Bandit speedo cable removal?

[Fergus]

So, a 1992 Suzuki Bandit GSF250 with a speedo that doesn't work.

I removed the cable from the speedo unit and went for ride round the block and the cable shaft did not rotate (I had a little white tape on the shaft tip and could see it while riding)

So either the cable is broken or the drive is broken or both are broken (or seized or something).

The problem I have is that I can't get the cable off the wheel end to find the problem!
The first two images show the drive with the cable going in. The final shows a pic of a cable from a GSF 400 of the same era which appears to be the same as mine.
Judging by the shape of the cable end, the cable is held in by the Phillips screw that you can see I've screwed out as far as possible without taking the wheel off.

My question is; do I need to take the wheel off to get the screw right out before pulling the cable?

I've given the cable a reasonable pull and there was no give.
It seems really weird that on a bike which otherwise is very easy to work on that I'd need to take the wheel off to remove the cable...
Maybe I just need to give it a firm tug? while spinning the wheel or something?
You can see in the second pic there is a recess in the fork to allow the screw to come out a bit further, which is redundant if the wheel needs to come off anyways..

[Banditbandit]

Yeah .. shit happens ... on a mate's bike we had to lower the engine in trhe frame to remove the central carb slides ... this is minor

I think you'll have to drop the wheel ... the bolt holding the cable in will have to come all the way out ... It can't be that hard to pull the wheel ...