Fast forward to the great paintfest of 2010, when I decided to paint 7 bikes at once (crazy, I know, but not as crazy as you might think.) The seventh bike was this one, with the tank, headlight and rear fairing getting painted. Since there was already yellow powdercoat on the headlight, only the black stripe and clearcoat were needed there. The rear fairing got black powdercoat, and then silver lettering and clearcoat. The tank has side covers, so I decided to take a stab at some graphics. Not totally pleased with the outcome on the graphics, but hey, it was my first. The new seat was made, with a longer lever-arm. The handlebars were made from Z50 K1 bars. I almost put an SL70 tank on, but decided to try one on another build (that would later be the 50 Magnum.) The tail pipe was longer originally, but after whacking my shin with the tip a half-dozen times, it was chopped down.

 

More progress pics. The seat was layered with 1/2"foam, and then topped with some dense black foam. The lines are drawn on the black foam to show the upholstery folks how the stitching goes. The tank was shot with black basecoat and a little clear over that, then blocked out with 600 grit, and taped off prior to spraying the graphics. You can see that the original style pegs are still on, as the centerstand/peg assembly was yet to be built. Just looking at that tailpipe sticking out makes my shin hurt! The mess of wires in the headlight bucket. There were even more wires added for the signals. The blinker relay ended up in the housing as well, making for some tight quarters. The timeline on these pics is a little off, you can see the painted headlight bucket and a different mounting bracket for it in the lower left picture. That pic shows the top triple clamp after new holes were made to house the toggle switches, and holes at the top that allow the wires from inside the handlebars to pass through.The triple clamp was made from 1/2" 6061 aluminum plate. I wanted to use some vintage pilot light lenses in the build that were given to me by the guy who invented "circuit bending." They are salvaged from WW2 era aircraft instrument panels. The last pic shows the yoke for the brushguard that also acts as a wire and cable retainer. The brushguard was made from a CT90 donor.

 

Thats nice!!!

 

I like the idea of using the vintage aircraft lights! Was it one of these people that gave you the lights?

More please opcorn:.

 

Yes, the very first guy, who looks a little like Jerry Garcia. That's Q.Reed Ghazala. Met some of the others up in Cincinatti this summer. The "music" on the video is not the best representation of what can be done with these instruments, but rather a demonstration of some of the sounds the instruments are capable of. There are well-known artists using these instruments in recordings. As far as the pilot light lenses, Reed sent me some years ago that ended up on a couple bikes, and some instruments. When I was in Ohio, he took me to that place in the video where he is pointing to a sign inside a warehouse store. Mega-vintage pilot lights. Went another place and picked up some US navy surplus "aircraft tail lights" with the date April, 1944 on the box! Right in the middle of the war.
First pic is of the bike after the tailpipe was shortened. The pipe was made from a Norton 850 Commando, that a friend gave me, and the canister is a 69 Z50. Here the graphics have a couple coats of clear applied over it. Nothing has gone to the chrome shop. You can see the new footpeg assembly (sans pegs) peeking out from under the engine. You can also see a piece of metal at the front of the seat, that covers the lower back portion of the tank. That is the door for the glove box (there is so much room under the tank, it was a shame to let it go to waste.)The glove box is big enough for a wallet or cell phone, but not both. Next pic is a close-up of the retainer for the seat springs. Because the seat is hinged, there has to be something stopping it from going too far upward. There are rods passing from the seat through the springs, and held in place by a crossbar and a couple nuts. The crossbar hits the bottom of the tail light bracket to stop it. The rods were shortened sections of engine studs from a previous Z50 engine rebuild. Pic of a KO and two K1's in primer. (there were two more K2's done at the same time as well.) Pic inside the spray booth of random parts and the Super 50 tank. Last pic is of the relocated petcock. It was originally right where the rear frame comes up to the back of the tank.

 

More random build pics. The footpeg mount prior to chrome, with Fastway pegs. I angled the pegs slightly forward, as they were more comfortable on the feet that way (something about putting an adult on a kid's bike.) The brackets for the steering stabilizer were made from 3/8" aluminum plate. The steering stabilizers were found online as "Polini pocket bike" ones. They don't dampen the steering all that much, but make it a lot smoother. The geometry on the stabilizers took some time to figure out, there is just enough room in between the forks to make it work. A bracket was made from steel that goes around the lower steering stem and forkstop. Some of the mods are made to address more than one problem. This bracket takes care of four different concerns at once: providing the mounting point for the stabilizers; strengthening the steering stop from breakage; limiting fork turning; and bracing the lower bearing cup. I am sure some of you have seen the flaring-out that happens on the lower steering stem due to years of riding. This bracket clamps that area tightly. Pics of the footpeg/center stand just back from the chrome shop and assembled. The center stand was made from 1/2" steel tube, with slugs inside the very bottom and top segments to strengthen things up. The footpeg mount was made from 3/4" steel tube, with 1/8" steel plate to strengthen again. The centerstand spring is a K3 z50 brake return spring (like to keep things all Honda, as much as possible.

