# My latest project (bike related)



## Clouder

Howzit guys!

So I've been a bit busy doing some work on my new bike..

I decided to sell my little CB125 and purchased a CBX250 Twister. We (me and @Casper) work on and ride so many bikes, but I just have a small bike for my personal use (shops and back).

Anyway, I got the bike about a month ago and it looked like this...





The list of things to do was ummmm rather long.
Firstly, it had to go through hours and hours AND HOURS of proper cleaning. Especially areas such as in front of the rear wheel (Swingarm and shock), chain, sprockets and covers (years of old chainlube) under the engine, inside the front mudguard, under the seat, etc.
The Front Brake and Clutch levers was severely warped and damaged.
The Forks Seals were shot to hell.
The speedometer housing was broken
The Topbox Bracket was flimsy and the topbox would bounce up and down while riding.
It needed a service
Many, many things needed painting (like the exhaust header, footrest brackets, sidecovers, etc.)
Carburetor was dirty

Anyway that is just to mention a few things...

So here I started tackling this job and getting everything up to a standard which I would be happy with..

Levers..... (check the previous pic for a before shot)



Busy Cleaning up this MESS (It will never be properly clean though as everytime the chain gets lubed, lube is flung off the chain. so it requires constant cleaning.... I doubt its ever been cleaned before)



Starting to look better



Replacing the Fork seals



Adding support to the topbox bracket



Painting footrest brackets



Afterwards I decided that I don't want my shoes to rub up all the paint of the brackets, so I made a plan



The guage cluster repair...
Before:


After:



After this a whole host of other repairs was done.

And then, I decided. I want my bike Matt Blue. So out came the plastidip!





Well that's it for now

Reactions: Like 8 | Winner 8


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## William Vermaak

Very nice work dude. Wonder how many of us on here are bikers.


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## Clouder

Thanx @William Vermaak, there's a few on here.

Sent from my VIE-L09 using Tapatalk


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## Riaz

Awesome work man

Bike looks brand new


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## Riaz

William Vermaak said:


> Very nice work dude. Wonder how many of us on here are bikers.


There are quite a few of us here bud


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## MrDeedz

William Vermaak said:


> Very nice work dude. Wonder how many of us on here are bikers.



if it aint a GIXXER it aint a bike, just teazing, im not a biker but this is my dream baby SUZUKI GSXR

Reactions: Like 1


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## William Vermaak

LMAO @MrDeedz 
I'm a Kawa man myself. Got a 2000 ZX-12R, 2008 KLR650 and 2016 ER-6F.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Thanks 1


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## Clouder

Thanx @Riaz

We're currently work on:
1X Yamaha DT175 (superfun thing this!)
1X Kawasaki KDX200
1X Yamaha RT100 (for the Kids)
1x Suzuki RM80 (EPIC FUN!)
1X Suzuki GSXR 1100 (Slingshot)
1X Yamaha FJ 1100 (long time project)
4X Yamaha XT500 (long time projects)
1X BMW F650GS
1X Honda Transalp 1000

Just Finished
1X Harley Davidson FXLR
1X Kawasaki ZX9R
1X Kawasaki ZZR 1100
1X KTM 50
1X Zongshen GY200
1X CX500 (FULL Restoration)
1x 19voetsek Vespa 200

We work on these bike in our free time, for the love of it.

Most of the bikes are from people we know, usually comes in for a fault here or a problem there or maybe a service. Some of the bikes are long time rebuilds and projects.

Have to add, it is absolutely staggering to see how people can just abuse and neglect motorcycles. JEEEEZ

Reactions: Like 1 | Creative 1


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## blujeenz

MrDeedz said:


> if it aint a GIXXER it aint a bike, just teazing, im not a biker but this is my dream baby SUZUKI GSXR
> View attachment 84829



You gave yourself away with that "pretender" bike. 
This is how real men do it!

Reactions: Like 4 | Winner 1


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## William Vermaak

blujeenz said:


> You gave yourself away with that "pretender" bike.
> This is how real men do it!
> View attachment 84851


Dude, that's awesome. Wouldn't mind if I had a Royal Enfield in my collection.
Now you will have to post pics once you're done with it ...

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## Clouder

Nice Enfield there @blujeenz

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## blujeenz

William Vermaak said:


> Dude, that's awesome. Wouldn't mind if I had a Royal Enfield in my collection.
> Now you will have to post pics once you're done with it ...


Thanks, it was getting a hand guard/disc brake upgrade after I T-boned an idiot motorist in 2013, but here it is outside Philadelphia back in '07, after its rebuild.

