Posts
137
Joined
2/15/2018
Location
Hinckley
GB
Edited Date/Time
8/2/2021 12:50am
Hi everyone!
Quick backstory on the bike. This was my first proper bike and my dad bought it from a fast local racer here in the south of England back in 2012 for £1500
.
It's been sitting in my garage the last couple of years while I've been riding my 250f and deserves some love. It just so happens my brother is 14 and getting a little large for his 85 so I thought it would only be appropriate to hand it over to him as his first big bike. I really want to pass it over to him in good shape so he has a nice fresh bike to ride so thought I would document the process.
Started on the strip down tonight after work:
Pipe is in decent shape but the bracket has broken, going to get it welded tomorrow and clean it up properly!
Quick backstory on the bike. This was my first proper bike and my dad bought it from a fast local racer here in the south of England back in 2012 for £1500
. It's been sitting in my garage the last couple of years while I've been riding my 250f and deserves some love. It just so happens my brother is 14 and getting a little large for his 85 so I thought it would only be appropriate to hand it over to him as his first big bike. I really want to pass it over to him in good shape so he has a nice fresh bike to ride so thought I would document the process.
Started on the strip down tonight after work:
Pipe is in decent shape but the bracket has broken, going to get it welded tomorrow and clean it up properly!
Will continue to post updates as I make more progress on it. Hoping to make it a bit of a suprise for my brother so want it to look the part and be ready to ride. Going to service the forks and shock, get the wheels vapour blasted and rebuilt, clean/replace all the chassis bearings, chain and sprockets... Etc etc
I'm unsure weather to go with restyle plastics or the OEM look. I'm sure my bro will prefer a more modern look but I do love the clean low hours OEM look of these bikes too.
What do you think?
The Shop
Biggest issues i had in the past was exhaust bridge cracking. had it welded a couple of times and eventually got a new cylinder. I also tend to run a cast piston over a forged piston as they seem to be prone to nip up even with very careful heat cycles
I know people complain about this year being low on power but its a perfect bike for transitioning over from the 85 and the handling is very fun.
The bike had on it the vforce 3 reeds, DEP pipe and few other bits when we got it.
Ive also gone for the 07 air boot. Im reluctant to play around with decking, porting etc for reliability. The likelihood is that this bike will continue to be used as a practice bike so we arent too worried about peak hp numbers but it is fun to liven it up a bit
You are right about it being a very slow power, this one is last year, 06-07? I was amazed when I took a spin on it. I never understood “125 is hard to ride” until I rode a CR. It’s night and day difference from a YZ. Yz was never lacking, twist and go. These bikes are slow to get into the powerband, short window of acceleration, then fall off quickly. It takes a very dedicated rider to figure this bike out. Does handle like its on rails though!
Would you agree that this bike is a good bike to transition to and develop your riding on? I found that even though it is not an easy bike to go fast on, once you learn to ride it aggressively and keep it on the pipe, but then most other bikes feel easy in comparison
I'm thinking of aiming for the 2004 team honda look. Close to OEM with some nice factory touches.
Opted for soap, scotch brite and elbow grease. Satisfying result
Gotta have something like that happen every once in a while to remind you you're not so smart
Pit Row
Planning to tidy up and reinstall the wiring harness today as well as clean and regrease the linkage bearings which all look ok
While the paint chips on the shock spring bug me a bit I have to draw the line somewhere so that this build doesn't cost me thousands. I'm opting for a "if it ain't broke don't fix it" attitude. Otherwise I get carried away and it's ends up being a full restoration.
One thing I am going to have to fix is these aluminium footpegs.
I hate the look of anodised after market parts and luckily grabbed some originals in good enough condition for £10. A sharpen up with a file and they'll be good to go.
Next up on the list is rebuilding the forks as the seals have gone.
I spent a few hours tonight getting it out back together. Another few nights in the garage and it would be ready for my brother to try on Saturday.
For now it'll be mechanically 100%. And then over the next few weeks we will look and freshening up the plastic etc.
One thing I found very satisfying is getting the carb all cleaned and putting this fresh pink vent hose on it. The original hose had gone brown and hard
Will update again with it all finished and ready to rip
I used a vertex piston and opted for the "race" option which has no window in the back of the piston. Can anyone explain how this affects performance?
First ride honours go to my 14 year old brother this Saturday. I will first do a few heat cycles on it to run the new top end in before he gets too excited at the track.
Will post a pic with the plastic on tomorrow
It ended up costing me £700 in total and most of that was the wheels and tyres. New vertex top end, new seals and bushings in the forks, some new OEM bits and bobs here and there like bolts and rubber bits. Managed to pick up some used but decent plastic for £30.
I hope that he enjoys riding it as much as I did and hopefully it will be a good transition for him between the CR85 and eventually moving to a 250f.
Enjoyed seeing this come together. Cheers!
Post a reply to: 2004 CR125 Budget Brother Build