Completed Project

It's been a while since my last post. I completed the back early in 2013 and sold it for 2,500. Linked here is a photo album documenting the entire rebuild process. Thanks for reading! If you have any questions about Honda bikes or the CB125S feel free to email me at chortiz11@gmail.com

Honda-Hensim Clutch Cover Swap

Hensim Clutch Cover

Above is a picture of  the 150 clutch cover. In specific the 150cc Hensim engine clutch cover; which is actually a clone of a honda engine. Originally I thought it was a clone of the transmission/lower half of the cb125. However after further investigation, I found I was a little off. Below is an image of my original 81' 125s clutch cover with the gasket for the Hensim on it.

Honda cover w/ Hensim gasket

As you can see, the Honda cover extends out a bit farther then the gasket and on the right of the cover there is an excess recess. Damn. I had just repainted it too. After further research and comparison, I came to the conclusion that the clutch cover most resembled that of a 1976 TL 125. Almost a perfect match aside from some internals, but it doesn't matter if you don't replace the clutch ball bearing and pin that extends out to the clutch lever with the ones from the actual Hensim engine. It will not match the original 125cc pin/ball bearing assembly.

Exploded view of the cb125s clutch: 9 is the pin and 15 is the bearing

On ebay I found clutch covers ranging from 10 dollars to 120 dollars. The 120 dollar ones being both replications and original overstock. I ended up finding a decent one that included the lever, internals, and dip stick for a total of 30 dollars which included shipping. Needless to say, I'm pretty content. Its a damn near perfect match.

Honda TL 125: The Perfect Fit?

CB125s Status Update

Nearing completion and preparing to fit original engine covers. 

There and Back Again

Drove up to Sonoma today to pick up a 1974 CB450 and a 70' CL100 for my buddy. Got the 450 for 350 bucks from a guy I know. Nice guy. He went to pickup a cb500 from an old timer out in the valley, got there and went to load it and the man told him he was going to take the cb500, he would also have to take the cb450. The CB500 itself wasn't frozen, it had compression. But it had 500 dollars in backfees at the DMV. The 450 is completely out of the system. Lucky me. I called and checked just to make sure. I'm cynical. Anyways, Ron put it up on craigslist for 400, got a bunch of offers, I was second. First guy flaked and I ended up getting it. The engine is frozen, going to need a rebuild. Parts are cheap as hell. I plan on starting it once the CB125 is off of the bench.

CB450 all loaded up.

Picked up the CL100 a bit after getting the 450. That was up 20 miles in Santa Rosa. Guy we bought it from was a total hipster. Lived in an old-style victorian home that a hippie rented out to him. Huge property. He led us into the backyard where he had about 25 old school mopeds and scooters. Looks like he too had an obsession. Anyways, he gave us the CL100 with an extra seized up engine, new chain, two extra speedos and a variety of other parts for 125 dollars. The CL100 had good compression but needed a carb rebuild and a new gas tank, it had cheesed through on the bottom. Good thing there is only one carburetor!

The 450 and 100 all loaded in

What would happen next is by far the best part of the trip. Up 10 miles north from Santa Rosa is Windsor, where this old guy was selling a pristine 71' scrambler gas tank, side panels and seat cover. Talked to him on the phone, nice guy. He was asking 175 for all the parts but I got him down to 150. We pulled up to his garage. Dude had a 3 car garage full of fucking honda parts. About 35 mufflers hanging from the ceiling, carberutors, engines and tires everywhere. Man he had it all. We got there at 11:30 and ended up leaving at 2:30. He was a talker. He said he had restored over 1,000 motorcycles in his lifetime. Mostly Honda bikes. He had about 8 bikes in his garage, from dirt bikes to little monkey bikes. He was a nice fucking guy. He just started throwing extra parts at us. Gave me an entire front fork assembly for the 125! Also gave my buddy a new carberutor, throttle cable, headlight assembly with a new bulb, petcock, and a bunch of other shit.

No pitting on the tubes. Looks like I don't need to order ones off ebay!

When we got back, we decided it would be cool to throw on the new gas tank and other goodies onto the bike to see what it would look like. Man that CL100 looked sweet.

Clean.

CL100 Goodies

All in all it was a pretty damned good trip. I got the CB450 for a good price and my buddy scored. Not to mention I got the front fork assembly for my 125. The lower legs on it were pretty dirty but nothing that a little brake cleaner and polish wouldn't fix. That guy definitely made the trip up there completely worth it.

74' CB450

Fucking Christmas: The 30 Dollar Rear-Set

Holy shit.

