Tach Speedo Bezel

[pamcopete]

Here's the sequence:


Pimento Jar Lid (upside down):




Prop the Speedo on top of the lid, face down. Check for exactly .31 in from the edge of the bezel to the work surface:



"Drape" the tubing around the speedo:



Apply heat carefully and evenly around the circumference of the speedo. If you don't have a heat gun, use a hair dryer on high. If you don't have a hair dryer, get a girl friend, she's got one.

The tubing will "curl" around both edges of the bezel.

Ignore that glass of wine in the background... ..it's not part of the process...neither is the mug with the "Golden" on it...that's just her dog food measuring cup.... ..the Tums are there for all the stress that the dog and drinking create.


Here is the final product:

[tarchin]

Performed Pete's magic yesterday, but had some trouble getting the material to form properly around the front of bezel. I find that .31 inches is 7.8something mm...and all the caps I had were close to that but not exact.
To the best of my ability, I had 8mm clearance, but the hairdryer wouldn't do the trick around the glass side so I had to hold the damn thing over the stove and press the edges down to get a better seal. Fortunately, I had an extra tach to work with, since the first time I held it over the stove, it melted the inner 'green plastic ring' that diffuses the light around the face of gauge. Idiot.

One turned out better than the other, but both look great. I just hope the seal will be adequate...around the back is very snug. Thanks again Pete, for yet another brilliant idea for these bikes.

[pamcopete]

tarchin

Thanks for the post. I guess the lesson is that you have to use a heat gun for best results.

[stevesemti]

I am pretty excited to finally get a chance to do this. The speedo on my Scrap Heap lost both screws, stealing those and the glass from a tach I have. Took me awhile to find the tubing, couldn't find it locally (Portland, ME) but did find it online. One foot of the 4" for $11.09 shipped.

Thanks Pete!

Steve

[pamcopete]

stevesemti

You're welcome, steve.....do you have a picture of the finished product? Who was the source for the tubing? I think it is also available in colors...that would be cool!

[stevesemti]

Actually just placed the order for the tubing yesterday, but was pretty excited about it ;D I got that price from cableorganizer.com. They only had black and clear available in that product, though they did have multi-colors available in similar products. I did see the other place that charged $15 shipping, and elected not to pay $21.75. I will certainly post results/pics once I have actually done it up!

[stevesemti]

Hello Gents,
I am quite happy with cableorganizer.com, as I placed my order online Tuesday morning, and it was in my mailbox Thursday! Sweet!

I took the glass and bezel from a donor tach (hurt to do it, but I need the speedo...anyone need a perfectly good glassless tach? lol) and also the tiny little screws that my speedo was missing. I put the new screws in (threadlocker of course! Only want to do this once) and got my jar cover setup and gave it a try.

Picture one is what I started with. The glass broke a while ago, and the screws vibrated out as well. Picture two is ready to apply some heat. Picture three is the edge view. As you may be able to tell, the heatshrink did not really curl down to the glass very well. I did stop halfway through and try to adjust the placement because it was a little off, so that may be the cause, but I'm wondering if you guys took the rim around the glass off. It seems like I might get a better curl if the heatshrink is right on the glass...
Picture four shows the rim on the glass I am talking about, it is a black rubber-like seal. Any help is appreciated!

Steve

[stevesemti]

I was a little scared that having the lip caused by the heatshrink would be a great place for rain to gather. So I took the rubbery gasket ring around the glass and turned it around so that instead of a ridge, it was much flatter. I then used a smaller cover (from the turtles' mealworm snack supply ;D ) and tried again. It's not bad, and with a couple of tries I could probably get the edge of the heatshrink and the rubbery gasket perfectly aligned, but I don't want to waste all that heatshrink! I think this'll do for now

[jksott]

Here's a question:

I have a '74 TX650A, with original metal cased speedo. My screws are coming loose (been told that many times!) that holds the dail face on. How are you guys removing the chrome ring that holds the glass on, dremal tool with cutoff wheel? And has anyone done this to an older style speedo & tach? All the ones I see here are the newer plastic casted units.

JK

[srust58]

I have the same problem on my recently acquired 75. One of the screws has come loose in the speedo. Can these be taken apart without having to cut the metal ring?

[56steve]

The Tach on my new to me with 2200 miles on it, face plate is lose, so what is the best way to remove the ring?

[pamcopete]

56steve,

Hack saw the ring in two opposite places.

[56steve]

I got it off with my dremel.

[wideload]

I need to press the tach needle that fell off back on it's shaft - I assume it is just a press fit. But my real question goes out to the folks who cut off their bezel. Once you had it cut off, and could inspect the ring, would you try another method of removal next time? How is the darn thing fastened to begin with?

wideload

[srust58]

I found another way. No need to cut the ring or use heat shrink. Go to Home Depot, a hardware store, whatever and get one of those metal keys that are used to open paint cans. It is perfectly sized and shaped to use as a small pry bar and lift up the crimped down part of the ring. On the first pass around the ring I just lifted it part way as to not stress the metal too much. Make another pass or two to lift it further and much joy ensues. I can put that loose screw back in place. Use a large flat blade screwdriver to bend the ring back down. I did file the end of the opener to a bit sharper wedge to get it inserted the first time. I used this technique on the gauges from the 75 don't know if it would work on every vintage.