[ALIKA T3]

Alright, some updates in bulk, as I didn`t have time to post until now, and a sh!t load more frustrations came my way.
The bike runs and went for its first test drive around the corner. The carburettor is pissing like a pasta strainer, so I had to shut off the fuel and push the bike home to not catch on fire.
I sent an email to Vince at Tbolts, waiting to hear back. There must be an issue with the float but I don`t want to tinker with it and void the warranty.

New cam chain installed,82 links, part number 14401035003, NOS Honda.
84 links on top for comparison

Tiny o`rings for the stator plate

There was still a hair of interference remaining between the Cdi pickup and the engine case. Looks like the Vietnamese did another half ass job here, that would explain the ton of sealant on the stator...
I grinded the case a bit more to gain clearance.

Let`s see if I got spark!
Ah, not today MF!!
Goddammit, the nut on the TB crank is smaller than the old CDI crank I had...

Alright, I found a nice shouldered matching nut at my shop, M10x1.25 by the look of it.

I started to fish the wires to the battery compartment, and noticed different colors of wires from one end of the coils to the other, one broke off bc it was all baked, and I untaped the mess and I uncovered a bunch of nightmare, again.
Ordering another one, another week to wait... this is too crappy to try to fix anyway. Found one on ebay at 20 bucks free shipping, and it had the extra neutral wire switch pre-wired with it. Not all models have it, so that`s cool.

My initial plan was to drop the new coils onto the old stator plate but it was leaking a bit of oil.Cheap o`ring, I wish I had time to get a better one out of viton...

 

[ALIKA T3]

I received a used shifter pedal from eBay for a CT70, the bolt was included and it turned out to be a 1/4-20 bolt rather that a M6 bolt....
So I drove a stainless M6 bolt from the opposite end ( bottom end) and installed a brass nut and copper washer from a VW Tdi injector for a little vintage effect. Now I don`t need to remove the flywheel cover to get the bolt out to remove the shifter pedal if I need to. Turned out good.

I took apart ( semi destroyed) the locking gas cap I had on, as I couldn`t get it to unlock.
Turns out it`s another cheap POS and the internal little stub is too short to move the locking tangs. Such bad engineering...

I added a spring at the bottom of the assembly to make it all tight and fakely locked.
Turns out the cap didn`t like the treatment, and is not the best fit.
It will do for now, I ordered another locking cap, the opening is a small 32mm, so I found a non lockable fuel cap with 30mm that might fit. It`s still in the mail. The major issue here is bc I have apparently an aftermarket tank... the original were bigger. I had ordered a NOS Honda cap last year and had a bad surprise.

Some heavy rain made its way in the tank, so I decided to clean it and inspect the fuel shut off valve 🤪 🙈

I ordered a new Honda fuel shut off valve 16950070700.
Somehow the brass tube is shorter than any of the ones pictured online under this part number. Suspicious...
The o`ring is not shaped oval, so I put some tacky grease to keep it in place in the groove for a second upon torquing the mounting bolt down.

Honda vs Chinese copy.

Different threads and sealing method of the bowl.

Ever wondered how these work?
The handle is actually a distributor that selects the fuel pick up source: OFF position - Open ( via the brass tube pick up into the tank)-Reserve ( via the hole next to the brass tube).
Actually for once, I prefer the chinese design as it had a little strainer tube on the reserve pick up side, since it`s a the bottom of the tank, that`s where the crap is. It also as a bowl strainer the Honda model lacks.

Top left hole is normal fuel pick up, bottom right hole is reserve pick up.
Bottom left hole is the passage to the fill the bowl.

From the bowl, it then goes to the carburettor via the outside nipple and hose.

 

[ALIKA T3]

Chinese features for info:

 

[ALIKA T3]

Carburettor time!
I`m gonna scratch my head one of these days to fit the carb straight like factory, more discreet.
Disregard the CDI wiring and fuel shut off, the pics were taken before I dealt with that.
Notice the missing nipple on the chinese fuel shut off, it fell off 🙈

So remember, I had a little bit of confusion with the included hardware.
Not anymore!
On the left of the allen wrench is the hardware that goes in the cylinder head. There`s one stud for the left side bc of the angle of the intake pipe, a bolt wouldn`t fit.
The stuff on the right side of the allen wrench is for the carburettor rubber isolator/mount.

