When speedos go bad

I thought you might be interested in this incident that happened to me while riding my Norton 650SS back in the 1970s. I was reminded of it while reading the OBM December Letters (headed ‘The wrong sort of belt drive!’) in which John Southall reported catching his belt in the back wheel.

I was riding the Norton and suddenly the bike had a huge lurch to the left. I managed to gain control and after pulling over I realised that the speedo gear box had seized and wound the cable around the back wheel like a winch. The speedometer was mounted on top of the left-hand fork stanchion, hence the sudden left hand down! Fortunately, the outer cable had stretched, being of a coiled nature, and pulled itself out from the speedometer before the lurch turned into more than an unplanned swerve.

Changing the subject, if anyone is interested, here is a safety tip that I learned from a plumber. If you encounter anything that looks like asbestos – I am thinking with our hobby that could be old brake shoes – spray them with hair spray and this will stick the fibres down and stop them becoming airborne. Trevor Lennon