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Rebuilding my old Honda
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| Back in 1981 my dad bought me a
second-hand 1980 year model Honda
CG 125. It served as my daily transport to school and back, weekend
transport
for all my friends and I (up to three of us on the bike at any one
time) and
off-road excursions exploring the fire breaks in the plantations
surrounding
the little KwaZulu Natal Midlands town where I attempted to grow up.
The thing
was indestructible. We abused the living daylights out of it, never
serviced
it, rode it like we stole it, and yet it never let me down. I moved on
to other
bikes, then cars, then women etc, but I never could sell my old CG 125.
When I
moved to the “big city” my dad put it in a crate and posted it to me.
For 20
years it just followed me from one home to another, rusting away in the
harsh
weather. I once started it up about 10 years ago, but never got around
to
re-commissioning it for regular use. |
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THAT IS NOT ME IN THE PICTURE...I
stole this picture from the web just to illustrate what my bike looked
like when I first got it...sexy hey?!
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The first thing I did was to
remove all the ugly bits I did not like. My plan was to re-create the
bike into something more vintage in appearance, just for fun.
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With most of the ugly bits gone I
had a clean canvas to start my masterpiece.
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Armed with an angle grinder I soon
managed to get rid of that hideous exhaust pipe, after which I set
about cleaning and painting the frame.
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Full of mud and grime...
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...cleaned up and painted.
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| The carburettor was completely
gummed up with old fuel and some insect had made a nest inside it! I
soaked it in engine cleaner for a week and then cleaned it with carb
cleaner. It will be reassembled once new rubbers and seals arrive from
Japan. |
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The coil did not look good at all,
with lots of rust and perished wiring.
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I decided that replacement was the
only option, but it was rusted solid to the frame. so I had to drill
the bolts out to remove it.
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| While waiting for a new coil and
carburettor parts, I decided to clean the engine and prepare it for
painting. |
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To
be continued...
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