Topic: Odometer Tenths - What Color - Gauge Restoration

[jakec]

I am restoring the gauges on my 400F. The tenths number wheel is an off-white yellowish color. Most photos you see online are the same color. However sometimes you see an image like this below where they look white. I know on my CL350 they are very much white, but the gaauge faces are black so maybe just a style choice and not the standard for all meters.

If it's meant to be white, how would you go about cleaning it up?

[jlh3rd]

they come new white. Age makes the yellowing. I don't think it can be whitened, you'd mess up the numbers,
 I can't remember where, but i know i saw someone that made/makes an overlay to go over the wheel. .

[jakec]

Ah, I wonder where you can get that? I got my gauge parts from cb750 faces. They don't have any such item for sale.

[jlh3rd]

sorry....i just spent the last 40 min. searching. They may not exist anymore. These are for chevy's, that's what i was talking about and i know they existed for bikes years ago....

[jlh3rd]

......found some...

[jakec]

Thanks, I tried searching but not ebay. Here is the link for anyone interested. Does anyone know if the tumbler is the same size for the 400 and the 750 (they are listed for 750)?

As long as your mileage wheels measure as follows, then these decals will fit your speedometer:

Main mileage wheel: 19.3 mm in diameter, 5 mm in width
Trip mileage wheel: 19.3 mm in diameter, 6 mm in width

Looks dope to me. I will probably order asap, if anyone can confirm fit.

[jakec]

Sorry, should have provided link.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/HONDA-CBX1000-CB750-CB900-CB1100-SPEEDOMETER-19-3MM-MILEAGE-TUMBLER-WHEEL-DECALS/183775658099

[jakec]

I got the decals. They sent an extra set for free. One was not as "white" as the other so I used the brighter one.



The zero overlaps the beginning of the sticker which is blank. You can see the lap, it's unavoidable.



However with the face on it's not as noticeable. I used an old tach cable and a drill to rotate the odometer to apply the sticker. The trip meter was easier as you can turn it with the knob.



only concern now is that the end of the trip mileage sticker started to come up on it's own about 10 minutes after application. So I'm going to wait a while before closing the gauge up to make sure it doesn't happen again. I am also waiting on orange paint for the needle tips.

[mattsz]

only concern now is that the end of the trip mileage sticker started to come up on it's own about 10 minutes after application. So I'm going to wait a while before closing the gauge up to make sure it doesn't happen again.

I was wondering how long the adhesive of the stickers would be expected to last, especially after some time under glass in the sun.  I admit I wasn't expecting the answer to be "10 minutes"...

[jlh3rd]

yep...something like this for the first time with no suggestions from from anyone who has done it first can be a learning experience..
     So, I know things don't like to stick if surfaces aren't clean. I use alcohol a lot as it leaves no residue and dries quick. It's possible the end of the overlap had skin oil from your fingers. You could lift that end....use tweezers, not your fingers....reclean the end that was overlapped, not the end that overlaps,  with a cotton swab or something similar using alcohol...don't soak it...I hoped you cleaned the wheel or at least keep your fingers off....
     What color is that wheel? is it white?....curious...Also, maybe you could use a razor blade and trim the excess close to the end .....or overlap lightly, cut through both ends, lift and remove the excess and then press the end down.   the gap may not be noticeable....or.....a tiny amount of white paint pressed into the gap.....
      Just suggestions...that may or may not work..the problem is you get just one shot....and then you have to order again...

[jakec]

Well the mileage sticker is doing fine. the trip sticker keeps coming up though. So it's entirely possible that it was user error. I cleaned the wheels first. I would have pressed the first pert of the sticker down with my thumb, now the lapped part is having trouble sticking there. I'm waiting now to see if it comes up again, and if so I will clean the area underneath.

as for application and cutting the sticker, I'm sure it would look better without the lap but that would take a really really precise application, since if you had any angles along the wheel, it would not be long enough in the end and you would have a gap.

[jlh3rd]

the one method i'm talking about concerning one way to cut is to overlap the ends. Then you cut through both ends at the same time, as one end is under the other. You then lift the one end, pull off the cut piece that was under that, and pull off the cut piece from the end that was on top....then press down the lifted cut end which, in a perfect world, should match up to the other end.......or at least be a tiny gap........kinda hard to describe in a text...

[jlh3rd]

but you may not have enough left to do that...

[jakec]

Here is what I did. Tiny dab of superglue.

[jlh3rd]

+1

[jakec]

I added a drop of glue to the mileage counter as well, which came up after 3 days. So if you plan to use these decals, I would wait a few days to be sure they aren't going to peel up. And if they do, a small dab of superglue can fix it.

I also got my orange testor's paint last night and painted the needles. Hopefully the paint on the needles doesn't fade faster than the redline.

I also used new crimp rings from the 750faces. They are nice but WAY softer metal than the stock ones. They go on in about 5 minutes. However they're so soft that I messed up my first one. Luckily they sent spares. Not sure if that was on purpose. Anyways, here's a couple photos.

[mattsz]

Looks really good!  Have you lined up a trip reset knob yet?

[jakec]

Thank you! I'm still waiting for another member to hopefully find his spares.