Hello Group,
You may want to read this if your gauges are shaky, rusted or falling apart.
Thought I would let you guys in on some issues I have been having with my gauges. I just purchased my VN700 6 days ago BTW. The tachometer gauge’s rear housing was falling off, the screw in the very back was all the way in, however, it was not actually attached to anything. Also, the same gauge would shake violently when riding because it was not securely mounted inside the center instrument panel. So, the two problems went accordingly…
I removed the front headlight, instrument panel main bolts, instrument panel backing, etc. to start off with. Upon removing the Tachometer gauge backing, I noticed that the plastic piece that the backing screwed into was broken and, apparently, had been “fixed, lol” before with some kind of cheap glue. I ended up using epoxy and dabbing a couple dots around the inside of the housing and then holding in place on the gauge until it dried, works and looks perfect.
CAUTION TIGHTENING THE GAUGES:
Now, as far as tightening the tachometer’s securing bolt under the instrument panel so it would stop shaking…yeah, small amount of pressure and the screw snapped! Wow, that sucked! The screw is press fit in so I had to drill through the left over screw and screw head and use a new screw and bolt to re-attach the tachometer. Unfortunately, I did not have the right hardware, good lighting, loc-tite, or time (late for class) so the new bolt has already shaken loose and is just as bad as it was before. Must now purchase the correct hardware and start over, this time will be less stressful and done correctly. Moral of the story, be gentle on these bolts!, use loc-tite and a lock washer also.
Another problem I am going to fix at the same time, since I will have the gauges off, is the rust issue on the 1” chrome ring around the face of the gauges. The speedometer especially is rusted pretty badly. I plan to sand down the rings on both gauges with light grit sandpaper, tape everything off, and then paint either flat or gloss black (haven’t decided yet). I think this will add a nice accent to the gauges and it is sure to look better than the rust! I will try to include a picture when I am done and let you know how it turned out.
Adam
’85 VN700
You may want to read this if your gauges are shaky, rusted or falling apart.
Thought I would let you guys in on some issues I have been having with my gauges. I just purchased my VN700 6 days ago BTW. The tachometer gauge’s rear housing was falling off, the screw in the very back was all the way in, however, it was not actually attached to anything. Also, the same gauge would shake violently when riding because it was not securely mounted inside the center instrument panel. So, the two problems went accordingly…
I removed the front headlight, instrument panel main bolts, instrument panel backing, etc. to start off with. Upon removing the Tachometer gauge backing, I noticed that the plastic piece that the backing screwed into was broken and, apparently, had been “fixed, lol” before with some kind of cheap glue. I ended up using epoxy and dabbing a couple dots around the inside of the housing and then holding in place on the gauge until it dried, works and looks perfect.
CAUTION TIGHTENING THE GAUGES:
Now, as far as tightening the tachometer’s securing bolt under the instrument panel so it would stop shaking…yeah, small amount of pressure and the screw snapped! Wow, that sucked! The screw is press fit in so I had to drill through the left over screw and screw head and use a new screw and bolt to re-attach the tachometer. Unfortunately, I did not have the right hardware, good lighting, loc-tite, or time (late for class) so the new bolt has already shaken loose and is just as bad as it was before. Must now purchase the correct hardware and start over, this time will be less stressful and done correctly. Moral of the story, be gentle on these bolts!, use loc-tite and a lock washer also.
Another problem I am going to fix at the same time, since I will have the gauges off, is the rust issue on the 1” chrome ring around the face of the gauges. The speedometer especially is rusted pretty badly. I plan to sand down the rings on both gauges with light grit sandpaper, tape everything off, and then paint either flat or gloss black (haven’t decided yet). I think this will add a nice accent to the gauges and it is sure to look better than the rust! I will try to include a picture when I am done and let you know how it turned out.
Adam
’85 VN700