Straight out of the box...

More sh!t to deal with, leaky carb, I didn`t even drive at this point yet. I thought it was minor, but it turns out not, pissing all over from the air filter side while running and lathering the engine case. Engine kinda drowning too, it must be a float issue...

The supplied accelerator cable is way too long and I wanted to reuse my gray sleeve.

I brazed the end to test if it would work, it does.
Next I brazed the cable where I wanted to cut it, so it wouldn`t fray instantly.

I ran into another issue, the throttle tube was on its last legs, it`s some aftermarket chinese stuff commonly found for vintage look. The thing is , go find a throttle tube that fits now...
I inspected a lot of pictures online and none matched.

Here`s the new tube facing the old tube on the handle bar to see how much I needed to modify.

 

[ALIKA T3]

When it was time to kick the bike over, the clutch was slipping even with everything loose. It took like 20 kicks to finally grab and overcome the compression.
I ordered stiffer springs.
I also modified the return spring on the arm on the right side clutch cover to have a stiffer feel, it was too spongy to my taste.
I found a good way to adjust the clutch BTW, I put the bike in 1st gear with engine off and adjusted the screw at the clutch bearing until the bike could move ( clutch free), then backed it off so the clutch would grab again and found the sweet spot. Then I adjusted the clutch cable.
Feels great now.
After driving a bit, now I can actually kick over the bike every time but I`m still gonna replace the clutch springs now I have ordered them.

Let`s mount the rear wheel and go for a ride, shall we?
Notice the soda can trick to hold the bearings in the hub. Yikes... Alright, ordering a new wheel now. It`s never ending!!
I had less issues building my Z50 from scratch...

The sprocket hub looked like crap too. It was a Sym part, I had actually ordered a sprocket by size for it but it was slightly not right still.
Well, deep down the rabbit hole I went...my best guess is it was from an old Sym Bonus 100 or equivalent.

The 2 sprockets overlapped to see the differences.

New wheel is in!
The hub is very similar, even the drum wear limit warning cast in the hub, but not quite identical...
More fun to be had, yay!

New sprocket cushions, NOS Honda 41241GB4770.
I was expecting something softer, these things are tuff!!
I have noticed the Sym models sold online are actually offset to have more rubber on the stressed side. I thought it was a smart upgrade.

New hub 6301 bearings

 

[ALIKA T3]

I ordered a used 1975 CT90 rear sprocket hub crossing my fingers real hard it would fit.
It doesn`t on the old wheel, but it does on the new aftermarket wheel. Finally, something going right!

I cleaned it, and installed XZN M8 hardware from VW cv joints that I cut a bit to bolt the new 45Tooth CT90 sprocket onto the sprocket hub. It`s not like original but I like it this way.
BTW, I cannot find other sprockets but stock size for the CT90.
What`s the trick to come up with search results online??

Found the remains of a good old trick to minimize punctures in the old tire.

I decided to replace the bearing in the sprocket hub as well, it`s a 6303 bearing with 2 seals, so it`s a 6303-2RS bearing.
The reason I chose this bearing is bc it`s sealed, so you don`t really need a new outer seal ( even though I still got a new one, part number 91253033003, 25x47x6.5 , and the inside of the hub stays clean, no need an o`ring either on the hub snout.

Casualty cleaning the inside of the sprocket hub, there was a sharp lip. Fixed the finger with superglue and toilet paper.

Well it turns out the drum side is different as well dammit...
Old wheel:

New wheel:

Drum plate doesn`t fit. Swell. Gotta order another part now....

Look at the smarty pants who coiled some wire on the shoe pin thingy to get the shoes arc a bit better on the Sym drum brake plate....

 

[ALIKA T3]

Found this slightly used 1974 CT90 rear brake panel/plate whatever name it has.

20 tons of persuasion later under the hydraulic press :

Some wire wheeling and it`s like new!!

