New honda cb 125e

Welcome Plodalong. I'm glad you found this forum - I was hoping it would help someone, although you sound as though you have more to give than to find from me.

I bought the screen from Rod at mototoys. This guy has a great reputation amongst the people who do business with him, me included. The screen is a puig. It only has two connection points - the two bolts that hold the headlight on. This is probably fine on road, but it really needed more support off road (well, forestry roads etc). I broke one on a spill and have since bought another. I made a 3rd contact point - but I think you've read about it is a previous post.

The last one I bought was $159 delivered, but he didn't charge me delivery. It is a 4620H PUIG PLUS tint.

It's good to hear about what you found re jetting. I have a 112. I'll try to open up the air box more than you and see how that goes. Right now mine pops on decel every now and then.

I haven't had much time with the bike for a while - family health matters - but I will persist and update as I do.

I'm impressed with your diagnostic skills - I haven't had any issues except one: if the bike sits for more than a few days it will idle but not run under power. I have to drain the bowl or because I live on a hill, roll it down the hill under throttle until it comes to life (about 30metres).

I do love this bike and think it is a great adventure bike. It forces me to look for alternative roads which is great fun. And that 14 litre tank! I also find I use as much of the tyres on corners as I do on my ktm - about 5mm from the edge. I can imagine doing extended adventure trips.

Oh, what's the air injection stuff? I'm all for removing unnecessary or restrictive junk.
 
Thanks for the info on the screen, will look into that.

I don't think opening up the Airbox actually does much. If you remove the inlet manifold you will see the inner diameter of the manifold and inlet for the head is about 1/2 inch. Probably won't breathe much better without a new manifold and head porting. I guess it's a case of it is what it is.

The air injection is a little valve that opens when you back off the throttle and allows air to enter the exhaust which helps to burn any unburnt fuel in the exhaust reducing emissions. The valve lives up under the tank behind the engine head. It has a small tube that connects betwween the valve and the inlet manifold and two large tubes that connect To the valve. One tube goes to the airfilter and the other goes to the chrome on the cam cover, I unbolted the valve and sealed off the connecting points. The chrome tube on the cam cover I cut short and crimped and sealed it. Makes it a little easier to remove the cam cover for valve adjustments.

Do you turn the fuel tap off when you stop the bike? Sounds like the carb bowl may be overfilling due to a leak from the float valve and causing your problem after sitting a few days.
You don't run it on e10 petrol? I avoid that stuff in all my vehicles.
 
Hey plodalong; how does your spark plug look with the 110 jet? Does it look good to you or do you think a little bigger would be better?

Re the fuel tap - I always turn it off. I've never noticed fuel out of the overflow hose either. It is good to hear a theory though:)
 
I finally spent some time finishing off the pannier racks. I'm really happy with them. I've had an off road (muddy) ride today and nothing budged.

I've used cloth tape (or hundred mph tape) and zip ties to hold it together. The cloth tape is just to give the zip ties something to grip to.

The rail can be lowered about 4 or 5 inches (both ends) to accommodate deeper bags.

I now have the seat to myself:) to shift my bum back when I'm laying along the bike on corners playing boy racer. It will also be good on those really steep descents. And keeping the weight low.
 

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urastus said:
Hey plodalong; how does your spark plug look with the 110 jet? Does it look good to you or do you think a little bigger would be better?

Plug looks fine no evidence of running hot.

Put a second had National Cycle screen on her and it seems to work pretty well. Top speed on the flat with no wind increased to a heady 96 kph.

Also fitted some RFY shocks, firmed up the rear end for my 86 kg, rides a bit higher as it doesn't sag so much. Rides Not as cushy but the shocks will probably loosen up a bit.

Might get some emulators for the forks at a later date

Not sure why I'm spending time and money on my cheap commuter, but what the hell I can't help my self.
 
plodalong, re the forks, another option may be: "in telescopic forks there are two main spring forces: the mechanical coil spring and the air spring. By its very nature the air spring is very progressive and can easily be tuned with oil level. It’s my experience that the combination of a straight-rate spring and the naturally occurring, progressive air spring offers the best combination of front suspension progressiveness. In fact, if more progressiveness or bottoming resistance is desired, a simple increase in fork oil level may be all that is necessary." This is from Lee Parks "total control: high performance street riding techniques" (I have another motorbike, but the book still really applies:)).

Yeah, it's a funny bike like that. I'm not spending much on it but I enjoy making it into what I want. It is all so simple and low tech and fun and amazing how reliable it is. We have a ball exploring on these little bikes.

