Topic: Lube the speedometer cable?

[eigenvector]

Anyone ever have to do that?

I find myself having to do stuff like this on some of my newer bikes - probably because of the weather in Seattle, but what??

It's one of those maintenance items that I would never expect to have to do.  Probably because in my head I think of a speedometer cable as more of an electrical plug - not a physical cable that is rotating at high speed inside the cable sheath.  Of course it needs to be maintained - it's actually a wonder that they don't break more often.  I'm pretty sure I have the original cables on my 70's bikes - 40 years is a long time to go without maintenance.

When the speedometer begins to whine at you while in motion, time to lube the cable.

[ekpent]

 You can disconnect the cables both tach and speedo and pull the wound metal cable completely out from the plastic sheath and then clean with lacquer thinner or other chemical and lightly oil. While the cable is out you can flush out the inside of the sheath also.

[eigenvector]

Yeah, I have the cable lube and all that ready.

One of those things that just never enters my mind.

I'm tooling on down the road and I'm like - "where the hound dog is that high pitched whine coming from?"
At least the tach on this bike in particular is electronic - but I'm sure the tach cable on the 550 and 750 also need to be lubed as well.

The BMW - there's not a single mechanical item on that bike to worry about.  God help me if the wiring develops a short though.

[HondaMan]

The BMW - there's not a single mechanical item on that bike to worry about.  God help me if the wiring develops a short though.

One of my local wrench friends went to the Beemer bike shop here (where the cops get their blue-cruisers) when they advertised for a new mechanic. When he came in (sans resume') the manager "interviewed" him with just one question, "Which way do you tighten a normal bolt?". He replied, "lefty loosey, righty tighty?". They hired him on the spot. Later I asked him what he thought of it, and he told me the Beemers all have computer dignostics in them now, so he plugs in a console and it prints out "do this, and this, and this, and replace that, and that...". He quit there about 2 years later and went to a resto shop instead, said it wasn't much like real wrenching there. And, he said they would charge the typical BMW owner more for a 1-hour "service" than he paid for his GT750 waterbike he still rides, but he was paid less than $20/hour. Sad story!

Like I said to a CB160 owner who's bike I am working now: I struggle thru every resto, tearing my hair out to find the right parts and make sure it will run right, and as soon as I am done, yearn to start the next one. What's WRONG with me!?