1972 Honda CL175 - First Time build. Help!

MattC

New Member
Hi everyone, this is my first attempt at a build. I know nothing other than what I have seen and learned online and youtube (Johnnyshop/Hackaweek,ect).
I also have barely any tools. With that being said... I am off from school for the summer, and would like to get this running as soon as possible and keep it under $1000 Total.

I picked this bike up off craigslist for $300 (Non-running, and in worse shape then I realized)
 

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Got it home and immediately tore it down.
 

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My first thoughts were to detab everything I dont need, and get a hoop and some sort of seat pan and box build in.
I tried to save money on a hoop by going to homedepo and bending some 1' steel tube...



It was really hard work, and although I managed to get it done, it got a kink at the last bend.
So I will be scraping that idea, and ordering a Hoop off ebay...and waiting for that to arrive.

To keep busy in the meantime I figured I would start prepping smaller things for paint...


My rear shocks are also looking bad, can I rebuild these or should I look into replacing them?


Comments. Suggestions and Help is much needed and appreciated! Thank you.
 

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Striping the tank.
 

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Couldn't find anyone to help with welding so we purchased one, and are going to learn how to weld ourselves. :-\
 

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First step is to avoid pulling the bike apart. Just get it running.......

OK so too late for that.
Shiny is nice, and so is trendy, but safe and running are way ahead in terms of importance.

What I am getting at is priorities. What are you looking for with this project? To learn about bikes? To "build" something or to have a well running bike to ride. They are not mutually exclusive objectives, but if having a safe nice running bike is a priority, that suggests that money spent on tires, cables etc and on getting the motor and brakes working well would be a priority.

It's way too easy to get sucked into a bottomless pit of spending to make our bikes look the way we think we want them and then we run out of time cash and enthusiasm to actually make them into safe good performing motorcycles, and often they end up uncomfortable and not safe and not as cool as we thought they would be.

I like your enthusiasm, but learning to weld on a motorcycle frame is rarely going to have a happy outcome - let alone be safe, but you should learn some skills that you can use later. Is there a school that you can sign up for welding lessons near you? That would be a good investment of time in your skills.

whatever your plan is good luck, have fun and be safe.
 
Cleaned up and painted.

Also still desperately trying to get a hoop bent, and ruining lots of pipes along the way learning
 

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Are you filling your tube with sand and capping the ends, then heating it before you attempt to bend it? If not, try .

'Hoops' (is that what you cafe guys call em?) are not easily made. That's why people sell them. People with special tools for bending 'hoops'.

The 90 amp harbor freight welder was a good purchase either way. It actually has a 125amp max rating, and the rated 20% duty cycle is far below what it will actually handle. Also it is a DCEN current to the torch as opposed to AC. This is good.

Although for once, I must agree with teazer (tune-a-fish put me in a good mood i guess) and preclude my suggestions for better welds with a stern 'you shouldn't learn on a bike'.

Sleeve and plug weld all tube joints. Search the welding forums to learn what this means, and don't ever ever skip these steps. You are NOT a welder, so you need to add a level of safety, and sleeving and plug welding is the way to do it.

Fit your pieces correctly. There should be virtually no air gaps between properly fitted pieces. This means trial and error, or more math than I am willing to do, so often trial and error. An experienced welder can bend this rule, but an experienced welder is also less likely to have poorly fitted pieces in the first place.

Throw your harbor freight wire in the trash. Go buy some Lincoln wire from a place that sells a lot. The longer wire sits, the more moisture can attack it.

Clean the area to be welded to a point where you wonder 'can it be TOO clean? No, it can't. Neither can the piece of metal that your ground is attached to, which will by the way be located as close to the weld as possible so the current stays consistent.

Grind the ends of the pipe at an angle, so that when the two pieces meet, it creates a 'v' to weld into. And since you took my advice and sleeved the joint, this will allow enough penetration to reach the sleeve as well. If you did it right.

