out.

this stuff takes me an inordinate amount of time....i read...ask questions...read....think....worry....hit the harware store....go back to the hardware store to get the correct stuff...etc..

almost everything i do is for the first time.

[Poot]

my plan is to do both seals, but i'll be honest that i am going to see how the problem fork goes first. i'm a little nervous that i won't be able to get the damper unit out.

this stuff takes me an inordinate amount of time....i read...ask questions...read....think....worry....hit the harware store....go back to the hardware store to get the correct stuff...etc..

almost everything i do is for the first time.

I know where you're coming from.



Luckily , when I did my forks, I had a friendly guy working at the parts store near me that welded a double-ended hex-bolt rod long enough to get to the bottom of the forks.

POOT

[bwringer]

As far as the speedo drive, it's greased inside. You can remove the circlip, disassemble, clean, and re-grease the innards.

Don't use brake or carb cleaner spray -- there are a couple of rubber seals in there that probably aren't available separately, and harsh chemicals can damage them. I usually use WD-40 as a mild un-stinky parts cleaner in these situations.