TOPIC:

Why does my speedometer needle bounce at speed. Not even real fast maybe 65 and up it real fluctuates?

Sometimes the cable gets frayed and breaks.
It will still turn the spedometer,but sporaticaly.
The magnet on the needle assembly can get weak
with age and bounce around.Also mechanical spedos
are prone to gear damage that can have the same efect.
Check the cable first.The only other test is to try
another spedo.If your needs repair maybe someone out
there repairs them?

Had this problem with an old KZ650. Rebuilt the speedo drive, replaced the speedo and it still did it. funny thing though, it kept proper track of mileage.

Turned out to be the grommets where the speedo bolts to the triple tree. If you don't have the grommets in the bolt holes, vibration from the engine messes with the needle.

tjettim wrote:

If your needs repair maybe someone out
there repairs them?

Z1 RESTO AKA Bob Harrington or CANYONDANCERBIDS if I remember right on eBay . Contact him IF you want it restored ( FIXED ). He's a, A #1 guy to deal with;)
Pat

Post edited by: patmann, at: 2007/08/29 17:17

Philip Meaney wrote:

Had this problem with an old KZ650. Rebuilt the speedo drive, replaced the speedo and it still did it. funny thing though, it kept proper track of mileage.

Turned out to be the grommets where the speedo bolts to the triple tree. If you don't have the grommets in the bolt holes, vibration from the engine messes with the needle.

absolutely correct...if your foams blown away and you add a few washers to the mounts to tighten things up this is exactly what theyll do!!

Start with simple fixes before trying a rebuild. I seem to have solved the same problem on my 550. I was going through speedo and tach cables more than once a year. I came to the conclusion that the cable wasn't turning smoothly or consistently in the sheath, and the problem was being amplified at higher speeds.

First, check the speedo cable for kinks or even tight bends in its routing to the speedometer. Remove, clean and lubricate the speedometer drive at the hub. Make sure it is engaging properly at the wheel when you reassemble it.

For the cable: Take it out of its sheath. Spray lots of WD40 or liquid wrench, or any other light lubricant/cleaner in the sheath from top and bottom down the sheath. Soak a cloth in the same stuff and run it up and down the cable. Put some proper cable lube on the cloth and run that up and down the cable. Put it all back together and go for a ride.

I went through all of the above for tach and speedo cables and everything works great now. I was amazed at how much gunk had accumulated inside the cable sheaths when I cleaned them.

If none of that works, then start thinking rebuild on the speedo.

What the other guys said. My tach did the same, and only at higher speeds like you described. Check cable, make sure all the rubber dampers are there and do not overtighten the bolts that mount the tach to the bracket. I had mounted it too tight after rebuild and my tach started turning smoothly once I slacked off the nuts a couple of turns.