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Project 72 Honda SL125

Discussion in 'Other Projects - Other Bikes (non 250's)' started by Andych, Jun 28, 2020.

  1. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Laced and trued.... I will wait for the bearing and sprocket now before throwing the tyre onto the rim.
    Almost time to break out the plating kit and get stuck into all the bolts, nuts axles etc.
    IMG_6135.jpeg
     
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  2. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Finally all the bits came in that I needed to finish off the back wheel...
    Tyre went on nice and easy... that is 2 tubed tyres fitted now and havent pinched a tube... miracle.
    New drive pegs, lock tabs and nuts... everything else has been Zinc plated.
    It didnt look to be straight at first but it is the rear guard that is wrong.. easy to fix :)

    IMG_6164.jpeg

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  3. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    Nice work. Remember to turn the shocks around so you can get to the adjusters.
     
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  4. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    What do you do on a lazy Tuesday (courtesy of a horse race). Why you decise you are not happy with the paint finish on the engine so you whip the engine out... mask it up and repaint it Ceramacoat enngine paint... then clear coat it with High temp brake caliper clear... easy as.. lol
    I even changed out all the engine screws to my SS dome head cap screws... Looks more to my liking now.
    Even though the pictures dont show it, the finish is far smoother and has a nice gloss.

    IMG_6201.jpeg

    IMG_6202.jpeg


    I have started to lay out the harness , new instruments fitted up... and a box of bits to be chromed has been sorted. One slight issue I found is that the rear shocks I have on the bike are of no use if I want to use the factory chain guard (sort of need it for rego etc I guess). I had already deemed that they are too long but that wouldnt have been too much of an issue (other than me being short) but the chain guard means I need to source some aftermarket original style shocks... the search continues.
    Might head over to Albury today and get the Chroming underway.

    Paint colour is sorted.. there is a specific Metallic Silver which looks pretty damned close, I compared that, Ford Ash Silver (@Murdo suggestion) and Lightning Strike... it was almost impossible to see any difference until out in bright sunlight and the one I liked the most was the Metallic Silver. It will pop a bit more when clear coated as well I guess.



    IMG_6204.jpeg
     
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  5. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Wow... I hadnt realised how long ago it was that I last posted about the little SL125... not that I have done a great deal in the last 10 or so months.
    A quick update... my Chrome work has all been done (that was almost a never ending saga) and it is fantastic.. great quality so that is a positive.
    Other than fiddling with a few things.. mostly knocking the headlamp shell into shape, gear change etc it has not had much love.
    I started to sort out the electrics as I want to fire her up soon.. but I need to have all the bits inplace and working.. so I ordered a new coil online... heaps of them out there. My exsiting one tested fine but the HT lead was too short and hard as a rock.
    Long story short... the new one that arrived was the wrong size and the seller refused to accept a return but I amanged to get my money back from Ebay..more or less.
    After debating with myself over trying another new one I remembered I had some info on putting a new lead onto Honda coils that I had saved when researching the old 1975 CB400...
    So out came the big Ba$tard file and away I went... filed down till I exposed the HT cable moulded into the coil.. cut it back and exposed the cable inner...
    Now I have the good cable from the new coil stripped and I will tin bothe and then solder them together...
    First I need to find some expoy resin to pot the join after soldering and then will use some JB Weld over the top so I can shape it and make it all look mostly factory.
    There seems to be some people on the interwebs saying just use JB Weld as it is non conductive but I am not entirely sure... I will dig mine out (if I can find it) and mix some up and see just how conductive it really is...
    Here is the modified coil in its ready state waiting to be tinned.
    IMG_6781.jpeg

    Plus some pics of the chrome...
    IMG_6587.jpeg IMG_6588.jpeg IMG_6589.jpeg
     
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  6. 2valve

    2valve Well-Known Member

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    Wow , that chrome work does look very nice.

    There is this stuff on the market ( link far below) , is this what your after to seal the repair join of the HT cable ?.
    I'm pretty sure i still have some in the shed , i you'se to use it on fridge's and washing machine repair's.

