FMH LIVE: Harley Dashboards

Welcome to Fix My Hog. As we all know I'm Bob LaRosa. I wanna welcome you to another nice live event. I wanna encourage you to please join the newsletter. Check us out on Facebook and Instagram. There's always updates, there's always important information, there's always new information coming in about upcoming projects. Tonight I want to take a little time to talk about or to ramble on about dashboards and fuel tanks. It seems to cause a lot of confusion, as simple of a topic as it may be. I have a great interest in it because to me, one of the most important areas of the motorcycle is the fuel tank and dashboard. It's one of the first things that catches your eye. To me, it's more than fit and fitment. It's more than how much you spent on custom paint. If you look from the side or you look from the back of the bike and it just doesn't quite look correct or flow correctly, to me, it's just not right. I like to have things where they are presentable. When you look at 'em, they're enjoyable to look at. When it comes to fitment, I wanna try and cover and I'm not gonna to use the word generation. I wanna cover three different styles of fuel tanks because I've been in more than one conversation that turned sour about where the start date, stop date, cutoff date was pertaining to a certain style of fuel tank, dashboard, speedometer. And I can assure you by the end of this conversation, I'm gonna have with you, there's a lot to it, if you're going to start changing components. There are certain components that you could just swap out, from one generation or one style to the next. And then there's other components that I will touch on briefly that get very detailed, in order to make 'em operate correctly. When it comes to fuel tanks, I wanna try and set a benchmark from the cone-style engines. And again, I'm not going to place a generation or a date on it, to date. All right? From the cone style engine, to date. The three styles of fuel tanks I wanna cover are going to be flat sides, which are primarily found, again don't hold me to it, on your shovel heads, prior. You're gonna find your Fat Bob fuel tanks. And now I'm basically discussing split-fuel tanks. Whether they'd be 4.2, 5.2, some call 'em four, some call 'em five gallon. We all know how much fluid or how much gasoline they hold. If you're right enough and you hit reserve the bike took 3.8 gallons on a 4.2 set up, that's how much fuel I use before hit reserve. Flat-side fuel tanks. Primarily used on shovel heads, are the tanks that you'll find having internal thread that holds the tank to the motorcycle frame. It has a welded tab off the frame, it has a through bolt up front, both top and bottom. The big downfall or the weak link with the flat-side fuel tank was if they weren't mounted correctly. And they were bolted down with the fine thread that went into the boss on the tank, it would either wear quickly or pull the thread, the tank would become useless or it'd become loose and wanna fall off and hit the rocker box. Again, this primarily happened with shovel heads. Those tanks had their place. They are very valuable in great condition nowadays. They're not something you wanna use, it's much like the computer. If you have your choice of a new computer or a 20-year-old computer obviously the one you're going to get the greater benefit from is the newer design. Nothing wrong with the true flat-side tank. If you happen to have an old set, and again, I'm talking about flat sides back to the beginning of the cone-style engine. But if you have something prior to that, whether it be pan-head generator style cam cover or even older than that, that happened to have the left side tank with the brackets that would take the old style shifter, they're very valuable. Don't sell yourself short, if you happen to have a set, make sure you do a little research if you happen to have old things hanging around. They don't have bunch of reality shows, pertaining to finding things in barns because old parts don't have value. Excuse me. Jumping ahead, another generation or another style, is the Fat Bob fuel tank. Now, again, we're talking about split-fuel tanks. Tanks that are two-piece. They bolt on the left and right side, left side typically has the fuel valve. The Fat Bob generation or Fat Bob style of fuel tank had a different style fuel cap. It was a screw-in thread. Whereas the true flat-side had two tabs that you just gave it a half a spin and it locked down. And the reason I'm even getting into this in such detail is that it's important to know anything can be made to fit. Any... This is one of the most creative hobbies I've ever been introduced to. That's why I love it so deeply. You can certainly put a set of flat-side fuel tanks, on a newer style, softail. Gonna to take a lot of work, gonna take a lot of creative thought, but it can be done. There's nothing that can't be done, but you need to make yourself aware and set a game plan as to what the cost and what the end product is gonna to be. Is it what, you're expecting? Fat Bob fuel tanks, had an entirely different design than the flat-side. They had a rubber grommet, there