[motormatt]

when i bought my cx 2 years ago the PO had broken the tach cable off in the tach. i have not been able to figure out how to change the cable. the other thing is the pin inside the cable does not spin when the engine is on.



i know its only been a day or so, but welcome back.

 

[Joel]

Try taking the tach off and using a pair of needle nose, a small pick (jiggle it loose). Other than that I don't know how. Maybe a strong magnet.

 

[Blue Fox]

If your inner cable isn't spinning, you could also have several other problems. The first is simply a broken inner cable. Not a big deal, but getting to the tach drive end can be tough. I have successfully removed and reinstalled the locking screw without taking off any parts. But the motorcycle gods were smiling on me that day. If you can get to it, just get a different cable. Before you order a cable, check that the inner cable is actually broken. It may be the the drive tab in the drive unit that has snapped. I have a GL500 now with a stripped cam gear for the tach. That one I am just going to leave alone, I won't change the cam for a tach.



As far as getting out the square end in the tach, I don't have any sure way. Is there any at all to grip with a hemostat or tweezers? Maybe use a dental pick and see if you can tease it out. It shouldn't be too tight in there, if you can just get to to move at little.

 

[motormatt]

the first thing i think i need to know is how do i detach the old cable from the engine?

 

[Blue Fox]

That is the fun part. You may be able to reach that Philips head locking screw from the right side of the bike, up at a angle starting about where the cylinders enter the case. I used a 24" socket extension with a GOOD philips head screw tip attached and tried not to spin it in the screw slot. I believe you almost need to completely remove the screw to release the tach coupling from the drive. Then the drive cable pulls out from the top. This is a lot easier said than done, and getting the screw started back in is equally as much fun. Some guys are replacing the philips screw with a allen head or hex head for easier removal the next time.

 

[Blindstitch]

I have never had good luck at getting the screw out. I have always had to pull the radiator and fan to take the screw out with vice grips since it was locked in. After that I get a hexed head bolt and screw it down from the left side where I can easily swap out cables without removing everything.

 

[motormatt]

so i can kind of see were the tach cable attaches to the motor, but there is a pop riveted flap in my way, and i don't see any screw. how deep am i going to have to tear into this? is there/was there a thread on how to do this?

 

[Blue Fox]

I'll try to post a thumbnail photo. Not real sure if I know how this works on here yet. The tach cable fits into a recess cylinder in the center of the engine behind the fan. In fact, the drive cogs for the tach are just behind the tapered shaft the fan sits on. The locking screw is on the top right hand side of the recess. You can't really see it very well on this photo, but it was the best I had to work with.







This is a GL650, so the fan shaft isn't there. But the drive looks very similar.

 

[motormatt]

i got the cable off, it really isn't that hard. i took the radiator off and cranked the engine till the fan was in a good place to reach the screw. just in front of the right cylinder, above the transmission, but below the exhaust header there is a small hole that is perfectly inline with the screw and with a long extension (24" i get it now) and a philips head bit you can reach it. i did use vice grip on the screw to break it loose. i'm going to replace the screw with a hex head, and then this could easily be something i could change on the road.

 

[motormatt]

one last question. are cables common? could i go to my local dealer/motorcycle shop and pick one up? or will i have to order one?

 

[Blue Fox]

I would suspect that it would have to be ordered. I have never bought one, I value my spare time at 17 cents per hour, so I just get a universal speedo cable from the auto parts store and make my own. Not that hard to do, and you can get several speedo cable and a couple of tach ones out of one package. And the end result is that I only have a buck or two in materials, and 34 cents in labor time.

 

[denlimack]

I am in the same boat....my tach cable died a few weeks ago (my speedo was already dead so I was using the tach to guage my speed Nascar Pit Lane style!)



Anyways, what's the easiest way to remove the rad? Do I have to separate the fan and shroud etc? Or can I just disconnect the hoses and the (4 I think) Bolts that hold the rad in place?



Also, I am glad to see the board back up and running. To be honest I didn't post here a ton over the 2 years or so of being a member but when I did I always found useful info! Not sure what the history was in terms of the change but I assume there is a story to it...anyways, glad to see you guys are back! The SOHC4 forum is killer for most stuff in general that I hang on but some of the more specific CX info can only be found on this site...



Thanks in advance,

Dennis