Speedo cable

[bikeng]

I am looking into fitting the lighting and speedo assembly to my 2008 4RT and I'm puzzled by the speedo cable. I realise later models changed to using a sensor on the rear wheel, but mine has a speedo gearbox and the 'street legal' kit has a speedo cable that appears to be a traditional thick cable (with rotating inner) at the lower end, but ends in a pair of electrical wires at the top. I realise that there is a sensor involved that is detecting the speed of rotation and feeding an electrical pulse to the speedometer itself, but a couple of things bother me:-

1. I can find no reference to this cable on any of the parts lists, of any year, that I have found.
2. How does the cable attach to the gearbox on the front wheel?

2 seems simple enough, usually the cable has a knurled collar that screws onto the gearbox and the square end of the inner fits into the square hole of the driven gear in the gearbox, but first of all the cable I have has no loose collar. There is a fixed collar that presumably screws onto the gearbox, but that requires the entire cable to be rotated, which means it has to be completely disconnected from the rest of the bike. Not that that is a major deal, but it's such a crummy idea I cannot help but think I am getting something wrong here.

Also, the inner cable end is a smooth plastic cover. I'm loathe to try and pull it off to see if there is the square end underneath as it kinda looks like it is supposed to be there and anyway, why would a used cable have such a cover on it. It also doesn't want to spin freely. It will turn a bit, but it is as if there is no spinning inner cable, just a wired connection which will turn a bit, but then doesn't want to twist any more. I've not tried forcing it for obvious reasons.

So it almost looks like the sensor is at the lower end and it's just then electrical cabling up to the speedo. In which case, why the fat cable that looks exactly like a traditional speedo cable.

Anyone familiar with this and can provide some more info on this system and why the cable doesn't appear in the parts lists?

[johnnyboxer]

Is the speedo head, a square digital affair?

 

I think the speedo drive & cable ones (2005/6/7 bikes) had a round traditional mechanical speedo, cable and wheel drive gearbox affair (mine does  & in a cardboard box)

Later bikes (250's) went to a square digital affair, not sure how it was driven though

[bikeng]

Mine would be the 'square digital affair' as you describe it and driven by this odd cable. Definitely electronic as even though the cable starts out at the lower end looking like a regular speedo cable, ends in 2 wires and a plug that connects into the harness behind the headlight. But the actual drive connection from the gearbox is what has me puzzled and with no mention in the parts list (or manual) has me even more perplexed.

[bikeng]

A closer look at the bike reveals I don't even have the speedo gearbox. I guess that was an extra to go with the headlight and speedo kit. So I guess I'll just go with a Trail-Tech dash with its own sensor arrangement.