A couple of Maxim X gauge questions

Perhaps this pertains to just more than the Maxim X (minus the temp gauge question I have), but here it goes. The speedometer on my X lags quite a bit, on acceleration and deceleration. I can speed up to about 45MPH, but the gauge will still read around 20MPH and will slowly creep its way up to where it needs to be. Same thing will happen when I come to a complete stop - the gauge will slowly fall down to zero. I've removed the speedo cable, checked it for proper operation, cleaned, and relubed it, but that didn't do the trick. Any other suggestions?

The X temp gauge - is this thing accurate? If the needle falls into the small red portion of the gauge, am I in trouble? I was cruising around pretty slow (5-15MPH) trying to do some diagnosis and troubleshooting this morning and the gauge was nearly in the red and the fan kicked on, but the engine really didn't feel that hot to me. Also, my friend has a newer water cooled bike (VFR800) and he can let that thing sit on the sidestand running in 90 degree heat and the cooling system will keep it as a constant temp. I haven't let my bike sit idling for too long as the needle would slowly creep up to the red area and I would get scared and shut it down. Will the cooling system keep this bike at a safe temperature while it sits and idles for a while? I've been too afraid to find out for myself. I have also drained the old coolant, flushed the system, and added some new stuff using a 60/40 coolant/distilled water mix.

 

Perhaps the speedo itself needs lubing -- there's another thread that goes into this.

From what I understand, that's where it normally kicks in -- mine does, and others have reported the same. One X I saw had a toggle switch rigged to manually start the fan.

You can rest easy about two things, though -- first, that the temp gauge appears to be working, and second, that the fan works. Plus, there doesn't appear to be an air bubble trapped at the coolant sensor.

 

My fan kicks in a bit before the red also. I believe that equates to about 195 deg IIRC

Once the fan comes on, mine will drop a bit and if I'm stopped in 90 deg weather, it will continue to run until I get moving again.
SO it sounds like yours is working correctly.
I've had mine sitting and idling for...probably 10 minutes (after the fan kicks on) and it will keep itself cool. It's decieving since there are no "degree" marks on the gauge.

I believe you would be fine as long at the temp doesn't continue any higher once the fan kicks in.
As Schmuckaholic stated, You are in good shape>> you know the fan works and you know the temp gauge works.

The X just doesn't like going slower than 90

 

Thanks for the replies.

I "grew a pair" and let the thing idle today for a while. Temps outside were about 80*F. The fan kicked on before the red spot on the gauge and seemed to hold the temp of the bike pretty steady and then the fan kicked off and I didn't want to see if it would come back on again, but I imagine it would have.

Any idea on the speedometer? I took it off today but couldn't figure out how to take it apart to lube it up. Just killing some time until my new tires and mirrors come in...