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1985 ElectraGlide speedometer cable issues

I

Ignio Montoya

New Member
I bought a 1985 ElectraGlide Classic last fyear from the original owner; it has always been garage kept and is in pristine condition.
The only issue with this bike is it eats speedometer cables.
I know the original owner replaced the speedo cable numerous (3+) times while he had it (He did not ride it much; I know of one 4 year stretch when it never left his garage) .
I have had 2 speedo cables put on it in 18 months, and both of them have broken, the second one less than 3 miles after it was installed.
I am not doing the work myself, I am paying the local shop to do it, and they have done excellent work with everything else, so I do not think it is (or at least not solely) mechanic error.
This is my first Harley, and I would really like to have everything working correctly. Can anyone give me some ideas about how to resolve this?
 
From the sounds of it, the speedo head may be dragging/binding and causing an excessive load on the cable itself causing the problem.

Try turning the speedometer head drive inside where the cable hooks into and see if it turns freely .
 
hogrotten said:
Ignio, a little more info would help. Where is the cable breaking at? The middle or on the ends?
Click to expand...

Sorry; I should have posted that initially. The 2 times the cable has broken since I have had the bike have both been at the end where it connects to the wheel, just behind the metal guard at the end of the cable.

Thanks.
 
I would first make the check that glider posted, then also make sure that the cable doesn't have too much of a bend in it at the point where it's attatched to the drive unit. Good luck,keep us posted as the best tool is experience.
 
Another thought is was the housing changed when it was replaced too or just the inner cable? You may want to change the complete cable inner and outer. You could have a problem in the casing causing the inner cable to break.
 
I would replace the speedo drive at the front wheel. They are cheap(30 bucks) and it is a easy replacement. Eliminates that as a possibility.

When I replaced my speedo cable. I pull the center piece out first and cover it with axle grease. Then wipe the grease off, not scrub it off, just wipe it off. Alot of these cables for older bikes have been sitting around for a while.

Good Luck
 
Too sharp of a bend near the drive end, try a little longer cable so the bend at the bottom isn't as sharp and route the cable as straight as you can. If the inner cable isn't long enough, it may not be breaking, it may be pulling out of the drive unit.
 
I had a bit of a problem with my '92 breaking cables for a while. I had too much bend in the cable. It wasn't really noticeable, but changing it fixed the problem. Like Glider said, inspect the outer cable, it could have a spot that got kinked or bent and is rubbing on the inner. I also bought universal inner speedo cable at the auto parts store, cut to fit and cheap (if your outer cable is good)
 
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