Author Topic: a little unnerving on the highway, today  (Read 372 times)

Iahawk

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a little unnerving on the highway, today
« on: March 20, 2022, 08:55:31 PM »
as I've mentioned before, 2 of my 3 bikes are out of commission at the moment, leaving my Helix as my only rideable vehicle.

I was on a beautiful ride this afternoon, 28 miles into a 60 mile ride on 2 lane highways when my speedo (and odometer) faltered and then quit. It started reading really low...10, 11, 12 mph, then down to 2, 1 and finally 0.  Grrreeeaaat, I thought. I'm 30 miles from home with all 2 lane and no speedo. Not the end of the world, but still...I don't want to be riding 50 or 70 in a 55 zone...and I don't have any way to mount my phone on my Helix (I have a GPS app on there).

I rode another 15 miles to where my Mother lives to borrow a philips screwdriver to remove the 'service panel' under the handlebars (I didn't want to use the crappy screwdriver in the OEM tool kit).  Sure enough, the speedo cable locking ring had vibrated loose under the dash, allowing the cable to pull out of the cluster.  This was the best case scenario...I was also thinking it could be the front wheel speedo drive gear had eaten itself or the gears (plastic) inside the cluster had disintegrated.

Tightened it back up, replaced the panel and everything was back to normal. I think I'll add a dab of lock tight to the speedo locking ring so it doesn't vibrate off in the future. 

My S200 has a very similar speedo setup but it has never worked itself loose like the Helix did. Loose speedo cable circled in blue in attached pic.  Worth noting for others who have cable driven speedos and may lose their speedo in the future.
2010 People S200 - sold after 8 wonderful years!
2014 Ninja 300
1996 Honda Helix
1984 Honda Nighthawk 650

Stig / Major Tom

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Re: a little unnerving on the highway, today
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2022, 10:25:12 PM »
Dang I love me some pictures with scooter posts!!
Nice work Hawk!
Stig
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CROSSBOLT

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Re: a little unnerving on the highway, today
« Reply #2 on: March 21, 2022, 12:17:55 AM »
Yeah, kool! Glad to hear bandages were not required!
Karl

Three motorcycles 1960-1977 (restored a 1955 BSA)
Agility 50
Yager 200i
Downtown 300i
Navy tech, Ships Engineer, pilot and aircraft mechanic

Iahawk

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Re: a little unnerving on the highway, today
« Reply #3 on: March 21, 2022, 01:25:15 AM »
Dang I love me some pictures with scooter posts!!
Nice work Hawk!
Stig

I was thinking about you, Stig, knowing you'd approve of a picture!
2010 People S200 - sold after 8 wonderful years!
2014 Ninja 300
1996 Honda Helix
1984 Honda Nighthawk 650

Iahawk

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Re: a little unnerving on the highway, today
« Reply #4 on: March 21, 2022, 01:26:28 AM »
Yeah, kool! Glad to hear bandages were not required!

got lucky with an easy fix!
2010 People S200 - sold after 8 wonderful years!
2014 Ninja 300
1996 Honda Helix
1984 Honda Nighthawk 650

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