Katana 240KPH Cluster

[Guest]

The 85MPH speedometer was toast;



Picked up a 240KPH version with broken needles - dismantled, cleaned, replaced the needles. Much better;

[Smokinapankake]

Well done - do you have a write-up (with photos, maybe) of how you accomplished this? I'd like to refurb my speedo with new needles as well...

[jwhelan65]

Where did you find the needles?

[pontiacstogo]

Where did you find the needles?

It's always towards the end of these projects that I think to myself - I probably should have taken some photos. I did a write up on broken needle replacement on another (off-topic) bike but the same principles apply;

1). Dissasemble the unit (this means uncrimping the retaining ring on the Katana cluster) so that you can carefully remove the broken needle - it's sitting in the middle of this picture;



2). Remove the old broken needle from the hub. Go to your local arts & crafts or hobby store and find two paintbrushes that most closely match the color of the old needles (or the color you want to use). I wanted a 'fat needle' look for this particular cluster but I used a smaller/skinnier brush for the Katana needles;



3). Cut the brush to the correct length. Most needles are neutrally balanced so as long as you get the length and overhang right they will work fine. Use a dremel or file to create a flat surface for the hub to adhere to;



5). Glue the needle on and leave to dry. Add a touch of silver paint to the tips (if you want), clean everyting up and reassemble;



If/when I do another Katana cluster I'll make sure I take some pictures.

[rkubik]

Beautiful, no other word for it. American ingenuity at its best.

Once it warms up here, I'm doing it!

[duaneage]

Clever fella you are! I hope this ride is ready for some rides this spring, I'd like to see it.

[pontiacstogo]

I hope this ride is ready for some rides this spring, I'd like to see it.

That's unlikely - I figure if I get it finished this year I'll be doing well. The rest of the bike is as bad as the cluster was and I only bolted the refurbished one up to test all the lights and give me some much needed inspiration. It'll come back off today in case it catches whatever disease the rest of the bike has ;

[Smokinapankake]

How, specifically, do you uncrimp the ring around the face of a Katana cluster? Seems like an accident waiting to happen...

[katman]

Nice job dude, I just pulled a broken needle base off a set of busted clocks and the freakin thing busted off. the inner spline that turns the needle busted in half while I was trying to pull it off... isn't that GREAT!

I have a brand new set on order from japan with indiglo white face and
320km/200mph speedo.

[pontiacstogo]

How, specifically, do you uncrimp the ring around the face of a Katana cluster? Seems like an accident waiting to happen...

Work the edge up slowly with a small screwdriver.

On Honda clocks like the ones pictured above you don't have to be too fussy as the rings are hidden once they are back inside the plastic housing. On the Katana the rings are exposed so you have to be careful you don't pry the lip up too far or it will be noticeable when you put it all back together. The actual 'crimped' (flat) area on the back of the Katana clusters is covered by the rubber gasket so you wont see that it's been uncrimped as long as you only lift the area that the gasket covers. I have another 20KPH unit on the way from Japan and when I restore it I will take better pictures.

[pontiacstogo]

Nice job dude, I just pulled a broken needle base off a set of busted clocks and the freakin thing busted off. the inner spline that turns the needle busted in half while I was trying to pull it off... isn't that GREAT!

I have a brand new set on order from japan with indiglo white face and
320km/200mph speedo.

That's the riskiest part of working on any cluster - it's easy to snap the needle pins and then the unit is useless. Even more nerve racking if you're working on a hard to find 150MPH or 240KPH speedometer.

I toyed with the idea of a white faced unit. These are available ex-Japan too;

[katman]

I am working on a kat with that very faceplate on it. The problem he had was when the needle bases went back on they were off a little so the tach and the speedo are no longer acurate. It was also a huge deal getting the cutouts to look good.

[pontiacstogo]

It's odd that those overlays don't already have the cutouts in them - most of the ones I've seen do.

I'm not 100% sold on the look of the white faces - I have a set on one of my off-topic bikes and while it seemed like a good idea at the time, I'm not sure it really works with an older style bike;



I'm sure a US vendor could make up some Kat overlays that were in MPH and in something close to the original colors, but I'm not sure how much interest there'd be as there is such a small number of them in the US (compared to the rest of the planet).

If there was a MPH overlay available, it could be used to convert a KPH cluster to MPH as the 240KPH clusters are much easier to find than the 150MPH versions.

[nobody]

the crimped ring is broken on my cluster. Anyone know where to get a replacement ring?

[katman]

the crimped ring is broken on my cluster. Anyone know where to get a replacement ring?

you can't get replacement rings.