How to Make a Speedometer Housing (on a Budget).

by tjolley2000 in Workshop > Motorcycles

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How to Make a Speedometer Housing (on a Budget).

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How to Make a speedometer housing (on a budget).
    Some times you just have to be creative when you have already gone over budget on your project, don’t have a budget, or sometimes there is no other option. So I had this nice mini speedo for my chopper/bobber project bike, I wanted to hide it as much as possible but it needed to be close to the front wheel as well. I found the perfect spot just below the lower triple tree, but needed to find a way to mount it to the bike. I figured out the best thing to do was to create a housing it would sit in and mount that to the lower triple tree. This meant I was doing to need something that was the perfect diameter for the speedo to sit in. Then it hit me all the primer cans I just emptied we be perfect. I MADE IT AT TECH SHOP.

Step 1:

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Step 1:  I firmly placed the COMPLETELY EMPTY / depressurized primer can into the bench vise but not to firmly as to deform the can. Using a hack saw, I slowly cut the end of can off to open it up. I was still a little nervous as to the outcome of opening the can, it turned out ok. If you choose to try this make sure you have completely emptied the can, even then I am not making any guarantees.

Step 2:

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Step 2:  Once I had the cand open and the remaining paint had time to dry I cut the can down to the size I would need. I then made a chanel for my odometer dial to slide into. And drilled holes in the bottom for the speedo cable and power cord as well as the screw mounts.

Step 3:

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Step 3: I used a piece of corigagated cardboard to determing the shape of a mounting tab and mocked it up. I then translated that shape onto some scrap steel with a scribe and cut it out.

Step 4:

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Step 4:  Once cut out I used a MIG welder to fix it to the housing cup in the correct location.

Step 5:

Step 5:  Now its time to fit the new speedo and housing to the bike. If you like what you see you can give it some a protective coating such as paint or powder coat. As I am out of the Powder I need for this project that step has not been completed as of yet.