Snod Blatter

All gears? Up and down? When was the oil last changed?

Actually nothing that was bike related, but I do have a fistful of Christmas money. I fancy some heated gloves..

I seem to remember 4 pot Nissins off some Hondas are a straight swap are not as prone to this.. Also costs less in seals

There is a bit of an art to shifting nicely from 1st to 2nd on a 125 as 1st is so very short. A well adjusted chain will help but at what revs are you trying to change up? 4-5K would be about right, at a guess..

Just discovered this, the band are Highway Robbery - one album wonders. Now working my way through the album, a weird but good mix of Sabbath/Rush and Wishbone Ash. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA5_pT6p4mI

I thought these aftermarket lithium batteries had the necessary gubbins inside to make them a straight swap in place of a traditional unit?

I recently bought the album "Numb" by Hammerbox and literally cannot get enough, there's not a bad or boring song on it. Anyone who played 32-bit Road Rash will know Hammerbox for their songs Trip and Simple Passing but here is the one I've been singing to myself all week: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU7ENKRC0bo I love the production, the tone, but mostly Carrie Akre's vocals - girls can front rock bands too!

Leicestershire are one of those forces, they wouldn't let me do it on Ls because they will teach techniques which are not the DSA standard and therefore may make it more difficult for someone to pass their test.

Are the indicators and footpegs not wider than the handlebars?

If by resleeve you mean replace the liner then I'm sure it is possible but why bother when there are so many decent blocks around? If you mean resleeve as in sleeving the engine mount holes with steel after drilling them out, anything is possible. There are no problems, only opportunities to improve!

Here's the photo again, edited just for bob! I can only guess this happened either when it was stood outside after it was found to be right mega broke, or perhaps something fell in from a plug changing session and broke the surface which has then be worn away more and more. In time I'll also check if the bores are oval, that will be a good way to find if they can even be rebored or if a replacement cylinder is the only option. Drilling out the holes and putting in sleeves is the plan, but from the "inside" so that I can be fairly sure they're in the right place.

The barrel could of course be bored, and oversize parts from Honda are freely available though surprisingly expensive. But then, in the grand scheme of things with this bike (such as the ££££ in petrol I've thrown in it over the years) it's not expensive at all. I spent a lot more sorting the CBX250 out back in 2011-ish, a bike with which I have very little history compared to this one. I am working outside currently but may be able to bring it indoors over Christmas, thankfully my factory shuts down over the festive season so I'll have a couple of weeks to dismantle and inspect at my leisure. The only blocker left is the condition of the crank case holes internally, and no I'm not filling them with JB Weld - it's a stressed member of the frame! They'd be oval again and the frame cracked again in no time. Meanwhile I will continue to wish I had a proper workshop.. This place got listed on Friday, I shouldn't be so interested but look at that garage space!! Plus I think you get the whole building, so it's detached, so the Sabbath could be as loud as it should be

I don't know what's going on with bob and Joe but at least I can tell Speedy's post is definitely a joke.. Anyway, the rain cover of the CB250 has been torn up in the wind and the gorgeous red frame is flashing me from the top of the garden. I was disheartened with the damage to the bore (which is never going to magic away with a hone, wtf) but decided to see if at least the crank is dead. If there is play at the big end (crank end) or small end (piston end) then it's all definitely scrap, and that will be nice to know as it means I can give up on this altogether. So, bring the pistons up from their holes.. And wiggle the rods up and down and side to side, then try and rock the pistons (well actually the gudgeon pins) side to side to see if the small ends are no longer a good fit. Sadly it is all rock solid and perfick, goddammit. Right, onwards.. Clickety click go the bolts, I've been in here a few times. Remove the drive bit section for the oil pump as it will be in the way: Jam a pre-1992 (so it's bronze, not steel) penny between the primary drive gears and the clutch gears to stop it all turning and remove the clutch, err, disengagement (?) mechanism. Try not to let the fancy radial bearing in the middle fall on to the floor and pick up loads of dirt! I stopped there as it was getting dark and I couldn't find the special tools to hold the clutch basket still or the special tool for the ridiculous special nut in the middle. In theory it is easy from here on (once I've found those blasted tools) but I have a funny feeling it's going to be a faff of the highest order as I'll probably end up putting the motor back in the frame so I can hold it still while I remove the clutch nut and the primary drive nut - they be tight as.

If I'm splitting the cases I'm going to be all over it for ages scraping the old gaskets off, when this is mostly exploratory I don't see the point of being that surgical. Some searching reveals a rebore can be £5 a cylinder at some specialist/bulk car places, but nearer to £30 per cylinder seems normal. Oversize Honda bits are incredibly expensive at around £70 for a piston and rings, oversize 253FMM (Chinese version) are cheap but Chinese. There is a +0.5 oversize CD250U head and pistons on ebay for £70 which would bump it up from 233cc to (apparently) 242cc, cor. This all seems a bit silly compared to just chucking another motor at it though, one appeared last week for £90 - it was known to be running but had lived in a kart for a while and was covered in green. I was still tempted but I hadn't seen the cylinder at that stage.. Now it's sold.