    You could also use Sikaflex after repairing the HT cable. This stuff will seal everything in place , and when cured , it's not going anywhere. I't can be shaped also , so you can shape it to what is needed.

     
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  7. Murdo

    Murdo The Good Doctor Staff Member Contributing Member Ride and Events Crew

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    I have used the glue type heatshrink on trailer wiring. I bought from an electrical wholesaler (GCM in Tamworth) and although not cheap it does a terrific job. Can also be used to repair cables when worn through the outer shielding.
     
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  8. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Nope... Heat shrink kits are part and parcel of what I do every day for work (Submersible bore pumps) BUT.... that isnt what I need.
    I am looking to "POT" the top of the coil where I have filed it down and then done a soldered joint.
    I am not "joining" 2 cables in the way you would with a glue style heat shrink. Think more along the lines of what you see inside a reg/rec when you prise off the cover.... black (or any other colour) hardened epoxy resin. This not only waterproofs it but minimises vibration of components etc.
    Doing it this way the cable will be bonded to the coil and it will be waterproof. The old cable was way to hard and brittle to even contemplate a join along it.

    That guy doesnt show it properly anyway... the cables should be sanded to rough the surface and then wiped clean with Alcohol or the glue has a tendency to come away from the smooth cable outer sheath.
    I will head over to Jaycar and see what they recommend... I need to get some more PLA for the 3D printer anyway.

    Here is a video showing a couple of different "potting" methods.
     
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    Last edited: Sep 6, 2022
  9. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    My goodness it has been a while since I added anything on the poor little SL125.
    Mind you not much has happened on any of the bikes (other than a bit of riding on the Triumph) since we moved house in October.
    Last weekend I decided to tackle sorting out the wiring on the SL125 to make sure I had everything working... I found it to be a real pain sorting out the multiple connections in the headlight bucket for indicators, headlight, power, earth etc so off came the headlight (needed to come off for painting anyway) and after a while I had most everything working. Apart from the indicators... turns out that earth connections are super crititcal on 6 volt Honda's... so I made up individual earth connections for the 2 front indicators and then a joiner for the rears to the main earth and bingo... it appears everthing works.
    Finally found where I had stashed the coil (I still need to pot the soldered cable) and condensor, fitted them up and proceded to set the points and time the ignition... that was when the fun started... it all seemed to be 180 degrees out and for the life of me I could not figure out how it could possible be 180 degrees out.
    It is a single cylinder.. FFS....
    It was getting cold and dark so I gave the nike a good talking to and closed the door on it... hoping it would see the error of its ways and rectify itself...
    Late today I had a brainwave...check the centriful advance... couldnt be that.. it is on a drive pin....
    Guess what... it can end up 180 degrees out if you have taken the points cam sleeve out and inadvertently put it back in 180 degrees out... why would they even make it so you could possible do that????
    Anyway... points gap set and would the crank around to just prior to the firing mark.. set the timing and connect up my multimeter and bingo... it is pretty close with only a minor adjustment to get it spot on.
    Connect up a spark plug, wind her up with a drill and we have a nice spark at the plug.
    I might even get her firing next weekend...re-check the tappets, re-check the basic settings on the carby, fill her up with oil and a bit of fuel and see what happens... exhaust noises will inspire me even more I think.
     
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  10. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    So, in between bouts of rain and sleet (might be a slight exageration on the sleet but it was cold) I managed to fill her up with some nice Penrite Oil, re-checked the points and made a slight adjustment, then re-set the timing, screwed in the spark plug and gave it a squirt of MAS cleaner (no startyabastard) and zip.
    I have forgotten how much I dislike kick starting bikes.
    A bit more MAS cleaner and she emitted a small amount of indipendant putt putt noises... which was enough for me for the day.

    Tomorrow will be some actual fuel and we will see if she will actually run :)
     
  11. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Didn’t have a lot of joy today. Some more pops and bangs but nothing more than a few revs.
    The points are the ones that came with the bike and after a good look at them they are certainly not helping. They are burned and pitted plus on closer inspection the plug isn’t correct either so order placed wit Wemoto for a set of Pattern points and a new plug.
    1 step forward 2 steps back this weekend I guess.