 

Pics of the front-end. The front fork dampers are obviously steering dampers. No doubt some of you guys have seen a similar set-up elsewhere, but the ones I usually see just put it on one fork. So more has to be better, right? Once again, I was trying to make something that served more than one purpose. I wanted to do a low tire-hugging front fender, but that means it has to be attached to the lower forks. With the fork boots in the way, the mounting point would be quite low. So 1/4" thick steel was used to make the fender bracket with a front tab to mount the fork damper to. My wife found the fender out in front of someones house, they were clearing out the garage and laid the fender and some other stock Harley take-off parts at the curb. The fender was cut down and remounted on the original bracket with a little re-shaping and a spacer to lift up the rear of the fender. The lower bracket and fender mount were connected in such a way that it acts as a fork brace as well. The upper fork damper bracket was made from some 1 1/2" black gas pipe. Some short 1/2" square bar pieces were welded along the side of the pipe sections to make the ears the screws go in. After the screw holes were drilled, the pieces of pipe were split down the middle. That way, the screw holes are perfectly aligned with one another, if you follow me. Everything got sanded and polished out before going for chrome. First pic is of everything back from the chrome shop. You can also see the aluminum pieces at the bottom of the picture, for the sides of the seat. They were made from 1/2" plate.

 

Davmo - did you do something special with the headset? Doesn't look like anything i have seen before. Bicycles have super precise headsets, but the couple i have opened up on these mini bikes are a mess and seams like an afterthought. I think it would be cool if i could get a chris king bicycle headset in there to smoothen things out!

 

Astonishing contrivance, Dave!


Augi, which part is the headset you speak of?

 

ugh, i just opened up my clymer book and found the exploded view of the headsets, i guess they have pressed in bearing races... the last picture in post #6, with the stabilizers looked different than any of my bikes in the headset bearing component... anyhow, i guess i need to read up on this book before asking dumb questions.

 

Hey, there are no dumb questions when it comes to customization. Maybe yours is the next great idea. I have gone so far as to put in an entirely new steering tube in a frame (the 50 Magnum build,) so thanks for more food for thought.

 

ugh, i just opened up my clymer book and found the exploded view of the headsets, i guess they have pressed in bearing races... the last picture in post #6, with the stabilizers looked different than any of my bikes in the headset bearing component... anyhow, i guess i need to read up on this book before asking dumb questions.

The only dumb question is the one you should have asked, but didn't.

I just never heard it called a headset before. Actually, I don't know what it is called - maybe it is a headset. But yes, the stock Honda minis all had pressed in races with loose balls (insert testicle joke here) . A common upgrade is to go with tapered bearings.

 

What did you use for the heat shield on the muffler?

 

The heat shield is from a piece of CT90 guard. The front portion of the lower guard was used on the CT117 build. I took the remainder and added a little "D" shaped tab to the front. The front mounting screw also passes through a threaded hole in the tailpipe, securing the front of the canister. I got a lot of milage from that guard. Got a good deal on fleabay for the lower and upper CT90 muffler guards If you look at the headpipe where it comes off the engine, there is a short little segment of the lower guard. The front portion of the upper CT90 guard was used for the CT117 canister heat shield, and as already mentioned, the rear of the lower CT90 guard was used on the heat shield of the Super 50. I still have a big hunk of the upper guard sitting in a bin... Pics of the super 50 pipe, CT117 pipe, and chrome just back from the chrome shop. The feeling of looking over a table of fresh chrome must be like burglars after a diamond heist. The brush guard was also from a CT 90. You can see on the bottom pan how it was cut and re-welded. It was also shortened height-wise, and the top mount was re-worked.

 

Got some light pictures. The first is the running light, second one is with brake, turn signal and ground effects on (kinda crappy pic, sorry.) I embedded a 10mm yellow LED in the front reflector bases for front turn signals. The clear flip-cover for the ground effects switch got a lighted base that comes on when it's working. Under the tank, the green and blue lights.

 

DaveMo - you know that I love this bike, but I have one suggestion for change.

It's all good, 'cause it'll go with your existing LEDs, and love for all things Fast & Furious...

http://www.zex.com/zx/machine-gun-purge-kit-blue.html

 

DaveMo - you know that I love this bike, but I have one suggestion for change.

It's all good, 'cause it'll go with your existing LEDs, and love for all things Fast & Furious...

ZEX

I was just tellin the Mrs. just this mornin how I would love to have a bike with nitrous and blue LED machine guns.

 

Davmolicious!

What is the wrap on the pipe? Not your average pipe wrap.

 

Have to check where I got it, but it's fiberglass woven tube. Kinda cool, because it will form to smaller pipes just as well as big, you just lose some length when you have a bigger pipe (there has to be a penicular joke in there somewhere.)