I did buy the manual for it! So if you need any info...

Anyway, back to your forks: fully compressed oil should be 140mm from the top of the fork pipe. 160ml +/- 2.4ml per leg. The manual doesn't state what weight oil anywhere; it just says under the heading "recommended fluid" "fork fluid" ::)

If you do go with emulators, I'd like to hear how you go.

I was considering new shocks, but I've actuallay backed off pre load one notch. I'm usually up against the tank unless I'm braking or going down a steep hill. And I'm quick to stand if there is any rough stuff.
 
urastus,
I like what you say about raising the fork oil level;what weight/viscosity fork fluid are you using now ?
 
The bike with the new shocks and screen.



Also got an o ring chain coming, might add a couple of links which will extend the wheelbase and quell those unexpected power wheelies.

Not too worried about the forks bottoming, have allready added a bit of preload so it rides ok although it does dive a bit under brakes. I do like a bit of compliance and damping in my forks though, have fitted emulators or intiminators to my last 7 bikes. Ricor doesn't seem to make intiminators to fit 31mm forks but YSS has some emulators that should work.
 
It looks great. I like the forks too; they suit the off roading. It looks as though the springs are progressive, like the original rear shocks. I suppose this is to cover a wide range of varying weight riders (little 50kg indonesians or 90kg westerners). My forks are soft, but they have never bottomed out. I might try adding a small amount of fluid - I can only guess at the weight, there is nothing in the manual. I'm guessing it is 5 weight.

I can recommend my pannier racks - they work great; no movement of the panniers at all. I have a bigger set of panniers for more extensive trips that I expect the rack to adjust to.
 
After market exhaust system?

I'm not happy with the cheap chinese poorly made ixil exhaust. After not finding much around for the australian cb 125e, I remembered the cb 125f that is in Europe and the UK. I'm hoping it is roughly the same (they are fuel injected, mine isn't).

I found some reasonably priced and reasonable looking quality, full systems here:

http://stores.ebay.com.au/delkevic-au01/125-cc-/_i.html?_fsub=7027415014&_dmd=1&_nkw=cb+125f

I don't know much at all about exhaust systems. Finding the right balance of back pressure and easy flow.

Does anyone have any suggestions about which might be the better performance pipe? I'll email the manufacturer and ask what the inner diameter of header is.
 
Plodalong said:
The bike with the new shocks and screen.



Also got an o ring chain coming, might add a couple of links which will extend the wheelbase and quell those unexpected power wheelies.

Not too worried about the forks bottoming, have allready added a bit of preload so it rides ok although it does dive a bit under brakes. I do like a bit of compliance and damping in my forks though, have fitted emulators or intiminators to my last 7 bikes. Ricor doesn't seem to make intiminators to fit 31mm forks but YSS has some emulators that should work.

Hey, I just noticed your upmarket horns :) You'd love riding around in Asia.
 
Been to a few Asian countries, quite happy to be a passanger in a car. Was told when I went to Bangkok in the 90s the road toll in the city was 14000, half those motorcycle fatalities.

Put the horns on to sound more like a car horn, local drivers suck.
 
Plodalong said:
The air injection is a little valve that opens when you back off the throttle and allows air to enter the exhaust which helps to burn any unburnt fuel in the exhaust reducing emissions. The valve lives up under the tank behind the engine head. It has a small tube that connects betwween the valve and the inlet manifold and two large tubes that connect To the valve. One tube goes to the airfilter and the other goes to the chrome on the cam cover, I unbolted the valve and sealed off the connecting points. The chrome tube on the cam cover I cut short and crimped and sealed it. Makes it a little easier to remove the cam cover for valve adjustments.

Hey plodalong, I did some work on the bike tonight and half remembered what you said about the air injection thingy. I pulled it off thinking it was crankcase breather and hooked the hose straight from the rocker cover to the air box. Of course I thought "that's not right" when I started the bike up and felt air coming out the airbox snorkel. I left everything, came in here and re read your post :) Prior to reading your post again, I was going to reconnect everything thinking it was a pcv. Now I can leave it off and just plug up the hole in the rocker cover pipe and the airbox.
 
Long absence with a lot happening, but very slow on the bike front. Although I've been riding it a fair bit.

