Speedo rebuild

[bobdo]

I have a couple questions regarding my '47 speedometer.
It's disassembled & needs recalibrated, a couple parts, & housing replated. I want to keep
the patina of the face & odometer.
Can someone make a recommendation for this service?
What problems, if any, can I expect from having the odometer set to zero? My title states,
"The mileage registered on this vehicle at the time the previous title was assigned was ___
__EXEMPT___.
I appreciate the help.

[Chris Haynes]

You can do it. Don't worry about DMV. You arent trying to mislead anyone on the mileage of the bike to sell it. But! If you put this original patina speedometer in a restored bike you will get hit in judging. A restored bike must be completely restored.
John Borda's Speedometer Shop in Wheat Ridge, CO gets rave reviews on his speedometer work. 303 420 4510

[bobdo]

Thanks Chris for the quick info.
I'll give them a call. I'm not quite ready yet to proceed, but its always good to make contact.
Also, thanks for the judging concern. This is in all likelihood the only bike I'll have judged & I
realized awhile back that I want to build it slightly different than factory correct. I will have it
judged in the Period Modified category due to a two tone paint job & some finish differences.
I appreciate the speedo recommendation.
Bob

[rbenash]

Chris - for reference what's your guess at the point hit with the original patina face, etc? Had mine rebuilt a long time ago. No new needle face or numbers. Not going to change it either. I like the look. Very subtle.

[kval]

Ray
the point hit would be minor, don't worry about it

[rbenash]

Ray
the point hit would be minor, don't worry about it

Thats nice to hear. I am doing a restoration but there are things that I won't be redoing that's one of them. I like the patina look. Only reason I'm painting the original sheet metal is because of all of the striping the third owner did. I think it detracts, don't like it - over done. I'm restoring to get the bike back to original, but plan to run it. Not overly concerned with judging success as much as getting things "correct" for a '65 as best as possible. I will have it judged though at the Boyertown meet just to see how it falls out, and get some pointers, etc.

[bobdo]

That's good to hear Kevin.
I feel the same way as Ray, judging for me is secondary.
But, I have to say, I'm a little surprised that there is a deduction. I realize judging would be difficult dealing with a cut off point in condition. But, as a club we encourage not restoring bikes in decent condition. I would think the same would hold true for parts. As an example, my speedometer face is not new looking, but there really isn't anything wrong with it. I couldn't bring myself to replace it with a reproduction. Or if it was some other part, replating or painting it. I can also understand wanting to have a consistent overall look. (Especially if I had to be a judge.) Hopefully, there aren't a lot of parts being reconditioned needlessly.
Maybe I've been staring at parts too long & need to get my bike completed.
Keep up the good work Kevin.
Bob

[rbenash]

Riding the bike is primary for me. For me the judging is a way to check my accuracy for a 65 pan because they are really tough bikes to keep correct. Not that concerned about the trivial deductions that are based on whether it is supposed to all look new, etc because it's considered a restoration. I am concerned about deductions that say the bike is not accurate for a 65.

BTW - I had my speedo rebuilt by Palo Alto Speedo about 6 years ago or so. Works great, very happy with the work.

[Eric MATHIEU]

Restoring a speedometer that works and has patina is a crime in my opinion. I hate restored speedos and "restored" leather. If it's original, in working condition and with patina either leave it alone and forget about the points or buy another speedo to restore.
Eric

[rbenash]

Restoring a speedometer that works and has patina is a crime in my opinion. I hate restored speedos and "restored" leather. If it's original, in working condition and with patina either leave it alone and forget about the points or buy another speedo to restore.
Eric

Couldn't agree more. This is a whole other topic. If you have a good example that you want to run but need to do a full tear down on, you have options available that lend the project to be labeled "restoration". I loosely call my '65 project a "restoration" for lack of a better term. It's really a refurbish in nature/intent. Want to keep original parts, remove those that are "updates" from previous owner and bring back to original. I will have the bike all the way down, so heck I'm going to repaint the frame. I have sheet metal that has original paint (Hi Fi Blue) but is heavily pinstriped. while I figure out how to remove that without damaging the original paint I'm going to replace with repainted original sheet metal. So if I do want it judged I'm sure it will be called a restoration and I will get dings. But don't really care. I'm more interested in having it judged to get second opinions about what is incorrect that I may have missed given the difficultly of that model year. I could go on with other examples and decisions I'll be making, but that get's way of topic for this post.

[bobdo]

Your right, this is a whole other topic, but I think a good one.
I agree with you guys. My bike, including the speedo, is made up of parts from many
places over many years. It is a swap meet bike. I continually keep upgrading parts due to condition. I feel a lot of pride in knowing I added one more lost Knucklehead to the road. In all honesty, I feel I should've just built it to run & enjoy instead of being inspired by the club to restore. I felt at the time it was doing the bike justice, but now I feel I'm in over my head to get it to the 100 point grade. This has become a rich mans hobby. ( I'm really opening a can of worms.) Now I'm personalizing it a bit, which feels good. Kevin, look for my bike in Period Modified. I can't say when.
Bob AMCA #3756

[40 Nuck]

I agree with you guys. I am also one who is most concerned with getting the bike generally correct, and riding it. Getting a Senior or Junior is not my primary goal. It's funny because I think the judges are so burn-scarred from the guys who challenge and complain about every deduct, they don't quite know how to react to one of us who simply wants the biked judged to make it better, but not necessarily perfect ... deduct away ... it will just help me make the bike better. Please don't get me wrong ... I have absolutely NO complaint with the judges. My recent experience at Eustis was very positive, and gave me several things to work on, as well as some things that I won't change ... it is my bilke after all. But I should also expect and not gripe or nit-pick about deductions for those things that aren't correct.

[Chris Haynes]

A correct bike can make it to the winners circle in just three showings. It is possible to do this in one year if ya don't mind travelin'. After you have won the awards then you can ride the snot out of it. ;-)

[rbenash]

A correct bike can make it to the winners circle in just three showings. It is possible to do this in one year if ya don't mind travelin'. After you have won the awards then you can ride the snot out of it. ;-)

That sounds like a sweet plan

[Eric MATHIEU]

I wasent' saying bikes shouldn't be restored, I was saying that original patina parts should be preserved. The way I see it the whole judging idea is to learn and share that knowledge. I don't see it as a contest. So if you have an original speedo with acceptable patina on your restored bike then accept the point deduction and be proud you didn't destroy something forever. The point is if you are going for 100 points then you don't get to decide much. You are free however use a patina part because you don't want to destroy it and know that you will get a point deduction for it and live a happy life.
Eric