Cheap Junk, 1979 Honda Twinstar

Hello all, my name is Leon. This is my first motorcycle/ motorcycle project. Unless you count my 1964 Honda Cub 50cc.

How I got this is a but sketchy. I work part time at a farm, a neighbor was moving and had to get rid of a bunch of stuff. He invited me over to look through his garage and said eveything had to be out by the next night. This Honda was there in a big pile, he thought it was a CB250, but its a 1979 CM185 Twinstar. Initially I didn't want it, I told a friend about it, but his wife wasn't into it. Then i decided to take it. I went to his house late at night let myself into his garage and grabbed everything I thought could be for useful for the motorcycle.

Here it is in his garage, this is the pic I sent to my friend. The fenders were gone by the time I went back for it.


This is after I got it home and started putting together the pieces. Yes my back yard is a mess.



I got one front wheel and 2 rears, one (mostly) complete engine and one bottom end, and various other bits. No wiring, no carb, no seat, no gas tank, no handle bars, no pipes, no chain. Most of what was missing I wouldn't have wanted to use anyway.

Then my uncle gave me a bunch of leftovers from a '73? cl175 he had way back. most of the stuff is pretty weathered, but I plan to use the carbs from the 175, they are in great shape.

My plan for this is to build it up as cheaply as I can. I will build everything I can, so kind of a junk yard/ Mad Max build. I have been working on it off and on since October and will post pics of that soon.

Do you have a title? Any paperwork?

VonYinzer said:

Do you have a title? Any paperwork?

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A very good question.

After I got the bike home and started putting together what I had, I decided I better get a title before I get too far. I called the guy I got it from but it was never in his name. Then I started pursuing the title process but kept getting different answers from MVD folks. Then I heard about Vermont. So I called a police station and asked them to check the VIN for me. It came up clean, and I now have a VT plate. When i get closer to being done I'll get a NM title.

With that out of the way I started making parts. I didn't have any handlebars, but liked clip ons, so using a pair of mountain bike bars and some other tubing I made these.


I needed the brake reaction bar (is there a realer name for that part?)


The combination of clip ons and the forward mounted cruiser style pegs wasn't comfortable. So I set out to make some rear sets. I reused the original peg, just welded it to my new bracket. The con rods are from my uncle's stuff.




The shift side was more complicated and I had to do it twice. I decided to do a front pivot, but needed to have another link to un reverse the shift pattern. In my first design I got the lever ratio backwards and it was hard to shift. So with my second attempt I fixed that and made a better mount for the pedal to pivot on.



My kickstand didn't have the handle part, so I made one.


That brings us almost up to date. I have been working on a gas tank, so I'll have a few pics of that next time.

I don't expect to get everything right on the first try with this stuff, and I am open to constructive criticism, so if you see something I need to change let me know. But if I feel like your comments aren't founded on safety or aren't helpful I'll probably ignore you.

Thanks for watching.

Hey man im diggin it. Trash to treasure.

wahvtec said:

Hey man im diggin it. Trash to treasure.

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Thanks, that's the idea.

I didn't get a starter motor with the bike, and don't want one, and probably don't need one for a 180. So I cut off the starter part of side cover and made a filler piece for it. Its riveted on and I'll seal it with rtv when I assemble the engine.



I made this cardboard model to get an idea what my tank will look like. The tank will slope down where it narrows and will be about 3 inches longer in the rear. Its loosely based on Honda's GP bikes from the 60's, like the RC143 and RC145.



I was keeping my eye open for sheet metal to make my tank out of and spotted this old water tank at the farm. I took half of the bottom.


Then cut out the basic shape.


Here I have the final shape cut, the bends laid out, and I've rolled and cleaned up the edges.


I hope to start bending it up in the next day or two.

Any comments or criticisms are welcome, I'd rather hear it now than later.
Thanks for watching.

I got the top of my tank bent up and tacked. It didn't come out how I expected, but I like it. Also, it wont be that tall.





And in case you are wondering how rusty the inside is.


I plan to braze the tank instead of welding it. My reasoning is it should warp and burn through less. And I like the look of brazed joints.

Next I'll cut out the front to fit the around the frame. Then I can start trimming and bending the lower edge to meet the bottom. I also need to make the corner fillers.

Thanks for looking.

Well, I have the tank all tacked up. It went pretty well, I was worried that this thin metal would be hard to weld, but it wasn't bad.









One on the bike. I also threw the top end of my engine on temporarily to see how things would fit.

I need to clean my garage, you can barely tell where the motorcycle ends and the rest of my junk begins.

I Still need to add a filler neck, a bung for the petcock, and the front mounts.

