Suzuki Forum - Suzuki Enthusiast Forums - Mechanical Speedo/Tack question

I just got an 85 GS550L. Decent basic road bike, the engine feels good, but both dials lost their needles and howl. I'm thinking the cables are probably old and the cluster is faded. The owner gave me the one he replaced and it too had the needles broken off. All the idiot lights work fine. Since the clusters on these older bikes look terrible anyway, I want to replace the whole thing with a simple speedo/odometer for a cleaner look. If I do that, what do I do with the attachment point where the Tach cable goes into the block? Any ideas? Also, does anyone know if taping off the indicator leads (lights and fuel gauge) will cause any issues? On another front, will replacing the air box and filter with individual air filters on the 4 carbs require any other changes? I'm getting back into riding and it's been awhile since I owned a bike and worked on it. Thanks all!