Reproduction speedo

Previously Dan Field wrote:

My speedo seems to be knackered, does anyone have any experience of the cheap reproduction ones .... like one of these, I'm concerned about reliability than originality?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SPEEDO-0-80-MPH-BLACK-FACE-65-MM-BEZEL-BLACK-FACE-SMITHS-TYPE-BRAND-NEW-/302129072968?hash=item46584bcb48:g:B5wAAOSwvg9XbAB7

I've had a tacho on the bsa, very cheap, sent from India, it works fine

Let me know how well it fits

These certainly look pretty similar to the black faced Smiths clock fitted from 1959 to 1963. Yours presumably is the later grey faced one. I would have two questions to ask the seller;

(1) the cable fitting at the back of the speedo appears to be different to the original Smiths. So a replacement speedo cable is presumably needed as well. can he supply this? (2) What number is the cable turns - the original Jubilee/Navigator was 1600 and this number is marked on the face of the speedo. So what is the TPM for this speedo?- it isn't shown on the face. Smiths speedos and drive gearboxes did vary from bike to bike so are not always a direct swop- A BSA bantam speedo will not be accurate if fitted to a Jubilee. You might have to change the speedo drive (2 to 1 I think on the Jubilee) on the rear hub to match the new speedo otherwise you could have a seriously inaccurate speedo.

Patrick

Try this guy. He repairs them. I used him about ten years ago and he's still in business so he must be doing a reasonable job.

www.chronometricspeedos.co.uk

Or here:

http://www.magnetic-speedometer-repair.com/

http://www.magnetic-speedometer-repair.com/the-odomerter.php

A How-to to disassemble it.

Once I restored an Italian Gilera 150cc which also had a Smith speedo. I cleaned up the speedo myself an I guess I have some surplus parts for it also.

How did you test the speedo?

Previously Dan Field wrote:

My speedo seems to be knackered, does anyone have any experience of the cheap reproduction ones .... like one of these, I'm concerned about reliability than originality?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SPEEDO-0-80-MPH-BLACK-FACE-65-MM-BEZEL-BLACK-FACE-SMITHS-TYPE-BRAND-NEW-/302129072968?hash=item46584bcb48:g:B5wAAOSwvg9XbAB7

I got one from India about a couple of years ago for my 1965 Electra.It was cheap fitted and worked well. I made the mistake of packing the drive box with grease this forced it up the cable into the speedo head this stopped it working properly. I took it apart put petrol into the speedo to wash it out with a good shaking. I took it for a test ride yesterday surprise it worked perfect. Also I bought one for my big 4 this looks and fits ok but the drive is different I still have to get around to sorting it out. Bryon

Hi Dan....if the replacement is for a heavy weight Norton this might be more similar in looks:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-SMITHS-BLACK-SPEEDOMETER-BSA-ENFIELD-NORTON-0-120-MPH-REPLICA-With-CABLE-/162068255433?hash=item25bc0552c9:g:Ky0AAOSwHJhXNEs1

These Indian speedos are of course the "Magnetic" type

I have a MPH Indian speedo on my Enfield bullet (80MPH) and they work nicely , with smooth action and reliable. Only trouble is they are usually very optimistic in their reading but this shouldn't cause problems apart from holding traffic up behind you if you take them too seriously.....Les

NB...This shop was selling the speedo itself for a remarkably low £15 (inc postage) without cable so enquire if they still have some (if you want one that is) .....sorry but I bought the last one they had currently!....

OOPS....Oh Dear.....just noticed the speedo you wanted was for a lightweight Norton....but I'll leave my reply on here as it might be of use to other members for their heavyweight bikes....but then again I might be accused of "Hijacking"........please let me know......

Dan before taking it apart test the speedo by running it up in a reversible electric drill. It turns anti-clock. I use a nail with the head cut off in the drill chuck to drive it. The drive gear on the back wheel can also give trouble by stripping it's gears. So it's not always the speedo which is faulty.

The chrome rim on the Smiths 100 mph black faced speedo is very difficult to remove and even more of a problem to put back on. Maybe Ulrich or Ian Easton can give you some tips on this as both have done this before. I damaged the rim on the only one I have ever taken apart -that was years ago and very few of the speedo repair people would even think of undertaking the fitting of a new rim as they all said that special equipment was needed for these "roll-on" rims.

Patrick

Another how-to-link to the black forum:

http://www.accessnorton.com/installing-smith-instrument-bezel-t7487.html

On my Gilera Smiths speedo I used a new chrome ring. The old one broke during disassembling the gauge. The new one was rolled on by a local Kienzle speedo service firm which unfortunatly closed down.

Just received a similar 2 1/2" speedo for a late Bantam...Supplier was based in India....As expected quality not too good as bezel (rim) is dented. The box was not damaged and the item wrapped in thick polystyrene so impossible to sustain damage in transit....it's obvious the item was sent out with the dent already in it.... So now I am wasting time with it, photographing it and sending messages and will probably have to take it to the Post office to return the thing.... You really have to be careful with Indian suppliers, they are always chancing their luck hoping you'll accept poor quality items...Luckily, one has good backup on Ebay and you're last resort is giving negative feedback.

Les

Some Indian suppliers are extremely good, produce well engineered products and show a great of respect to their customers in my experience. So not everyone should be tarred with the same brush.

Dan:

Have you checked your speedometer drive cable? Mine acted similar to yours. The broken inner was rubbing ends and making the head twitch like you described.

Mike