Reactions: Like 4 | Winner 1


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## Clouder

AHHHH That's better!! (Photo taken before the exhaust, footpeg bracket etc was painted and obviously before the dip - also got an additional, stock, grab handle for the back, when I don't feel like using the topbox... cost me 50bucks, what a bargain!)

Reactions: Like 2


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## NickT

William Vermaak said:


> Very nice work dude. Wonder how many of us on here are bikers.


Me!

Reactions: Like 5 | Winner 1


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## William Vermaak

NickT said:


> Me!
> View attachment 84878
> View attachment 84879



Awesome Pic!

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## Riaz

You know what we should have?

A vapers breakfast run


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## NickT

Any excuse to ride my bike. I'm down!!!


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## blujeenz

NickT said:


> Any excuse to ride my bike. I'm down!!!


Cool, but I dont think a breakfast run means we swing past JHB, @Riaz was talking about a local CPT one.


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## Riaz

Ok cape town bikers: 

Group of us riding to rooiels this Sunday 

Meeting 6am at fresh stop in Belgravia road. 

Join if you can


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## NickT

blujeenz said:


> Cool, but I dont think a breakfast run means we swing past JHB, @Riaz was talking about a local CPT one.



Ahhhhhhhh damnit!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Casper

Clouder said:


> Thanx @Riaz
> 
> We're currently work on:
> 1X Yamaha DT175 (superfun thing this!)
> 1X Kawasaki KDX200
> 1X Yamaha RT100 (for the Kids)
> 1x Suzuki RM80 (EPIC FUN!)
> 1X Suzuki GSXR 1100 (Slingshot)
> 1X Yamaha FJ 1100 (long time project)
> 4X Yamaha XT500 (long time projects)
> 1X BMW F650GS
> 1X Honda Transalp 1000
> 
> Just Finished
> 1X Harley Davidson FXLR
> 1X Kawasaki ZX9R
> 1X Kawasaki ZZR 1100
> 1X KTM 50
> 1X Zongshen GY200
> 1X CX500 (FULL Restoration)
> 1x 19voetsek Vespa 200
> 
> We work on these bike in our free time, for the love of it.
> 
> Most of the bikes are from people we know, usually comes in for a fault here or a problem there or maybe a service. Some of the bikes are long time rebuilds and projects.
> 
> Have to add, it is absolutely staggering to see how people can just abuse and neglect motorcycles. JEEEEZ




Hey @Clouder , just a Mistake here. You have the Transalp as a 1000, it was the 650, and, you forgot the Honda Varadero 1000, and the Kawasaki ZX-R750 aswell.

Very soon Im getting a '07 R6 for a gearbox replacement job aswell.

Oom @Rob Fisher , can the forum make us some cloth patches for our riding colours?? Maybe something like ecigssa (Clouder and Rider) maybe? Asseblief oom Rob?

Reactions: Like 1 | Funny 1


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## BumbleBee

Casper said:


> Hey @Clouder , just a Mistake here. You have the Transalp as a 1000, it was the 650, and, you forgot the Honda Varadero 1000, and the Kawasaki ZX-R750 aswell.
> 
> Very soon Im getting a '07 R6 for a gearbox replacement job aswell.
> 
> Oom @Rob Fisher , can the forum make us some cloth patches for our riding colours?? Maybe something like ecigssa (Clouder and Rider) maybe? Asseblief oom Rob?


I may be able to help with those colours, drop me a PM


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## Maxxis

Excellent thread! 

Only recently at the old age of 36 picked up my first bike. Good old '79 Suzuki GS425. 

Currently in for what seems like eternity in repairs but should be absolutely brilliant when I get it back. 

Will follow this thread closely. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Reactions: Like 1


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## Clouder

@Maxxis whats wrong with it?


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## Maxxis

Clouder said:


> @Maxxis whats wrong with it?



Where to begin

- Carb rebuild
- Valve clearance check and set
- Compression test
- Fix kickstart seal oil leak
- Rechrome and rebuild forks
- New sprockets and chain
- New brake pads
- Speedo cable replace
- Clutch set
- Low beam on headlight not working
- Front indicators not working
- Refurb gauge cluster
- Repaint tank and front fender
- Recover seat
- New drag or drop bars
- New grips

Thats the list of fixes and revamps for now .


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## Clouder

Sho.... ja, that's gonna cost a few bucks hey....


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## Maxxis

Doing most of the basics myself. The big jobs so far is around R7500 to get sorted.


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## Clouder

Always better to tackle faults yourself. I think the most costly items there are the rechroming of your forks and the body and paint work to be done.


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## Clouder

I fettled with my bike again over the weekend...

Firstly, I added rimtape. I really wanted a nice blue or bright yellow, but the blue they had was dark so I opted for reflective white.

