Speedo And Tach Covers For RD250 And RD350

[Todd Horton]

I was shopping for some new covers to replaced my beat up 75' RD350 gauges that were on the bike when I got it. I found some on Ebay and i didn't notice the difference in the photos. The ones on my 350 have squared off edges while the ones I bought have a rounded edge. Was this for an earlier or later model bike?

[m in sc]

different bike. maybe xs or a radjoot. ?

not rd250 or 350.

[Todd Horton]

Evidently something is different, so all 250's and 350's had the square edge covers?

[m in sc]

the us models did, yes.

[Todd Horton]

When I look up part numbers sometimes conflicting information comes up.  For example, I see a 360-83507-00-00 and also 360-83507-01-00 as well.  Were these the same parts?

[SoCal250]

The 10th digit indicates a design code change. The updated part is -01-, while the original is -00-

8  360-83507-01-00 COVER, SPEEDOMETER . . . . . 1
    360-83507-00-00 COVER, SPEEDOMETER . . . . . 1

9  360-83508-01-00 COVER, TACHOMETER . . . . . . 1
    360-83508-00-00 COVER, TACHOMETER . . . . . . 1

Not sure but I think the difference may be the hole locations in the rear for the slight gauge revisions that happened between '73 and '75. I believe on the speedo the reset knob is slightly more offset from the mount hole and the cable hole is slightly closer to the center in the earlier unit. Here is a comparison of the speedo cups:

[m in sc]

but they all have the lip.

[Todd Horton]

Thanks guys, I'm not sure what these rounded edge ones are for but they were listed as RD 250 / 350 part numbers.

[Striker1423]

SoCal is correct! I went through this in my gauge restoration project. I have a few covers, including a NOS one with the older location of the reset switch.

[SoCal250]

SoCal is correct!

Thanks Striker. Good to know I've still got it in 2023. 
Just to clarify my earlier post, I was only referring to the part number question from Todd, not referring at all to the "rounded edge" cup issue.

I'm not sure what these rounded edge ones are for but they were listed as RD 250 / 350 part numbers.

Mark is correct, that other cup in the original post is not from a RD250/RD350. They were erroneously listed as RD250/350 parts

[Todd Horton]

SoCal is correct! I went through this in my gauge restoration project. I have a few covers, including a NOS one with the older location of the reset switch.

Can you expound a little on the older location of the rest switch?

[Striker1423]

Yes, the older gauges had the trip reset switch located closer to the speedometer cable insert by a handful of mm's. The reason being, was the gauges themselves went through a major engineering change in their construction and shape.

The old gauges had a shaped body that angled the cable attachment straight down with the gauges mounted in the dash. Also, the gauge itself had 2 all-thread mounting studs attached internally for the covers to mount up on. These included spacers so the covers would not be over-tightened.

On the new gauges, the gauge body itself was perfectly flat, and the gauge was angled internally to accommodate for the required cable angle (straight down when mounted). As well, the gauge no longer had the all-thread attachment with spacers. Instead it was a riveted on shoulder bolt to limit the covers travel. Because of the internal changes to the speedometer gauge the trip reset switch was moved a few mm's, and the cover was updated for the new switch position.

The tachometer cover, though updated in line with the others has no real discernable change, except that some of the covers indeed have a more rounded bevel to the edge.  But, otherwise they can be used interchangeably. 

Ask me how I know? Haha.
https://www.2strokeworld.net/forum/index.php?topic=3915.msg33798#msg33798

[Todd Horton]

Interesting, do you know when or what years these were different? I was guessing that all 73-75 RD's were essentially the same

[Striker1423]

Not officially, but I believe somewhere between '74 and the start of production for the '75 B models. If you look at all the online parts fiche' they show both speedometer and tachometer part numbers. While the illustration only shows basic line drawings of the gauges.