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This
Stewart-Warner J-M (for Johns-Manville) Speedometer is a bit of
an odd duck, and rare to find in such great condition. I have posted below
what little information I and friends have been able to find. It seems
that the pioneering Jones speedometer factory was bought by asbestos giant
Johns-Manville in 1914. J-M developed it further before selling the speedometer
line to automotive accessory giant Stewart-Warner in about 1923. The J-M
was completely different from S-W's other speedos, and S-W phased it out
at some point, maybe around 1930.
As far as I know it was
only used OEM (factory installed) on the 1927 Excelsior
Super-X - and possibly on Hendersons the same year - but it was
sold as an aftermarket fittting for Super-X,
Henderson,
H-D
and Indian, and occasionally one such bike
turns up with this speedo (like the 1931 KJ pictured below). There is a
brochure page here showing a lot of details. I can take more pictures of
the speedo parts for anyone needing it.
Working speedometer head,
frame bracket, drive and outer cable. More info below. |
There
are a couple of small chips on the glass - hard to show in photos - but
it is 97 years old so I think we can put that down as "patina"!
Note
that the "pot metal" (zinc alloy) drive part on the speedo is in nice condition;
not often the case with these, it seems (see KJ Exchange info below).
The
thread on the speedo for the cable nut feels a little tight, but maybe
it just need cleaning and lubrication; I haven't cleaned any of these parts.
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The frame brackets for the
drive is (see X on
the brochure page below; sorry I don't have a larger version of
this) the Indian and Henderson version, but that may well work for other
bikes too. The Indian and Super-X speedometer frame bracket look very similar
and it is hard to be 100% sure if the bracket here is Super-X or Indian
without having both to compare the details on. I would guess that it could
be used on both, maybe with a little adaptation work. I bought this speedometer
many years ago from someone who told me that it had been on the family
101; that makes sense from the speedo bracket and drive bracket, but who
knows after so many years.
If you are lucky enough to
have a 1927 Super-X you will get extra
points for having the correct, rare speedo. If you have a Henderson,
H-Dor
Indian
from around this time, it will still be "correct" as the bike could have
been sold new without a speedo and an aftermarket J-M fitted. It makes
a cool change from all the Corbins, and no matter which bike you put it
on the chances are pretty low that anyone can with any authority tell you
that anything about and its brackets is wrong!
Note that the cable ("shaft"
in J-M speak) used a modern-style wire inner cable ("core") and not a chain
like Corbin cables. This will make it easier for a speedo/cable rebuilder
to replace. The inner cable is missing here, but the outer cable seems
in good condition. Janusz Napierala - speedoshop.net - is no longer
with us but I have just heard that his business will be continued, and
that would be a good place to ask first. Also for the drive gear and pinion,
mentioned below.
Brochure pic by Florian
G.
You can count the teeth on
the brochure page for finding or making new pinion (even though the existing
pinion has good teeth for a 97 year old!) and drive gear. I get 94 teeth
on the drive gear in the brochure, and 27 on the 22538 pinion. The 22540
pinion on the drive now has 29 teeth and is obviously genunine, so they
came with different tooth count; the brochure says "specify make and model",
but nowadays it is probably mostly a question of matching a newly made
pinion gear to an available drive gear.
I would guess that a Corbin
drive gear could be used. I have seen 85 and 92 tooth versions made new,
and there may be others. Speedometer gearing is a bit complicated, but
Steve Blancard and Gene Harper has good info
on it (link opens in new window; note that contact info etc is old
and may be out of date). Getting a new pinion gear to drive off the
rear wheel chain sprocket may be an easier option (see link above).
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This speedo has a maximum
hand, or needle, to show you how fast you have just been riding. With a
piece of plastic tube on the drive axle, a flick of the fingers shoots
the needle up to 37 Km/h :-) I can't both do this and take pictures, so
the needle fell back to 0, but the maximum needle stays at 37. It is zeroed
by the button, middle arrow. All of this works fine, but I would take the
speedo to someone who works on old clocks or watches - or old speedometers,
if possible - and have it cleaned and lubricated inside. One of the nuts
for the bracket is also lose inside the housing.
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Info above from FB where Fred Dufrene
kindly asked for me :-) I don't do social media...
Below the KJ Exchange post linked from
the FB post, where Perry Ruiter explains.
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As usual I have not cleaned
anything. The drive has been protected by old grease and turns smoothly
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