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  12. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    You have got to love it when parts arrive quickly.
    I ordered the points and plug through WEMOTO on Sunday and they are delivered today.
    That was just normal Australia Post...
    IMG_7219 (1).jpeg
     
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  13. jmw76

    jmw76 Well-Known Member

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    My experience with AusPost is that there is often little if any difference between regular post times and express post times.
     
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  14. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    I made a start on some of the paint... not entirely sure the colour is right.

    2nd coat will hopefully sort it out..

    IMG_7233.jpeg IMG_7234.jpeg
     
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  15. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    A few new items arrived over the last few days...
    IMG_7251.jpeg

    And a nice touch is the key for the ignition etc even has the Honda logo on it
    IMG_7252.jpeg
     
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  16. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    My Bike:
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    This damned bike is fighting me all the way.... my back is playing up so instead of taking the bike of the stand it is on and trying to kickstart it... I figured I would spin it up with a drill...
    That was ok but only a very weak spark but I gigured it might start... tried it again and the damned rotor bolt came undone.. so out with the torque wrench, lock it in first gear and hold onto the sprocket and the FREAKING bolt snaps off....
    So now I need to drain the oil out or find a way to lean it to the right so I can take off the rotor cover and remove remains of said bolt... I will then hit it really hard with my biggest hammer to teach it a lesson :minigun: :mad:
    I am hoping the remains will come out easy enough. If not and I have to pull the engine apart I will scrap the Chinese barrel and go for a 3mm oversize piston. An extra 25cc can only help
    I have just donated more $$ to Megazip for said bolt and grabbed a Condensor and a few other bits and pieces to make it worthwhile.
     
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  17. maelstrom

    maelstrom LiteTek Staff Member Premium Member 250cc Vendor Contributing Member

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    As a rule, don't think much of torque wrenches, but that is just me.
     
  18. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Hmmm maybe..
    I have been contemplating what to do while in Adelaide all week for a boring as Bat guano Sports Turf industry Trade show and I think I will be draining the oil and pulling the motor from the frame. it is far easier to do what I need to do on the bench with the generator cover off.
    It wont be this weekend... it is too wet and dismal and the bike needs to learn a lesson to play nicely.
     
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  19. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Well, just spent 15 minutes clearing a space for the engine on the workbench and then 10 dropping the engine out... they are not reall hard to get out.
    Generator cover off just to see what needs to come out... rotor needs to be eased off with a puller and then I can get to the bolt. Looks like it will need to be removed with LH drills.
    I have spent the last week or so reading up on some posts in obscure places about the Chinese barrel I have fitted and most people said they had concerns about oil getting to the top end as it uses a slightly different system of sealing than the standard Honda setup so bullet has been bitten and a 60mm Piston, rings and gaskets will be here from the UK next week.
    Yep.. it will be going out to 150cc woo hoo... I found my old barrel and it will go to a place in Wodonga for boring and honing.
    The specs on the piston say "only for Racing and Off-road use" meh... it will be fine. Nobody flogs a nice SL125 these days :)

    Big Bore Piston kit.jpeg
    Piston.jpeg
     
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  20. Andych

    Andych Moderator Staff Member Premium Member Contributing Member Dirty Wheel Club

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    Well the Piston etc arrived during the week and today I searched high and low for my screw extractors... then went to Bunnings and bought another set. You watch I will find the original next plastic box I look in for something else.
    Anyway, the bolt came out of the crank easy as... it was tougher getting the rotor off the crank to be honest.
    I received the specs for boring to suit the new piston and wow.. the liner is going to be paper thin.
    They say to bore it to 61mm as the piston is smack on (confirmed it as well) 60.97mm.
    I will check with the Engine shop that is going to do the bore if they think it will work. If not I will need to find another liner with a bit more meat and probably have the cases relieved to take it.
    I am blaming all this on @Gen and @Allan , if nothing had been mentioned about hot cams and big bores etc I wouldnt have been tempted lol
     
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