1974 CB125S restomod with 200cc Lifan

Thought I might share my winter project that I did for my wife. I had bought her this little bike for her to rife around town with me at a swap meet. Looked solid, and had a new seat, and ran. I figured I could tackle it.

Got it home and couldn't really get it running properly. Broke into the engine and found a crack in the piston. Gotta love these little Hondas! We rode it around at the swap meet that way! Put a top end kit in it and she rode it for a while. She had some issues with it not having enough power, and didn't like the kick start. So after we bought a house and got a garage, I got to work.
It now has a 200cc Lifan engine, all 12v, and clubman bars. She was very specific on how she wanted the bike to look, so I followed her direction. She wanted the bars, but everything else to be as original as possible. She also liked the satin paint that I used on my bike. Turned out to look really nice! There's also a hydraulic front brake setup on the way for it from a Lifan scooter.



Here it is on our ride this weekend next to my CM400.



She really likes the bike, and I thought I would share what can be done with these little bikes. Lemme know what you guys think!

Thought I'd post a pic of the hydraulic brake setup I came up with. It's a front brake from a chinese scooter that I made an adapter to use. Here's the link to the part: http://www.lifanenginepartswholesale.com/scooter-front-brake-assembly-front-brake-assembly-10-for-chinese-150cc-scooters-mopeds-p-12916.html

And here's the bracket I made:





It's a 3 piece bracket made from 1/4" plate. One bracket bolts to the fork, then a spacer, then the bracket that bolts to the factory caliper bracket. Works much better than the factory setup!

Thank you!!! I just bought the exact same caliper for my 125, and was just doing a search to see about mounting options. Perfect timing. What did you use for a throttle? My current throttle has the switch/lever attached, so I can't just mount the new lever to the bars.

Wow I am stoked to see a lifan drop in. My buddy has a 1964 c110 honda with a 140 horizontal lifan and it runs great. I am interested in this 200cc drop in. Was it tough to do?

I'm interested in the 200 conversion too.

Thanks in advance.

how fast is that CB125 with the Lifan in it?

Sorry, just now saw the replies. She's had it to 75. I could probably get more with some different gearing, but she likes the power it has now. It pulls the front wheel if you shift quickly. All I had to do for the swap was remake a top motor mount and rewire the bike. Only real trouble was getting it to charge. After a lot of experimenting, I got it to work by running the headlight off both yellow wires coming from the stator, and everything else from the battery. Running a ballistic 4 cell in it now.

coldfuzion76 said:

Sorry, just now saw the replies. She's had it to 75. I could probably get more with some different gearing, but she likes the power it has now. It pulls the front wheel if you shift quickly. All I had to do for the swap was remake a top motor mount and rewire the bike. Only real trouble was getting it to charge. After a lot of experimenting, I got it to work by running the headlight off both yellow wires coming from the stator, and everything else from the battery. Running a ballistic 4 cell in it now.

Click to expand...

and the Lifan is a OHV one not the OHC?

Yeah, I never found an OHC version to use. They're kinda scarce around here as is.

Hi there, I also own a 1974 CB 125 and I am having a rough time fixing my front brakes. I would like to use the Lifan setup as an alternative. Are you still able to make the mounting brackets for the conversion? Also, did you use the stock rotor? I am having a hard time finding the front brake parts any where. Please let me know, thanks.

Did you get the engine from the same place as the caliper?

I understand that there are clearance issues with the stock exhaust with the oil indicator on the engine case. How did you solve this.

coldfuzion76 said:

Thought I might share my winter project that I did for my wife. I had bought her this little bike for her to rife around town with me at a swap meet. Looked solid, and had a new seat, and ran. I figured I could tackle it.

Got it home and couldn't really get it running properly. Broke into the engine and found a crack in the piston. Gotta love these little Hondas! We rode it around at the swap meet that way! Put a top end kit in it and she rode it for a while. She had some issues with it not having enough power, and didn't like the kick start. So after we bought a house and got a garage, I got to work.
It now has a 200cc Lifan engine, all 12v, and clubman bars. She was very specific on how she wanted the bike to look, so I followed her direction. She wanted the bars, but everything else to be as original as possible. She also liked the satin paint that I used on my bike. Turned out to look really nice! There's also a hydraulic front brake setup on the way for it from a Lifan scooter.

Here it is on our ride this weekend next to my CM400.

She really likes the bike, and I thought I would share what can be done with these little bikes. Lemme know what you guys think!

Click to expand...

How did you modify the exhaust to clear the engine case oil indicator?