Got 8 packages in the mail. All the new parts came at once. I decided I wanted to toss the original footpeg/kickstand assembly as well as the entire airbox assembly. Both were just big and useless. Also, with the new dropped handlebars using the front footpegs is out of the question. It definitely feels more comfortable with your feet on the rear-passenger footpegs. Ordered an aluminum kickstand online for 25 bucks and a used rear-set meant for a honda 929 on ebay for 5 bucks. To get the rear set to fit on my bike i would have to extend the swingarm bolt 3/4ths of an inch, get a new bushing fitted into the actual rear-set shifter, and have the linkage rod shortened by 1 1/2 inches. I was originally quoted 80 bucks for all this to be done at a local machine shop. However, they happened to have a bushing the exact same size and fitted it for free, and only charged my 25 bucks for the swingarm bolt to be extended and the linkage rod to be shortened.

The Shortened Linkage Rod

Needless to say, I'm impressed. There are absolutely no visible weld marks on the rod. The shop was Young's Auto and Machine Shop on Main Street in Downtown Redwood City, California. They did a good job. I'm happy with my 30 dollar rear set. Sure as hell beats a 400 dollar custom rear set. Those things are bullshit unless your fucking loaded. You probably wouldn't even be restoring a bike on your own if you were that loaded. Though I would of course. Working on these damned this is fucking fun.

Contentment incarnate.

Mocking and Wiring

Well aren't you lookin pretty today?

Here is the bike at the beginning of the mock up, before I dropped the 150cc engine in. The rear-side of the engine where the motor is supposed to drop partially into the frame was a bit thicker then my 125. Used a dead blow hammer to open up the frame just enough for the bigger engine to slide it. Didn't take too much work, just 10 hard hits to both sides of the frame.

Frame with engine mounted

From there I began re-wiring. The stock wiring harness was a disaster. I tossed it. Not to mention the wiring plug for the new engine was a bit different then the original 125cc engine.

Green = AC Ground, Black/Red = AC Power for CDI/Ignition Coil,
Blue=CDI Magneto Timing, Yellow/Pink = Power to 6vdc Rectifier/Regulator

I ordered a cdi/ignition coil combo kit online that was meant for a 150cc gy6 buggy. Doesn't have a rev limiter on it either, adjustable as well. Wired that all up and in. Currently sitting on the top side of the frame where the old cdi/ignition coil used to sit. For now its zip-tied on there, but I will be drilling into the frame later to seat it properly.

CDI/Magneto Timing sitting above Stator/Alternator

Gotta love CDI. Way better then having to time the bike with points. Not to mention you get a bit more horsepower out of CDI.

Sanding and Painting

This is the part that took way longer then it should have, mainly due to me having to move midway through sandblasting and a lack of work space. I HIGHLY SUGGEST USING PAINT STRIPPER. I was stupid enough to take the time to sandblast the frame. Waste of time, money, and sandblasting compound. I used an 150 dollar 10 gallon air compressor I bought from harbor freight. Not a bad purchase. I ended up using it to repaint the bike. This is what I suggest using for removing paint. That paint remover coupled with a wire brush, and you'll get all that paint off in about 20 minutes. As oppose to three weeks of trying to find a buddy to let me use their backyard to sandblast, which I ended up having to do in my garage a week before I moved. If you do go the paint remover route, make sure to use 400-grit sandpaper on the frame, scuff it up a bit before you repaint it so the paint has a surface to stick too.

Sandblasting with Aluminum Oxide.

Sandblasting wasn't actual that horrible. I tarped off a room in my garage. Just make sure to use heavy tarps and set it on a wood backboard behind the frame so you don't blast through the tarp.

Blasting room.

Painting I fortunately didn't end up having to deal with. I was busy with moving and working and I paid my buddy 60 bucks to paint all my parts for me in his backyard. Took him a day. I supplied the tarps, primer, paint, clear coat, air compressor and accessories for him. He did a pretty good job. He didn't do it exactly the way I told him to. The best way to do it is apply the first coat of primer, use 600-grit sandpaper and after the first coat has dried, dip the sandpaper in water and wetsand any dripmarks or uneven paint. Continue this process through first few coats of primer, then move onto paint. For paint I would suggest 800-1000 grit sandpaper, and wetsanding through 3 coats of color. For clear coat, I would use 1200 grit sandpaper and only apply where necessary. My buddy ended up putting too much clear coat on a few parts, and they are shiny as all fuck.

Not bad for 60 bucks of paint and 60 bucks of buddy exploitation labor.

The frame he did a pretty good job on. He only applied 2 coats of clear coat and it got a good sort of shiny-matte finish.

A close up of the frame, matte finish.

The fenders I am most happy with. He applied 3 coats of clear coat on them and they got a damned good glossy finish.

3 coats of clear coat. Happy fucking camper.