The updates:) I finally jetted the carb. Put in a 110 and cut the top off the air box. Huge difference. I can imagine it may have been 1hp or less, but it made a real difference, especially on hills in top gear (not having to drop down). And the induction noise - I thought the exhaust was loose. I pulled the plug and it still looked lean, so I've just jetted to 112. Not a huge difference but now the plug colour is finally looking a bit better. I used a plug color chart here: http://hpibajass.com/spark-plug-color/. I think mine is now similar to 13 or 14 on the picture. With the 108 (original jet) I reckon it was similar to picture 19 (mine had some white on the tip).

The motor seems to be cooler too, or at least seems to cool down quicker, which suggests it isn't as hot.

Previously I was using some valve lube in the fuel to help compensate for the lean fuel. A while ago I read on a forum somewhere where this guy was putting in some two stroke oil in his fuel. I'm going to do the same. Some castrol two stroke. I've put in about half a teaspoon to about 5 litres. Gail's scooter seems to run a lot freer than my cb, and I thought this might be because of the ring design that enables the cylinder to be lubed (with the gearbox oil?).

The ixil exhaust is holding up surprisingly well. I haven't put another bracket on it yet and do lots of forestry type dirt roads, some 4wd roads.

The pannier racks, panniers, and chain oiler are great and continue to work without any trouble.

I bought a cutting wheel for my little grinder and cut off the side stand assembly. It was stopping me from using the whole foot peg when standing, and it's a little foot peg as it is. I also cut off half the rear rack; I'll never use the back end of the rack and I still have the handle capability.

I've found what is for me, good tyre pressures. 26/21 on road, 18/15 off road. On road I get the best out of these tyres now. No more chicken strips and the tyres still hold their profile but absorb any sharp bumps. Off road pressures flatten the rear a bit when I'm sitting - but that isn't often. The rear tyre is only warm whenever I check it (unlike the tyres on my motard). With gear, tools etc (in the panniers) I reckon it's carrying about 90kg.

Some pictures :) The last one is from a recent exploratory ride
 

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Nice dry weather for you there.I live in the Pittsburgh,PA. area and the ground never dries up,always moist w/ too many allergies that I have I'll be moving out to the West USA soon. I'm glad to hear you jetted-up to keep your engine running cooler. 8)
 
I'd need different tyres if it was wet :) I've still got the kendas that came on the bike. We did put kenda trials tyres on Gail's scooter (one of the few tyres in 14")
 

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Re: New honda cb 125

I was wrong with the larger main. I rode a track that I'm familiar with - what gears I use on what hills. With the 112 main the bike was the same as it was when I was running the 108. I swapped back to the 110 - I now know this is the best main.

I still wondered if I could get some more performance at 80 -100% of throttle. I found this great article on carb tuning: http://www.factorypro.com/tech/tech_tuning_procedures/tuning_carbtune,CV,lower_rpm_engines.html. After reading that I thought it sounded like wot was still lean, so I put in another washer. We did about 100km of tight twisty sealed road where little bikes rule. I'd catch up to a wannabe rally driver, pull over and wait so that I'd get open slather at the corners. It feels stronger at high throttle going up hills. I feel that the tuning is finished :)

This is for cb 125e owners who might happen upon this. Each washer is .57mm thick - so a total of 1.14mm is ideal. There is a white nylon thingy that sits on top of the needle, and locks down with a quarter turn. With two washers the needle sits too high for the thingy to lock down. Take the spring off the thingy and grind the post down that the spring was on. I used a dremel tool with a narrow stone. It only has to be ground down .6mm or so. Put the spring back on and now it will lock down.
 
A tyre review. I know these tyres are amazing for this bike, and there aren't a lot of options here in Aus for a 50/50 tyre. So, I'm keeping this thread alive for any fellow cb125e owners looking for info.

I've been using kenda block trails - these are the same as in the picture above of Gail's bike. I think they are the best 50/50 tyre I've used. They are better than the original road tyres on road. I always go edge to edge on or off road, both front and rear. The rear has about 3mm left in the centre and I still roll onto the sides with no drama - I've never had that in the past (they always slid at this point). Although past dual sports I owned were always bigger, heavier and more powerful. Where I live it is rocky or hardpack or loose over hard.

Anyway, I went for a ride yesterday (first time in a month, Winter :( ), and tried out a new action cam. I thought it would make a good tyre review - an objective rather than this subjective review. The roads in the review are tight and twisty. The bike looks fast, but I haven't gone over 80km/ph and generally peg out at 70km/ph. The roads make it look fast - it's where little bikes rule :) Enjoy

https://youtu.be/2JuOq7sGNpE
 
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