Making ITI Instruments Last

[Greg Field]

We (Moto Intl.) got returned to us a speedo the case of which had cracked after less than 2 months in service. This is not the kind of thing Piaggio will warranty without a long, drawn-out fight, so my choices were to tell the guy he's screwed and offer to sell him another $140 speedo, eat the cost myself and give him a new speedo, fix it myself, or spend the next three months trying to get Piaggio to replace it. Fixing it seemed the best course of action, so I told the guy I'd swap the guts to a salvaged case. That gave me a good opportunity to show how such things are done and how to lube these speedos to make them last. They tend to die early when unlubed but to last long when well-lubed. Rarely are they well-lubed from the factory.

 

The hardest part of the job is getting off the glass without cracking it. Here're three approaches to that.

 

 

First, remove the two screws at the back that fasten the guts to the case.

 

 

Then push the guts forward, against the glass. This sometimes will pop the glass and bezel free. It's worth a try anyway. That's method one.

 

When that doesn't work, try method two. Set the instrument glass down on the bench and us a thin punch to slowly push free the little pegs that fasten the bezel to the case. Work slowly, from one peg to the next, and it will come off. Then try prying loose the glass using a thin blade, such as that from an Xaxto knife. This usually gets the glass off on the earlier ITI instruments.

 

 

The above is what you'll see when it pops free. Unfortunately, the glass almost never pops free on the later ITI speedos or on the replacement instruments we can get now. The glass on these is glued on so well that you will break it before it pops free. I've tried everything including a heat gun without success. If it doesn't quickly pop free, move on to method three, as I had to do on the instrument for this customer.

 

 

On these late ITIs, you have to cut the case, service the instrument, and then glue the case back together. Make some marks before you cut because it will go back together better and look neater if you realign the index marks.

 

 

Use a thin blade. I use a hacksaw blade on which I have ground off the kerf, so that it makes a smoother, thinner cut. The shiny edge of the blade shows where the kerf was ground off. Sorry for the blurriness of the photo.

 

 

Remove the guts, and before doing anything else, mark some indect marks on the parts that turn with the speedo needle so that you can reindex everything should the needle fall off while you're servicing the speedo.

 

 

Then, lube all the stuff that turns, including the holes in the steel case on which the cog axles turn. I use Redline grease but any grease should be good.

 

 

A very useful tool is a broken end of a speedo cable. CHuck it in your drill to turn the works and spread grease all the way around the cogs. Set the drill to turn counter clockwise.

 

 

Under all that red grease at left is the main gear for the speedo. Pack it well with grease but avoid getting grease on the magnet and drum to the right of the gear (that could affect the accuracy of the instrument

 

 

If you remove the yellowish cover shown here, it's easier to get grease on the main gears but be sure to put the cover back or your speeod will read dramatically lower (20-30 mph lower) than with the cover in place. I don't know why it matters, but it does.

 

 

You're in there, so you might as well make the thing read more accurately. Usually, these read 60 mph when you're doing 52. Use a finger to hild the needle at 60 and make more index marks on the drum with a marker.

 

 

Then, hold the 60-mph index marks in alignment while you spin the needle (but not the drum and shaft) back to 52. Clean any grease off the spinning odometer numbers, face of the speedo, and glass.

 

 

Put the guts back in the case, refasten the guts with the two screws on the back case, insert the black trim ring, and set the glass in place. Carefully spread dome clear silicone around the perimeter of the glass, and then push the bezel ring back on, making sure the pegs in the bezel are aligned with the holes in the flange of the case.

 

 

Then, use stretch wrap or something else to hold it all together until the silicone cures.

 

If you had to cut the case, use silicone to glue the case back together. Once the silicone is cured, wrap it with duct tape to reinforce the joint.

 

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[Admin Jaap]

Brilliant "Howto"! Thanks.

[tmcafe]

Thanks Greg! Hope our bikes won't need this kind of surgery, but just in case...

[Steve G.]

Very cool, I've done the same sort of thing to a couple Smiths guages, although the case is not plastic, so can't be cut.

Tell me Greg, is this an option on the 1999-2002 bikes with Veglia guages, should they fail? Are the Veglias failing becvause of lack of lubrication?

Steve

[Greg Field]

Very cool, I've done the same sort of thing to a couple Smiths guages, although the case is not plastic, so can't be cut.

Tell me Greg, is this an option on the 1999-2002 bikes with Veglia guages, should they fail? Are the Veglias failing becvause of lack of lubrication?

Steve

 

I haven't been inside a V11 Veglia. Sorry. Next time I have one in hand, I'll cut it open for a look.

[Foxy]

Excellent work, cheers for that. I will be doing this to the shiny new speedo I have sat on my bench while I wait for everything else to go back together.