speedo cables

[Guest rons]

I have had many Guzzis of various models and have seen some quirky things but this is just plain bad design. I have a '03 Black Le Manns with hard bags for my long haul touring and a Rosa Corsa (good fortune) as my naked adreniline fix. Both have, this year, gone thru two cables and need a third now. I have inquired into the older Sport angle drive that the new bent cable was to replace. The obvious problem is the 45 DEG angle the cable makes in a hard tube creating hard riding and wear on the cable. The bikes each indicate over 7000 mi but have had many more on them as I normally don't carry new ones.

Does any one have a better solution? Do you know how the plastic angel drive wears? Is there an adaptor to make an EV cable work? How about front wheel as last resort? I would like to keep the milage correct on the speedo but having it at all would be best!

Thanks,

[mik]

rons, I've gone through one cable on my 03 LeMans. My problem is trying to find a back up cable somewhere. Everytime I try to order a spare, MG sends the cable for the earlier bikes with the right angle adapter and the Veglia gauges. I don't think the head end of the earlier cable will work with the ITI speedometer. Before I put the replacement cable on, I shot it full of cable lube from both ends as it looked totally dry except for a little grease at the head end. Hopefully this will help the longevity of the new cable...it is a rather quirky design. I don't like the fact that the cable is crimped into the outer sheath , it would have been nice if it could be pulled out of it's casing and lubed that way. I will be disconnecting it at both ends and shooting the oil in regularly.....getting a spare out of MGNA is not easy. I emailed Italy and got a rather terse reply from MGNA...as if they were on top of the problem Let me know how well you fare.

[docc]

The nylon bevel drives eat up too. Although maybe not as quck as the housing bend eats cables.

 

true the drives are not interchangable for the Veglia and ITI guages.

[al_roethlisberger]

The nylon bevel drives eat up too. Although maybe not as quck as the housing bend eats cables.

 

true the drives are not interchangable for the Veglia and ITI guages.

 

From what I've read, the bevel drive is also not compatible with the gear ratio in the tranny with those models(2003+) that did not come with the angle-drive.

 

So if you have a later model with the "bent" cable solution, you are pretty much stuck with that.

 

There must be a way to make it work though... through careful routing, etc... as most don't seem to have this problem repeatedly

 

Any ideas?

 

al

[docc]

true, even the earlier bevel drive cables benefit from some careful grooming of the route. of course this is best done with the tank and airbox off. (That would be a good time to grease all the connectors).

[Mike Stewart]

The problem with the 03 bikes and newer is the 90 degree bend at the trans. I thought this was a good thing after having the 45 degree thing break on my 00 V11Sport. 9 months with out a speedo gets old and I do not know how many miles are on this beast now.

 

My 03 Rosso has not had a problem with the speedo cable yet (6300 miles), I have read that if you lube the cable at the 90 degree bend with a synthetic engine oil, that the problem will be solved.. I have not tried this as of yet (not failure), but it is worth a try.

 

Good luck,

Mike

[jrt]

Doesn't anyone make custom speedometer cables? That would seem to me to be the way to go- make one 3-4" (8-10 cm) longer so the bend is not as acute. I had a long cable made up for my G5, which had a habit of breaking them. Never a problem after that.

BTW, I haven't seen the newer style, but it sounds a lot like the old (Tonti) style- straight out of the transmission. Everything old is new again.

J

[Keith Foster]

rons, I've gone through one cable on my 03 LeMans. My problem is trying to find a back up cable somewhere.

I ordered a spare cable after reading the various speedo cable comments. It came in like a week or two after I ordered it. I haven't put it on, but it looks just like the one on the bike now. I have been lubing the cable at the trans bend as a precaution, so between this and a spare cable in hand, I doubt the OE one will ever break! The PN from my receipt is 01760480 or the cable, $27.50.

[Guest archie]

The speedo cable on my 03 Rosso Corsa failed at 1500 miles. It snapped at the ridiculously tight bend near the gearbox. I gave up waiting for a replacement and decided to fit the earlier model cable with the angle-drive box. On fitting, I realised that the thread size on the current speedo is smaller. Not to be outdone, I managed to uncrimp the end fitting and swap it with the one from my original outer cable. This is really a job for a specialist, but it's been working OK so far.

 

There are no tight bends with this arrangement-it seems to me that no amount of 'careful routing' will help with the current design. Some grease is exuding from the angle-drive unit, so I'll keep an eye on this.

I had assumed that the ratio of the unit is 1:1, but am I wrong? The speedo can't be wildly out, but I'll have to check it against another vehicle.

[biesel]

Here in Germany som riders have change the angle of their cable:

 

 

 

 

But Beware! The "connection rod" between the throttle bodies should not be touched.

[Guest archie]

Biesel-Grteat photos! This looks like the best solution. When I can finally get another cable I'll try reducing the bend. Do you know if heat is involved?

Thanks-Archie.

[biesel]

I have just linked the photos

 

No heat, just use a good pliers (but be careful) or a bench vice.

[docc]

Also check with the throttle rolled wide open that the nut on the bottom of the bell crank does not hit the cable housing preventing the throttle from opening fully.

[Guest rons]

After just reading all your comments I will explain what I have found since first asking the question. I installed a new cable re-forming (cold as did Jan Biesel)) the bent tranny end with care ensuring there was ample clearance for the throttle link and hardware (as one suggested). I also with the reforming was able to remove the cable and proporly grease it(again your suggestion). This should help for the maintenance of it. Since then I have 4500 miles on it and still working. I may defer to over lube and hope to prolong the cable change assuming I have not induced any other drag or wear by changing the angle and inner contact? I agree with you all, but to have my original speedo working is my first priority whatever I need to do. Ihave some ideas but maybe some of you have the rest of the idea for a perfect answer.

[Keith Foster]

Last night I also modified the bend in my speedo elbow per Jan's pic's and suggestions (thanks!). The sleeve/elbw bends quite easily. The metal is fairly soft and I was able, using moderate force, to take a lot of the bend out of the stock elbow. A pair of vice grips and slip joint pliers was all I used.

 

I didn't even need to remove the cable, just loosen the collar at the trans. to lift up the elbow, pull back the boot and have at it. Bend, then remount and check clearances, repeat as necessary. I feel confident that this will help the cable life greatly. Along with some occasional lubing, I hope will have it lasting tens of thou miles, 2750 on it now. We'll see