TOPIC:

I just used my flat nose linemans pliers.

Here's another option from an earlier thread ---

duncan wrote:
i've taken the tach apart but not the speedo. it's real easy if you use a dremel to cut the chrome ring, and then some jweld and hose clamp to cement it back together.

apeman wrote:
The old article suggests removing the band around the gauges by levering it up from the underside. I have found that results in too much damage to the band to make it look good after it is put back on, and crimped down. Therefore, I instead took a dremel with a cut-off wheel to the band, and sliced through it, being carefull not to damage the gauge cover. Then I slipped off the band, and did my gauge clean-up. To reinstall, I assembled the cover onto the gauge, slipped the band on, and held it tightly in place with a rubber band. Then I placed a drop of JBweld epoxy onto the gap in the band, and let it dry. (Make sure you mount the gap in the band at an location that will not be readily visible when the gauge is remounted onto the bike.) That has been working well for over a year.

Good Fortune!

4TheKZ1000 wrote: I still don't understand how to get needle off of gauge???? without damage, need to show this.

Since my bike is not original and I'm not worried about stock gauges, I'm going to get a GPS speedo over the winter.

Every time I go over 120 mph, my speedo is messed up for the remainder of the ride, hopping and skipping around....prob fluid damper.

In a previous post the suggested method was to use LIGHT pressure with two spoons under the base of the needle, curved side on the face, pressing downward. The warning that was given was to have a spotter for the needle apparently they have a tendency to pop off and fly across the room.

"It went sproingggggg." I hate it when that happens.

Here is a site on gauge restoration. zresto.com/

Some more progress to report - rubbed back and sprayed the instrument covers which are now hanging up "curing" - just used etch primer and top coat acrylic in rattle guns - came out ok. Initially I was just going to replace the "redline" area on the tacho but it finished up a complete decal replacement. I had thought that the new decals needed to be soaked off their backing (per model aircraft style) but nope! Luckily I was working with a "spare" decal - it was one for a Z1000 that was sent in error. After stuffing this first attempt up I realised that the decal has a paper backing which peels off to reveal the glued underside of the vinyl. So, after reading the instructions (again) I started preparing the dial for a completely new decal.
The first task is to remove the needle, this is a tight push fit on the spindle. I used 2 teaspoons with the rounded "cup" resting on each of the screws holding the dial, and while holding the spoon handles, carefully (and evenly) applied downwards pressure - make sure that each spoon is right under the needle boss and not on the needle itself! The needle eventually popped off - make sure you're doing this in an area where you'll be able to find the needle's landing place! (I did mine on the dining room table). Next undo the 2 small screws - be careful not to bodge the centres of the screws as this will greet you every time you go for a ride and remind you of how good you were with the screwdriver. The dial lifted off, although there was a bit of resistance from the white rubber tubing which locates the red light "stop lamp" and " hazard" bezels against the dial - need to redo this on re-assembly. Next is to remove ALL the information from the dial - white numbers and lettering and black and white background - bit unnerving as I wasn't too sure how far to go with the wet/dry (I used 800 grit then 1200 to finish off) but with the Z1-R dials you need to get down to the green plastic with nothing else - per instructions!
After peeling back the backing paper I positioned the new decal on the now green dial (lightly misted to allow for positioning of the decal), I had carefully marked the outer edge of the dial where the zero and max rpm marks were on the old dial, and there's the two holes for the screws so there were several reference points to help align it. I carefully applied the decal and smoothed out any air bubbles (moving them from centre outwards) - it's now drying (allow 24hrs) and will be assembling it later this week. Then it'll be the speedo's turn, I’m quite encouraged by what I’ve been able to achieve so far and when you see the pic of the old and new dials you’ll understand why I’m doing them both now. Will take some more pics of this one too, now that I have a better idea of what to expect! In the meantime, a few more pics of the process to assist I’ll put ‘em on a couple at a time.

Firstly - Covers before and after stripping sanding and before painting.

Pic of the dial rubbed back and the new decal, beside the tacho before fitting.

Pic of the new dial on the tacho before cutting out the holes for the lamp bezels. Probably use a very sharp scalpel for this.

And a pic of the unrestored speedo beside the tacho with new dial to show the difference due to aging and the reason why I'm refurbishing both instruments.

More pics to follow soon when I get the holes cut for the lamps and the re-assembly progressed.

Looking Good !!
I cheated, & sent mine to Bob, at Z-Resto, to get refurbished,


Pete

Nice beautiful job!
I have plenty of time but not so much $$ so decided to have a go myself,
Managed to cut out the holes for the lamp bezels last night - need to be careful before making the first cut as the decal is under tension due to the drying process can split/tear when cut. A tiny split appeared near the edge of the first hole when I applied the scalpel to the edge. I was able to get the edges to sit down and I covered the white join with a carefully applied tiny bit of black paint. For the second hole I put a cut in the middle of the hole to relieve the tension before going around the edge and this worked fine - no tear/split. (Very much a learn-as-you-go -process, but no real dramas to date!) Hadn't planned on mucking around with the mechanisms or cleaning up the numbers on the odometer/tripmeter - will see how they look together when both dials are dione - soon!