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Messages - kent400

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1
Misc / Open / Do Honda Destroy Redundant Stock?
« on: February 20, 2024, 09:48:36 PM »
[ Guests cannot view attachments ] Well it certainly appears that they do looking at these four speedometers.

They are never fitted CB360P ones that have a whack right in the centre of the glass that's bent the needles. On further investigation the 'whack' was pushed the needle pin into the mechanism. The owner's original instructions were to fit new glasses and straighten the needles, maybe it wasn't noticed that the needles were touching the dial faces and on one of them the distance counter was partly obscured by the face.

Dismantling gauges with broken glasses is a pain in the arse and managing to do that with some loss of blood is a challenge. Dyson on duty but there's usually tiny shard with my name on it!

These speedometers are nothing like I've seen before, must have cost Nippon Seiki a fortune to tool up to manufacture these and I understand there were on a couple of thousand produced.

Will I get any of these to function is unclear at the moment, a challenge for sure and I'll update on progress. [ Guests cannot view attachments ]        

2
Misc / Open / Re: What price loyalty CB750 Faces
« on: December 10, 2023, 11:51:20 AM »
I had a phone call from Marcel a month or so ago to advise that he would no longer be restoring gauges but would continue to supply gauge parts. The main purpose of his call was to ask it he could refer restoration enquires to me. I declined his offer politely as in truth I get quite enough and sometimes more than enough. He also revealed that he still had 70 gauges waiting to be restored.

Marcel is pursuing another business opportunity, something to do with solar energy storage

The metal CB750F gauge bodies are available as singles but i suppose suppling just one KO body is unusual as usually  both gauge bodies are split and I've never replaced just one or indeed never asked to replace just one body.  The same applies to the faces, the chances of one replacement face matching the same colour as the original is remote.  I recently had a pair of NOS gauges and the colour of the two faces was slightly different so the owner wanted both faces replaced so the colour of both was the same. The best guess on the reason of the colour variation is that they were printed at different times.

It does seem that a result of Marcel pursuing another opportunity that the usually fast dispatch of parts has slipped somewhat and that with postal delays does mean that I can't get gauges done as quickly as I would like. At the moment there's three pairs here waiting for faces. 

   

3
CB350/400 / Re: Meter Crimp rings and Glass available from CMSNL
« on: December 01, 2023, 08:46:28 PM »
It would be a good plan to crimp the bands otherwise the bodies won't be secured to the bases

4
CB350/400 / Re: Meter Crimp rings and Glass available from CMSNL
« on: November 30, 2023, 06:16:40 PM »
Those meter bands are aluminium and so are the ones supplied for ND CB750 Four gauges. Far better to carefully remove the original and refit it, A problem arises of course if the band has previously removed and made a total mess of the removal /re-fitting process 

5
Anorak's Corner / Re: Gatepost Plating kits
« on: October 15, 2023, 03:03:51 PM »
All good advice here on the subject of zinc plating. I've been doing that for quite a few years and usually parts larger than a couple of bolts. My method my differ from that used by others and frequently the parts are quite rusty.

Firstly the parts go in a vinegar pot, takes a few days to remove the rust and then on a rotary wire brush. Then in brick acid to remove any old zinc plating that remains, a rinse and then a polish with wire wool.

Electrolyte heat heated to 30c using a fish tank heater  while that heating up the part goes in caustic soda, rinse and into the brick cleaner. Another rinse and into the electrolyte

The anodes are in sleeves which prevents tiny pieces on zinc floating around the tank and the item being plated is moved around the tank. Once plated they are passivated.

This little lot took all morning to plate having previously ben cleaned and then the electrolyte gets filtered though two coffee filters ready for reuse.



6
CB350/400 / Re: Gauge face screws
« on: July 25, 2023, 10:15:50 PM »
Only just seen you post and if what you get isn't suitable I have some original ones

7
Well I've seen a lot worse than those! Looks like there's no damage to the bodies around the rim. If you want to go the DIY route I should be able to find a face that could have a face overlay applied to it although the best option is new gauge faces. The quality of some vinyl overlays is questionable.

A couple of images, one with a warped face and another where a spider had taken up residence inside the gauge.

8
The replica gauges are best avoided. They are basically a copy of a Nippon Seiki mechanism and none of the parts are interchangeable with an ND gauges. I've been 'gifted' several of them where the owner has subsequently found genuine ND gauges and found the replica ones wildly inaccurate. Gifted on the idea that I could use them for parts but there's no chance of that!