Also, since this is a budget build I'll keep track of how much I've spent on this.
$10 for misc bolts
$26 for a used camshaft cause my original was rusty
$74 VT license plate
$110 total. That's not much, but eventually I'll run out of things I can make for free.

Thanks for looking.

fatleon said:

I went to his house late at night let myself into his garage and grabbed everything I thought could be for useful for the motorcycle.

Click to expand...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuedZ1Y_dU4

That tank is going to be SUPER uncomfortable with rear sets and clip ons. Just a heads up.

VonYinzer said:

That tank is going to be SUPER uncomfortable with rear sets and clip ons. Just a heads up.

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Why do you say that? Are you thinking it'll jab me in the belly, it doesn't. Or am I missing something?

Small update, I cleaned my garage. There's a little more to do, but it's so much nicer now.

Small update. I got my tank welded/brazed up. It also has a filler neck and cap now. All that's left is the front mounts and the petcock bung. Try telling someone you have to have to get a bung for your petcock. ;D

Anyway, some pics.





I also ordered a petcock from fleabay, it should be here early this week.

When the tank is done I think I'll work on modifying my intake manifolds, or mounting my headlight bucket.

Thanks for looking.

fatleon said:

Why do you say that? Are you thinking it'll jab me in the belly, it doesn't. Or am I missing something?

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I highly recommend going a little easier with the responses. Stay open minded to suggestions and unassuming of questions. If not, you'll understand why soon.

Why not go with dual carbs?

I havent seen anyone doing it on a cm185, and it would certainly add something authentic to the overall cafe look. In the hands of a good tuner, you might actually gain some power.

Check out redwillissuperman's SuperManifolds. I think they would be a very neat product to use on your engine, if they fit. I think they will. PM him and he will get with you on the specs. Here is the thread.

http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=69036.0

I really didn't mean it as a snarky response. I guess I need to work on my phrasing.
I know there are tons (get it?) of people on here with much more experience and knowledge than me, and being able to tap into that knowledge is one of my reasons for joining and starting this thread.

So I'll make another attempt at answering Von Yinzer: I would like to know more of your thoughts on my gas tank.

DohcBikes, I have been planning on using dual carbs, I have the carbs and manifolds from a 1973-ish CL175. They are in pretty good shape, and based on displacement I think they should work well. My plan is to weld new flanges onto the CL mani's to fit my CM head. But I will definitely check out your link. And thanks for saying something, I didn't mean to sound like a jerk.

I read it and don't know why anybody would take it as snarky, seemed fine to me you posed an honest question. Wouldn't worry about it.

Yup. All good on the reply there...

My thoughts were only that with the added length on the tank, and aggressive riding position that the rearsets/clip ons give it might be a touch uncomfortable. Maybe not. If you can sit on it and feel ok than good. With my short arms and legs (I'm 5'8" in boots ) I know I'd have a rough time with that set up.

kimjay said:

I read it and don't know why anybody would take it as snarky, seemed fine to me you posed an honest question. Wouldn't worry about it.

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VonYinzer said:

Yup. All good on the reply there...

My thoughts were only that with the added length on the tank, and aggressive riding position that the rearsets/clip ons give it might be a touch uncomfortable. Maybe not. If you can sit on it and feel ok than good. With my short arms and legs (I'm 5'8" in boots ) I know I'd have a rough time with that set up.

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Glad to hear it, thanks guys.

I think the tank looks bigger in the pics than real life. Its about 4 inches longer than the stock tank was, and that was for the upright cruiser style. Also I think this bike is on the small side being a 180. I've only sat on the bike for a minute at the most but it doesn't seem uncomfortable to me. And I'm 6'1" ;D

I realized I never posted a pic of what this hawg looked like in its heyday. Put on your jean jacket, here is the baby cruiser in all her glory.



Booorn in the U S AAAAAAAAA

I would put a crf230 engine in there. Or even xr200 would be fine, but the 230f with some hop ups would be a sweet swap.

DohcBikes said:

I would put a crf230 engine in there. Or even xr200 would be fine, but the 230f with some hop ups would be a sweet swap.

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That's certainly something to keep in mind, thanks. For now I plan to build the original engine, I haven't even ridden this thing yet.

I've been doing some small tinkering things. I started on the rest of the fuel system. I cleaned out the petcock and repaired some corrosion. I also took my carbs apart to clean them up. I still need to get gaskets for everything.

This is what came out of the petcock.


Some pitting.


All gone.


All laid out.


This is the better carb. There was very little corrosion at all in this one.


This one wasn't as lucky, but still not too bad. I've got it all cleaned up except for the drain screw in the bottom of the bowl. I havn't got that out yet.



I also built a work table/stand. My back will thank me for it later.

Nice. I like the stand too.