bigbikerrick Posted August 17, 2005 Share Posted August 17, 2005 Ive read some posts about the speedometer angle drive going bad and causing problems, please excuse my ignorance, but are they referring to the black plastic part on top of the transmission that the speedometer cable plugs into? My speedo needle bounces a little at lower speeds, is this a problem waiting to happen? is there any preventive maintenance we can do in this area to prevent failure? Thank you in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txrider Posted August 17, 2005 Share Posted August 17, 2005 My take on the cable breakages and bouncing speedo is there is binding and metal to metal galling inside the housing, particularly where there are turns and bends in the housing. First signs of problems are signs you are seeing. To address this on my 2004, I undid the speedo cable from the speedometer and drip-lubed a mix of moly engine addditive and 10w-30 Mobil 1 until it came out the trans end. Also rerouted the housing to eliminate any abrupt bends. I think the angle drives are on earlier bikes than the 2003's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbikerrick Posted August 18, 2005 Author Share Posted August 18, 2005 My take on the cable breakages and bouncing speedo is there is binding and metal to metal galling inside the housing, particularly where there are turns and bends in the housing. First signs of problems are signs you are seeing. To address this on my 2004, I undid the speedo cable from the speedometer and drip-lubed a mix of moly engine addditive and 10w-30 Mobil 1 until it came out the trans end. Also rerouted the housing to eliminate any abrupt bends. I think the angle drives are on earlier bikes than the 2003's. 58045[/snapback] Thank You for the reply, I will lube and check routing as you suggest, I assume this is a cable failure only problem, thjat in a worse case scenario can be remedied by replacing the cable with a new one, not something that makes the speedometer itself fail, correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MotoGeezr Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 The speedometer on my '03 LeMans did the bounce for a month, then the odometer went then the needle. Had to replace with the new cable and housing that has less of a turn where it goes into the transmission. Bothers me becasue I like to have original miles, but this seems to be a prevalent problem according to the dealer and the new housing is the cure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txrider Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 Strictly opinion here but seems like a binding cable that alternately binds up then releases with a whipping motion would contribute to speedometer failure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbikerrick Posted August 18, 2005 Author Share Posted August 18, 2005 The speedometer on my '03 LeMans did the bounce for a month, then the odometer went then the needle. Had to replace with the new cable and housing that has less of a turn where it goes into the transmission. Bothers me becasue I like to have original miles, but this seems to be a prevalent problem according to the dealer and the new housing is the cure. 58074[/snapback] Is this replacement something I can do to my 2003 to prevent the speedo from being damaged? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbikerrick Posted August 18, 2005 Author Share Posted August 18, 2005 The speedometer on my '03 LeMans did the bounce for a month, then the odometer went then the needle. Had to replace with the new cable and housing that has less of a turn where it goes into the transmission. Bothers me becasue I like to have original miles, but this seems to be a prevalent problem according to the dealer and the new housing is the cure. 58074[/snapback] Im not sure what you refer to as "housing" ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txrider Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 Im not sure what you refer to as "housing" ? 58083[/snapback] I think the reference is to the cable housing, the black hose looking sheath which contains the cable core. Inner-cable, outer- housing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbikerrick Posted August 18, 2005 Author Share Posted August 18, 2005 I think the reference is to the cable housing, the black hose looking sheath which contains the cable core. Inner-cable, outer- housing. 58092[/snapback] Ok , Thanks I understand. I think..... so actually the cable will fail due to the design of the cable housing, but that doesnt cause the instrument itself to go bad ,correct? or do I need to get a different cable/houing assembly to protect my speedometer from damage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txrider Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 Ok , Thanks I understand. I think..... so actually the cable will fail due to the design of the cable housing, but that doesnt cause the instrument itself to go bad ,correct? or do I need to get a different cable/houing assembly to protect my speedometer from damage? 58096[/snapback] I'm not one of the resident experts on the LM but based on what others have written here the cable/housing assembly is slightly short requiring relatively small radius turns for routing speedometer to transmission. So the best long term fix would be a longer assembly but what to ask for I couldn't say. I would suggest contacting MPH for a recommendation. On the other hand if you lubricate as suggested and reroute to minimize sharp turns then you might be just fine. Many here have had no speedo problems for many miles by doing just that. This doesn't mean the speedometer is immune to failure, just that it will give more reliable service if the cable isn't whipping about inside it's housing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbikerrick Posted August 19, 2005 Author Share Posted August 19, 2005 I'm not one of the resident experts on the LM but based on what others have written here the cable/housing assembly is slightly short requiring relatively small radius turns for routing speedometer to transmission. So the best long term fix would be a longer assembly but what to ask for I couldn't say. I would suggest contacting MPH for a recommendation. On the other hand if you lubricate as suggested and reroute to minimize sharp turns then you might be just fine. Many here have had no speedo problems for many miles by doing just that. This doesn't mean the speedometer is immune to failure, just that it will give more reliable service if the cable isn't whipping about inside it's housing. 58107[/snapback] That sounds like a reasonable thing to do im going to lube my cable real good and try to run it as straight as possible, Thank you, Sir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Werner Posted August 19, 2005 Share Posted August 19, 2005 In addition to the lube, you might want to straighten out the angle of the housing a little (transmission end). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbikerrick Posted August 19, 2005 Author Share Posted August 19, 2005 In addition to the lube, you might want to straighten out the angle of the housing a little (transmission end). 58145[/snapback] Thanks for the advice, Is the part that needs to be straightened out under the gas tank somewhere? the end by the tranny on my bike seems to go from the plastic adapter straight up under the tank somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralph Werner Posted August 19, 2005 Share Posted August 19, 2005 The photo shows the cable where it enters the transmission. The rod at the top is the throttle linkage. Be careful not to straighten the angle too much or it will bind on the rod. Just past that point is where the cable goes up under the tank. The new replacement cable has supposedly corrected this problem - I'm keeping mine as a spare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeeve Posted August 19, 2005 Share Posted August 19, 2005 I'm not one of the resident experts on the LM but based on what others have written here the cable/housing assembly is slightly short requiring relatively small radius turns for routing speedometer to transmission. So the best long term fix would be a longer assembly but what to ask for I couldn't say. I would suggest contacting MPH for a recommendation. On the other hand if you lubricate as suggested and reroute to minimize sharp turns then you might be just fine. Many here have had no speedo problems for many miles by doing just that. This doesn't mean the speedometer is immune to failure, just that it will give more reliable service if the cable isn't whipping about inside it's housing. 58107[/snapback] Actually, about 3 months back? someone posted the new part# from MG for the redesigned cable, w/ less angle at the tranny and longer expected lifespan (but they pointed out the routing was different, & iirc, required tank removal to install, since you couldn't just attach it to the old cable & pull thru...) Dunno what to search for, or you'd find a link to the old thread here. Ride on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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