Motometer Instrument Rings R&R / 81 R65

[Mike V]

All,
I'm trying to remove the bezel ring(s) on both of my Motometer instruments to repaint (tach & speedo) and clean interior glass. The rings appear to be press fitted and the only way I can see to remove them is to gently pry the inboard crimping. Looking for some information and/or direction from anyone with this experience before I screw something up - looks like a delicate job to me especially the reassembly after meticulous painting not to disturb the new finish. The last thing i want to do is start a search for replacement rings. The purpose is to remove these rings to sand and repaint and clean the interior face of the instruments. Do these separate from the bezel glass face? Any help is greatly appreciated for some detailed direction or pictures.

my only hit from research is this link http://users.telenet.be/tups/speedo.htm

PS: cudos out to Rob Valdez for his help in sending me a perfect headlight bucket for my restoration. Many thanks Rob!

Mike V. / San Diego  

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[Justin B.]

The bezel is crimped as you suspect and you need to work your way around it and "un-crimp" it.  The glass, bezel, and ring will separate once you get them off.  The hard part is re-crimping and I usually wind up gluing it back together...  

[Mike V]

Justin,
Many thanks, as usual. Just wanted to confirm before jumping into the thing. I'll try to re-crimp after cleaning and painting not to scar the visible areas of the ring which is limited after the dash face cover is installed.

And thanks for the wiring harness photos a while back - they were very helpful. After the current unit re-assembly process, I'll be starting to re-attach the wiring and may be asking for more help.

Mike V. / San Diego
78 R100/7
81 R65 (project)

[Justin B.]

Good luck, Mike.  There are several other people here that have had the speedos apart and they might have some tricks/techniques to share as far as crimping the assembly back together.  I've never had much luck but that could be that I have no patience!

[Ed Miller]

Justin, is there some way you could hold the speedo in your lathe and push in with some rolling head tool to effectively crimp it, a bit at a time?

[Justin B.]

I suppose some sort of fixture could be made to hold it, then something to keep the ring pressed up tight, then a roller type tool to re-form the crimp.  I hope I don't have to worry about doing enough of them to justify such a contraption!

[quackster]

Interesting thread.  On my white R65, I'm missing a ring and glass for the speedometer.  Does anyone know where these parts are available?  It appears from what I've seen that the part number applies to the entire unit, and I haven't yet found part numbers for the glass and ring only.  Any ideas?  Thanks!  

[Bob_Roller]

No individual parts are available, either get a 'donor' speedometer, or send it in to a repair shop .

Not many good options for this part .