speedo needle questions

Just a question before i go ahead and damage something are the speedos on a 82 xj750 rescuable. Mine was working upto a day ago and now it will not register. It did( the needle) seem to fluctuate a bit especially the faster you went then it has just stopped altogether. i have checked the cable into the unit and that seems fine. Could the issue be more with the cable in to the housing on the front wheel or the gears or cogs in the unit itself. Just trying to get a better handle on things before i inadvertantly damage it more. any help with this would be good. I know some might say ya dont need it but I like to now how fast i am going or not.....

 

The only thing I've been able to do successfully with the speedo is swap needles. The gear units are built to be tamper-resistant for the obvious reasons. If you figure out a way to get the shafts out without ruining the box, I'd like to know about it.

 

oh wow, this just wasn't the weekend for speedo's. my needle broke off riding with my buddies early saturday morning. it isn't compleately gone, there is about 3mm still sticking out from behing that black rectangle. you know, just enough to make it difficult to see at speed. wouldn't be such a big deal but the tach quit working too! 'bout a week ago. so now i'm flying blind. but to second what Robert said, i got the cluster apart and cannot see a simple way to remove the gear unit and replace with another. now to find a replacement needle...........or reasonable substitute.

 

http://www.xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=7271.html

I happen to have one that needs a needle if your in the market...

 

It's more likely in the front wheel if your speedo is acting up. The speedo itself has a drive plate in the front wheel that wears/bends for whatever reason. I would dig into that first.

 

Somebody posted a thread a while back outlining the swap of a set of Ford Escort needles stuffed onto a Yamaha cluster. Looked nice too.
Trunks, removing the needle isn't that hard but getting it put back in the same place is another matter.
I can swap needles without too much difficulty, I'm just not aware of setting up the gauge to work with any accuracy.

 

yeah, once i got into the cluster i quickly realized that i was getting in over my head. with the speedo needle broken and the tach on the fritz, i think this cluster has had it. samsr is sending me a cluster he had, i guess we'll see how it works out. it may be time to go aftermarket.........

 

Trunks:

Easy fix.
Epoxy a toothpick to the Underside of the fragment.
Coat the toothpick ... after its on and cured ... with a thin coat of Epoxy.

Trim the end with Nail Clippers just before the Epoxy Cures.
Emory board the whole thing to make a "New" Needle Indicator.

Paint with Florescent Orange (Or yellow ... I used the Yellow) ... paint.
You get the Paint at High-line Hobby Shops the deal with High-end Radio Controlled stuff.

(Mask the face of the speedo with Project paper so when the Paint drips off it won't bleed through and spoil the face of the instrument!)

 

Great suggestion Rick, thanks!