Junk speedo's from China, or?

Well at exactly 1332 miles since newly installed, my brand new in the box reissue speedo took a dump.
Cruising at 65 for about 30-40 mins on a X-country ride today, I noticed it was wagging a bit. Within 15 mins, it started dropping speed readings.
Now it reads 30mph-35mph when driving at 65mph.
And, as I accelerate quickly from say 40mph to around 75mph., it goes slower.
The faster I go, the slower the speedo reads.
It F'n reads backwards momentarily.
I am quickly coming to the conclusion the grossly overpriced reissue speedo's and tachs are utter garbage and need to be eradicated.

I'm afraid you're right. On my third one and it's wagging a little. Good thing z1pasrtsinc has a 100% money back warrenty or I'd be FK'ed. I wouldn't advize buying them from anyone unless it comes with a one year at least. Had I known, I would have bought a used one from another model and switched the insides. Had I done that, I could have sent the whole setup back and got a full refund. I don't think I can now. Almost a year and I'm stuck with a wagging speedo, a bracket that doesn't fit right, my old Tach with a new face plate I bought two years ago and no money to spend on used ones. I was watching them at $415, got them for $275, saw they dropped the price to $275 and still wound up with junk.
BTW I'm told they're made in Japan, not CHINA. Like someone so famously said, "What does it matter?" :pinch:
Steve

BTW I'm told they're made in Japan, not CHINA.

z1-parts-inc doesn't seem to list the country of mfg.
it could be that the meters are sold by a Japanese co, but actually made elsewhere.
The reproduction KZ900/1000 speedometers I've seen on eebbaayy by other sellers are made in Taiwan.

I was told they are made in Japan.
Steve

In conjunction with my original KZ1000 speedo, I have three other OEM speedos.
All four are shot with either a broken odometer reset or unacceptable wagging needles showing anywhere from plus or minus 10mph to +15mph.
Meaning, at an actual 60mph, an OEM speedo might read anywhere from 45-50mph to +70-75mph in a sweeping fast wagging wiggle.
Really annoying.
Does any credible person rebuild these things with reliability and warranty?
At this stage and all the money I've spent on "good" speedos from eBay or one of these cheap $160 reissue speedos, I probably could have bought a real NOS one or had my best broken one rebuilt by someone who knows what the Hell they are doing.

I'd be interested too. I'll buy a 750 or 650 and build my own.
Steve

These folks rebuild Kawasaki speedometers and tachometers - zresto.com/

I haven't used their service, so I can't say what kind of job they do, but based on their website it looks like they know their business. Ed

there's only one person l trust with gauge resto's

had six sets done by him, even with high freight cost from Australia to UK and return it's well worth it

he's the only guy who can successfully replace the damper juice in the needle pot (to stop needle bounce) check with others, they don't do it

Al Marshall UK email here for costs/enquiries

reflexhydraulics@aol.com

Interesting; thanks for the info about the damping oil.

www.zresto.com states: "The damper itself holds oil, and cannot be fixed, unless this whole drive unit is replaced with one that works properly." so they definitely do not replace the damping oil. Apparently, if the oil is causing a problem they either replace the whole drive unit with a good one, or maybe they simply ignore the problem if they don't consider it to be too bad. Ed

The Z1 and KZ dampers are solid and won't turn on their own. I've had them apart and this is what I learned about them. They are weights and aren't interchangeable between the Tach and Speedo. I tried it. I have a few taken apart at home and will put up pics when I can.
Steve

Yeah I've taken a couple apart. The balance between the drive (and depth) plus that four lobe magnet, cone and return spring seem to be the glitch.

??

It's the pivot where the shaft fits that gets hoged out. TTY in a few hours.
Steve