Yeah you!!!

That piece of old bearing to make a wheel spacer that I had found in there turned out to be quite helpful. That`s the match to line up the chain.

Last minute wheel spacer modification, I had to get the old spacer machined down to 18mm tall. Until the very end into the very last details did I get to get fncked. Awesome!! The machinist lives nearby so he did it same day !!

So the new rear wheel I got got a 1.4" rim. The front is currently 1.2".
The goal is to reuse the old rear 1.4" rim for the front with the dual cam hub from a 1971 Honda CB175.
Some of you will spot the new Michelin tires I got ( front not mounted yet), City Pro 2.50x17". They have excellent reviews and resistance to puncture is great. Michelin is at the top of the tire game, can`t really go wrong with that brand.

Looks like there`s more nightmare to be uncovered on the last part of the bike I haven`t touched. This is the bottom view of the fork tube... This is a shouldered nut with the anti loosening waves....

 

[ALIKA T3]

I was missing a proper rear wheel hub spacer with my new wheel, the older one had some crap in there with the wrong dimensions and a couple washers to make up for the spacer being too short.
Anyway all that old crap is out.
I didn`t know exactly what spacer I needed since the wheel is aftermarket.
I had a gut feeling the 2 part numbers available for a CT90 rear wheel throughout the different generations were identical in dimensions but one with a centering ring on it, one without. The early models had the centering ring on them. My guess is Honda tried to save some money here producing a simpler part.
Turns out I was right, I ordered one each for the sake of science:
42620121000 is the 2nd newer model, 42620001010 is the first older model.
They are both 18.50 x 55 mm. You won`t find these dimensions available on the internet anywhere. You`re welcome!

 

[nielspbr]

About the carburettor overflow. How smooth(vibrations) is your engine?

Had a vm26 on a yx140 with overflow problems after highspeed runs. Now exactly the same carb on a daytona dt150 no problem.

 

[davmo]

View attachment 273741

Chinese features for info:

View attachment 273742
View attachment 273743
View attachment 273744

The Honda petcock should have a brass bowl strainer similar to the plastic Chinese one, and the strainer for the tank usually fits inside the tank petcock bung.

 

[ALIKA T3]

The Honda petcock should have a brass bowl strainer similar to the plastic Chinese one, and the strainer for the tank usually fits inside the tank petcock bung.

Hi Davmo!

Ok, I found the brass bowl strainer on a diagram, https://www.cmsnl.com/honda-ss50e-general-export_model14541/partslist/F07.html#.X6l5nIhKjb1, # 4 ,part number 16957028000, but not the tank strainer on the parts diagram.
I can`t find a picture of the fuel petcock showing it either. Do you have a part number by any chance please?

Thank you!

 

[ALIKA T3]

About the carburettor overflow. How smooth(vibrations) is your engine?

Had a vm26 on a yx140 with overflow problems after highspeed runs. Now exactly the same carb on a daytona dt150 no problem.

Hi Niels!

The bike is actually super smooth, I was trying to include a video and host it here but I haven`t found out how yet.
The carburettor also has a rubber dampener intake mount, it also leaks with the fuel petcock open, engine non running, that`s how I first saw it and took a pic of the little gasoline drop dangling.

 

[davmo]

Hi Davmo!

Ok, I found the brass bowl strainer on a diagram, https://www.cmsnl.com/honda-ss50e-general-export_model14541/partslist/F07.html#.X6l5nIhKjb1, # 4 ,part number 16957028000, but not the tank strainer on the parts diagram.
I can`t find a picture of the fuel petcock showing it either. Do you have a part number by any chance please?

Thank you!

My mistake, thinking of another bike. There are some Chinese versions of the in tank fuel filter that slip over the brass pipe. They come on some cheap petcocks, and I have taken them off before and used them. Not sure which ones you would order online to get the right kind. It would be easier to do an external filter...or clean and line the tank.

 

[ALIKA T3]

My mistake, thinking of another bike. There are some Chinese versions of the in tank fuel filter that slip over the brass pipe. They come on some cheap petcocks, and I have taken them off before and used them. Not sure which ones you would order online to get the right kind. It would be easier to do an external filter...or clean and line the tank.

