Busted Odometer Gear Housing

[Silverado]

Local cycle shop technician?? busted my odometer gear housing attempting to loosen the axle nut.  I suspect he must have used an air wrench.  The housing was rotated almost 180 degrees from the proper position.  The connection for the cable was pointing forward and the cable had been pulled out of the nut that attaches to the housing.   The stealer has ordered a new housing and cable but I'm concerned that there may be other areas potentially damaged. 

Is there any other way this could have occurred short of negligence on the part of the technician?

Looking for thoughts on what other areas to check for damages....forks, wheel, cable attachment under the dash, etc.  Thanks!

[snarf]

Without seeing it my guess is operator error. They installed it incorrectly. They probably didn't get the tabs on the inside ligned up before they tightened it up. No dealer will EVER touch my two bikes.

[Silverado]

Without seeing it my guess is operator error. They installed it incorrectly. They probably didn't get the tabs on the inside ligned up before they tightened it up. No dealer will EVER touch my two bikes.

Snarf, it actually occurred while he was attempting to remove the axle nut.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture showing how the housing had been rotated 180 degrees.   I suspect the wheel hub may have also been damaged along with the speedo cable attachment point behind the console panel.  Anyway, just looking for comment on what could have also been damaged besides the gear housing.   Thanks.

[T Cro ®]

Negligence could very well be on the previous "tech" as it sounds like it might have been a very long time since the front wheel was removed and that the axle nut and axle shaft were not cleaned/polished and greased (or never-seize) before re-installing them then this shop was forced to use an impact gun or breaker bar in an attempt to break the corrosion bond that formed on the axle to the speedo and spacers etc.

Doubtful the wheel hub received any damage that would warrant replacement as the speedo engages a steel tube that keys into the hub and is retained by a large snap ring; to which without actually looking there is no way to speculate damage either to the wheel or gauge attachment point.

[Silverado]

Tony, the front tire was replaced about 1 year ago and approximately 8,000 miles.  He did use a breaker bar on axle shaft.  For some reason, he didn't have a wrench on the nut while cracking on the axle shaft from the left side (facing the bike).  He did mention that the axle clamp bolt was loose on the right side.  Umm....thought they should both be loose prior to removing the nut from the shaft.  Anyway, we inspected the axle and didn't discover any damage...i.e. scuff or corrosion. 

No observable damage to the gear drive/notches.  No damage observe on the instrument panel where the cable attaches.  Replaced the speedo housing along with the cable (dealer expense) and checkout ride was good.  Speed indicator spot on with GPS MPH (upto 115+), however the odometer mileage has a slight variance from what is reflected on the GPS. 

Still can't understand how this happen or why he didn't remove the cable from the housing prior to attempting to loosen the axle nut.  Lucked out this time....amazed that the speedo gear drive didn't get damaged.   

Always appreciate everyone's thoughts/comments!

[T Cro ®]

Still can't understand how this happen or why he didn't remove the cable from the housing prior to attempting to loosen the axle nut.  Lucked out this time....amazed that the speedo gear drive didn't get damaged.   

Yup it can indeed be hard to understand how a lot of stuff happens; namely the stuff that happened when we are not around to see. As the Chief Engineer on board a large complex vessel I long ago learned that you can't oversee every breakdown and thusly you can't be overly critical of the repair performed by others unless it was grossly incompetent. Yours could be an inexperienced "Tech" who just never thought of disconnecting the cable beforehand or it could very well be that he never planned on disconnecting the cable in the first place as there is no absolute reason to do so. Again I'll say that the previous "Tech" could have set the axle nut to the axle with an impact gun which would have been a mistake as there is no reason to tighten the stink out of fasteners that set with shoulders such as an axle to axle nut which is held in position by the pinch bolts on each side of the fork tubes. While I have impact guns here on board ship and at home they are one of my least used tools as I would much rather feel things such as thread resistance etc through my hands and as needed though a PROPERLY sized torque wrench.

Another point to mention to all interested is that you should not rely on the pinch bolts to hold either the nut or axle still while you attempt to loosen as if the fixed part begins to spin you can cause galling or damage to that part; one should always use a back-up wrench when breaking or setting the axle or any other part that is held in place by a pinch bolt. That and clean, polish and lube these metal to metal slip fit parts namely those made of alum and steel to prevent corrosion seizing.

[Silverado]

Another point to mention to all interested is that you should not rely on the pinch bolts to hold either the nut or axle still while you attempt to loosen as if the fixed part begins to spin you can cause galling or damage to that part; one should always use a back-up wrench when breaking or setting the axle or any other part that is held in place by a pinch bolt.

Very good point!!  The technician stated the pinch bolt may have been slightly loose on the gear housing side of the wheel which he suggested could have contributed to the axle and housing rotating together.  That suggested to me that he was not using a back-up wrench on that side while attempting to loosen the nut.   If he had been, I don't think the speedo gear housing would have been rotated 180 degrees resulting in the damages.   

[SmokinRZ]

Mine broke on the first tire change, the drive fused onto the axle.  The bike was only three years old with 16K and when i got it apart the axle didn't look that corroded either.  In hind sight I shoud have used some PB blast or something but who would have ever thought it would get fused so tight on a relatively new bike.  I wouldn't have beleived it if it hadn't happened to me.  I use Bel Ray waterproof grease and never have this issue.