Planet Minis

FourDoor

Hey guys… I see a few familiar faces here from BARF. Looks like a good crowd. Anyways, I thought I’d start up a thread here regarding my new project I just started this past week. I am now the proud owner of a 1992 NSR50 that is street plated. The bike needs a lot of attention and I have been going back and forth on what I wanted to do with the motor. But the bottom line is that I want to make this my bling street mini. I am still formulating how to get to this vision and I see gcraft, takagawa, and other parts dancing in my head still. So on to the project:



The base of this project is an 1992 NSR50 which appears to have been imported from Japan. It came with a kickstart oil injected motor, wiring for the lights, and a speedo that notes 87km which is probably wrong or was disconnected. Nearly all of the warning/text on the bike is in Japanese. The bike according to the previous owner had not been started in 2 years. And based on the condition of the bike when I saw it, it was not stored properly either. I started disassembly on the bike as soon as I got it and found these things wrong with them.

The bad stuff:
- Front forks leaking with dried and cracked seals.
- Rear shock also appears to be leaking a little oil
- Rusted chain and sprockets
- Fuel tank rusted in the inside
- Petcock also has rust in it an won’t drain fuel anymore after I attempted to drain the rusty fuel via the petcock
- Dent on the brake side of the upper frame (looks like maybe the top of the kick start got pushed into the frame from a previous crash)
- Little bits of rust on certain parts of the frame
- Kickstand bolt rusted on stuck to the backside of the kickstand
- Exhaust pipe has a little crack right where it bends into the smaller pipe that leads into the muffler
- All bearings on the bike looks like it would be a good time to replace now
- The engine kicked over fine when I put in fresh gas and a temp tank.
- Carbs were leaking fuel from the overflow line when I first put the temp gas tank in but now it’s not leaking anymore.
- Rode it up and down the street to see how it was and it bogged down at about 3/4throttle
- Battery is dead and leaking so I am assuming that’s why the lights and signals did not work
- Clutch cable connection/spring on the motor is rusted out a little
- Both levers are a little old and loose and have a little bit of rash on them.
- Rear tail is cracked and missing the keylock setup that allows you to remove the tail so you can fill the 2stroke oil bottle

Wow, looking at all of that typed out makes the bike sounds like a little pos. LOL. So here are the few good things about it.

The good stuff
Street plated. I just got the updated reg from the DMV and need to add it to my insurance
The tail lights and headlights appear to be in good condition but have not tested yet
Unlike what I was originally expecting, the motor actually seems to be in decent condition and does not need to be replaced asap
Tires have decent amount of thread on them and do not look too dried out.
The hand controls all have the wiring necessary built into them (but are old and should probably be replaced).

Currently in progress:
- Contacted Ray at RJP and am getting the front forks done with the stiffer springs. I cleaned up and resprayed the front forks and should be dropping them off tomorrow to Ray.
(here is a pic of the painted 92 forks next to my 04)

- Sourcing some KYB rear shocks right now.
- Ordered the POR-15 tank kit to clean out and coat the rusted tank
- A local powdercoat shop is awaiting for me to drop off the frame and swingarm so that they can sandblast the frame to get rid of the rust and then put down 2 layers of powdercoat. 1 for primer and 1 for topcoat. I am going to grind off all of the little flexible tabs on the rear subframe to clean it off and just use zip ties to secure the wiring harness and stuff after I get it back.
- I just bought that Takagawa electronic speedo and tach from Lawson. Now I just need to figure out how to wire it up since the instructions are in Japanese and the NSR tach is cable driven vs. digital/electrical.
- In the process of ordering some stuff from Japan through Brad Reynolds

The rest is still up in the air and undecided:
- Still debating on whether or not to fix the dent on the frame. It’s about the size of a dime that spreads out to a half dollar and the local computrack place said that they could not pull out the dent. Anyone have any suggestions? Maybe a shop can fill in the dent somehow before I get it powdercoated? Dent is fairly small but would take away from the overall look and “perfect” restore feel to it if I left it there.

- The motor will be shipped to Team Calamari for them to tear down and rebuild the stock motor unless I can determine that the motor is fine as is and that the carbs are the only one that needs work. I figured I can just run this current motor as is now while I save $ for a future engine transplant (maybe by this winter). Undecided between a hopped up xr/crf100 motor or the Lifan 150cc. That crf150 motor build would be awesome but I don’t think that motor is in the budget right now. I’ll continue my research on future motor swaps the rest of this summer but all I really want to do right now is ride it on the street with some friends.

The bike is currently torn down to the frame and everything is separated in boxes. Tonight is when I finish cleaning off the tabs on the frame and will also hopefully drop off the frame for work next week. I just need to figure out if I really want to spend the $ and powdercoat the stock 3spoke wheels or just spray paint them.

