Topic: fluttering spedometer 1975 cb550

[ddamron]

Hello there!

I finally got my cb550 out on the highway today, and around 45 mph the speedometer turns to junk. it flutters around 15-20 mph faster than what i'm going, and it really flutters all over.

Any tips?

[bjbuchanan]

Lube the cable with your favorite lube but the cable is most likely shot. Hit up motion pro for like 12$ off of ebay or literally any vendor out there

[ddamron]

Is cable lube ok? Like what I'd use for throttle?

I think I'm going to replace the cable, but I'm having a hard time not stripping the head of the screw that holds it in place.

[ddamron]

I'm still trying to find the best way to lubricate this cable. Is it possible from the top?

I'm aware that the screw at the bottom of this thing is a little hard to get out. Mine feels like it's impossible.
I'd be willing to buy an impact driver (i'm aware I need one) or an easy out to get it out, but I hear just as many stories of people breaking things using these methods as I hear stories of success.

[bjatwood]

Unscrew the cable from the gear on the front hub. Pull said cable out, wipe clean with brake clean and hand lube it with graphite-moly paste or whatever you prefer. Reinstall and take her for a spin. It probably hasn't been lubed in years!

[ddamron]

Did it. Cleaned it, wiped down with white lithium, took it for a run. It might have even made things worse.

[ddamron]

I might choose a different adjective and say the needle is bouncing.

[Wobbly]

Although it could be the drive (meter gear) at the wheel, I would not be surprised if your speedometer is shot. It isn't the first one I have seen going bad, and the others I've seen displayed the same behavior. Only if the speedometer quits its duty altogether, the cable is usually the culprit. My experiences, other might have different ones.

[lucky]

I'm still trying to find the best way to lubricate this cable. Is it possible from the top?

I'm aware that the screw at the bottom of this thing is a little hard to get out. Mine feels like it's impossible.
I'd be willing to buy an impact driver (i'm aware I need one) or an easy out to get it out, but I hear just as many stories of people breaking things using these methods as I hear stories of success.

Just unscrew the cable at the instrument and pull the inside cable out.
Oil it its full length and re install.

[bjbuchanan]

Whacking that speedo drive with a driver is a risky situation. I busted one once extremely easy, other one didn't break at all. My suggestion would be to try to hammer a phillips in to the head a couple times to get it to really bite. Then try to get some weight behind hand twisting

[Nic]

I'd be willing to buy an impact driver (i'm aware I need one) or an easy out to get it out

There's nothin' easy about an easy out, I would never use one, more likely to snap off n make things worse.

[tlbranth]

both my gauges were bouncing around and I replaced both cables. Fixed the problem. Both steady as a rock now. I used OEM cables. Might not work for you but maybe worth a try.

[tlbranth]

By the way, there's a really good gauge rebuild writeup by Pistol Pete on the Naked Goldwings Forum:
http://ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=48713

[CB750faces.com (Lecram)]

If the needles bounce, it's often the internal damper which is empty. The oil in these dampers vaporizes after 30-40 years. I have restored hundreds of these gauges and there is no gauge that has a proper damper after so many years.

[Wobbly]

If the needles bounce, it's often the internal damper which is empty. The oil in these dampers vaporizes after 30-40 years. I have restored hundreds of these gauges and there is no gauge that has a proper damper after so many years.

Strangely enough, I have seen this more with NOS gauges than with the ones that have been in use for well over 35 years. I believe, Honda had a bulletin out, explaining in what position to store new gauges correctly. There must have been some reasoning behind it.

[ddamron]

Impact driver worked. Lubricating cable didn't. New cable in the mail, I'll look into the oil situation.

[Duanob]

If the needles bounce, it's often the internal damper which is empty. The oil in these dampers vaporizes after 30-40 years. I have restored hundreds of these gauges and there is no gauge that has a proper damper after so many years.

Bingo! that's what I was thinking.

[CB750faces.com (Lecram)]

If the needles bounce, it's often the internal damper which is empty. The oil in these dampers vaporizes after 30-40 years. I have restored hundreds of these gauges and there is no gauge that has a proper damper after so many years.

Strangely enough, I have seen this more with NOS gauges than with the ones that have been in use for well over 35 years. I believe, Honda had a bulletin out, explaining in what position to store new gauges correctly. There must have been some reasoning behind it.

I have a set of NOS 1970 CB750 K0 gauges here and despite the fact that these were stored correctly, the dampers were completely empty. Probably, Honda used a better oil in the later years