was a welded tab on the frame. You bolted the tanks downward and then picked up a top and bottom bolt. They had much more flexibility to the vibration of whether it was the shovel and there was some shovel-Fat Bob tanks or the generation of evolution engines, and then the final in late 90s, the introduction of the twin-cam brought on the one-piece tank. One-piece tank is a great design. It gave us the fuel gauge because you typically couldn't have a fuel gauge with the split tanks flat-side or Fat Bob because you had to fill each tank and not depending on the small crossover to allow the fuel to flow to the left-side tank. Which is where the fuel gauge is found on a single-style tank. When you're into a one-piece tank, typically found on twin cams and newer, I'm not going to put a date on it. Let's say it started at 99 or 2000. The fuel gauge was on the left side, you were able to fill from the right being a one-piece tank, very similar to what you're looking at here, the fuel was able to cross over quickly, you got a good fill in the tank, the gauge worked properly. You didn't have that luxury with Fat Bob tanks. All right? Again, we're talking about the split-style tank. That's a tank that's in two-piece. You're seeing a set here of what are probably mid-90s, mid to late-90s Bad Boy springers. Most all FL models and I'm not talking FLSs, FLSTF, FLSTC , but FL. FLH, FLTs, were a one-piece tank from way back. Some of 'em had fuel gauges up in the dashboards. Again, a lot of those early FLs. And have you been tinkering with bikes as long as I have, you'll remember what was called the ugly duckling. Everybody removed parts and you were left with a big FL fairing, with a full-size dash with a speedo and a fuel gauge. There was an oil light , all kinds of craziness going on. But no matter what you did, you just couldn't make it pretty. And I've seen creative people go as far as putting, split-style, flat Bob, flat sides or Fat Bob tanks on an old style FL frame. With the dash and the speedo. Fuel tanks, you just have to be careful. Unless you're in a position where you wanna start cutting tabs, mocking up, tack welding, final welding tabs to the frame of your bike. And remember, once you make a custom move like that, very rarely can you go back. And if you're going to do something like that the best piece of advice I can give you is make sure you take your time, and use someone, if you're not talented enough or not mechanically inclined enough to do it all by yourself, which I hope most of you are. I hope I can help you do things like this. Make sure the help you're getting is talented to the point where when the job's completed aesthetically, it looks correct. I can't tell you how many tabs I've seen welded on just a little bit a skew or crooked and no matter how you view the bike whether it's stationary or riding the motorcycle itself has a effect. Like a boat that's half sinking because the tanks really aren't mounted on the frame, squaring true. Any type of modifications custom you're doing. And that's what it's all about with the Harleys. There's no doubt about it. We love to customize them. This is what you're looking at is a 2001 Fat Boy. Granted, it's still got the Fat Boy on it, but they did a lot of custom work. A lot of the shiny, a lot of things you got to keep good and clean to keep the shiny, up to speed. Bear that in mind, also. The one-piece fuel tank. There was a few years that they were calibrated. And again, I'm getting fairly deep into this conversation because more often than not, I come across friends and contacts through Fix My Hog, that are disappointed at what they purchased. Is it what they needed to do the job? Whether it'd at a swap meet or it'd be online, they just thought that if they bought a dashboard or a fuel tank, everything would look cool. Again, direct bolt-on fitment, from year to year, model to model, you've gotta be very careful if it's gonna be a true bolt-on or plug-in play fitment. And there's nothing wrong with doing a little customization. You need to move that, you need to move this. Just be aware that what you're moving, you're moving in a safe location away from heat, if it's susceptible to heat or that it's gonna stay mounted where you put it. One-piece fuel tank is great. Again, I can't get by the fuel gauge, for those of you that don't like to just run to reserve and then hope you got enough on reserve to get to the next gas station, the fuel gauge is invaluable. But along with the one-piece fuel tank came a big, square box-style frame. Even on the softails. The prior to, one-piece fuel tanks softails were a round down tube, this section of the frame where the newer bikes are a square down tube, a square backbone, that that one piece tank cradles over and it's nice and secure. The one-piece tank by far is much more secure than the two-piece tanks, but my preference is, and will always be for the Fat Bob style tanks. I just like the fact that it's two split-tanks 'specially the five gallons or 5.2s, which are very hard to find evolution generation anyway in good condition, original Harley sheet metal. So again, you got these hanging