'46 Chief, what speed should I shift to 2nd and 3rd?

[Clean Cut]

Hi All,
I am in the process of bringing a 1946 Chief back to being a rider. I have a couple of questions:

1. When should I be shifting (minimum speed) to 2nd and 3rd. I am shifting to 2nd in the low 20's and it seems to low.

2. The speedometer on the bike is a BSCO speedometer from a 50s Chief that was rebuilt run for 148 miles then sat for 17 years. The needle bounces around at any speed. Since, I have ridden a few miles it bounces less but still not very useful. Is the cure for this to remove and lube the speedo cable? What is the recommended lube?

Thanks in advance for any help.
CC

[Skirted]

As far as speed it depends if you're going downhill, level, or uphill when you shift. Its more a feel you get than speed. I get into a higher gear as soon as possible. Often I'll hit second gear within a few seconds of pulling out definitely under 20mph assuming fairly level. I never paid attention to actual speed. Time between 2nd and 3rd is a bit longer but I'll get into 3rd as soon as it allows unless I'm climbing a decent hill which we have plenty of.

Definitely pull speedo cable, clean cable, flush out the jacket with something like Brake-Clean and blow it dry, lube cable and go from there. Dorman makes a speedo cable lube probably available at a good local AP. I have also used a "thin" film of light weight white lithium grease. And also inspect the jacket and make sure it doesn't have any visible physical damage that could bind the cable

[Clean Cut]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for your reply and advice. I am riding mostly flat areas as I am getting used to the foot clutch so, shifting into 2nd at 20mph should work well. Shifting to third 35mph might be a good place to start. Will keep that in mind as I continue to bring up the bike. Will get to the speedometer cable clean and lube in the next week. Your Brake-clean and Lithium grease method has to at least help if not fix the bouncing. Thanks,
CC

[pisten-bully]

CC, to add to Jason's comments, specifically on lubing the speedo cable, my method (good or bad) is to remove the inner cable, then take a long piece of 14 gauge wire (or 16, 18, etc. whatever you have on hand) and thread that through the outer cable so that it pokes out the far end. Loop the wire around a small piece of Scotchbrite that you cut, liberally dose the inside of the outer cable with something like PB Blaster, then pull the Scotchbrite up through. Keep repeating with fresh bits of Scotchbrite until they come out clean. Then I lube with graphite.

[T. Cotten]

... I am shifting to 2nd in the low 20's and it seems to low...

Please trust your instincts, Clean Cut!

Listen to the machine; Ignore the speedo and keep your eyes on the road.

V-twins like to rap out a lot higher than Folks usually let them.

...Cotten

[Clean Cut]

CC, to add to Jason's comments, specifically on lubing the speedo cable, my method (good or bad) is to remove the inner cable, then take a long piece of 14 gauge wire (or 16, 18, etc. whatever you have on hand) and thread that through the outer cable so that it pokes out the far end. Loop the wire around a small piece of Scotchbrite that you cut, liberally dose the inside of the outer cable with something like PB Blaster, then pull the Scotchbrite up through. Keep repeating with fresh bits of Scotchbrite until they come out clean. Then I lube with graphite.

Hi pisten-bully,
Thank you for this response, you are literally scrubbing it clean. It makes sense to do this since I have it out, hopefully, it stays in good working order for many miles!

[Clean Cut]

Please trust your instincts, Clean Cut!

Listen to the machine; Ignore the speedo and keep your eyes on the road.

V-twins like to rap out a lot higher than Folks usually let them.

...Cotten

Hi Cotten,
Thanks for your advice, I found the bike running a little better the last time out, possibly because of a new battery.