This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.
Messages - kent400
1
« on: September 14, 2025, 09:32:18 PM »
The 550K1 model originally was fitted with either Seiki or ND gauges. I have seen both types fitted. The Seiki and the ND gauges are compleately a different design internally. As you mention you can't put ND faces on a Seiki gauge.
It might be a plan to post an image of the gauges and many on here will be able to tell you what gauges you have.
2
« on: June 01, 2025, 07:11:53 PM »
You can find washers in stainless but they are 17mm as opposed 19mm original and they are called spacer washers so the don't quite cover the grommet. It is essential that the correct spacer tube and correct thick washer is used to prevent compressing the cushion too much. The gauges should be flexible in their mounting plates and if compressed too much it defeats the object of cushion which is to insulate the gauges from vibration.
As for the securing nuts, they are as you found difficult find and I found some in B&Q but the were zinc plated. I re-plated them in bright zinc and that did improve their appearance.
Going back on the thread being quoted £60 to re-plate a couple of bases is way over the top. I was getting them done for a fiver each, fair to say however I had prepared them so they could go straight in the tank. The drawback was the trip there and back to get them done so now I re-plate them. Those done yesterday are shown in the image.
As for band re-fitting a tool incorporating a skate board bearing in a drill press can make a quite tidy job on the underside using the support you have for the gauge. The underside isn't too much of an issue as it can't be seen.
3
« on: May 23, 2025, 04:53:59 PM »
I still have quite a few gauges here and that's unusual this time of the year but they all get sorted within a reasonable time frame
4
« on: May 22, 2025, 08:39:03 AM »
That's a 400F tacho.
5
« on: March 31, 2025, 04:52:03 PM »
A thought on that, a computer mouse mat and a wad punch. The foam ones are 5 mm thick and although my largest wad punch is 19 mm one that size might do the job or maybe you can source a larger one.
6
« on: November 19, 2024, 06:22:49 PM »
I suspect the speedo is one of the Seiki large type, no point in spraying WD or whatever in the bulb apertures the noise is coming from the drive spindle housing and you could try some light oil in the housing. Ideally the speedo needs to come apart, the mechanism ultrasonically cleaned and lubricated at both ends
7
« on: November 04, 2024, 09:03:56 PM »
JB weld is still in two tubes but there seems only a few who stock that now. However can be found 'online'
8
« on: August 09, 2024, 08:54:19 PM »
Speedometers fitted to the 400 Fours marked to 130mph were only sold in the USA, UK models were marked to 120mph no idea why there's a difference. Internally both types are the same. Replica ones are only suitable for the F1 model as the F2 has a km/h scale in green on the dial face.
A few owners have been unhappy with the CB750F replica gauges, internally those are similar to Seiki gauges and nothing like the the original ND ones. Those are only suitable for later models with a side trip reset rather than those that have the rear reset.
Only a few weeks ago a never fitted CB750F tacho appeared, Marked ND with a dial face screw that had fallen out and obviously the screw hasn't been tightened when the gauge was assembled. In fact it wasn't an ND the mechanism it was a Seiki type. Obviously a replica masquerading as a genuine ND. Something to watch out for.
As for the replica 400F ones it will be interesting to hear owners views as time goes by.
9
« on: July 29, 2024, 08:29:40 PM »
Both Nippon Seiki and ND gauges were fitted 550k1. It's very difficult to determine the original colour of the faces and it's only when a dial face screw is removed that the original colour is revealed. www.cb750faces.com supply new faces and those are shown on their website Maybe the replacement faces are not exactly the same colour as the original but at least gauges will both be the same.
10
« on: April 18, 2024, 10:19:54 PM »
The speedo has an F1 dial face rather than an F2 on it that has a km/h scale in green, the trip grommet is crumpled and the stainless steel gauge mounting plates should be secured with cap nut rather than plan nuts.
11
« 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 ]
12
« 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.
13
« 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
14
« 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
15
« 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.
|
Show Posts