Speedometer Cable

My wife and kids were in the Tahoe. The DVD player was playing "High School Musical" to entertain the kids. The trailer behind the Tahoe held my wife's V30. My Wing was in its natural state, and was ready to head out into its element -- the Interstate, for which it is aptly named.

I had to mail something from the post office before I left town. As I pulled into the post office parking lot I heard a horrible squeal from the speedometer cable. I have heard this squeal before, in cold weather, from my own V30's cable. So I knew the sound.

10 minutes later, out on the interstate, I shift into 5th gear and discover my speedometer is reporting 0 mph. Ugh, my speedometer cable has given up the ghost.

Ironic, my wife's did that a few weeks ago. I replaced her cable with a spare from my own derelict V30, and restored hers to operating condition.

Now here I was setting out on a multi-day journey and no speedometer.

I think I remember that at 4000 rpm I'm doing about 65 mph, so I'll use the tachometer in place of a speedometer. Actually, I think I'll just go with the flow.

I stopped for refreshment at a rest stop about an hour from home.

"Is that 100th Anniversary?" a trucker asked me.

I looked at him quizzically. Was he asking me whether my bike was a 100th anniversary edition? Really, when is Honda's 100th anniversary? I'm sure it hasn't happened yet. Harley's, of course, was in 2003.

Then I realized he was asking about my T-shirt, which I purchased when attending Harley's 100th anniversary party in Milwaukee, in 2003.

"Yes," I answered.

"Were you there?" he asked me.

"Yes, I was," I answered. "Were you?"

"Yes, I sure was," he replied.

I'm sure he wondered about a Honda Gold Wing rider wearing a Harley 100th Anniversary T-Shirt. But he did not voice any questions.

He said, "Ride safe. You might wanna get out your rain gear, it's raining up North."

"Really?" I said, "I am heading North."

This, of course, was obvious, since we were at a rest stop where all traffic had exited from and would be returning to I-65 North. The southbound and northbound traffic did not intermix at the rest stop.

Before I left I inspected the speedometer cable.

Checked the bottom first, down by the front axle. Nothing out of place.

Checked the top. Well, would you look at that. The cable has detached itself from the speedometer housing altogether. Sheepishly I screw the cable back into the back of the speedometer housing. I take off down the on ramp back onto the interstate and voila, I have a speedometer again.