I just don't believe in it So, for the suspenders, a quick google suggests you have all kinds of settings.. Have you tried winding them up a bit at a time? Particularly the slow speed compression and the rebound, they will help hold the bike in line. Also, is there no rust worth mentioning??

Another Sunday, another spanner day.. At least when it wasn't raining. So, before I took the cam sprocket off I marked it up with some very gloopy Tipp Ex, just in case it fits a special way: Stuck a 14mm socket on the flywheel bolt to stop the motor turning while I undid the cam sprocket bolts: And job's a good 'un. The cam was still a bit tricky to pull out with those long studs in the way but it was eventually wriggled out. The bits are multiplying.. The cam chain tensioner is held in place by three bolts - one inside the cases, one at the cylinder and one at the head. It turns out that the one in the head is hidden behind the inlet manifold: So off that came and then the bolt came undone: The quality of this bike is really shining through right now. Every bolt has come undone with a click, I can't thank Honda enough. As you can see, this lets the tensioner come away and then there is nothing else holding the head or barrels in place: A few light taps with a rubber mallet and.. What are these, valves for ants? Crusty valves for ants.. So, turn the crank with the ratchet until the pistons are at the bottom of their stroke (so the connecting rods don't fall down and smack the crank cases, which could lead to a failure later on!) and get the mallet again, dock dock dock.. Here's the end of that bolt that was broken at the start - that won't be easy to get out! I also didn't know about this bolt holding the cases together. As ever though, it came undone with a click. Cylinder 1, on the left - not bad.. Cylinder 2, oh shiiit: It is rough to the touch and well within the stroke of the piston, the motor doesn't burn oil any faster than it used to and it's never nipped up so I don't know how this has happened but.. Damn. So there I stopped. Is there any point going further? Has anyone had a rebore recently? How much did it cost? I could fit a Chinese cylinder and pistons for about £150 last time I looked but that is well into "just get another motor" territory. Oversize pistons and rings are £££ from Honda, but I might have a search for some new old stock just in case.. EDIT: Forget the rebore, there are barrel and piston sets on ebay for £50, like this. Hmmm, maybe I will carry on after all..

As stated, a bike travelling at speed is stable and will look after itself - hopefully it will find a grippy area again and it'll all be fine. "Do nowt, it'll sort itself out" is the usual motto.. If the bike keeps sliding all the way off the road you were knackered anyway unless you have mad offroad or speedway skills.

That explains why it's so wimpy and lacking body

Tygers Of Pan Tang. Aww yiss. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a41LCKAtCi0

I'm getting round to the footage, promise.. I've sorted out and deleted all the really boring bits, now I just need to choose the best bits and stitch them together. Should be easy but.. Ehh. Also phwoar look at that TRX! Seems so shiny from a distance

You can , can't imagine why the frame ever cracked up..

A bit, certainly the condition is in keeping with the rest of the bike, but the kickstart hole is still blanked off - how can I impress girls with that?? I think something off a Chinese bike will likely be the answer. The boss is still present in the crankcases by the way, I just need the right cover and gubbins to slot in.

More CB pics, you say.. Hmm I might have the odd one (!) And how about one without all the luggage on? This was before I recovered (and refoamed!) the seat: It is exactly a big Benley and despite being much less flash than a Superdream they do prove to be much longer lived. Personally I was never much for the styling of it but I do appreciate the upright riding position, big seat and the large front wheel I'd like it to have steel collars in the mounts because it's tougher that way and there are still places I think it needs to see, which is part of why I'm keen to go down this route..

I do believe it is, the MC24 Nighthawk and CD250U are also the same - the only differences between the motors, as far as I know, are the ratios of the gearbox - the MC26 Two Fifty (mine) runs different sprocket sizes to the Rebel and Nighthawk for absolutely no reason at all but Honda changed the gears so the end result was almost exactly the same. They clearly love a faff and for that I respect them. I'm not sure but even the CB125T and CB125TDC may use the same KB4 crank cases - KB4 is apparently the CM250C from 1982 so the vintage is correct. However, it would be nice to save the original cases with steel inserts because 1) The engine number will still be original and 2) A steel surface has got to be better in this application than aluminium. But I'm not buying anything until this is all in bits and I know what I'm dealing with Oh I should also mention that the clutch cover is also knackered, the tacho drive is ovalled and broken. The first person to point me to a clutch cover that will fit and also house a kickstart gets a big like from me!

You're too kind This is a distinct possibility if I can find some that aren't incredibly expensive - same thing with replacing the whole motor. This is really a "make do and mend" scenario but if something better comes along before I'm in way too deep with this then I'll happily change tack. I've just discovered this springy tensioner thing is £65 so with some gearbox bits and a cam chain and a load of gaskets thrown in I must be looking at £200 before I even start. Oh also the clutch is worn out (including the steel plates, I don't know why they wear but they do) so that's another £50 or so. Hmmm. Some googling reveals I do indeed have to unbolt the sprocket from the cam shaft, oh joy. I should've just got on with it I suppose, I could've had the head off today - oh well! Speedy - People have been splitting hyvo chains for a long time but I like the idea as much as you..