FFJMOORE Big Blue Engine rebuild

[ffjmoore]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!

Haha, yeah its an emeco chair. I forget the model number, its the one commonly used on navy ships. Its in pretty rough shape. I saw it sitting in a field behind some guys house and asked if he would sell it to me. He asked if it was worth anything and i said i doubt it ( didnt know if it was an emeco, it was covered in paint) I told him i give him 10 or 20 bucks. He said 30 and that was final. So i picked it up for 30. Nice chair for a shop. I like to use it when im welding.

 

[rjz5400]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!


to convert sealed beam 6v bulb to a 12v "replaceable" beam

you can carefully crush the back of the sealed beam headlight with pliers going all the way around and getting a really good snap going and (or before) heating up the original sauter that seals it in there.
once the bulb is broken, and i cant stress this enough, WITHOUT smashing it by bouncing against the headlight glass but by using the pliers and maybe a very small screwdriver to break it up, you can get all the pieces of the 6v bulb out and have just a shell.


you can do whatever you want here, use a 12v bulb from Lowes and attach it to a base that pushes in from the back, use a base for a different 12v bulb from auto store like an 1156 or clear 1157, or do what i did and use a hole saw to cut a hole in the metal back of the headlight and insert a halogen bulb with the plastic surround.
I used a 9006 bulb but it really doesn't matter, just measure 9 times and hole saw once. i got to fit mine perfect, no further glue or anything and still have high and low beams!!!!!


took about 5 hours to really think about and one broken bulb, then 15 minutes to do and going on 6 months or more and still shining perfect.


the most important part is to not break the front glass when removing that old bulb cause it is usually ridiculaous enourmous

 

[ffjmoore]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!

Thanks for that tip. I may give it a shot with one of my spare bulbs. As for me i bought a CB160 headlight. The bulb is 12v and fits into the CB125 headlight shell the same as the 6v. Then i put the 6 volt into the CB160 headlight bucket and put it on my CL125. The 160 has a built in speedo so it kinda goes with the look of my CL.


As for the 12 volt conversion I still am having regulator problems. I have 2 CB350 regulators. 1 doesnt work at all the other is regulating the voltage to low. I got home today after riding a total of maybe 6 miles and my battery was down to 6 volts. I unplugged the regulator and it brought the voltage up to 12v at idle. So i know the bike has plenty of output its just not being regulated correctly.

 

[twalsh341]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!

I took a manufacturers tour of the Emeco plant two years ago, some of the coolest stuff I'd ever seen in there fab wise, and a lot of really skilled workers. If you're ever around their place check it out.

 

[ffjmoore]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!

Well a little bit of progress. I got the bike registered for the road so im back to working on it. traded out another regulator and finally got one that works. Battery seems to be staying charged well. Im just riding it around as is, all beat up looking so i can sort out what needs to be done to the thing. So far I think its going to need a new clutch. I also have to fuss with the front brake a bit. It doesnt stop well. Feels like the pads arent grabbing. So im thinging the leaky fork seals have got oil on the pads.
I also am working on some paint. Im going to use a CB100 tank on this bike and then build a cafe seat.

 

[ffjmoore]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!


Chopped up my cl exhaust. Need to figure out what to run for a muffler. I alos fussed with the disk brake and got it to work a lot better. It does work better then a drum but holy crap there are a lot of moving parts. I guess ill keep it.

 

[ffjmoore]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!

F the disk brake, what a piece of shit. Got it so that when i pulled the brake it actually stopped the bike but when i was riding home from a friends house the bike was bogging down so i pulled off the road and the front brake was smoking! the thing was locking up on the front wheel. I really want to switch to drum now. Its just so much less hassle.

 

[surffly]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!

Im not 100% sure if you need to swap one of the legs to get the drum to work
Do you have a drum wheel?
I have a clean one if you need it

 

[ffjmoore]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!

I need to go look and see what i have. I do have a wheel but i need to see what shape it is in. I also have the other fork leg for the drum so i think im set. i wish the disk worked better because it stops well but i dont want to have to deal with it all the time.

 

[Erskine]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!

It is possible to do a hydraulic caliper conversion, it'll be the same as the cb200 guys are doing, I'm sure I saw a thread on the topic in 0800 cafe help section not long ago.

 

[ffjmoore]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!

That would be ideal, if you can find it please post it.

 

[ffjmoore]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!

Did a little searching around and found a guy who is willing to make me a hydraulic setup. Sending him my old caliper tomorrow.

 

[ffjmoore]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!

Sent out the caliper today. I Had a steering damper lying around so i figured i would slap it on lola. Looks good to me.

 

[ffjmoore]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!

 

[ffjmoore]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!


got my seat today. It fits the frame perfect but its a little to long so im going to chop it 3 inches or so.

 

[ffjmoore]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!


Cut the seat down and pulled the airbox. I also made a inner fender out of aluminum, and im in process of extending the wire harness. I cant help but feel that the hump is to big. How do you guys feel. Will it look ok? My only other option is to take it to a fiberglass shop and pay them to cut it, lower the rear hump and then fiberglass it back together. Lots of work.

a

 

[ffjmoore]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!

Thanks for the input guys, :
well i could help it so i tok the seat to a fiberglass shop to have it cut down to size. They quoted me $180 so instead they told me how they would do it and then sent me home with some glass mat. Got home and started chopping. Got it cut down to the height and glassed together. Still have some cutting and glassing to finish it up but i am much happier about the height. Amazing what adifferance 2" makes.

 

[ffjmoore]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!


almost done glassing the seat. Have a little touch up work to do. Then i have to figure out how im going to mount it and how i want the upholstery done.

 

[ffjmoore]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!


seat fiberglass work is basically done and i dropped the tank down about 3/4 inch in the front. Now i just need to drain the gas and send the tank and seat out for paint. I also ordered a set of clip ons and new fork ears.

 

[DirtyFrank]

Re: FFJMOORE 74 CB125 Lola 12 VOLTS!

The seat looks MUCH better after the chop. The hump was not proportional to the rest of the bike.