around, know that you've got something of value. When it comes to just the dashboard, I've already loosened this one up. Just the dash itself. You can use the dashboard prior to 95 or 96. Which is typically the cutoff for a true mechanical speedometer, as opposed to the newer style, I wanna call it electronic, but they're more commonly known as a digital speedometer. In my opinion, the only part that's digital on the newer speedos, is the odometer. It still has a needle, which I consider an analog instrument. It's an instrument that is reading your speed, it's got a needle to me it's analog. When it comes to the dashboard itself, there are components you can retrofit back. There are components you can retrofit forward. So let's say a 92 will fit a 97, even though was built mechanical speedo and the 97 would be an electronic speedometer. Big difference in the speedometer, is the mechanical setup, hence the name mechanical, is driven by a cable. A cable always built from the factory was driven from a drive off the front wheel, on the left side, I have seen some on the right, but for the most part, they drove off the left side, of the front wheel. What it is, it's a rubber housing with a spring steel cable that spins at the same speed of the front wheel, drives the speedometer, it's a true mechanical odometer, and it's a very simple setup. All right? The drive ratio of the mechanical drive on the front wheel must match the diameter of the front wheel. If for instance, you run a 16-inch front wheel, with a 21-inch drive, your speedometer mile per hours and odometer, obviously, are gonna read incorrectly. You can retrofit any motorcycle to a mechanical setup. The fact is, to space the front wheel correctly, put the correct speedometer drive, make sure there is an index allocation in the front rotor. Typically that's what spins the speedo drive, is the allocation in the rotor. You need a speedo cable, you can mount a small mechanical speedo anywhere on the motorcycle. Point of this exercise being, why? It's very simple, it's very basic, but what's available. Oh, let me throw this into a quick scenario. Why would you want to try to cook something over a can of Sterno, when you can use a microwave? That's how I compare the old mechanical speedos... And please don't misunderstand me. My 95 springer, still mechanical speedo, I love it. The newer electronics offer a broader variety of options for the rider. And when I say options for the rider, I'm talking about self-canceling turn signals, cruise control, there's check engine lights, there's ABS lights the electric speedo or digital speedo is what's here to stay. So for guys like me, you got to get used to it and you've got to get used to working on it. So again, you can retrofit a mechanical to anything but why would you want to? Not so easy to put the new electrical or digital speedometer on an older generation bike. And I say not so easy, I've done it more than once. The key with the electric speedo, is that it reads off of a speedometer sensor much the ones found in an automobile, a wheel speed sensor, except this one enters the crankcase and reads off of one of the transmission gears, for speed miles per hour. And again, if you happen to change anything whether you go from five-speed, to six-speed, you need to make sure things get calibrated correctly and the speedometer is reading correctly. I've gotten into more than one conversation about wheel diameter changes with the new electronic speedometers, and that you can do a little research for yourself more than welcome to throw the questions at me but I can assure you a motorcycle that's built with 16-inch wheels from the factory, and you put 18s on it, that speedometer will not read correctly. Throw the questions at me, I'm happy to answer 'em. Back to fitment. The Chrome dashboard, you cannot use post-96 on pre-96 models. The speedometer head mounts differently, the dash mounts differently to the fuel tanks. The older style Fat Bob or flat-side fuel tanks, have what we call a three-bolt base-plate. That base-plate mounts to the backbone of the frame, with three bolts, it holds the speedometer head, the indicator lights, the circuit breakers, and some of the older models prior to self-canceling turn signals, it would hold a regular automotive style flasher underneath. Now, yes, you can convert them, but you need to be aware, that there's a lot of finagling with the wiring harness that must be done and must be done correctly, if you expect a dependable ride. If your bike was dependable with the mechanical setup and you decided to convert to electric, make sure it remains dependable. That's the key with custom things. Just try to think back to converting from mechanical to electrical. Unless you have a transmission that has the allocation in the crankcase for the speedo sensor you can't put an electric speedo on it. Yes, the aftermarket industry does offer sensors, that mount to the swing arm and read off the back wheel. It's always a viable option. If you insist on be creative always weigh your options, cost per benefit. And when I say benefit, how important is it for you to have an electric or