TOPIC:

Aloha guys. Just as the title reads, I need help with my speedo.

I was R&R my speedo the other day because from get go, when I got my bike back in 80's, speedo quite didn't work right. I was always going faster than what the speedo showed. So decided to take the meter apart and started to clean. long story short, I manage to break the speedo needle and now looking to see where I can get the needle from. Went to partzilla and other but looks like the needle is part of the gauge (of course.................) and not sold separately.

Went to couple auction site and look like Kawasaki bikes from the 80's have same style needle. From what I can see, 82' GPz, 83 KZ750, 84 KZ700 and some other bigger KZ and GPz have similar gauges. But most of them show sign of age. Does anyone know if I can get just the needle new?

Also, as you can see, my faceplate on the speedo shows sign of age and if I can, I want to restore it. If I decided to send the gauge to restore them, do they replace the needle? Did anybody here tried them? How did it come out?

This guy fixes speedos and has lots of parts - www.cb750faces.com/en/
 

I have experience with Z-Resto (Bob Harrington) in Georgia.  He's done 7 gauges for me.  www.zresto.com/

Plus 100% on Z-Resto.

Rick H.

Z-Resto specializes in the 70s type meters, so he probably won't be much help.
One reason is that he doesn't have a press for the later crimp rings. plus lack of parts.
Most other places only have parts for the 70s type as well, except for Honda meters but even then there isn't much in the way of 80's stuff.

Refurbish/paint/3D.  For good restore info search for posts by asphalt900.  He had a replacement needle 3D printed. Or you can refurbish an old one.  Krylon 3101 fluorescent red/orange paint might be a good match, it's what asphalt uses. 

Thanks guys for the info. I guess I'll try send both of them email and see if it can be done.

In the mean time, looking for gauges but most of them are so expensive and doesn't look any better than mine, some far worse.

because of it, I'm thinking of different gauges. Round style gauges looks nice, but newer gauges use different setup. What I mean is speedo looks to be electrical instead of mechanical like ours. If I go older, tach seems to be the problem as my head does not have mechanical takeoff as my tach is electrical.

What to do, what to do..................

ZRX meters have a mechanical drive speedo & electronic tachometer. problem is that they tend to be pricy on EB. There are china knockoffs, but those are probably junk. If you find a decent oem set that are a little worse for wear, new aftermarket ZRX meter housings are available but I can't speak for the fitment or quality (also made in china).

speedo needle:  ZN700/1100 Ltd Shaft meters have similar needles to yours >> in case you can find a junk meter somewhere for cheap. Also, early EX250 (item #363229602414). some others from the mid to late 80s have similar needles but lack the rectangular projection. 

Thanks for the info, martin.

Yeah, I was looking at Kawasaki bikes from the 80's and they have needle like mine. But for now, can't find any decent looking meter/gauge. Didn't know about ZRX meters, so that's a plus. I'll try and see if I can find decent one in Japan. They still have quite a bit of ZRX running and parts are abundant.

Wish me luck.

OK guys. It's confirmed. Sent out an email to Z-Resto and received a reply stating that they only do 72 - 80 Z1/KZ style gauges.

Went to Japanese site to look for ZRX meters only to find that their speedo is kph. That's what happen when you get old. Brain fart. But then again, pretty much the whole world is at kph, why do we still use mph? Yada yada yada.........................I'm complaining but I'm so used to mph, I will be so confused if I start driving with kph.

Still looking for decent meter from 80's Kawasaki to get the needle I broke. In the mean time, still looking for speedo repair shop.