1974 MT125 resurrection

[woahblackbetty]

G'day,
Here's a run-down on the resurrection of my 1974 Honda MT125 Enduro.
When I pulled it home from Conway a couple of months back it'd been sitting for at least 20 years in a combination of barns, fields, sheds, and driveways. Pretty rough shape to say the least!

I took it in trade for working on my mate's CT90 (in the background of this pic)

Nice and crusty looking... Actually considering clear-coating over the tank and keeping it looking ratty...

The original Keihin carb is junk. Pilot jet bore is stripped out, someone previously monkied with it really badly and it's not usable now.

Replaced the original coil with a universal EMGO coil.

JB Weld on the underside of the tank to seal it up prior to coating with POR15 tank treatment

Stator needed repair. Previous owner had jacked it up while taking the flywheel off by the looks of things.

Finally! After years of sitting she fired up again!! And smoked my garage out... No complaints here though!!

New Mikuni knockoff from eBay, not bad for $40 shipped and at least I can re-jet this one!

Installed new tires (not a fun job!!) Shinko SR244's, a 70% street, 30% dirt tread pattern. Bought them online from bikebandit.com


TRAGEDY!! I should have checked the status of the piston first rather than figuring that the compression felt 'good enough'


So that's how she sits today, waiting on parts to arrive from Thailand (new piston, pin, clips, rings) and then I'm taking the cylinder in for a rebore/honing. Hopefully I'll be on the street within a couple of weeks!

Incidentally, I've learned a lot about obtaining a title for a bike that doesn't have one. If anyone is looking down that road I'll be glad to share what I know.

[Tim-WT]

Great write up and pics!

The title issue is a recurring one. If you have pulled it off we would love a step by step on that as well.

We hear lot's of "oh that's no problem" but i've not had anyone lay out exactly what has been successfully done. Would make a great "how to" thread.

Again, welcome!

[woahblackbetty]

Jun 5, 2012 12:09:48 GMT -6 Tim-WT said:

Great write up and pics!

The title issue is a recurring one. If you have pulled it off we would love a step by step on that as well.

We hear lot's of "oh that's no problem" but i've not had anyone lay out exactly what has been successfully done. Would make a great "how to" thread.

Again, welcome!

In that case...
vintage-riders.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=sources&thread=602

[woahblackbetty]

Here's a video of the first run in 30+ years. I edited out the first 35,327 kicks.

[Tim-WT]

Music! Pure MUSIC!!!

[woahblackbetty]

Jun 6, 2012 11:31:05 GMT -6 Tim-WT said:

Music! Pure MUSIC!!!

It came at a price. I kicked that sucker over so many times that I popped a hole in the sole of my right boot.

[taylorh]

My father-in-law has a 125 Elsinore that he keeps in the garage WAY too much! I rebuilt the carb for him last year and got her up and running and I don't think it's been out of the gary since. The thing is an absolute blast to ride. Best of luck on your build!

[woahblackbetty]

Look what arrived in the mail today! Dropped the piston and cylinder off to 417 Powersports and they're calling me Tuesday with a price estimate (I was told over the phone $65 and then in person today they said $115!?)

[woahblackbetty]

Just picked up the cylinder and piston from 417Powersports. $45 for a rebore? Sounds great to me!!

[woahblackbetty]

Well after some wrenching to reinstall the top end, and some tinkering with the carb tuning, I think we're close to having some serious fun...



This was after a little run around the neighborhood with Hedora on his TL (talk about an odd pairing... V-twin superbike and an ugly, vintage 2 stroker). She starts first kick and I believe she'll do an excellent job of running me around town. Going to do the morning and afternoon commutes on her tomorrow in fact.

[Tim-WT]

The era of the "desert sled" returns!

Well done. Can't wait to see her at coffee!

[woahblackbetty]

Made it half way to work this morning and had to nurse it home. Ran great last night and on the first part of my trip this morning but now she's bogging, and has little to no power. Hoping that it's just a timing issue or something simple.

Any two stroke guru's on here who might have some spare tomorrow morning to help me get this ironed out? I'd really appreciate it!

[woahblackbetty]

Having spent a few hours wrenching last night, looks like I've got an electrical fault causing weak spark. It's a new coil and condenser so they theoretically should be OK. That being said, at the same time as a weak spark I also had a blown brake/tail bulb the evening before and then, when I got home from my attempt at riding to work, I found that the main fuse was blown too...

[brad]

Sounds like a direct short or an overvoltage condition. These can be pretty tricky to sort out.

[woahblackbetty]

I got my spark back by cleaning the points with an emery board. Got just over a mile of surface streets around the neighborhood out of it before it started acting up again.