Anyways, that’s my new project. I’m open to any other ideas, insight, comments, and help you guys may have. And if you have any spare NSR50 parts, OEM or aftermarket, let me know.

Attached Images

	NSR50_01.jpg (115.4 KB, 510 views)
	NSR50_06_forks_painted2.jpg (78.8 KB, 429 views)

mikev

I'd say powdercoat them.

Or give them to me

aaron33_dg@f

how much $$ did you pick it up for?

FourDoor

Well if I find a good deal on some 6spokes, then I just may sell the 3spokes.

I know the other mini guys want the NSR wheels so hopefully there will be a market for them.

I just can't decide if I want to spend the $ to powdercoat them a bronze/gold color or just spray them like I did with my other projects. The theme here is "bling within a budget".

FourDoor

I paid $1,500 for the bike as is. If I had known all of the things wrong with the bike before I bought it, I probably would have passed but by the time I saw the bike, I had already spent about $100 in gas in my truck.

This is the same bike that’s been off and on craigslist since December of last year if I remember it correctly which started off at about $3k. I had been watching it for maybe the past month and finally decided on an impulse to make the drive and pick it up the same day.

gstegman

Was this the one that was down near Fresno? Looks like you are off to a great start with a cool project.

FourDoor

Fresno was a lie. It was actually like another 45mins past Fresno!!! But yeah thats the same one. Previous owner seemed like a cool guy. He was the second owner.

shawnbassett26

Sounds like a cool build. Just a few sugestions.

For the dent, you can drill a hole on the back side of the frame and use a punch to push the dent back out. The fill the hole by welding it and then grinding it smooth. (works great)

As far as the wheels.....
"I know the other mini guys want the NSR wheels so hopefully there will be a market for them."
Theres not as much as a market as you would think. I GAVE away my NSR50 wheels away for $300 with tires on PM and my buddy chris sold his NEW in boxes NSF100 wheels for $500. Had them on PM for sale for awhile. Gave them away on ebay.

"Undecided between a hopped up xr/crf100 motor or the Lifan 150cc. That crf150 motor build would be awesome but I don’t think that motor is in the budget right now."
Hold out for the Honda motor when you have the loot, will be worth it in the long run.

I really like the fork color! All in all sounds like your off the a great start and dosent seem like this is your first rodeo. Im excited to see you future progress. Dont take this the wrong way, im sure you know what you doing. Just being friendly. Good luck.
~Shawn

FourDoor

I've played very little with dents and bodywork before. But what I first learned with the dents is that you need a something larger than the dent dent to push it out. If I drill a hole, it would need to be pretty large to get something large enough back there to push it out. But I wonder if I can sneak in a flat piece of metal through the side of the frame and punch out the dent from there. I’ll check the frame tonight when I work on it and see if it’s doable.

The wheels… Yeah I saw that it took a while to sell some of those NSF wheels. I’m looking to find a set that needs some work but is straight so I can get them powdercoated to the color I want. If I find those and can sell the 3spokes for anywhere near $300 I’d be happy.

As far as the motor goes, I too would be a lot more comfortable sticking with a true Honda motor. I just have to make sure I have the $ at the end of the day to pull it off. My plan was to run the stock 50 motor for this summer and then keep an eye out on deals for either a 100 or if I get super lucky a 150r motor. I was really anxious when I got the bike to do a motor swap right away but then read more up into it and the different options. My fabrication skills suck and I have never done a motor swap on a bike before. I have nowhere as near the fab skills you did with your YSR. My quick conversation with Ray @ RJP made it sound like they can do it all for a motorswap as well. I’ll talk and pick his brains tomorrow but also need to keep the budget in mind.

Thanks for the tips. I’m open to all kinds of comments/suggestions. I’ve done similar resto/clean projects before but this is the first one that will require some fab work if I do the motor swap. My only hardship so far is finding replacement parts.

What do you guys recommend for brake system upgrades that can be readily had and also has a brake light switch built in?

shawnbassett26

"What do you guys recommend for brake system upgrades that can be readily had and also has a brake light switch built in?"

Well as far as a readily available brake upgrade, you already have it. A GREAT brake is a Brembo mono block caliper and you can do the under slung "crab" mount style in the rear. Also Stainless brake lines and performance pads are a great help. (can easily get that from TCR) As far as brake switches, its on you brake lever perch. If not you can get universal brake banjo bolts with pressure switches.

For a used set of 6 spoker wheels will be VERY hard to find in the states. You will prob have to source them over seas. I have some resources in japan and maybe able to find you a set.

As far as fixing the frame can be done with out getting crazy. I believe brad_renolds had a very similar dent in his frame and fixed it the way i was describing.

