My Speedo/Odometer is Nuts!

Was out for a run today and noticed that my speedo would not go over 70mph. Then when I got home I noticed that my trip odometer showed I went 162 miles and real odometer showed that I went 800 miles!!!!! In reality I only went about 50 miles. This is the second time I've noticed it happening.

I guess something is up within the gauge. Just wondering if there is much to these internally and if its even worth opening up? Is this a common problem, and if so, is there a common fix?

Thanks

You might have to contact these people:http://www.z1enterprises.com/reference/ZResto_home.aspx

HerrDeacon wrote:

Was out for a run today and noticed that my speedo would not go over 70mph.

A spider got inside my speedo about 20 years ago and built a little web right around the 60 mph area. When I went out and rode it on the freeway, the web caught the needle.... and held it for about TWO YEARS.

That web material is really durable, finally let go and started working again.:laugh:

my guess is theres something stuck inside. theyre not that hard to peel open and check out. polish the faceplate with a good plastic polish while you have it apart. simple tips...a coffee can makes a great holder when working on these. two teaspoons will pry the needle off without breaking it..lever on the screws very carefully because you dont wanna slip here...steve

Thanks guys.

Wondering how a stuck needle would have also made the two odometers go nuts as well? If it was just a stuck needle I wouldn't mind, but now I'll have a hard time determining when to get gas

Great link MFolks. I remember seeing that about a year ago and competely forgot about it. The last section on the page states:

Notice the round cylinder directly atop the spring. This is the internal ‘damper". If your gauge has a needle that "wanders",...at speed or RPM, and your cables are good,....this is the culprit. The damper itself holds oil, and cannot be fixed, unless this whole drive unit is replaced with one that works properly.

Wonder if this is the issue with mine. I was planning on getting smaller after market ones anyway, so this may be the final push I need.

MFolks wrote:

You might have to contact these people:http://www.z1enterprises.com/reference/ZResto_home.aspx

I suggest you wait till you hear from me. I had Bob redo my speedo and tach last summer. He got them back to me very quickly, and they looked beautiful, but I only just now got the bike back on the road, and both the speedo and tach are jumping around all over the place, and the speedo doesn't go any higher than 90.

I haven't contacted him about it yet, I'm working through electrical issues first, and i don't think there'll be a problem with him standing behind his work, a guy doesn't make them that beautiful just so they won't work, but I'd still recommend holding off till I get some answers and post them.

seanof30306 wrote:

MFolks wrote:

You might have to contact these people:http://www.z1enterprises.com/reference/ZResto_home.aspx

I suggest you wait till you hear from me. I had Bob redo my speedo and tach last summer. He got them back to me very quickly, and they looked beautiful, but I only just now got the bike back on the road, and both the speedo and tach are jumping around all over the place, and the speedo doesn't go any higher than 90.

I haven't contacted him about it yet, I'm working through electrical issues first, and i don't think there'll be a problem with him standing behind his work, a guy doesn't make them that beautiful just so they won't work, but I'd still recommend holding off till I get some answers and post them.

im gonna ask what may seem like a silly question here.. when you got your rebuilt gauges back and installed them on the mount how was the condition of the foam on the mount itself?also the rubber grommets?? if it was junk theres your answer if not press on..never mind

fixer5000 wrote:

im gonna ask what may seem like a silly question here.. when you got your rebuilt gauges back and installed them on the mount how was the condition of the foam on the mount itself?also the rubber grommets?? if it was junk theres your answer if not press on..never mind

Could this have any affect on what I've described with mine? What has your experience been with bad foam and rubber?

None of this makes a whole lot of sense. As far as I know the needle is just driven off a centrifical clutch type drive. The cable spins the assm, the faster it spins the higher the needle. You can have spider webs or whatever and it may cause the needle to be goofed up, but that has nothing to do with the odometer. The odometer is simply a bunch of reduction gears so for each spin of the cable the odometer will increment forward at the applicable pace. So for a speedometer to suddenly read wrong seems very strange.

fixer5000 wrote:

im gonna ask what may seem like a silly question here.. when you got your rebuilt gauges back and installed them on the mount how was the condition of the foam on the mount itself?also the rubber grommets?? if it was junk theres your answer if not press on..never mind

I don't think so, we inspected the grommets and foam pretty carefully before reinstalling the gauges; I wasn't going to tsake any chances after spending all that money to fix them.

Besides, the bouncing seems more tied to certain speeds and rpms than road conditions. The first time I saw it, I suspected bumps in the road, so I made sure I was on a smooth one. They still did it.