750 LTD speedo cable woes

Heres my problem- my '79 750 LTD had a broken speedometer cable. I bought what I thought was the right replacement on Ebay, NOS. It came up about 4" short. (If anybody wants it, come and get it- part # ended in 0052..) So then I saw another from a parted-out 650, and the length was right, about 36" long, so I got that. Now I find out that neither of them thread onto the sending unit( the little worm gear doohickey on the front axle.) The Knurled fitting on the end of the cable is a little bit smaller in size. I have the sending unit from my '78 750, and it works fine and the cables fit onto it. Will that mate with the wheel OK, or am I going to go completely nucking futs trying to fix what I thought was an easy problem? Thanks for any help, you guys are great!

I think you need to look at the axle size from the 78. If that fits your wheel it should work fine. Pace it with a car at first to see if its fairly accurate.

Thanks, I'm going to give it a shot today. I just get aggravated when something that seems so simple turns into a headache. I've learned to walk away, and try again with a clear head. After all, there is plenty of winter left before I roll it out of the cellar!

The axles are the same size and it will work.

Your LTD is an 80 model, on at least the 750 twins anything made starting in July is the next years model.
750G production started 7/79.

The easiest way to tell if it's an 80 G model is the rear footpeg mounts and the lack of a centerstand. There are lot's of other differences but those two stand out.

Post edited by: steell, at: 2006/01/21 11:04

You know your bikes. Here is (I hope) a shot of the junker before I tore it apart. The speedo sending unit looks identical to the '79 except for the threaded end for the cable attachment. Now, I cant loosen the big axle nuts. Tried oil, heat, even bar clamps as cheaters. I don't want to break anything. I have to keep tellnig myself, this is fun.

Did you loosen the two nuts on the bottom of each fork leg first? Those axle nuts can sometimes get corroded in place.

My areas of expertise are the 750 twins and fours (GPz750), I have several of each (mostly in pieces) plus a bunch of parts.
Sometimes I get a little carried away collecting parts
I keep a 750 twin as a daily driver.

That exhaust on the bike in the pic is strange, is the back end slash cut?

Post edited by: steell, at: 2006/01/21 14:12

I took the wheel right off the bike, since I would have to in order to swap the sending unit. I will keep trying.
About the junker exhaust, yes it has a slash cut end. No idea what make, but it is pretty beat. I have zero history on that bike, got it from a guy in Massachussetts.

Still no luck getting nuts off the ends of the axle. I may try an impact wrench to break it free. 1+1/16" wrench seems to be a good match. Unless that is a really bad idea?

Seems like a really good idea to me

Maybe I misunderstood you guys, but is the wheel off the forks already? Those caps at the bottom of the forks must be off before you can move the axle nuts as they are pinched into place by the bottom caps.

Yeah, the wheel is off the bike. It has to be in order to swap out the speedometer sending unit. I've got a friend with an impact wrench, 1 1/16" matches up with 27mm. Meanwhile, I've been playing with the carbs. I shoulda been watching the Patriots in the AFC game!

Nevan,

Don't want to hijack your thread here,
but I wanted to reply to your mail query
about the crash bars on my ltd.

They are a no-name brand, the top end attaches
to the frame downtubes with u-clamps,
and the bottom bar has a 6-7 inch straight
bar welded to it that extends back to enable the front engine bolt to be slipped through.

Came with the bike when I bought it, glad I kept it.
They save rare engine case pieces.
Have them on my hondas as well.

Good luck with your twin.

They are worth the trouble to resto, mines' been rocksolid!

~twist