digital speedo? As opposed to the mechanical setup that your motorcycle was born or built with. Electric speedometers, the early generations. Whenever you remove them from the motorcycle you can see there's a handful of connectors. This is later generation. You can see all it takes is a few plugs and I've got the entire speedo head in my hand. Whereas the mechanical setup, all you're doing is pulling that center bolt and taking away just the cover, not the speedometer head, not the ignition switch circuit breakers or flasher, if applicable, they all stay mounted between the two piece Fat Bob or a flat-side fuel tank. The early digitals. If you have them off your bike, by all means avoid tipping them completely upside down. Problem with that, some of the early LCD odometers, the liquid would seeper, weep out of them when they were upside down. When you plugged them back in all you'd have is a scramble screen for the odometer reading. They are basic. The speedometer as an assembly is held in just with this white nylon plastic, very easy to change out. Not much to 'em. The older style dashboards would have two individual strips of gaskets as opposed to this one-piece. And they'd also have a fairly big notch here on the front where they would clear a notch or a boss on the down tube, the backbone of the frame. And the reason I'm really getting in depth with this is because more than once, I've had a friend of mine come up, "Oh my dashboard's all pitted. "I bought this dash at the swap meet. "I got a great deal, it's brand new." And I had to tell them, "That won't fit your bike at all." And it's not something you can really return at the swap meet. I'm sure if you purchased online some have return policies. The key is to buy the correct component. Whether it's just changing the dash or doing a conversion, buy the correct component the first time. Big identifier, between electric speedometer and mechanical speedometer. The odometer knob hole in itself in the dashboard is on the left side, electric it's on the right side on a mechanical speedometer. And I've seen it more than once people in mechanical setups in the new style dash just don't use the odometer knob. I've seen people drill them, I've seen a lot of creative things. I've seen people drill them and walk right across the Chrome. And there's a big scar, but you know what? They made it work. I'm all for it. Another big difference. Probably one of the bigger differences, is ignition switch. Once they went to electronic speedometers, the ignition switch itself changed drastically. It went from a two-click, forward-folding protective latch, to a one-click side folding switch. Now you can convert forward-folding, to side-folding either direction. You've gotta be real tricky because the forward folding, the older style, two-click switches had a number of wires going to 'em with small screws. Where the new style is just a three-prong connector goes right from the motorcycle's main harness, right to the ignition switch. So you've gotta be aware, if you're going to do this conversion, you've got to eliminate, where are those... I can't remember exactly, six or eight wires, let's call 'em, where those are joined together to make three, to use the new style switch. You can use a new-style switch on an old-style three-bolt base plate. It just needs to be spaced correctly. And I've done piles of these conversions because in all honesty, the old two-click forward-flip switch, is very vulnerable to the environment, condensation and vibration. All right? Another big factor between old style mechanical dashes, and new style dashes is that the indicator lights themselves, on the old style dash are actually part of the base plate. They're sockets with bulbs that you'll see. And again, I can show you all of this. The only way to really know what you're looking at is to take it apart correctly. Take some photos, lay your trail of breadcrumbs and don't be afraid to put a wrench on your motorcycle. That's really the key of Fix My Hog and Bob's ranting and raving about let's work on our own bikes. The integrated indicator lights, you'll notice use a different style lens and they are all self-contained wire wise. It's typically plug and play. The older style pre-95 or thereabouts, everything is individual wired, under to that three-bolt base-plate. And I don't wanna be redundant, I don't wanna make this confusing. But again if you're going to buy a new dash and you buy yourself the wrong dash, I can assure you none of these components, are gonna swap directly over. Unless you're ready for a big customization, you need to buy the right component. That's the long and the short of it. This style dash, will fit everything. All the way back. The key is to make sure that your wire is savvy enough to convert what is in your existing harness to the new harness. I do prefer the new-style, single ignition switch, even on big inch motors, high compression setups. I have a tendency to run a separate toggle switch, to shut off all the lights. That way there when I turn that one click, all I've got is spark and ignition. That's a whole nother topic. What I don't care for is small