~Shawn

shw911

yeah, I remember brad taking his ZB frame to a welder. He drilled a hole on the back side of the frame and used a punch to fix the dent. He then welded it up and grinded it down.

For brakes, like Shawn said, you can buy a Brembo caliper and an adapter plate from G-Craft.

FourDoor

So here is the current state of the project :



I’ll PM Brad and see where he got it done and how much it cost to fix his frame since he’s local to me and I can’t find a thread where he talked about fixing a dent on a frame. I went through the frame and swingarm last night and sanded down the deep scratches and little dings on the edges of the frame/swinger that I could see to help prep for the powdercoat. The swingarm has quite a few little dings in it as well but shouldn’t be too noticeable once powdercoated. Here is a pic of the frame and the dent in question.




There are various rust spots all over the frame but looks like it should all come off without any issue once sand blasted by the powdercoater.

In regards to the brembo brake system, I know I can get the adapters from GCraft, but which exact caliper and master cylinder setup work? Any of the brembo master cylinders work with the factory front caliper if I decide to just upgrade the master cylinder for now?

Thanks for the offer on sourcing parts. I may take you up on that.

Attached Images

	NSR50_09_Pile.jpg (102.8 KB, 361 views)
	NSR50_10_Frame_prep.jpg (83.7 KB, 359 views)
	NSR50_13_frame_dent.jpg (69.2 KB, 357 views)

shawnbassett26

Your stock master will be fine, if you want to get fancy you can get a $250+ brembo/breaking ect master cyl. Im in the motion of getting one myself. When searching you will find most are for dual brake set up. You need to source one for a single brake. Im running a ZX10 master and it works just fine, but i want to be "fancy" and got a brembo master/lever.

For the caliper it self, when you order the bracket form G-Craft they sell the right claiper you will need (front or rear). And im sure you know you cant just call them, you will need to find someone who can order it for you (honda mini trails CHP, motoshopZ, ect.)That can get very expensive very fast and G_Craft is slow BTW.
~Shawn

FourDoor

Well part of my reason to at least changing to a different front master is to be able to switch to some ASV levers but at the same time have the option for the brake switch. I think I have a general idea of what I want to do. I just don't want to end up with something like this where the lever doesn't fully fit 100% and in my case would break my current brake switch setup unless I get the bajo bolt switch from Baja Designs:



Is the ZX10 master you are running an OEM master? And is it going to the oem caliper? I've seen a few "Brembo" masters on eBay, mainly from the OEM Ducatis but didn't know what size would work best for the mini and it's stock caliper.

Ideally, in the end I want a full Brembo brake setup for front and rear but I guess I should take little baby steps and get the bike up and running first as my initial goal is to just ride it this summer.

shawnbassett26

Im using an 06 ZX10 OEM master cycl. and clutch perch. The main reason was to run CRG folding levers with the ZX10 mounts. With the Brembo master ill pick up this week i will still be able to run CRG levers on both sides.

MY front brake set up at the moment is ZX10 master, goodridge kevlar line, rebuilt YSR brake (for now) and a NSR50 rotor (Floating one day).

For the Ducati OEM master, just make sure it came off a (EG. Monster) with a single front brake. I belive you will be looking for a 16X16 or 16X18 boar. Yoyodyne sells ALOT if brembo. You can do some research there.
~Shawn

supernes550

ray was the one who helped brad get the dent out if i remember correctly.

FourDoor

Thanks Shawn for the brake info. I'll also check out Yoyodyne.

I just dropped off my front forks at RJP.

I'll also be dropping off my frame to Ray next week. It's great having people like Ray local. It was the first time I stood next to a set of $5k forks.

Pierce

This master cylinder works very well also. I have it on my Ape with the NSR caliper upfront.

eBay Motors: MOTORCYCLE NISSIN BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER KIT SHORT LEVER (item 130231796514 end time Jun-24-08 1322 PDT)

You can contact P3Racer here on PM too as he maybe able to get you a better price as he works at the shop.

FourDoor

Thanks for the link Pierce. I saw the seller list this as well:

eBay Motors: MOTORCYCLE NISSIN BRAKE RADIAL MASTER CYLINDER KIT (item 130231792589 end time Jun-24-08 12:57:47 PDT)

Would that fit the NSR? Do you know which aftermarket levers fit the one that you got (ie which big bike lever is the equivalent)?

Pierce

Yeah a 19mm Piston will be way too large for the NSR Caliper. The standard Master on the NSR has a 1/2" piston like the first link I listed. You want to be careful with that as it will greatly affect the way the brakes feel and work. I haven't checked to see which levers work on mine but I am not worried about that.