Topic: how to turn the odometer to zero?

[mazingerzeca]

Nothing illegal about it. I've just rebuilt my engine and would like the odometer to show 000000 again.

[scunny]

ride backwards for 40000 k's

[BobbyR]

Once you open the case it is really easy, the hard part is getting the case open without messing it up. There are threads that show you how to open the case without too much damage.

[nokrome]

Once you open the case it is really easy, the hard part is getting the case open without messing it up. There are threads that show you how to open the case without too much damage.

once you have the case open what do you do ?

[Retro Rocket]

Connect the speedo cable to a drill and run it in reverse, use tape to keep the trigger on.

Mick

[Frankenkit]

Conversely, if you're one of those guys who trailers his bike to Sturgis, Daytona, etc, you can do the reverse and put miles on your paperweight bike.

[cb350twin]

Conversely, if you're one of those guys who trailers his bike to Sturgis, Daytona, etc, you can do the reverse and put miles on your paperweight bike.

 

Not really, think of the steering that would be bad!

[mick750F]

Conversely, if you're one of those guys who trailers his bike to Sturgis, Daytona, etc, you can do the reverse and put miles on your paperweight bike.

   Well cha...how else did I get 10K miles on my Lazy Boy/Barcalounger?

Mike

[CB750Ken8]

Get a spare cable and connect to a drill, pull trig and wait for it to roll over.

[cookindaddy]

About turning it backwards - the speedo needle will be pushing against the 0 peg. It won't damage it to be doing this? How fast do you go with the drill? I don't know what the mechanism is like since I haven't taken one apart yet. Is it a magnetic cup pushing against a spring?

[Bodi]

Find a new speedometer?
I don't understand about the illegal part - it's not illegal to replace a speedo, just illegal to fraudulently represent the resulting vehicle as having low mileage to a prospective buyer. Regardless, the mileage is on the vehicle not any component. Should I zero the mileage on my car when I replace the tires? Despite your honesty the bike will have a false mileage and future owners may not be as scrupulous.
The instruments are not designed to be opened but like most such things you can do it. The sealing ring will never look right again afterwards. Once the case is open you can disassemble the odometer number reel assembly and set it to any number you like but it unless you're a watchmaker it is a bit of a challenge. It wasn't made to be disassembled either but there's no anti-tamper mechanism like (so I've heard...) many car speedos have.
On balance I suggest marking the rebuild mileage somewhere and not resetting the odometer.

[Johnie]

I swapped a better speedo with my K1 and it actually had like 10,000 more miles on it. I had the unit all apart and could not see how to set it back to match the speedo miles that I took off. It looked pretty complicated in there and I did not want to mess it up. I left it as is.

[tweakin]

This is real easy once the speedo is apart like above.  There is a small c-clip on the side of the number rolls (I believe on the left side).  Carefully remove this clip with some small needle nose pliars.  This allows you to move each number roll to the side and free it off its guide.  Now you can move each off the 6 rolls back to zero.  next slide each one back to its original location and then re install the c-clip.  Done.  speedo odometer reads zero.

[Johnie]

Geez...that sounds not bad at all. I will keep that in printed form for later...

[Stev-o]

This is real easy once the speedo is apart like above.  There is a small c-clip on the side of the number rolls (I believe on the left side).  Carefully remove this clip with some small needle nose pliars.  This allows you to move each number roll to the side and free it off its guide.  know you can move each off the 6 rolls back to zero.  next slide each one back to its original location and then re install the c-clip.  Done.  speedo odometer reads zero.

Clean lookin' faces!

[cookindaddy]

Very nice gage faces meriggi!
Can you tell us how these were done?

[Stev-o]

Very nice gage faces meriggi!
Can you tell us how these were done?

Not mine!  Tweakin??

[Quorthon]

Find a new speedometer?
I don't understand about the illegal part - it's not illegal to replace a speedo, just illegal to fraudulently represent the resulting vehicle as having low mileage to a prospective buyer. Regardless, the mileage is on the vehicle not any component. Should I zero the mileage on my car when I replace the tires? Despite your honesty the bike will have a false mileage and future owners may not be as scrupulous.
The instruments are not designed to be opened but like most such things you can do it. The sealing ring will never look right again afterwards. Once the case is open you can disassemble the odometer number reel assembly and set it to any number you like but it unless you're a watchmaker it is a bit of a challenge. It wasn't made to be disassembled either but there's no anti-tamper mechanism like (so I've heard...) many car speedos have.
On balance I suggest marking the rebuild mileage somewhere and not resetting the odometer.

I agree with this.  I hate it when people list vehicles as "Low mileage!!!!"  When they rebuilt the motor but the vehicle has a million miles on it.


Leave the odo alone and say what real mileage it has, and xxxxx since the rebuild.

[mazingerzeca]

As I stated, nothing illegal about it. I've never sold a bike and I'm not thinking on selling it at a low mileage. I have some other speedometers, with different mileages. In fact, the one I'm using is not from this bike, and does not show the bike's real mileage, which in fact I don't know exactly. I just want to show it 0000 for practical reasons, such is mileage for oil changes, filters, tyres and so on. Yes, of course I can add these miles (or Km, in my case, to the ones that the speedo shows). The bike has been rebuilt with parts from different bikes, and obviously, I'm not thinking in terms of sandcast or pretending that the bike comes from a 1970 crate with 0000 miles on it.
When I said that I'm not trying to make something illegal I referred to the people that sells bikes or cars showing a mileage that the vehicle doesn't have, or the manipulation of the odometer to obtain a cheaper insurance based on a low mileage per year.

[Bowswell]

http://www.salocal.com/sohc/tech/speedo/spedo1.htm

[markb]

I have no problem with resetting the odometer to 0 on a bike that's 30 to 40 years old after its been restored.  I'm not going to believe the odometer anyway on one that old and the mileage is not required on the title either.
Mark

[Retro Rocket]

I have no problem with resetting the odometer to 0 on a bike that's 30 to 40 years old after its been restored.  I'm not going to believe the odometer anyway on one that old and the mileage is not required on the title either.
Mark

+1  Probably not the original gauge anyway.

Mick