Nothing but Honda bikes getting done around the shop. A set of 1970’s Z50’s finally rolled out of the shop, a 1980 beater Z50R gets a new life, a 1992 Z50R left with a new owner, and a 1972 CB175 is revived and getting a little freshening up.
Something about these years of Z50 is just perfect. They were the last Minis Honda made with lighting, and that resemble full-sized street bikes. The candy colors and chrome on the earlier models is just beautiful. The Tupperware bikes that followed might perform better, but have none of the charm.
Primary colors. Each of these bikes is fully restored, with performance mods on the blue 1973 and yellow 1976 models.
108cc stroker kit, race head and cam, big bore exhaust and carb, 4 speed tranny and heavy duty clutch. The swingarm and front forks are extended, and Takegawa rear shocks, plus some of their wheel goodies went on the bike.
With the extended fork legs and swinger, plus the taller tires, the wheelbase and ride height are a little better suited for the added power.
The 1972 was done as a stock rebuild, with only some small changes like a chrome-plated triple tree top clamp.
This poor 1980 model Z50R was rode hard and put away wet. The drain lug was stripped, the brake arm was badly bent and had gouged out a significant hole in the clutch cover, there was a huge hole in the bottom at the muffler can, missing kill switch, a crappy seat cover and beaten tank graced the top, but other than that, it was all there, and in reasonable shape.
There was also a bad bend in the handlebars, and the rear wheel was trashed out with rust and an ugly hub. The brakes were not functional because of missing brake arm components. Someone coated the tank inside with Kreem, but only put it on the bottom half of the tank…destined for early failure. In the process, they apparently ruined any chance of saving the tanks original paint by spilling acetone on it (the purplish discoloration is the telltale giveaway.) I can usually push the dents out from the inside, touch up the paint, buff it out, and add new decals to get a surprisingly good rider-quality piece, but this one was a little too far gone..
A new set of tires on a pristine set of original paint wheel halves and hubs, fresh axles and hardware, reproduction seat, plastics, and handlebars, new clutch cover, straightened brake arm, a stock carb to replace the Chinese one it came with, a repainted exhaust from another bike, repaired kill switch, and new ignition components made a monster difference, and a sweet little rider. At this point, she starts easy, idles smooth, and has plenty of power.
A buyer for this bike showed up almost immediately, and wanted an 88cc big bore kit. With the new kit, this bike is smoking fast and a thrill to ride.
A restoration from a number of years back, this 1992 Z50R left with a new owner. People ask me why I don’t advertise the bikes for sale, but the answer is there are a lot of tire-kickers when it comes to an item that is a toy instead of a necessity, and the serious ones will actually seek you out.
This was one of the smoothest running Z50 engines I have had. It just seemed to almost whizz as it was accelerating, in a smooth, almost linear fashion. I was sorry to see it go, as it was the only stock restoration of this era that I owned, but the additional space in my shop is what I am after.
This 1972 CB175 was sourced out of Colorado five or six years ago, and is just now getting a revival. The bike was started fairly easily, thanks to whoever put it away last. They drained the tank, carbs, and crankcase, avoiding the fuel system nightmares that are so common on old bikes. The plan is to switch out the rusted wheel set for a used pair in better shape, install a nice set of used front forks that came with the bike, new tires and seat cover, all new ignition components, a battery, and a good clean and detail. The mufflers were taken off years ago to rob the header portion for the Cabracer360. Another used header set was found and will go on with the original low mufflers.
The spokes on both wheels were badly rusted, and there is surface rust on some chrome parts, but the new wheels will solve that.