indicator light set up on the newer style. I myself thought the older pre-95 with the big lens, and if you've owned one, that'd be the lens you tightened down the half inch acorn and had cracked the lens, if you tighten it too tight. Those you could really see, visibly see. Although this bulbs may be brighter, my personal opinion is the indicator allotment, is too small. To really view in direct sun or if you've got a lot of Chrome, it makes it more difficult to see. I have done conversions. Now, this is a real touchy subject with a lot of people. As long as your softail, I'm gonna stay with softails has an integrated starter motor. When I say that I'm not talking about external solenoid on the inner primary. As long as you've got a new one-piece starter motor, you can directly swap out your five-speed for a newer style five-speed with the whole punched in the case. And the whole you're looking for, is typically found right near the transmission clutch cover. That's the sensor. But if you don't have that allotment, you can't use an electric speedo. Unless of course you go deep into the aftermarket. which is perfectly fine. The problem with that becomes the word deep, cost and effort. If you can find yourself a newer style, five-speed and swap it over directly into an older style mechanically driven bike, and I'm gonna use 89 to 95 as the, you can just swap the five-speed trick Prior to 89, you had the external solenoid on the inner primary. Besides the external solenoid, what that brought you was a tapered main shaft off the transmission with a key way. You can't just use the newer-style splined main shaft transmission, clutch-hub, primary chain, compensating sprocket. All of that goes hand-in-hand with the break point, from keyed main shaft to splined to main shaft. All right, I know I'm throwing a lot out there. Again, the point of this whole event is, if you plan on changing tank speedos transmissions make sure you think it out. Make sure it's well thought out, that you're not missing one vital component when you're reassembling. Or you finally put everything together and say, "Ah, boy! "I wish I had done that "because it was a viable option with this conversion." All electronics have their place. Obviously you need newer technology with the newer motorcycles. You're not going to take a 2015, 2017, a 2013 motorcycle and put a mechanical speedo on it. But if you're building a custom bike and believe me there is custom mechanical setups that drive off the rear wheel, that are super trick. It all depends what you own, what you ride, what you plan on customizing. Use your head, don't rush into purchasing things. That's probably the best piece of advice I can give you. Seven out of 10 times when people are rushed or pressured into doing what their buddy did or it seems like a great deal. "I better buy it now." It leads to certain failure. Take your time, weigh out all your options. Including resale value. By customizing or molesting, I've heard more than one of my friends say, "The motorcycle how is it going to affect resale value?" And we all love our bikes, we all plan on keeping them forever. But if the time arises like a beautiful woman, something catches your eye, you may want to make a lateral move. Don't sell yourself short because you customized something to your preference, but you killed the resale value. I get a pile of questions. I get into a pile of conversations . I get into a pile of confrontations, about, check engine lights, "My electric, speedo's terrible." "I hate the fact that "I have to go to the dealer to have it scanned "for it to tell me what's wrong." "My turn signals won't shut off." "My alarm system won't turn on." "My full-way flashers come out at will." "The dealer wants to charge me this much "because they own the scan tool." There are after market options for scan tools. It doesn't make them much cheaper, but if you happen to have a friend or someone in the business that has one, they will perform the same procedure, same process as the dealer scan tool without going to the dealer. Me, myself, I've always been a faithful follower. If you bought a motorcycle that is under warranty, you enjoy the timeframe of the warranty. You have a good rapport with your dealer. Just 'cause you're out of warranty doesn't mean you stop going to 'em. Obviously for some unknown reason, dealers seem to be more expensive than the private mom-and-pop shops. Then again, I know mom-and-pop shops which make dealers look like they're doing the job for free. But then again, those particular mom-and pop-shops, are doing things that are off the charts. They're doing customization that is second to none. So again if you need the bike scanned you don't necessarily want to bring it to a full-blown custom builder. Unless again, he's a friend of yours. The dealer you may have to pay the piper, have 'em scan and figure out what the issue at hand is. And then I encourage you to take that information and do the final repair yourself. Very rarely, is there a stored code, in a speedometer that has to be cleared once the problem is resolved. It may hold it historically, but it won't throw it as a