ST1100 Speedometer reading low

Vraetzught

Joined
Apr 15, 2021
Messages
5
Location
Belgium
Bike
Honda ST1100 2002
Hi all.
Recently started riding a 2002 ST1100A, clocked +500km in 4 days since monday.

Today I was on my way to work, when I noticed the RPM's were really high for the speed I was doing (5k & 130km/h on the dash).
I looked over to my GPS and it was showing 148km/h!

I checked periodically while continuing my route.
The difference is most noticable at higher speeds and seems to become almost non existent at slow speeds (below 20 km/h).

I haven't checked if the problem perstists after restarting the engine, but I was wondering if anyone knew what could cause this and how it can be resolved.
Thanks in advance!
 
jrp said:
True, but his is not reading fast. It is reading slow.

Maybe worn clutch plates?
Click to expand...
The clutch plates are nearly brand new.
Last owner had them replaced 2 years ago and has barely ridden the bike since.
For reference, ODO is almost at 68k km now.
 
jrp said:
Maybe worn clutch plates?
Click to expand...

That could account for the RPMs being too high relative to speed and would have been my first guess if not for the GPS. A slipping clutch cannot explain that discrepancy. I've seen the cheap plastic bits in the wheel drive for the speedo shred themselves before. Also the cable may be winding up in the sleeve as others have said due to lack of lubrication or it may actually be broken. Is the speedo motion smooth or does it wiggle and jump a little?
 
wjbertrand said:
That could account for the RPMs being too high relative to speed and would have been my first guess if not for the GPS. A slipping clutch cannot explain that discrepancy. I've seen the cheap plastic bits in the wheel drive for the speedo shred themselves before. Also the cable may be winding up in the sleeve as others have said due to lack of lubrication or it may actually be broken. Is the speedo motion smooth or does it wiggle and jump a little?
Click to expand...
Speedo goes relatively smooth up to +-75km/h, then it starts to wigle and bob around a bit.
I tried forcing some lubrication up the cable (didn't feeol like taking apart the dash today) and ordered a new cable online.

If the problem isn't fixed with the new cable, I'll take it to a mechanic to have the speedo gear in the wheel hub checked.
 
Checking the integrity of the speedo cable would be the first thing I'd check. Hope that's the problem and not higher up.
 
Just to give you all an update.

Over the past week my speedo reading kept dropping, to the point it's not indicating at all anymore.
ODO and trip have also stopped counting, I assume they are also dependant on the same mechanism.

Changed the cable today with a brand new one, but no change. Ordered the nylon gear, as I assume the old one is worn.
 
Vraetzught said:
Just to give you all an update.

Over the past week my speedo reading kept dropping, to the point it's not indicating at all anymore.
ODO and trip have also stopped counting, I assume they are also dependant on the same mechanism.

Changed the cable today with a brand new one, but no change. Ordered the nylon gear, as I assume the old one is worn.
Click to expand...
I think its also possible to get the speedo drive mechanism out of alignment with the part of the wheel that it meshes with to drive it. Not sure if that's the nylon gear you're referring to, or if its another possible failure mode to consider. Its very easy to test, elevate the front wheel off the ground and spin it with the speedo cable removed from the housing on the wheel end of the cable. You should be able to see the little flat blade inside the part where the cable normally attaches rotating as the wheel spins. If that's not rotating, then your problem is somewhere in the speedo drive mechanism that sits between the fork leg and the wheel. Remove the wheel and speedo drive and look at how they mate to one another and verify the part on the wheel that turns the speedo drive is making proper contact, then re-install the wheel and speedo drive, and see if the little blade is now turning.
 
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