One request from an owner of replica gauges to fit faces which have ND one them but the screw holes on ND faces don't line up with the securing screws on the replica ones.

In view of the fact it's possible to obtain parts for F2 gauges restoration is a better plan. Early ones with the angle drive mechanism (KO & K1) often suffer wear in the plastic gear within the angle drive mechanism and the steel gears that drive the mileage counters.

A warped dial face can sometimes be flattened by warming with a hot air gun and once warmed pushed on a flat surface Only done that once for a very well known Honda parts supplier on a machine he sold.       

9
CB350/400 / Re: speedo trip rewind knob
« on: July 01, 2022, 06:40:06 PM »
Interested to see the image taken from the guide I wrote many years ago on the subject of dismantling a 400F speedo. It's not necessary to remove the knob, remove the band and remove the 'C' clip and then the trip drum can remain in the body as mechanism attached to the base is lifted clean. The trip knob will now pass though the hole in the body and can be lifted out.  As previously mentioned the trip shaft needs to separated trip counter shaft in the manner described, a gas lighter is ideal for the purpose although this does require great care. Might unscrew easily but may need repeated heating before it will unscrew. What you won't want to do is to break the thread on the counter shaft.

Originally the speedo was assembled and the trip shaft was screwed in ( with tread lock added ) as the final assembly operation. 

Missing or broken knobs and if not too bothered by having an original some tube caps are very similar or a small radio knob that usually have a grub screw to secure it.

Original is on the right, tube cap and a radio knob on the left 
 


10
CB350/400 / Re: Speedo trip reset shaft thread size?
« on: May 27, 2022, 09:32:21 PM »
They are 3mm left hand thread

11
Desperately Seeking!! / Re: CB750 K1 Speedo Mechanism
« on: May 17, 2022, 05:15:46 PM »
Thanks. The K0 and K1 has angle drive secured by three screws on the base. The internal mechanisms are a completely  different design and gauge drive spindle has a spiral gear.

12
Desperately Seeking!! / CB750 K1 Speedo Mechanism
« on: May 17, 2022, 08:50:40 AM »
I have a K1 speedo that is very badly corroded (see images) and the mechanism is beyond all help. It's the type with the angle drive on the back. The body, inner body and the base I can restore. The angle drive is fine.

The gauge has clearly has a quantity of water in it for quite a long period of time. The glass is intact so it must have been left outside face down outside or maybe fished out of a river. There's a rusty tide mark on the glass.

The bike is a USA import purchased from DK, the tacho is not in the same condition and so it seems the speedo was fitted just to make a complete bike here or in the USA.

The owner of the bike isn't a forum member, should be and needs to be!

13
Recommended Sources for Parts and Services / Re: Honda color coded wires?
« on: January 09, 2022, 10:42:36 AM »
Further to Steve's post Honda AL is Alan Lowe his email is alan@alanlowe.co.uk

He makes wiring looms for quite a large range of bikes and gauge wiring looms for ND gauges. Often the rubber covering of the bulb holders are stuck in the gauge bulb apertures and disintegrate upon removal. The rubber covers are available from David Silver but at about £7 a piece plus the VAT and post.

A problem may also exist is that the bulb holders are corroded. Alan's ND looms come with new bulb holders and the wiring so a better option than just replacing the rubber covers. Saves the trouble of unsoldering/soldering the bulb holder to fit new rubber covers.

Good quality and Alan is a very pleasant to deal with.

Just to clarify these gauge looms are for all CB750 fours, CB550 and CB500 fours that have ND gauges fitted. Kawasaki Z650, 900 & Suzuki GT750 also had ND gauges.

 

   

14
CB500/550 / Re: Whine from Speedo or Rev counter
« on: January 04, 2022, 07:11:06 PM »
Your gauges are now in the care of Royal Mail Phil and they went off this morning at 9.14.

Hopefully you will see them before the weekend but I do know there are delivery problems in some parts due to staff sickness and the volume of parcels in the system.

15
CB350/400 / Re: Various queries - help please!
« on: October 18, 2021, 08:10:55 AM »
It's possible you have a CB350 Four speedometer fitted and that's easy to identify. Attached an image the both, one on the left the 400 Four one and on the right is 350 Four. In fact you don't need to remove the speedo to check, the trip knobs are different and the the 350 one is secured by a tiny screw while the 400 type and pressed on.

It's more likely to be a speedo from a CB250 or a CJ and that on the underside looks the same. However as both the CB350 four and the CB250 share the same front wheel size as the 400f it should be accurate. Best to use the term accurate loosely as most read 10% fast.

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