Small Bike on a Small Budget

okiejoe

New Member
Greetings DTT! This is my first post, first bike project, and first cafe racer. I'm excited to dig out a bike I enjoyed when I was a teenager.

It's a '75 CB125S that my dad bought for me when I was 14 or 15. It was really nice when I first got it, and I put most of the 3100 miles on it. But being the heathen I am, it was neglected, abused, and rode like a dirt bike. Many donuts have been cut in the school yard with this little sucker.



 
So after 15 years, I'm exhuming it and making it my first real bike project.
My plans so far are to build a great little town bike for my short commute.

Questions so far:

One fork is seized. I have it soaking in PB Blaster now and got it to move slightly, but I think it's done for.
What is the best course of action? New tubes from Thailand? Different forks?
I'd like to keep the disc brake, or maybe upgrade to hydraulic. Depends on what I can find.

Battery Eliminator? I've heard mixed reviews. I plan on a 12v stator swap to update the lights.

I've ordered a new coil and points set, as the old stuff is too far gone to trust. $27 invested now, no turning back.
 
I like little bike builds

Good luck with it..............looking forward to see what you do to it.
 
Updates! I've made some progress, still a lot of cleaning to go.

I'm thinking drag bars, a DCC 1.9" speedo installed in the headlight bucket, and lots of black. No fenders, just a fork brace up front. I'm going to fiberglass a cafe seat, and maybe plasma cut some rear set hardware on my buddy's table.









 
That's a heck of a lot of progress! And such a kool story behind the bike! Cant wait to see it done and doing a few more donuts!
 
Parts! From China! Thanks Tommy Wang!








I want to mount that headlight as far back as possible, and figure out where I want the signals.
No decision on color yet, other than black engine, frame, and wheels.
I really need to blast the frame and swingarm as soon as it's not freezing cold.
 
Update

Updates: I've been working on an old air compressor to have blasting capability, and after some wiring and PB blaster I now have it working.

I've got the swingarm blasted, now I need to do the frame. Bought a few more parts as well. (new chain, cables, etc.)
Still cleaning everything. Clean, clean, clean. Clean? No. :mad:

So. . . now that it's spring, and my wife is done making me plant flowers, I can resume work! (When I'm not on the YZ.)
 
Blast Off!

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My $15 compressor. Blasts great!

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Blasted most of the frame, wheels, misc parts.

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Parts getting primed. I'm using rattle can self etching primer, but I plan to paint it with regular auto paint and my dad's nice paint gun.

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Getting some controls together.
 
What forks are those ?

I have a CB100 that I want to do a fork swap on and get a disc. Those look nice.



Dan
 
danielzink said:
What forks are those ?

I have a CB100 that I want to do a fork swap on and get a disc. Those look nice.



Dan

They're stock 125 forks with the mechanical disk. That disk set up is barely functional.
 
I'm using fine blasting sand (-20 grade) as media, and the cheap HF spot blaster you see on the compressor. (red tank)
It works great, and the sand is only $5 a bag at a local shop.

Yeah the stock disc is not great, the looks are it's best feature.
If you want the look of a disc just go hydraulic, converting to this setup is not worth it at all.
But I'm a small guy, and this bike won't see much over 45 mph. (Maybe the half ton.)

Today's Updates: More priming, cleaning, and sorting. Progress!
 
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