 

Some pictures of changes done since the bike was initially finished. The brake panels were drilled, front and back. I was surprised how little wear was on my brake shoes, given how much parade riding I've done on them. Switched from original grips to these Amal style ones. They are made by Posh. Made up some new oil cooler hoses. One of the Elvi moto-gurus (Clint) told me the Chinese pit bike oil cooler lines I was using would eventually fail. I never noticed any leaking, but saw that the plastic coating looked just a little melted near the head tap. When I went to replace them, I just pulled a little on the hose and was amazed at how easily one of them pulled out. The bike was cold at the time, but I have to believe heat would make it even easier. Used some Earl's hose ends and hose, and the old pitbike outer springs. Can't see it, but a Takegawa HD clutch was also put in a month ago. And then of course, the reworking of the tailpipe as seen in the previous post.

 

Took a couple close-ups of the glove box. There was so much room under the tunnel, it was a shame to let it go to waste. The box was made from 22gauge steel. The door is mounted to the front edge of the seat pan. The coil mount also had to be moved to the top of the frame tube to get the tank to fit. I used a K3 Z50 coil that had a longer spark cable. In the space under the front of the tank a 6V horn was placed, but without a battery, you can barely hear it. At some point, I will probably convert to 12V and have better lights. Speaking of lights, the headlight mount was made of steel and powdercoated yellow, originally. A new bracket was made using 1/8" aluminum bar and 3/8" solid rod. It was easier to make than you might think, requiring a couple of drill bits a countersink, and a tap. Aluminum is pretty soft, and easy to work with, and takes a polish easily.

 

Photos taken today. We had a real downpour, and some mild weather for August in Texas, and everything was just perfect, especially since I also got off call for work too. Preparing for possum pie. Enjoy.

 

I had no clue you had LEDs under the tank! I didn't notice that on the ride back from the ball park.

This bike inspired me when I first bought my 69. I found this on Google Images before I ever even knew you, Dave! As good as the newest pictures are, in person it looks even better.

 

Yeah, about 30 LED's in green and blue, under the seat, triple clamp, engine and tank. It is wired through the wiring harness, with the clear flip-switch activating it. Thanks for the kind words, see you Sunday!

 

Every so often I pull out a bike, clean out the carb, and take it out for a spin. After a couple years riding this bike hard with the Elvi, it was getting harder to start, and bogging sometimes. Since the Scorpion bike was running well, it just has sat the last year and a half. Did a couple clean and rides, but never satisfied with the result, so it got pushed to the back burner again. Today, I filed and reset the points, cleaned the carb, flushed the tank, and checked fuel delivery, but nothing seemed to help. Well, finally figured out it was a loose flywheel key, and badly boogered up crank and flywheel keyways as a result. Since I had parts on hand for another engine, went ahead with a new piston, cylinder hone, and 52mm stroker crank to make it a 110cc. Still have to get the carb dialed in or replaced, but no problem with bogging now.

 

Man, davmo will just as soon crack an engine case as crack a smile..

 

In the last month, I have assembled two 108's a 117, and this 110. It was about noon on Sunday, and I just wanted to see if I could get the engine out, built, and back in all in one day. If not for a couple meals and a football game, it would have been easy. As it was, I was riding it by 11:00 PM.

 

I love it, you just happened to have the parts lying around for a rebuilt stroker. If it were anyone else I would be like WTF? But since it's you my reaction was more like "Yeah, I can totally see that".

 

Yeah, some parts get bought because they are priced right, opposed to needing them at the time. There are a couple SL70 cases I have been planning to build up for a while, but before I get around to it, parts for the build get poached for something else like this. Put a breather and catch can on.

 

whats your plan with the gas tank "grab handles" for a lack of better term as i know they are mounting brackets but they look like grab bars lol...that tank really sets it off!!!

 

When I first did this bike up, it had the chrome covers and knee pads. Even after the sides got painted, I would run one cover on, one cover off. Going to keep them for now. The tank is the same one used on the CZ100, which is what gave me the idea to put one on this bike.

 

i figured you had the covers..but honestly i think covers off makes it more "speed" driven.....while the covers are cool i dig the paint

 

Thanks, man. All this talking about the tank is kind of timely... Friday night I noticed a small spot of gas on the floor by the bike. Well, long story short, I ended up stripping out the Kreme coating and re-coated with epoxy. I took the opportunity to do some tightening up on the seat cover and glove-box door

 

How do you strip kream out? Blast?

 

A lot of it peeled off in pretty big sheets once I got it started. Used a long screwdriver to get the back corners. The part that wouldn't peel got removed with acetone and bunches of paper towels.

 

Golly!

 

note to self..never use the kream...hopefully the epoxy holds up better?

 

Yeah, this tank is one of the earlier ones I coated back around 2009. None of the others have leaked as of yet, but one of them formed a "balloon" on the side of the tank. I have done a half dozen with epoxy so far, but the oldest is only about a year old. The epoxy is way tougher than kream. On one bike ( the "Jack" bike,) small pinholes were taped up, epoxy poured in, and then tape removed. When you look down in the tank, you can see daylight through those holes.