trying to figure out the best and cheapest way to restore the plastic around the speedometer, any ideas/tips/directions are welcome

The problem with plastics and long term sun exposure is that damage is not just cosmetic, UV breaks down polymer chains, and material becomes more brittle, less impact resistant, and weaker.

Of course, this depends on what kind of plastic it is.  ABS, which would be my first guess of material, is not great in surviving long term UV exposure.

If I thought a part was heading towards becoming dust, I'd shop for a more youthful replacement, while the model had was still relatively recently out of production.   Steel parts can survive centuries if maintained.  Most plastics in common use today were only invented after WW2.  It's unusual for anything made of thermoplastic to survive more than a few decades.

Axman88 wrote on 06/25/25 at 11:51:25:


I would guess that there are plenty of "spares" out there from folks who have torn bikes down or replaced their tanks with somethings else.  I will look and see if I have one.  I really like the Rustoleum 2X spray paint - it works well.  I believe the Satin Black will be the closest match.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Rust-Oleum-2X-Ultra-Cover-Satin-Canyon-Black-Spray-P...

I do believe a lot of the motorcycles (and other vehicles) with plastic parts will not be around or capable of being re-stored in the same way we can restore older vehicles with metal parts.  I see the ATV and SidexSide vehicles with plastic parts all sun faded and eventually the plastic gets a white look and the parts begin to crumble.   On vintage motorcycles the most difficult thing to restore is the chrome, while the painted metal parts can be repaired nicely - in not too many years modern motorcycles are going to have a lot of brittle plastic parts that cannot be repaired.