Next Speedo Restoration...

[kb0nly]

Ok i know you guys have been waiting for me to get around to this... I now have the perfect candidate to take apart, document it, and repair it. I have the excellent replacement knobs and parts from jeswinehart and so here is where we begin.. The face on this one is actually pretty decent, a little sun fading but not too bad compared to the last one i did.

159307

159308

159309

159310

She's pretty beat up, but i got the stuff to fix her up. The grommet for the trip odometer reset shaft is there just pushed in, the knob is broken off but the shaft isn't that bent and i have replacements ready, so it should look good when its done! I will document it and take pictures along the way! It might take a day or two inbetween updates, but i will detail what i do on it.

[jeswinehart]

Oh wow, that is in rough shape ! Yep. looking forward to this alright.

[kb0nly]

Its rough but thankfully its just the front ring that is dinged up, the can is in good shape and the mechanics seem to work, i spun it up with a drill and a chunk of an old speedo cable that i cut the end off of, the cable was frayed and split in a few spots but it makes a good test adapter.

I will probably do some teardown later.

[userj8670]

Cant wait to see this. You should start tearing into the tach's for the 350x's as well. I have one that needs a new case (which i believe to be plastic), a grommet that goes in the back of the 'can' and the wiring harness (jumper wire that connects from the coil to the tach).

[kb0nly]

Teardown is complete....

First thing you need to do is get that front ring off. I like to start with a skinny screwdriver and pry on the rolled over edge to start it, once its started a larger screwdriver works better and just work your way around slowly.

159330 159331

Now that you got the ring off be careful with the needle.

159332

Now to get the needle off, it has to be removed to access the rest of the guts. I found the best tool for this was something from the junk bin, this is a computer case slot filler, for unused slots on the back of the computer case, it fits perfectly under the needle. Make sure its fully under the brass bushing of the needle then just pry on it slightly, making sure your using one of the face screws under it for leverage so you don't damage the face, it will pop off, and maybe even scare the heck out of you when it does, but it will pop off with some patience.

159333 159334

Now one thing with this particular unit, the knob was broken off and missing, so we won't be documenting the removal of the knob. However, the knob is pressed and glued onto the shaft, you will have to force it off as i have done before. Its a major pain. And now that jeswinehart is reproducing these knobs i would suggest you just try to get the knob off without damage to the shaft and dont worry about replacing the knob with a new one if you have to. On this one all i had to do was remove the grommet around the trip odometer shaft and what was left of the knob. The knob has to be completely removed because the grommet won't slide off otherwise.

159335

So here we are, knob, face, needle, grommet, all removed.

159336

Next step, removing the guts... I don't mess with the trip odometer reset shaft that the knob goes on, i just make it come out by creating some wiggle room. Remove the two screws from the back, then look at the trip reset shaft and you will see a small black plastic keeper on the frame where the shaft sits, take a small screwdriver and pop that piece off and make sure you don't lose it. Now you can move the shaft against the spring a little more til it clears the frame edge then slide it down a bit, see the pictures. Once its in that position it gives you enough movement to remove the guts from the case and slide it out.

159337 159338 159339 159340

The face on this one is pretty nice actually, only a little bit of fading, a light cleaning and it will look nice.

159341

I cleaned up the can, lightly sanded, prepped, and painted. Waiting for it to dry and i will get back to it and document more in the next day or so. The mechanism seems to be working fine, needs a little cleaning and some lubrication but otherwise its fine.

159342

[atc350xer]

Could we get those more common Canadian KM/H models and use the faces you're getting redone on them?

[kb0nly]

Sure you could, not sure if they would be calibrated correctly though.. I would think since they usually just put a dual face on most modern speedo's that it could be done, but not sure on accuracy.

This one i am just re-using the original face, it was nice enough it didnt need replacement.

[kb0nly]

Got a little more done today. Paint was dry, i reinstalled the guts into the can.

159366

Then i installed the grommet for the trip odometer reset and also the new knob. Thanks to the reproduction of these knobs you can work on them without fear of breaking an irreplaceable knob.

159367

Then i reinstalled the face, just two screws, then i carefully put the needle back on and set it on zero. Its a little fiddly, you have to push it on without turning the shaft and it turns easy, use a light touch and set it on the pin let it settle make sure its on zero then press it straight down with a little pressure on it, it won't pop or snap into place, just apply a little pressure and it will wedge it on tight.

159368

And thats where i am for now! Getting ready for the next step to close it back up, probably won't be today, maybe tomorrow evening.

[dustrunner]

great job... cant wait to see the finished product......

[userj8670]

looking outstanding!

[Stonewall]

Just curious, is there any particular reason you didn't reset the total mileage? Or is that not possible?

[kb0nly]

I could have taken the main counter apart and reset it, but this is what i call a "working restoration" making a beat up speedo useable again. I don't like to reset them to zero, thats, well, fake... I mean it adds to its experience. Now if your going to build like a museum quality rebuild and everything is new then i could see zero'ing the clock so to speak, but otherwise i don't feel its necessary.

