Honda CM125 'tracker' first bike/first build

Of course Von!

I only mentioned it cause of what Scruffy had said about his expriences with commuting/slow riding. Not trying to make excuses for anything.

I am working under the assumtion that any riding of a motorcycle is going to be dangerous. Anything I can do to minimize that danger will be benificial.

Chris
 
Chris, to me anything smaller than 61 cubic inches (1000cc) is a small bike, since my first one was a 1936 Knucklehead EL, followed by a string of Panheads, Shovelheads, 2 flathead Chiefs, 2 750cc Scouts, 4 750cc Harleys, a half dozen Ironhead Sportsters, a couple Evo Sportsters, and one FXWG Evo that ate 4 engines and 6 transmissions in 6 months. I've had a couple dozen English bikes and countless Japanese bikes (pick them up cheap, fix them, ride until bored, sell and repeat). I've had over 100 bikes in 25 years.

My current pair are:

1998 Suzuki Savage I bought new, rode fenderless for a few years and put the fender back on. I don't like how the fender looks (or feels) but I got tired of knocking my fork tubes and front tire back square with the down tube every couple months. It is currently down while I delete the electric decompression system, the bar switches and all the failed safeties. It has 15" rise handlebars, full rear fender off a Harley Shovelhead FL, and a pillow seat off a VN800A Kawasaki. It needs to run a front fender because it has the aerodynamics of a cinder block, making the front end light and squirmy even with taller rear shocks to "load" the front end better.

1963 Honda CL72 247cc Scrambler. Race bike turned cafe racer turned fire road beater bike for the Cascade Range in Washington state. Oversized pistons and a "hot" cam; CL77 (305cc) carbs, rear wheel and twin leading shoe brakes; Ceriani fork and rear shocks; XRTT replica tail section with custom set are in the works; Suzuki Titan (500cc 2 stroke twin) front wheel with twin leading shoe brakes; low bars (Emgo super bike/tracker bend)... and will get a steel cage fork brace or steel CL77 front fender with factory steel cage. Why? It only has 35mm form tubes, with the side loads it is capable of generating it WILL twist an unbraced front end apart, leading to axle or hub failure. It has at least 1/2 again the strength your forks do, and it has already snapped one 3/16" aluminum brace.

I'm 40 and walk with a cane fairly frequently. I've got an armored left humerus courtesy of a 20mph wreck on my Vulcan 800 Classic, broke the shoulder ball off and split the ball into 4 chunks. Right rotator cuff is trashed. I wear a full beard or goatee to covet where a clutch lever punched through my chin and came out behind my front teeth... I wear 1/2 or 3/4 helmets unless I'm racing, then I have to wear an approved full face or dirt helmet, and do so under protest, since the clutch lever went right past the chin bar... I'm actually under doctor's order to never ride again (bikes or horses), no commercial driving, permanent 35# weight capacity (ignored all the time), not drive a four wheeled vehicle more than 30 minutes at a time... 40 going on 70 something due to bike wrecks and a degenerative joint/disc disease is no fucking fun. And yeah, I violate doctor's orders all the time, and pay for it the next day...

The guys are getting on you because too many of us on the board have been down the e.r. road.
 
Thanks again for looking out, guys.

At the risk of coming across arguementive (not my intention)... below are 2 small Honda CMs that I used as reference when deciding what to do with my bike. The first by Blitz motorcycles and the second from Classified Moto. Neither of which with a front fender or fork brace? And the forks appear to be the stock honda forks?

Opinions? Are these bikes death traps?

I appreciate that I don't neeed the approval of the forum to run my bike without a brace/fender. However, when a bunch of dudes who have been riding for years tell me something is dangerous, that's going to stick with me. I am just trying to determine wether I HAVE to run a fork brace to make the bike road worthy, or if y'all just think I SHOULD run one (in the same way that one may think that you SHOULD wear a full face lid rather than an open face?)??

Chris
 

Attachments

  • Orange_mecanique_1.jpg
    Orange_mecanique_1.jpg
    77.5 KB · Views: 1,003
  • Ewing__20111025_1607.jpg
    Ewing__20111025_1607.jpg
    31.3 KB · Views: 8,182
I understand that a custom bike holds a lot of its appeal in the aesthetics, but they are also a functioning tool that should adhere to certain rules for both performance and safety. These bikes you have shown are sold on their looks and not on their performance, if your front wheel won't move with your bars it will be no fun to ride, guaranteed, and, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that it is a legal requirement to have some sort of front fender in the UK, which is why a lot of guys will use just a fender brace as a 'technically legal front-fender'. I wouldn't write it off, there's no guarantee that it won't look rad, there is always a cool-looking way to do everything, design one! :D
 
Fork brace on that bike is a necessity for (a) handling, (b) handling, and (c) longevity of the forks. Regular riding without one will necessitate realigning the forks routinely and you'll get really good at replacing fork seals.

Front fenders look cooler after you eat some rocks, I hear. :)

Great progress so far, guys, really enjoying following this.
 
Think about this:
Driving down the road putting along at 40 or so, car pulls out in front of you. You have kit enough time to not lay it over so you turn sharp while pulling the brakes.
Imagine how much more force that puts on the forks than you can and imagine how much they will twist.

Without it it will feel a bit squirrely but be completely rideable......until you have to do an emergency stop or evasive maneuver.
 
Nice progress on that CM! I am build one with the same bike. Was looking for a rear tyre with a classic look like that, could you please tell what brand and model is that? It Have the original size ? (I'm portuguese, errors can be found :p )
 
I'd decided not to come on forums anymore. Too many nerds telling you what you 'should' do based on their opinions rather than facts.

But, i've had a couple messages asking about the bike, so i thought i'd come back and this could be the 'build threads' full stop. I'll admit, looking back at those pics now, the bike was pretty scrappy and i was pretty green. However, the point was to learn by doing and i've learnt a massive amount messing with this bike. Its still kinda scrappy, not perfect and nothing ground breaking, but its mine and i like it.

I've done loads to the bike since the last post here, more than i care to type about in detail - engine swap, carb swap/rebuild/re-jet, exhaust/baffles, air filters, new battery box, new coils/leads/caps, re-wire, different tank, fuel lines/filter, tires, a million versions of the seat, switched back wheel for 18 inch, skimmed and rebuilt rear drum, chain, sprockets, rebuilt and lowered forks, new rear shocks, control cables, new headlight/taillight and mounts, speedo, etc.

But still no fork brace, and it hasn't killed me yet (even after some flat track racing at Dirt Quake No. 18)

So don't believe everything you read on the internet, try stuff out, try again, make mistakes, fuck shit up, deal with the consiquences, do it again, have fun, ride bikes, etc.

Sergio, that back tire was just the one that came on the bike. A metzeler, i think, 16x3.50, nothing fancy. I'd let you have it if you weren't so far away.

Chris
 

Attachments

  • photo 1.JPG
    photo 1.JPG
    536.3 KB · Views: 332
  • photo 2.JPG
    photo 2.JPG
    101.9 KB · Views: 1,160
Back
Top Bottom