I was riding along, heard a rattling noise from the instruments and then, “pow”, the speedometer just let go. The dial seemed to break free and I could see that the screws holding it in place were no longer there and the needle no longer moves. Is this something a newbie can fix by taking it apart and finding the screws and replacing them. Or could the cable be broken and need professional attention?
I would be inclined to send the speedo to a specialty shop. There is probably an advertiser in the Airmail that specializes in this work. In my experience, a new speedo cable is a good idea if you go that route. A person wouldn't want an expensive repair to be ruined by a wonky cable.
former Airmarshal, IL.
Greg, to be honest I would need a better description of the issue or pictures to answer you. Your speedometer is pretty well built and frankly I have never had one go pow, lol.
A new cable would be a must as they don't last forever and when binding due to wear can snap and cause weird readings on the gauge. A cable is not all that hard to replace.
As to what other screws you are writing about, can you take some pictures and post them? Thanks, St.
Beware! I do not suffer fools gladly! St.
I never heard it go "pow" but once upon a time I was riding a long dirt road pretty hard somewhere in utah I think, and by the time I made it over the hill and back on pavement all sorts of things had rattled off including the face plate of the speedo as you describe. It wasn't too hard to disassemble and reinstall the face plate, which also reinvigorated the speedo needle. Note that you have to come at it from the back; you can't pry off the protective glass that covers the readouts.
I got my speedo back, but the odo is gone and I never looked too far into trying to disassemble the clockwork that is the BMW airhead gauges. If you want everything back sending it out is probably the way.
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