Topic: 1982 CB650SC speedometer cable

[cheddarGoblin]

One of the many, many parts that my basket case that I have been working on is the speedometer cable.

Full thread here
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,184928.0.html

I purchased a new one that should fit my model but it does not appear to fit into the wheel housing properly. Everything else on it looked fine. I messaged the supplier, they suggested maybe I have a different speedometer gear, perhaps one from a CB650 standard. So I purchased that one as well. Not only does that one not fit into the housing but it is also too short. The one intended for the Nighthawk is a few inches longer, does the Nighthawk have a longer rake?

Anyway, the speedometer gear looks to be original, at least it matches what I can find to compare it to. So I am a little unsure of how to get this resolved.

Here is what I am seeing.

The cable fits in and and it will kinda stay in with the clip but it is very loose. Like it pulls out super easy and seems like it would fall out the first time i hit a bump. Plus, there is an O-ring on the fitting that does not even make it to the housing. So it seems like it needs to go in farther.
I checked the housing multiple times to see if something is stuck in there but it sure doesn't look like it.


Other than this, the cable seems fine, it is long enough to go to the speedometer and it seems to fit like it should. This seems like such a simple thing, I am not sure what I am missing. Perhaps there is another part I should have?

Here is a comparison of the 2 cables
Standard on the left, Nighthawk (mine) on the right


The Nighthawk cable is longer and fits properly, the standard cable it too short.


Any insight is appreciated

I suppose it is also possible that this is the way that it is supposed to be. Since it was missing when I got the bike, I had nothing to compare it to. It just doesn't seem quite right though.

[BenelliSEI]

Let me preface this by saying I know nothing about your bike and am just making suggestions based on very clear photographs!
1. Is the inner cable fully engaged with the blade drive? It likely has a slot in the cable end and a blade spinning in the drive hub? Are you sure it is all the way in and fully seated? If “YES”, read step two......... or
2. If it all engages properly and works fine, you want to keep the cable in place? Remove the clip, push your cable all the way in. Mark through the slot with something sharp, as you rotate the outer cable. With a fine blade hack saw, cut two grooves into the outer cable busing, so the clip fits into them and stops the cable backing out.

[cheddarGoblin]

RESOLVED! There was a chunk of the old speedo cable broken off inside the housing. It was such a clean break, it was only possible to tell once I wiped some of the old grease away. Then I could see a slight ridge at the end of the connection. Since the speedo cable is on the left side, and the bike hide obviously been down on its left side, I thought maybe this broke off at that time. It was just a guess but I just could not come up with anything else. I had to drill a few small holes to get a pair off pliers into in order to grab a hold of it because it is suck a tight fit. But after a bit of prying and pulling...


VOILA! Chunk of the old speedo cable!



So here is what it looked like before. I couldn't tell there was anything in there.


After getting that chunk out and wiping away the gunk. That spot is where my drill bit kissed it a bit.


Installed. Definitely fits much better.

[DaveBarbier]

Odd, my 79 650 has a seal in there and it really looks like what you took out is the seal. Besides, I don’t see how a speedometer cable could break off in there like that. I guess if you start dripping speedometer drive grease out of there you’ll know

[robvangulik]

. Besides, I don’t see how a speedometer cable could break off in there like that. I guess if you start dripping speedometer drive grease out of there you’ll know

He said the bike had been dropped on the left side, anything can happen...

[DaveBarbier]

. Besides, I don’t see how a speedometer cable could break off in there like that. I guess if you start dripping speedometer drive grease out of there you’ll know

He said the bike had been dropped on the left side, anything can happen...

True true! And I didn’t consider a PO messing with it.

That being said, looking at what he pulled out, I would bet money that’s a seal and there’s more to the story than what’s going on here. The parts fiches don’t have a breakdown for the speedometer drive, it’s a single unit so I can’t tell for sure but we’ll see. At least it’s not an engine seal.

[cheddarGoblin]

I agree it does look like a seal. It also looks like the end of the speedo cable. So I am thinking that it either broke off in there when it was dropped or broke at some point when the PO was trying to remove it. The new cable for this model fit perfectly once it was out. It does fit very snug, snug enough that I warmed it up with a heat gun a bit to get it installed. So I am wondering if the end of the cable does the sealing.

[BenelliSEI]

There’s only a bit of grease in there. If you have the tight a fit, it will be fine.