Speed Odometer Reset

[joe newsom]

Was curious if I am using a odometer from a donor car should I use mileage on that or should I reset if that is possible?

 

 

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[Captain Obvious]

I knew a guy, who knew a guy, who knew a guy, who knew a guy's cousin who temporarily installed a spare speedo in his car because the original was jumpy. The problem turned out to be the routing of the speedo cable and not the gauge itself, but before he put in the replacement, he took it apart and adjusted the odometer to reflect close to the correct mileage. He didn't bother with the 1's or 10's digits, but he changed the others so it was within 100 miles of my actual mileage.

And then when he figured out that the speedo was never the problem in the first place, he took out the test unit and put his original back in.

From what I heard, it's not too hard, but fiddly with small parts and the like. If you're good working on small delicate things, its not bad.

If you're all thumbs and your best tool is a breaker bar or an impact gun, I'd send it to someone else.  

Edited October 15, 2017 by Captain Obvious
Pronoun troubles

[grannyknot]

8 hours ago, Captain Obvious said:

I took it apart and adjusted the odometer to reflect close to the correct mileage. I didn't bother with the 1's or 10's digits, but I changed the others so it was within 100 miles of my actual mileage.

Where I live that is called a felony even if you do it for a good reason

[Patcon]

2 hours ago, grannyknot said:

Where I live that is called a felony even if you do it for a good reason

They would probably say the same where I live but I am not sure I would tell them. Sooooo......

[siteunseen]

I know somebody that got a gauge cluster for a ZX1100 with a smaller amount but the bike was in such good shape it wasn't worth a second thought.

[Captain Obvious]

Thanks guys. I added some clarifying detail to my original post.   

Edited October 15, 2017 by Captain Obvious

[Patcon]

Now if grannyknot will edit his quote all the will be washed away...

[joe newsom]

It does bring up the question though. What if I were to buy a new speedo would the mileage then be 0 on the car?


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[grannyknot]

9 hours ago, Patcon said:

Now if grannyknot will edit his quote all the will be washed away...

Hmmmm, I`m open to bribes

6 hours ago, joe newsom said:

It does bring up the question though. What if I were to buy a new speedo would the mileage then be 0 on the car?


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Exactly, after a certain point it gets silly. As long as you document what was done to the ODO and why, then you are showing the next buyer that you are not trying to pull a scam.  If I buy a six year old car then I certainly want to know the ODO hasn`t been tampered with but a 40 yr old classic driver is completely different. I`ll probably rebuild the engine and replace or rebuild all moving or wearable parts so by the time it is restored the ODO is the only thing left on the car with the original miles on it.  Besides, odometer tampering isn`t even universally penalized, some jurisdictions have no laws at all about it.

 

[Namerow]

Buyer: 'Is that the real mileage on the car?'

Seller: 'What would you like it to be?'

[Captain Obvious]

Well from what I heard, this guy's cousin is a pack-rat and has a file folder containing years of annual DOT registration records, annual state safety inspection records, and annual insurance documentation that all show the steady progression of mileage from when he purchased the vehicle until now. He can also answer the following questions completely honestly with his head held high:

Q - Is that the original odometer in the vehicle? A - Yes.

Q - Not considering any potential discrepancies which may have occurred without your knowledge and before your ownership, is the correct mileage of the vehicle what is shown on the odometer?  A - Yes.

Q - Are you sure?  A - Yes.

Q - Are you double dog sure?  A - Yes.

Q - Do you have documentation to prove it?  A - Yes.

Haha! I think he should be OK.  Here's to hoping the DOT has better things to spend tax dollars on than pursuing that dead end!     

Edited October 15, 2017 by Captain Obvious

[Captain Obvious]

1 hour ago, grannyknot said:

I`ll probably rebuild the engine and replace or rebuild all moving or wearable parts so by the time it is restored the ODO is the only thing left on the car with the original miles on it.

I consider that a more philosophically complicated question. You're essentially saying "Everything in the car is new with zero miles on it except the odometer. With that in mind, should the odometer read the old original mileage, or can that be changed to zero miles as well?"

I think the answer is "No, it should not be changed and it should reflect original mileage".