Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Speedometer

I have a 2003 America and my speedo has gone haywire. It's jumping all over the place. Is there a speedometer that is compatible with are bikes that is an easy exchange? Plus, what are the rules in PA for changing out your speedo to a new one or even a used one with different miles?

First make sure the speedo cable is lubed and secure at both ends. And of course that the blade is not torn or broken somewhere in the sheath. My previous Bonneville speedo started squealing and needle fluttered at speed. Found that all that was needed was some lube for the speedo cable so the blade could spin with less resistance.

My speedo isn't making any noise, the needle is just jumping past max speed when I'm riding at very low speeds. Currently I'm bedridden due to a back issue but will try what you recommended once I get better. Thank you for responding.

Company in California called Foreign Speedo Repair can rebuild but it and keep the current miles listed. They did one for me , Google them

Thanks for the link. If you don't mind me asking...was it expensive to get fixed? I'm surprised at how expensive a stock one is.

I recall the repair was around 85.00 a few years back. They actually made it better by replacing some plastic gears. The drawback was sending the unit to them, turn around was about three weeks. I just road without it.

Unscrew the speedo cable housing from the speedo head and pull out the inside cable. Like Matty said, check the cable for dry spots. My cable actually broke and made the speedo do some weird gyrations before it finally let go. Lube if nothing appears wrong before condemning the head.

Another possibility is the drive at the wheel. I had that go bad and made the needle jump, it would lose drive then catch and lose it again. The "ears" that engage with the hub wore out. I did eventually lost drive all together.

I had the same thing happen. It was a easy fix, nothing wrong with the speedometer itself, but the bad drive made it go crazy.

If you have an old speedo cable or a tool with a square on the end, remove speedo connection at back of instrument then put tool in a drill, run the drill ( verify direction needed) if speedo head still makes noise, send it OUT for repair. I've tried to lube them and "repair it myself" and have ended up sending it out. They are very delicate and intricate and it's so easy to break stuff.

If you try that go very easy with the drill speed.

I sent my Speedometer out to get fixed. They had to change some gears. Anyway I recently had back surgery so I haven't been able to do any work on the bike. I found out the cable snapped too. Today I replaced the cable and the speedo worked for a minute and
stopped. The hub has a flat metal piece that slides into the slot on the bottom of the cable. Is there supposed to be a part in the Speedometer that the top of the cable slides in snugly because I don't have that part.

One more question. If I take the 2 screws out of the back of the speedometer to look inside where the top of the cable goes what am I to expect?

If I remember right there isn't much to see there, just 2 gears.

Inside the speedometer is there supposed to be a piece that the cable goes into to keep it tight?