Tachometer wobble vanquished

After a couple failed attempts to remedy an increasingly extreme wobble on my '74 Smiths special, mostly involving replacement cables and a lot of cursing, I decided to send it out to people who actually knew what they were doing. A post on this forum recommended Foreign Speedo in San Diego, CA. They are a GREAT shop!! They replaced the bezel, glass, and the thing looks like new, works like a charm. Total cost was just over $100. They are very up front about their cost structure.

Side note: I was initially fairly convinced that it was a cable fault because I would take it out and run it on my drill and it wouldn't wobble. But then I realized that it was because I was holding it vertically! When I ran it on the drill horizontally, it bounced all over the place, just like it did on the bike. That's when I figured that the head needed work.

Moral of the story: if you are looking for a good shop and don't feel up to cracking the head yourself, I recommend the guys at Foreign Speedo in San Diego. Nice work!

Do they have a website? I couldn't find one. Thanks for the tip.

Andy

http://www.paspeedo.com/

This is the other place that is always highly regarded. I have not used them but they always seem to come up when talking about places to send your instruments.

I've heard very good things about Nisonger. They charge about $170 per instrument for a Norton.

http://nisonger.com/

I sent my broken Veglia to Palo Alto also . About 175 IIRC but it looks great and no more flutter . If I ever get my bike back the speedo is going there as well . They also have procedure to fill out a ratio test form they can use to calibrate the speedo .

Ron

here is the contact info for Foreign Speedo:

2246 1/2 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92104-2718
(619) 298-5278

I have been to their shop - a small place in an old garage - with rows and rows of speedos and tachs, from Bentlys, Ferraris, MGs, Triumphs, Nortons, BSAs, you name it.

Nice guys and reasonably priced - and they really know their stuff. No web site though - they work the old fashioned way - phone and mail.

Highly recommended.

Keith

Had trouble with Nisonger. Tach came back with a red needle and when I called he tried to say that I sent it to them that way. Had to "prove" it was white by sending them an old picture looking down on my instruments. They still said something wasn't right - like I was trying to pull a fast one - but eventually took it back and made it right.

I don't much like being accused of lying and having to raise my voice a bit. So they are no longer on my list.

Thanks Keith - sorry I was AWOL on my thread here... That's right, just give them a call, they are old school for sure! In a good way...

I have used Palo Alto years ago and they did a fine job on both bike & car stuff of mine. But my latest find is a local guy here in Arlington Heights, Illinois.

He now does Veglia gauges. Scott Thomas at smithgagerepair@sbcglobal.net

He advertizes in the back of Motorcycle Classic magazine as well. Fast turn around and priced right.


Tim_S

Has anyone done their own mechanical instrument fixes to satisfaction?
I have a low rev wobble I would like to tackle.
The device is otherwise intact and in very good condition aesthetically.
I wonder how different it can be from any other cable / magnetically driven unit.
How hard can it be? Anything in particular to be wary of?