Just recently went out to visit friends in Dubbo, good opportunity for a good ride [about 600km round trip] 
   Weather report was for mid 40's C. - went anyway. It did get to 43' C in the shade.
   The trip meter stopped working, so when home pulled the instrument panel apart and noticed this - 





Warped a bit, the speedo face did not warp as much, the mounting screws are more evenly spaced.
   The only down side was i lost the glass out of the r/h mirrow pod after hitting a good size pot hole.
      I think, with that heat trucks were just squeezing the tar out of any repaired holes.

Is there any point trying to repair this face - if so how ?   I did have a spare that i have fitted, working good.



The heat did not effect the fuel system, it has only the insulation under the tank and the fuel tank was quite warm to the touch.
   Had a great day out.     Dale

We get the odd summers day in the mid 40's but never had anything melt like that on the K or the Ducatis.
Could there be something else causing some heat in there? A small electrical short perhaps.

My RT speedo was starting to buckle when I got it.  Fortunately, is wasn't bad enough to interfere with the needle.

The black face under the "glass" acts as a solar collector and can get as hot as 25C or higher above ambient on a sunny day.  The reflective white interior of the instrument cluster helps hold the heat in too.

I carry a cover, one of those lightweight silver nylon ones, and use it whenever I am going to park for more than an hour, mostly to protect the red paint from fading in the sun, but it also protects the instruments.  If I don't use the cover, I will put my gloves or the microfiber wiper that I carry for my visor over the instruments. 

Keep them covered when the bike is parked!

The problem with these parts is built-in stress from the molding process that made the parts.  This stress relieves itself over time when the parts get hot by distorting the part.  By annealing the part with gentle heat and cooling you should be able to get most of the distortion out of it.

As far as flattening the instrument face you can try this.

Put a cotton towel down on a flat surface that won't be damaged by heat.

Put the instrument dial on the towel face down and fold the towel over it.  Put an iron on the towel over the part and set it on the lowest setting for for about 10 minutes.  Shut it off and let it cool to room temperature before removing.  This may or may not flatten the face.  If not, repeat at the next highest setting.  If your iron is very light it may take some extra weight on top of it to help it flatten the face.   

Be careful and patient and you should be able to get it pretty flat.  The key is to heat and cool slowly, this is what will relieve the internal stresses.  You want to get it hot, but not hot enough to melt the plastic.

I was thinking basically about the same process....
Put the plate on something flat conducting heat (maybe a ceramic tile) in a warm oven with a big flat weight on the top of it.
Let it "bake" until flat.
We should start a cooking show with all the "baking" problems related to high heat on the K100.

The key here is SLOW cooling.  The problem in the first place is due to cooling the part too rapidly and unevenly in the mold when it was first made.

If that fails PM me and I'll send you one, FOC.

what an offer dai ....good stuff mate

Dale, you should have pm me as I live in Dubbo...... and it has been bloody hot of late. Yes I have had the same thing happen to my 83 basic... tacho... the bike would rev at 2000rpm, even when it was switched off. The needle was stuck at 2000. Welcome to my world.

Thanks for the reply's 
   Looks like i'm doing some home duties - Cooking / Ironing.
   Dai, great gesture, i'll practice my skills first [when Kathy is out  ]
   Ainsjac, if i'm ever out that way again, i just might look you up - cooler months only.
      Now, where is that apron ...

Aprons like this maybe

Well, cooking over and its not over done.  It is FLAT.
   It took several attempts, mainly to get the appropriate temperature.
      I did try the Iron, it was not getting hot enough or not heavy enough to make a good contact.
      Using an Infrared Thermometer i had 2 cast iron pans heated to 90c, then removed from the heat.
   Folded a cotton rag over the Tacho face and placed it between the bases of the 2 pans.
   Only left it there for several seconds, did this a few times till it looked like it was sitting flat.
      Each time i looked at it i unwrapped it to make sure the rag was not sticking to the face, 
   or starting to leave an imprint on the face.
   Anyway, with it sitting flat i then put it between 2 wooden chopping blocks [they were handy].
   I had a 7lb weight [door stop] also handy, so used this to keep it flat.
   Left it there for hours to cool.
      The face is flat, it fits and i am away.   Thanks all,  Cheers  Dale.

Nicely done!   

Perhaps the moderators could move your post to the reference library to help those in the future who will encounter the warped dial face syndrome.