I used to have one of those. I added a ground clamp so that I could attach one to each side of the weld. I am not an electrical engineer but I can tell you it worked much better after that mod. I also replaced the puny little power cord with a much heavier gauge wire. The last thing i did was eliminate the low power circuit that was only good for bodywork then rewired the high power circuit to see less resistance by eliminating the switch.

I once welded an entire custom model t chassis with that welder. The car sports a healthy 350(boooo hissssss let's hope Barnett doesn't see this) and has been ripping the track for over five years now so I'll call it a success.

Never kink the torch. It should be as untwisted as possible to allow the wire to feed consistently.

Do not use an extension cord with this welder, the performance will suffer greatly. Unless of course you have a very large gauge 110v ex. Cord, and most do not.

Get an auto dark mask from HF as well. They kick ass for the price, my latest one is an obvious upgrade over the last model. This tool is irreplaceable in respect to allowing hands free operation for the duration of your welding procedure.

If you want nice looking welds, you have to look into the weld puddle. This in my opinion is what separates good welders from bad. Its kinda like picking your head up before a golf shot, bad form. Yet many just look AT, not INTO, the puddle.

Never quench welds on mild steel with water. Let it cool on its own.

If you stop on the middle of a weld (try not to) you should clean the weld before beginning again. With experience this rule can be bent, but I don't recommend it.

Heating the area to be welded before you start welding will almost always benefit the final product.

Don't lead your wire too far out. Keep the tip of your torch close to the workpiece.

Fire is hot. Hot metal is hot. Hot stuff will burn you. Melted metal will burn into you. Melted metal will fall, and burn anything under it.

Cover any area on the bike you dont want burned with welding blankets or damp towels. Have a fire extinguisher handy. If this is not possible, at least do this:

Drill a small hole into the cap of a plastic liter pop bottle. Fill it with water. Squirt your buddy in the face with it to make sure it works. Put out fires with it.

There's more. That's enough for now, but there's more.



Practice on other shit. Please.
 
Thanks for all the advice and tips!


I am trying to get the forks open to rebuild, I drained them and opened the bottom bolt but cant get them separated! Manual says they should come right apart! Any help?
 
Awesome! Welcome and keep making mistakes! You may invent a better way of making a hoop. Never liked them on the pressed 175/200 frames anyway. First if we could do it anybody can do it as far as building a bike goes. Amen to Teazer's get it running first. Go for it welding and be the puddle! As far as starting and stopping on your welds tis is a truism especially if you try to weld thin sheet metal for a tank and then pressure test it...lol. There is tank sealer for that. Have FUN! Don't use nylocks to replace your brake stay nuts. If you want a thousand other don'ts you can read our strings.
 
MattC said:
Thanks for all the advice and tips!


I am trying to get the forks open to rebuild, I drained them and opened the bottom bolt but cant get them separated! Manual says they should come right apart! Any help?
You are welcome. Dont be shy show us some welds, and we can help make them better. Hopefully.

On your forks... Is there a snap ring visible where the lower and the tube meet? If so get it out. Then use the upper as a slide hammer to get them separated. I can already smell the old fork fluid...YUM!!
 
Had my buddy come by and help me with welding. Still needs to be grounded and sanded.
This will be where I put the battery and electronics under the seat.
 

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Finally got the forks open!
-time to order new seals, should I be cheap and get the eBay $10 or "oem" $25?

Also new ears came km the mail.
 

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I can't find a hoop that fits online and have been trying to make one for nearly 3 weeks now! I can't find a shop in town that can bend pipe either, don't know what to do.
 

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What exact size do you need? I highly doubt theres not someone out there that has what you need. I bought mine from Dime City and it was perfect for my Cm400t.
 
That bender is not for pipe.......you need dies for tube which won't fit your machine
There are a couple of members here who make hoops........just do a search because I can't remember their names at the moment

If you want to buy your own bender for tube, look at a company called JD2
 
You can get tubing bender dies for a Hossfeld, but they'll cost about $250. Just do a search for 1" Hossfeld tubing bender dies. If you plan to do a lot, maybe worth it. Depending on the guage tubing you're using, an electricians tubing bender will work. Much cheaper.
 
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