Speedometer Question

[Clark0003]

I am new here to this forum. I have a '82 R65 LS and I need to either repair or replace the speedometer. I have a temporary bicycle setup for now, but desire to have the original or a replacement in working order. Any suggestions? I will try to post a picture, but no guarantees! Thanks

Sam

[Clark0003]

Hopefully this will display; :thumb

[Clark0003]

also, if anyone can tell me how to keep the clarity of the image? The digital shot before resizing looks great, this one is ok, but really not that good?

[donkey doctor]

Hello Sam; My speedo wasn't working when I bought my 77 R100/7, I just took the pod off and opened it up. I found a small mis-alignment, and bumped everything back into place. While I was in there I lubricated every obvious spot. When I put it all back together, it worked. My speedo is in miles and all distances are measured in kilometers, so I put a bicycle speedo on it so that I don't have to do the arithmetic to figure out speeds.

I should say that I'm a mechanic, and therefore not imtimidated by things like that.

Even after I did that, the speedo wasn't completely accurate, wnereas the bicycle speedo is absolutely accurate in all conditions, a lot cheaper too.

[BradfordBenn]

also, if anyone can tell me how to keep the clarity of the image? The digital shot before resizing looks great, this one is ok, but really not that good?

That all depends on what the JPEG compression scheme you are using. I usually set it at 80% or higher for quality. This setting results in a larger file but less dithering issues.

[Clark0003]

D D - thanks for the speedo info. I have decided to take on removal from the bike and take a look-see. We had a local speedometer shop that used to work on them and the local word was they no longer do so. I stopped and inquired why? The answer was sorta not what I was expecting...they said, "well, we can fix your speedo, we just often times can't figure out how to put the bike back together, especially on the foreign junk". So, I was told if I can bring them the cable and speedo, NOT the bike, they can fix it. I will do a recon as you did and go from there. Thanks much!

Sam

[Clark0003]

B B - thanks for the image advice....I found some better success that I had previously! I like the Infanview route. Much appreciated.

Sam

[bigfoot105]

Clark....Take a look a Palo Alto Speedometer and Clock at www.paspeedo.com (650)-323-0243 They do quality work and can repair/refurbish or even an exchange with your old clock and they will set your replacement unit up with you current miles.

You can see some of their work on Ebay under "BMW Speedometer"

Good Luck!

[Clark0003]

Bigfoot,

Will peruse that site now, thank you.

Sam

[dickhein]

I needed my odometer repaired. I tried to fix it with help from a printout on the ABC website. No Luck. Called Palo Alto and found it would "probably" cost $160.00, would take a couple of weeks, and I would have had some shipping expenses. I thought their website said they had units in stock but they indicated this was not the case. So I called Chicago BMW and ordered a new unit for $180. Had it in a few days, small shipping charge and no sales tax. Very nice!

[Clark0003]

Thanks to all for your help, working fine now....

[tvrla]

What did you do to fix it?

[Isamemon]

really new is only $20 more, wonder if it comes with a odometer spindle that wont break
at $20 more for new, why fix it ?
order new one, sell old one on e-bay for $30 ( and say its broken, be honest please) and be money ahead over a repair

also , if I went into a place and they called my scooter foreign junk, the bike or even the part would not be back in there

[millerph]

I have my own speedo tale of woe on my 86 R80 that cost me most of the riding season. During a round trip to Barber from Maryland this Memorial Day, the odometer quit. 53K miles. I took it apart per the instructions, but no luck. I sent it off for repair. Five weeks later it came back and worked for 46 miles. I sent it back and three weeks later it came back. A problem was that the speedo had some rust caused by a crack in the cover. I bought a new cover, but the screws broke off while putting it together. BMW, after a month, finally decided to warranty it. They said it was my fault, and they changed their installation procedure for the redesigned cover. If you do get one, make sure you drill the holes out a 1/32nd and grease it.
With the new cover, I thought all was better. Not so! After reassembling the whole thing the gen and high beam lights did not come on. I went for the ride anyway and what do you know, the battery died. I also got warned about speeding. It turns out that the speedo does just fine up to about 50, but starts lagging badly above that. It was reading 65 when I was doing 85. The electrical problem turned out to be broken connections in the large, multi-pin plug that goes in the instrument pod. After evaluating all the corroded plugs and chafed wires, I sprung for a new harness. Ouch. I also needed a new light board. Another month later it was installed and this weekend I finally got riding again. The speedo still lags above 50, but I'm at least riding again. Oh, and in the middle of this weekend's trip I found out the dealer had forgotten to put my tool box back in the bike...

On another note, I also asked the dealer to change the oil. When I picked up the bike the slip said they used 10W-40. The owner's manual gives an upper temp for that of 40F. When I asked about that (it was 65 this weekend), they said it was OK. Any feedback? The bike did seem more "chattery" than before.