So my speedo/odo stopped working

[Atesz792]

Happened yesterday while riding.
I think the cable broke maybe?
Any other ideas?
Is this a 'take her to the dealership' kinda problem, or should I be able to repair this at home with a few basic tools?

[Iarn]

My cable broke a couple months back, it happens.

This is the simplest of jobs, really. First make sure the cable is still firmly connected to the back of your speedo. If not, then tighten it up and see if that fixes the issue. If not, it's likely your cable has snapped. I got an OEM cable for ~$34 on Bikebandit and all it took was a simple wrench and ratchet. There are videos around on youtube to help you if you're not 100% confident, but this is a really simple and stress free type of thing.

[Atesz792]

Thank you so much! It was hanging out it came so loose.

This is how it looked like. I feel a bit dumb right now, should have thought about it.
So I unscrewed the round thingy, reinserted the end of the cable into it, then screwed them back on as tight as I could with my hands totally covered in that black goo by the time.
It wouldn't screw on any further, but I can easily unscrew it by hand. Should I snug it up with some tool? Don't want to go hulk on it and tear it apart, but if more force is needed, then okay.

[Atesz792]

I'll try the picture again:

[Atesz792]

Also should I be able to move the speedo around in its housing a couple of millimeters? Or is that loose too?
Edit: also, I rode quite a bit to get home with that thing hanging out like that, looking at the cables/etc around it quite some lube found its way out. Should I apply some to cover the loss? If yes, how/from witch end of the cable?

[Big Rich]

Since it is half way apart already, now would be a good time to clean the cable in my opinion. Undo it at the wheel and stick the bottom end in some type of container (empty beer / soda can). Then spray some type of cleaner thru the top end (wd40 would work, anything but water really....). Once you feel it's pretty rinsed out, spray a lubricant down the top end until it comes out the bottom.

Just have a couple rags handy and one wrapped around the spray nozzles to help contain any mess.

As far as the top end of the speedo cable goes: I've always used a pair of pliers to just barely snug up the cable on the speedo. If I did it by hand, it would always loosen up easily.

[ShowBizWolf]

+1 to the pliers for tightening the cable

You mentioned about the gauge moving around in the housing... I had that problem a few years ago and I'm trying to remember back.... but I'm pretty sure I took the black housing off and saw there were these little screws in the bottom of the actual gauge that fell out or were loose?

This memory is foggy but I remember I had to take the housing off and I found the problem in there. Maybe they were acorn nuts? No those are on the outside of the housing I think. I do remember trying to tighten them over and over but that wasn't helping secure the gauge so I dug into it further.

[Bravocubed]

I'm not sure if it's just me, but I'm pretty sure the end of the cable has come off (the part that you unscrew). Whenever I've taken mine off the threaded part stayed on the cable

[Atesz792]

Thanks guys, I'm travelling home right now, will take a closer look at it.

[dread_au]

Look at the foam like gasket between  the plate and the chrome edge of the speedo/tacho. If its hard and worn replace them as this can cause the speedo cable to fall out because its no longer absorbing the bouncing caused by the speedo cable. I had to do this recently.

[Atesz792]

Didn't think of that one, thanks!

[Bravocubed]

If none of the above works try taking the cable completely off, grab ahold of both ends and give it a gentle tug. No ill find out if you have a snapped cable. Mine stopped working a month ago so I took the cable off and one end fell out  .
I got an OEM replacement from eBay pretty cheaply.