Speedo repair around Albury

[Ross]

Bruce, check out the Autumn Leaves Rally thread in the Motorcycling forum. Late April camping weekend at Wee Jasper - not too far from you. There will probably be about 10 or 12 of us there - a good opportunity to meet others afflicted with old airheads.

Some will be on Jap 4... The shame.

[Major Softie]

Some will be on Jap 4... The shame.

ZM's gonna ride all the way to Australia?

[hzbloke]

Just to finish off this story: Shepparton Speedos were very leery about doing a motorcycle speedo and even less interested when I said it was mechanical. This is odd because they fixed the same speedo about 8 years ago. Wagga Wagga said outright that they didn't do motorbike speedos.

Ringwood Speedo Service ended up getting the job. They took five weeks (but claim they were sent a wrong part and had to wait for a replacement) and charged $135. I haven't been far but the speedo appears to work fine.

[DucatiPete]

Speedo issues, huh... now I've got one two... on the 'ol 75/5.

It went wacko when I was returning home after a week in the mountains with the airbear.

I was cruising on the freeway (~110kph) when i started to hear some high pitched screeching... cops? nope, after a bit i realised it was coming from the speedo. Then the needle started having a panic attack, slapping back and forth, then spinning slowly, then quickly, then rotating in a full circle... very trippy...

If the weather wasn't so shitty i would have pulled up immediately and disconnected the cable, which might have saved it somewhat... anyhow, after another 30 odd k's of speedo wackiness i pulled up at a servo and did the disconnect. However, the damage was done - needle stuck upside down.

Pulled the speedo out today and found that the needle spring is fully twisted out of shape (ie new one required).

I was going to attempt a repair if it looked do'able but when i saw the spring i knew it's out of my league. In addition, the bezel is rolled/formed in place, so that probably means the use of an proper machine/tool and probably a new bezel, as mine is already (slightly) damaged.

So, now I'm in the position of seeking a repair shop. I have used Howard Instruments (Heidelberg) to replace the glass and service the speedo of my G/S. It works OK but I wasn't that wrapped with their customer service (my memory is weak on just why). I see from the above posts that some ppl have used/recommend Ringwood Speedo. I have no real preference (although HI is closer). Has anyone else had experience with either of these shops to recommend or otherwise?

Thanks in advance.

pete

[SteveD]

I've used Ringwood before, and they did the job. Service face to face can be, shall we say, brusque in a cranky ol' teutonic fashion. Appropriate probably! This is an old shop, been there for years.

There's the old bloke and a younger fellow there. Maybe father/son? Dunno. I'm unsure of any other alternatives.
If you could get it to me, I could drop it by for a quote, see what they say.

[DucatiPete]

Thanks for the offer Steve.

I'm going to call Ringwood Speedo & Howards tomorrow to see what they think...

so, what d'ya reckon is making these instrument fitters so cranky/brusque/aloof? must come with the work I guess?

[hzbloke]

When I first rang Ringwood Speedo I got a cheery lady who seemed to know her speedos and like a chat. She suggested a new inner cable would be a good idea as old ones can get 'soft' and hence flex. The input end turns but the output end doesn't for a while and then it flicks around making the speedo needle wobble. She offered to make me a new inner for $32 if I sent her the old one. It wasn't until later that I found that Motobins would sell me a whole new cable for $20.

I got the grumpy man on each subsequent call apart from one where a got a crying lady who'd just had a fight with her husband.

I can only imagine speedo people are kranky because they spend all day looking at the high mileages on odometers and realise that they have not enjoyed a single one of them.

[buzz]

Give John at Otto Intruments in Brisbane a call. http://www.ottoinstruments.com.au/

I've had a few repair jobs done there and many others are satisfied with their workmanship.