A lot going on since the last post. A trio of first generation Honda Z50 soft tails were started. A lot of the parts for these bikes had been restored slowly over several years, waiting till enough parts were there to start throwing them together. A 1978 oil in frame Triumph T140 that has been sitting unfinished for years is getting some attention. A bunch of small bikes have been coming and going through the shop. The Norton Commando build has been broken down after the engine was fired up and the electrical system was worked out. Anyone following this blog (if there actually is anyone out there) will notice there have been only a couple posts this year after regular weekly posts in 2018 and 2019. Analytics on the site show a small number of hits for the blog, but a complete lack of comments, likes, and other interaction lead me to believe there is not a lot of point to regular posts, and few if any, regular readers. Perhaps someone reading this might say otherwise, but after five years of silence, it is a hard argument to make (and yes, I know using a platform like fakebutt would change that, but maybe I am enjoying the isolation.) In any case, here is some of the activity going on around here.
Three Honda Z50 soft tail builds in process. The red 1972 in back will be relatively stock, the blue 1973 has a 35mm extended swingarm, and the yellow 1976 model has 35mm extended front forks and a 55mm extended swingarm. A set of Takegawa rear shocks is on its way to hold up the rear end.
Some of the wheel parts for four different bikes: the three soft tails plus a K2 Z50 restoration. All the aluminum parts have been blasted and polished. There are new Honda OEM bearings and seals in the hubs, and freshly re-plated hardware on the brake panels. New slotted brake shoes with new springs were used, and the brake linings were de-glazed. The wheel halves have been taken down to bare metal, straightened and painted with Honda Cloud Silver paint.
In the process of rebuilding and refinishing the footpeg assemblies for the soft tails. The nicks and pits get filled and sanded, and some of the roughness on the welds is sanded out prior to paint. The bottom kickstand is the only original one of these three. The other two are extended proportionally to go with the extended swingarms on the ‘73 and ‘76, with the ‘76 being the longest.
Because of the swingarm extension on the ‘76, the rear fender mounts needed to be extended as well to keep the wheel centered. The wheel looks a little too far forward in the stock location as far as the centering, and a 35cm extension on the swingarm places it about as far as you would want to go the other way without moving the fender from the stock location to match. The top fender extension is basically a box with tabs that slides over the fender mounts and bolts into the original mounting holes.
The lower rear fender extended mount uses long bolts to pass through the 45mm extension.
The frame and extended swingarm after bead blasting.
Some 35mm extensions were made for the front forks on the ‘76 Z50. Some fresh Honda Trail Bikes reproduction fork lowers were used. The walls of their fork lowers are a good millimeter thicker than stock, and look like they will be much more resistant to bending.
Other projects inching along include this 1978 Triumph T140. Though it is a Bonneville model, a TR7 head was found for this build to make it a single carb set-up. The aluminum rear fender was also recently added as well as the rear brake system, including a new stainless master cylinder. The front brake system is also complete, only waiting for an impending wheel re-build and new rotors.
Kibblewhite black diamond valves, all new springs, guides, retainers, and keepers along with screw threads on the exhaust spigots to allow T120 pipes to replace the push-in originals. The engine on this bike appears to have been totally re-built, with new pistons and valve components, it was a shame to lay aside the perfect twin carb head, but it will find a home on another project.
Built a number of years back, this 1971 SL70 was pulled out recently and gone through for a potential sale. Though the sale did not happen, it was still good to re-connect with the bike and fix some small things it needed to be complete…and the bike is still for sale.
Another one pulled out for a sale that didn’t pan out, this 88cc stunter has a bunch of the cool parts from back in the day. A full BBR suspension and bore-up kit, Yoshimura pipe, Douglas billet wheels, Takegawa rear shock, and added after the picture, a Fast 50’s left-hand rear brake assembly. The frame is extended 1.5 inches and reinforced. The engine starts easy and runs strong, stronger than most any 88cc kitted engine I have ridden. The guy I got the engine from said he couldn’t remember if it had a stroker crank, but I have doubts about it being a 110cc engine.
My buddy Ben’s K0 CT70 came by for an 88cc and race head upgrade along with some other maintenance.
Out riding the Jack Wilson 1967 Triumph Bonneville recently. What a sweet ride!
The 1974 came back for some maintenance. The new owner is a painter and did it up in this killer electric blue.
A recent purchase for a future build. Pretty trashed, but when most everything gets changed out anyway…
Norton engine and tranny getting torn down prior to rebuilding. The head went out to Fair Spares in California to get the exhaust spigots re-threaded and a valve job. Cylinders will get bored, the crank appears to have been re-built and is in excellent shape.
Fresh Cadmium plate on all the hardware for the Commando.
The 1974 Norton Commando Cafe build right before tear-down.