reoccurring code, once you address the problem at hand. I'm gonna take a couple moments, just think a little bit, if there's anything else I want to throw at on the table. I want to make sure that we're all aware of the Fix My Hog newsletter. I greatly encourage you to join me, join us Fix My Hog, on Facebook, on Instagram. The newsletter is invaluable. I'm gonna take a few moments, I just wanna gather my thoughts. I'm gonna do a little Q and A, which it's preempted but I added a little bit of spice to the questions that are at hand. And I also have questions that rise commonly amongst my friends, amongst motorcycles I work on. Whether it'd be mechanical or electric. One of the most common ones, I come across is, "My mechanical speedometer stopped working." And like most mechanical repairs, you've got to take a step back what was touched. If anything, what was touched last? Did the mechanical drive speedometer just stop working while you were riding? Or did you just have a front wheel or front tire or the wheel was off the bike? Did you have something done in the front end where the drive engages into the wheel? Most commonly that little tab on the mechanical speedometer drive, isn't put back into the proper position, the axles torqued and the tab bends back. Spins around causes an awful screw marks, especially on a Chrome or polished rotor, and then stops working. Don't blame anyone in particular, 'specially if you did it yourself. Never blame yourself for a learning experience. If you happened to tighten that axle down and you broke the tab or you bent the tab on the mechanical drive speedo, loosen it back up, replace the drive if need be bend the tab back into position, move forward chalk it up as a learning experience. All right, somebody has a question on-- Oh actually I'm gonna get some . Please. All right. Somebody has a question on a speedometer. They put... They had a five-speed in their softail and then they put a six-speed in. Okay. And then the speed is off. It says they're doing 40 but they're really doing 50 on the speedometer. All right. Any time you break away from the stock configuration, whether it's a factory built five-speed or six-speed, if you've got a six-speed obviously you're not putting a six-speed in it. You shouldn't have a speedometer calibration issue. If you go from five-speed to six-speed, that stock speedo sensor will not read correctly. 'Cause the ratio internally has changed. They do make plug and play calibration boxes, which you can either ride along someone's you trust and check your speed at 30, 40, 50 and set it manually, or you can get on a dynamometer and set it to the exact speed while the back wheel is reading through the gear ratio. It's not uncommon to see the newer style electrics or the older style mechanicals read incorrectly. I myself, especially when I'm riding with others like to watch my speed, because if others seem to be riding too quick for me, first thing I think, especially if they're on a custom bike is their speedometers are inaccurate. And I'm not going to ride faster just to keep up with the pack. I'm always going to ride at a safe speed. It's a hobby. It's not the point I need to get from A to B. That to me is more important to get from A to B safely, as opposed to looking cool or my speed being correct. When it comes to digital or electric speedometers not working correctly. Now I'm not talking about five and six-speed conversions, I'm just talking about one day I was riding and my odometer stopped working. My speedometer needle is bouncing. First place I head to, is the speedometer sensor. The one that goes into the transmission case. The reason for that being a constant mesh transmission gear to gear contact, there is debris. And I've seen it's a magnetic hall effects style sensor, the speedo sensor. I've seen that magnet collect chips and what it does it affects the signal going to the speedometer head. Take that sensor out carefully, clean everything, make sure the O-ring's intact. Take any debris off of the side-glass or window. Put it back in, try that first. Always start with basics. Don't just go out and buy a new sensor. Don't go out and buy a new speedometer. Always start with basics. Not that I'm cheap. I like to work from the small side, or if you insist the cheap side of a repair, to the expensive or the large side. All right, somebody else has a question. He has a 96 heritage, his indicator turn signal lights, stay on, instead blinking. He said that he turned the turn button for the signal but they'd just come on and stay on, and that's Johnny Gardner from Australia. Well, thank you, sir. Nice to know we've got friends down on there. At this point I think I've got friends worldwide. When it comes to turn signals, especially the newer motorcycles with self-canceling turn signals, with turn signal modules, TSSMs, turn signal security modules, TSSMs and beyond when it comes to full electronics, the biggest issue I see is grounds. I see ground wires, whether it'd be a corroded socket where the bulb is, I see ground wires, whether it'd be corrosion where the connection is made contact to the frame. The earthing point, being