Gold Wing Road Riders Association
Chapter AB-A Calgary, Alberta, Canada

GL1500 SPEEDOMETER CABLE CHANGE

 

An squeak from my front end of my 1992 GL1500 (with over 100,000 Km) was driving me crazy, and I couldn't figure out it's source. A closer inspection of my front end, and I saw the end of my speedo cable was partly broken where the bolt holds the housing to the fork. Figure 1 shows an undamaged cable attached to the left front fork.

figure 1: undamaged speedo cable attached to left front fork

I then remembered that Don my mechanic mentioned my speedo last time he was looking at it...that it needed replacing soon. Never thought about it again because my gauges were all working normally.

 

Reading thru my Clymer manual it says that cables should be periodically lubricated. Well, I've never oiled a speedo cable, and it's probably because the last mc I owned was a 1983 Honda Sabre V45 (750) that had an electronic sensor for the speedo. I owned the mc for 15 years and never had a problem with the gauges.

 
Removing and replacing the speedo for my GL1500 was much easier than I expected. It took me approx 1 hour. Like any other job, it's a matter of removing the cable and installing a new one I ordered from my Honda dealer. Figure 2 shows the speedo cable on the left fork of the 1992 GL1500 with the side disc cover and fender cover removed. The fender cover is held to the bike by a rubber grommet, and it fits nicely with correctly positioned cables and hoses. Note: the metal holder for the brake cable must be reinstalled as it was originally. If you have it backwards, the fender cover won't fit properly. you'll see.

figure 2: gl1500 speedo cable

 
Unscrew the housing from the front fork. Simple enough. The cable holder needs to be unbolted. After that, you need to unscrew the cable from the control panel. Figure 3 shows it. 

figure 3: speedo cable connected to control panel

 
This is not as difficult as you might think. Simply remove the cover from your ignition switch, and give the handlebars a hard left turn....all the way. See figure 4. Once you've cleared a "pathway" for your arm, you can simply reach up under the dash, and give that connector a few turns counter clockwise. Mine wasn't on real tight, so it came off relatively easy.

figure 4: access way to the speedo cable under dash

 
After removal of the cable it was time to inspect it. The wire just pulls out of the casing. Mine was extremely rusty and looking suspicious of being a noise maker. Turning off the stereo I was listening to, I could hear that darn squeak that annoyed me so much as I rotated the wire by hand. The culprit of my annoying squeak was a rusty speedo cable!!

 
Install your new cable by reattaching it to the forks, and feed it up through the "pathway" you created earlier. Reattach it under the dash, and reattach the cable holders. Take the bike for a test run, and make sure the speedo is working properly. Reinstall the disc and fender covers, and Bob's Yer Uncle!!

 
Article written by Darryl Minsky of Calgary Alberta Canada. I assume no responsibility for your wrongdoings.

Yer on your own dude!

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