I do already have an inline filter Barely enough room lengthwise btw, it was a close call.

I still haven`t heard back from TBolt, I`m gonna take this damn carb apart to see soon. Well, I got a few days before getting to it, some customer`s van to tackle first, hopefully by then I would have heard back.

 

[ALIKA T3]

Ok some updates!

Vince front Tbolt got back to me with some stuff to check out, apparently the carb spitting out gas from the intake could be an intake valve too tight and not closing well. I checked, and if anything the clearance was a bit excessive, so I re-set the lash.
I also took the carb bowl and float apart, didn`t see anything, put it back together, no leaks now, working good. Freaking chinese...
TBolt ignored my request about the quality of the air filter coming apart out of the box, that wouldn`t be the first time... Disappointing.
I`ll find some compatible glue and do it myself then, not that I was expecting a replacement as I can avoid waste by doing it myself, but at least an acknowledgement of it...

My little plastic in line filter broke, the hoses pulling sideways on it stressed it too much, not enough room between the tank and the carb.
I ordered an aluminum filter, smallest I could find but still bulkier.
The paper filtering media would not work backwards ( I wanted the filter to have a chamber for contaminants, not filtering from the inside out like it`s apparently meant to. I think it can get clogged too easily this way).
I made my own out of 2 filters then.

Pouring gas OK

Gas filter backwards not pouring at all

Gutted filter pouring

I took the porous element of the broken plastic filter and rigged it into the aluminum filter body. Super easy!
And now I have the chamber the way I want.

I received original replacement parts for the rear brake rod. The SYM parts were too big to fit the brake lever on the CT90 drum. Nice very last minute surprise so I had to steal the parts off of my Z50 to go for a quick ride.
Spring part number 9501473100
Nut 9501541000
Joint 9501531001

 

[ALIKA T3]

Some pics of a friend`s turbo Dax in France he made few years back. I think he used a Renault turbo.

Also, my clutch slippage is an issue, I got some stiffer springs but they don`t fit, they are for the newer clutches on more modern bikes I guess, a little smaller in diameter.

So question: where to find stiff clutch springs for older Hondas and a smaller rear wheel sprocket for the CT90 ( less than stock 45T)?

 

[ALIKA T3]

I bought a 12V 1.3 Ah sealed lead acid (SLA) battery to fit in the box. The fitting needs to be finished with a clamp, but for test purposes this is fine. I now have a working horn.
The high rev limiter ( I think over 10K RPM) is tucked facing the old air intake opening to the carb so it can get cooled down ( it has aluminum fins)

The bike feels great riding it, I have almost zero brakes in the front, so that will be next job.
It`s loud AF, unbearable. The exhaust had been hollowed out by the Vietnamese. I really need a vintage quiet looking exhaust that can handle more than 88cc... I think I`m asking for the moon...
It`s a running a bit lean, I gotta tinker with the carb.

 

[ALIKA T3]

I turned the internet upside down and found a set of 3 plates manual clutch discs.... right under my nose at TBParts.
Their listing is crap, it doesn`t come up searching with keywords even on their own website, it really was looking for a needle in a haystack.
TB Manual Clutch Kit – Replacement or Upgrade Disk Kit TBW0302
That`s the part number you`re looking for. It has 3 steels discs and 3 frictions discs. The original has 2.
I haven`t had time to mount it, but prior to finding this kit I was looking at getting one thicker disc made to compress the springs a bit more. Here`s the old clutch assembly ( 2 plates) under the hydraulic press. There`s about 2mm clearance/travel.

 

[ALIKA T3]

I couldn't find a performance vintage looking exhaust for my SS50, so I bought this guy off Webike in Japan.
As usual, mind blowing fast shipping for decent rates, living in Hi I pay high prices no matter where it comes from anyway...
It was 82USD, I wasn't expecting awesome quality at this price. Well, let's say I was prepared mentally 😆
Exhaust tip weld is not finished.

 

[ALIKA T3]

I could hear some sand in the muffler, this is what came out. There's more....