the biggest culprit. I also see conversions, wreaking havoc with electronic systems. The old-style automotive flasher worked great, with an 1157, 1156 bulb. But if you threw anything type LED or any type of different voltage draw at it, it worked inadequately. Same applies with new-style electronics. If you happen to change out your factory turn signal, for a custom turn signal, make yourself aware, you may need to get some type of equalizer box. So did that TSM, TSSM reads the voltage correctly and operates correctly. Again, always start with the simple then head to the hard. All right, so somebody else says they have a 1995 FXDWG. And his speedometer cable's making noise. Dyna Wide Glide, FXDWG, as opposed to FXSTC, they really look alike. One's rubber mounted to Dyna obviously the other one's softail. In that generation or that era, they were all mechanically driven speedos. It's making noise, it's one or two things, the cable or the drive. The easy fix depending on your environment, your mileage, the condition of the bike, is to replace the speedometer cable. And it's a fairly simple operation. You basically pull your dash your way. At that point, the three-bolt base-plate mechanical speedo dash stays with the Fat Bob tank, you remove the two C-clips, on speedo the head. Carefully lift the speedo head away, you loosen the nut on the bottom of the cable. Take the speedo, set it aside in a safe place. That point you can turn your cable out of the drive on the front wheel, get yourself some good quality lubricant into the drive. Lot of times what I do, I put the motorcycle on a lift, get the weight off the front wheel, spin the drive. Make sure I'm not getting any noise, any grinding, any resistance, that the tab is located correctly in the rotor and get a nice coat of good quality lubricant, in the speedo drive on the axile next to the wheel engaging in the rotor. At that point if I'm gonna take a speedo cable off, I'm gonna replace it. Cheap enough item and when you do go to replace it quick, easy tip: Hold that lock knot, that goes to the base of the mechanical speedometer. Hold it all the way to the top of the cable, put a tie wrap on it. Cut the tail off the tie wrap and then feed it downward through the backbone. You'll see there's a round allocation in the frame, feed it through, thread it into the drive. Now you don't need to worry about that knot the jam knot that goes to the mechanical speedo, falling down to the frame, running along the cable. The tie wrap will hold it in place. Tighten it back down, before you install it on the speedo give it a good coat of lubricant. All it is is a spring steel-styled cable in a rubber housing. Faster you go, faster it spins, warmer it gets. Keep it lubed, keep it maintained. Mechanical speedos run indefinitely, electric speedos probably the truth be told, will run longer. The key is maintenance. We all know that it's becoming harder and harder to stress. Maintenance is your responsibility. There's a lot of areas I covered as always. I hope you walk away from this dissertation, this presentation, this event. With the wheels turning. I don't want 'em to turn her fast enough where you create smoke, but I do want you to walk away and say "Wow, Bob gave me a bunch of food for thought. "I was planning on doing this and that "but I don't think I'm either mechanically prepared "or financially ready to do that." Or, "You know what? "I'm glad he brought to my attention, "I can't put an electric speedo on my 94, "because I don't have the hole in the tranny case. "And I might have a buddy who's got a transmission, "but before I go buy "a dash ignition switch speedometer head, do "a bunch of wiring changes." Now I wanna make a quick note. If you plan on converting from three-bolt base-plate, to the self-contained dash of the new electric speedo, you've gotta put all those circuit breakers and flasher if applicable that are underneath the base-plate somewhere. The newer bikes, 96, late-95, 96 had a cutout in the back fender under the seat. With a little black plastic box with circuit breakers. And the starter relay, the turn signal module itself, self-canceling module, wound up underneath the tank itself on the split-style tanks. Do some research. If you get a chance to see a friend's bike apart, that happens to be the newer generation or the newest style, get a good look at it. Before you go and jump in without looking first. I'm Bob LaRosa for Fix My Hog. I'm so glad that you're back for another event. I can't encourage you enough to please join us. Join the newsletter, watch us on Facebook, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, keep up the speed. Keep your hands on your bike. I'm not discouraging you, that don't want to work on your bike, from working on it. I'm not encouraging, "You gotta do your own wrenching." You don't have to. But if you want to do it correctly, and even if you don't want to it's great knowledge to know how things work. How things function. That's the whole point of Fix My Hog. Fix My Hog is based on the knowledge of working on your own bike. And I want to thank you for joining me. I hope to see you all again.