That speedometer did over 1200 miles before needing repair, it will be fun to see it hit another 1200 miles!

[kb0nly]

Ok so here we go, spent another couple hours on it today and its looking nice! First thing i had to do was clean up a new piece of glass, the original had a chip and a small crack starting on one edge where it got dented. After cleaning up the new piece of glass and arranging the glass, rubber seal, and the trim ring together i put it on the front of the speedo. Then i use an aluminum rod with a little tape around it to try and help minimize scratches to the new paint on the can and a rubber mallet to tap the edge down a bit at a time.

159380 159381

There you have it! Repaired, cleaned, painted, and ready to be used. Final step is to just double check its operation which only took a second with a cordless drill and the adapter i made from an old cable. Spins right up, works great!

The original had a black ring, this one is a chrome ring that i got from jeswinehart, he straightened it after removing it from another speedo. The planned owner of this speedo wanted it to be left chrome and not painted, his choice, and so thats how it was done!

I also have some custom aluminum pieces that jeswinehart had made for reassembly of speedo's and tach's of this size as well. I will showcase them on an upcoming build! Here are some teaser pictures..

159382 159383 159384 159385

[userj8670]

how many hours would you say that you have into this speedo?

[kb0nly]

Oh... Three hours maybe of actual work time. This one wasn't bad, the guts just needed a light cleaning and a little grease on the factory spots so everything runs smoothly, i have had worse that required a full teardown of the guts to clean, polish, grease, all the moving parts. They become a real pain if you have to go that far.

Now if it was going for more of a show restore i would have pulled it apart further, replaced or cleaned the sun faded white number dials and did a little more polishing and buffing, etc.. LOL

[jeswinehart]

Kb, I did dig that roller out and tried the idea I had about using it to roll the edge of crimp ring.
Pictured is a before shot of a speedo I "hand" crimped then I run it thru the rollers tightening down a little with each pass and it definitely made a much better crimp.
It even took out much of the waviness from undoing the crimp to remove the ring.
I am sure I did not roll this ring flat before re-installing so it had the pry type of crinkles in it when I "hand" crimped back in place.
So, yeah,,, using something of this nature to smooth out ring after removal (like one I sent that was run thru this machine) and careful manipulation (and a helper to crank device) it will IMO do a very fine ,, near factory job.
And like I suspected a coating of rubber on the rollers for canister/ring protection would be the correct thing to do.
Also for grins + giggles a picture of the face plate on this speedo. It is a KPH speedo with a dial I had hand painted by local artist. odometer portion still clicked of KPS but the speed part was quite accurate when dive buddy Amy used it and we rode side beside on our Bigreds and could do a comparison of speeds.
I have long since upgraded her trike to a true MPH unit.
*yes, my picture detail stinks!*

159404159405159406159407

[kb0nly]

Nice! I know someone with one of those rollers i might play around with the dinged up ring i just removed, what better to play with and learn on then one thats already pretty trashed.

The KPH dial is a lot different spacing wise then the MPH dial, first one i have seen actually!

[jeswinehart]

yeah if they have the whole kit then there are several sets of the roller dies. Each do a little something different but basically for what I just used it for (the "crimping") then end is all that is needed. I took the 2 bolts that hold the dies in place and relied on the set screw in each one to hold in place.
You get it figured out as to what you may need rubber coated (if your guy will let you of course) and I would be delighted to "encapsulate" them for you just.
Nice work Kb ! Defintly a unique + interesting posting. Looking forward to seeing more of your work.

[Lil Earl]

that is some very nice work. i would have never imagined how nice it could look

[kb0nly]

that is some very nice work. i would have never imagined how nice it could look

Well credit to you for making it available to me! I fixed it up and found a nice mounting bracket and the drive gear for it, its going to be a Christmas present for a fellow triker, i sold it to his dad for what i bought it for, no profit, just passing it on fixed. Its going on a 200 that is being fixed up just in time for Christmas. Hoping i can get over and get some pictures of the final project once its done and ready for reveal.

[weidjd]

Do you ever sell these?

[kb0nly]

Sometimes... I don't always get one to sell. Most of the time i get one to work on it from the owner and it goes back to them. This is the rare case where i have been looking around to buy one and found this one, but i already had someone on a waiting list to get it from me... LOL

They are not easy to come by.

[redsox]

Lazarus thread. Sorry. Anyone selling these crimp rings? Chrome or otherwise? Swinehart??

[jeswinehart]

Nope. I did make dies for the inner "defuser" as I call the inner part below the glass.
Not for honda speedo's or tach but for my tachs I was making some years back. Same thing just different size.
It would not be hard to turn large round stock into dies to press new crimp bezles. I have no interest to make by the way

[350Kris]

Super old thread... Do you guys know where I can buy the repro trip reset knob? Mine is broken off.

Going to do the repair that's described here. Great work!

[kb0nly]

I sent replies to your PM's...

Sadly jeswinehart the man behind the mastery of reproduction of these knobs is no longer with us...

[350Kris]

Just got your PM. So so sorry to hear about jeswinehart :( I lost both my parents to that awful disease.