Speedometer

[florence]

My speedo has stopped working, it won't register above 50mph.  Does anyone know if other honda clocks have the right ratio to work on cb500/4?  It's just that if I find one from say a 750 or 500t or 550 etc then it would do to tide me over.  I've resorted to a km/h speedo for the time being but it's not ideal.

[matthewmosse]

superdream ones are perfect if you can carefully prise the chrome ring holding the casing together off the cb500 clocks and slot the superdream clock in place of the old unit. Reads as accurately as the original did. You keep your patinated clock casing as only the insides are changed. might even be able to swap the faces?

[Bryanj]

450 is identical but no trip knob all the others are the bigger clocks, for 550 clocks which will fit look on ebay.com instead of .co.uk BUT USPS recently dropped surface postage so everything goes airmail and costs more

[florence]

Thanks for that, they seem to be getting harder to find.

[Bryanj]

I know DS found a few new ones about 4-5 years ago but they probably all gone, i know i have a box of "assorted" ones but loath to get rid of any due to shed full of projects, given time and pressure from the bank i might part with a set of large gauges as on 550

[florence]

That's kind of you but I prefer the smaller ones.  I am sure one will turn up at some point.  Maybe if anyone has swapped their faded and tatty one for a nice shiny new one and has the old one gathering cobwebs in their workshop??  The tattier the better as long as working.  (bear with me, I'm odd)
Of course what would be best of all is if it were attached to a pre 1973 frame with a tatty but serviceable original petrol tank.  I would then have my ideal bike, fully functional but also fully showing its years.  I can but dream....... There is a really original bike out there somewhere.

[matthewmosse]

Hmmm, not that odd, my cb500 has the bare metal showing from many miles covered with the riders knees rubbing the rear of the fuel tank and the still original paint has the texture of leather, sadly its a '74 plate but that patina of care and use is priceless, I've got a '72 500/4 thats unrestored but the paints falling off and some restoring might be inevitable to get her on the road, but it will be minimal. I like an unmolested machine

[florence]

hooray, a kindred spirit maybe.  I don't like my bikes to be shiny, mine just gets rubbed over with an oily rag and the rust seems to stay pretty static.  If I put anything new on my bike it stands out too much.  I had to paint the tank unfortunately because the previous owner had done a grim job with a spray can.  It will probably take about twenty years to settle down from that.  Never mind, I shall maybe find a suitable tank one day.

[matthewmosse]

I get a lot of folks saying that the bike looks really nice and original, then asking when I'm restoring it I'm not gonna resore a bike, maybe rebuild with new grease etc but a few scrapes here and there add charachter and I'd not ride a restored bike for fear of damaging it.

[SteveD CB500K0]

I eventually sold my mint K3 for that very reason.  10k miles and all shiney.

I couldn't bear riding it just in case it rained!

[Dave M]

My 550F2 is unrestored too.

The tank has been painted at some time and the previous owner(s) painted the engine, forks and everything that didn't move black.

I've stripped most of that off so the bike looks reasonable. I've replaced the exhaust system and the rear shocks for non OEM items but other than that it's still original, including the 17k miles on the clock.

My bike looks and rides OK and I'll ride it anytime rain or shine and not worry about it.

It's for riding, not sitting in the garage being polished and if we move to NZ it's coming with me.

[florence]

It's really nice to hear that people are using their machines too.  My 500 is my regular machine and now I don't feel bad about leaving it out in all weathers, caked in mud.  I have always been of the opinion that restoring bikes ruins them and if a modification improves the way it works then all well and good.  I have a  1920's bike in the shed with no engine (lost in the mists of time somewhere).  I am very tempted to put a modern engine in it to get it going and annoy the purists.

[kent400]

The post started off as a question about speedometers and has diversified slightly! The speedometer in question still works up to 50mph so the chances are that somthing has become jammed between the internal magnet Quite often the bases corrode inside and a flake of rust is attracted to the magnet. It needs to come apart to resolve the problem.

If anyone needs details of how to get one apart without damage I have details in PDF format with many images that I can email on request.

The original 500f speedo has a straight drive, a tiny screw securing the trip knob and provision for only one bulb.

[florence]

Thank you, If I can repair the old one that would be really good.  I noticed also that the odometer stopped turning.  If you can let me have the pdf that would be excellent.

[florence]

Thank you to Kent400 who has put together an excellent document detailing speedo restoration.