I had a similar problem with my speedo working and not working and it was a loose negative battery cable. Cant hurt to check that first as that would be a free fix.

 

mine still bad.... eventually, ill get around fixing this problem

 

The Speed Sensor on my 1999 1200CC was easy to remove once I got to the part. You`ll need to make some space around it. I`be read about people removing the Starter to get to it. All I did was loosen up the Exhaust (not even totally removed), it allowed me enough room to remove the VSS. I cleaned it and it didn'thelp at all. Still unsure if I should replace the part or not.

 

Having a similar issue with my 95 883. Speedometer bounces around erratically when riding. Sits around 20mph after idling for a few minutes. Odometer reads 0000.0 and won't switch off the trip meter. Self cancels function properly. Cleaned the VSS. Wasn't in too bad of shape. Traced all the wires between the odometer and vss to find nothing out of wack. Ignition switch can be temperamental at times so I'm planning to change that shortly. Am I looking at a bad speedometer? Or could it be tied into my ignition switch issue?

 

it's common for sportsters, lots of them did it, nothing really to worry about since it only does it rarely..

 

Have a 95 sportster 883 w/ same problem changed speedo sensor and still not working. Did you resolve the problem?

 

I found a used speedo on eBay. Fixed it great. There are great trouble shooting tips in the Haynes manual. I'll take a look at those and post a short hand guide for you. Give me a day to get back to you.

 

I am having this issue with my 2009 Nightster...it happens quite often and sometimes the bike will want to stall as I'm coming to a stop unless I give it a couple revs to keep it going then it will idle fine until I take off. If I notice the speedo needle at 0 while I'm moving, I will hit the kill switch then re start it and then the speedo will work...for a bit.

 

Like a lot of the rest of the posts, similar issues with mine: 1999 Sportster 883. The speedometer will peg at max when I first turn ignition on. Once it starts, it'll bounce around a little then just settle on some seemingly random position.

The odometer works fine.

I pulled the sensor and there really wasn't much crud on it, but I cleaned it anyway.

Troubleshooting question, is it the single sensor that drives both speed and odometer? I have the Haynes manual and it's got nothing (that I've found) for speedometer testing...

Thanks for any help that directs me to the right culprit.

 

if the charge on the battery gets too low the speedometer will stop recording and become erratic