Then, a buddy of mine bought new LED Spots for his R1200GS, and (very nice oak) gave his old spots to me, with relay, switch and ALLES included! So I tested the spots on the bench and found the stock 30W bulbs are chowing 6Amp each! I didn't think my bike's stator will handle an additional 12Amp, so I got LED H3 bulbs and started building a bracket. My amp meter doesn't even move when I connect them, so awesomeness!

The bracket is just a flat alluminium bar, and there are 2 pieces of bar (only 1 pictured - before it was cut to size) holding them to the back mounting of the oil cooler.



After I made sure that everything fits, I painted the bracket with Plastidip in the same blue as the rest of my bike.



Everything is wired up and neatly connected with heatshrink covering everything up. The wiring harness was cut to length so there's no extra wiring to be stored away. All the connections, fuse and relay are situated inside the headlight and out of the way.

I also installed a nice little switch with a blue LED to indicate when the spots are on.

Reactions: Like 7 | Winner 1


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## NickT

So, this arrived this morning....


Time to unleash the "beast"

Reactions: Like 1


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## Raindance

NickT said:


> So, this arrived this morning....
> View attachment 85821
> 
> Time to unleash the "beast"


Whats in the box!? The ten minute rule applies here as well! LOL
Regards


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## William Vermaak

Agree with @Raindance . What's in the box


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## NickT

It's the Flash Tune harness and software to plug into your ECU and totally de-restrict it. Thereby adding high fuel maps specific to mods and a multitude of other things to tinker with like lowering cooling fan activation temps, removing engine braking, disabling AIS valve etc etc etc.

https://ftecu.com/

Reactions: Like 1 | Winner 1


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## shabbar

My bike is almost completed.
Had a dual lever conversion done (clutch&brake) on one lever.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Raindance

shabbar said:


> My bike is almost completed.
> Had a dual lever conversion done (clutch&brake) on one lever.


This is a new concept for me. Some more details on this please. I'm thinking, first bit of pull releases the clutch and further pulling engages the rear brake? Or am i missing the plot completely?

Regards


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## shabbar

Raindance said:


> This is a new concept for me. Some more details on this please. I'm thinking, first bit of pull releases the clutch and further pulling engages the rear brake? Or am i missing the plot completely?
> 
> Regards



You missing the plot completely lol , long story short in 2010 a horse n trailer skipped a robot and I was involved in a head on collision which left my left hand paralyzed. So I had my clutch moved over to the right side so this will enable me to ride again. So two levers and throttle on the right side.

Reactions: Thanks 1 | Informative 1


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## shabbar



Reactions: Like 2 | Winner 1


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## William Vermaak

Must be a very interesting ride


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## shabbar

William Vermaak said:


> Must be a very interesting ride



all rides are

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Clouder

*"I NEED A 2 STROKE IN MY LIFE!"*

That's what I've been saying the last couple of months....

I've been looking for something that I can enjoy.... something that I can take into the bundus and just have fun. I don't want an MX bike, just something that I can enjoy riding...

So last night, I bought an old DT175...

It came with a lot of extra parts as well! 

1x DT175 (old flat-tank shape) complete (but without any lights or guages - full offroad)
1x complete frame with wiring, swingarm, tank, seat, plastics and a motor,
1x complete frame with a tailpiece and a swingarm (and forks - but they are loose).

So my plan is to to clean everything, open everything, see what I have, and get the white and pink bike running. Watch this space.....

Reactions: Like 4 | Winner 2


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## shabbar

Clouder said:


> *"I NEED A 2 STROKE IN MY LIFE!"*
> 
> That's what I've been saying the last couple of months....
> 
> I've been looking for something that I can enjoy.... something that I can take into the bundus and just have fun. I don't want an MX bike, just something that I can enjoy riding...
> 
> So last night, I bought an old DT175...
> 
> It came with a lot of extra parts as well!
> 
> 1x DT175 (old flat-tank shape) complete (but without any lights or guages - full offroad)
> 1x complete frame with wiring, swingarm, tank, seat, plastics and a motor,
> 1x complete frame with a tailpiece and a swingarm (and forks - but they are loose).
> 
> So my plan is to to clean everything, open everything, see what I have, and get the white and pink bike running. Watch this space.....
> 
> View attachment 90668



brings back memories , my first bike was a 50cc and then i got the dt 175 when i was around 9. sold that and went to a R1 at 12years of age.


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## Clouder

shabbar said:


> brings back memories , my first bike was a 50cc and then i got the dt 175 when i was around 9. sold that and went to a R1 at 12years of age.



Yeah,

My brother @Casper had a DT50, was a beautiful little thing..... was stock standard was so nice and quiet but then he modded it out. I had a TZR50. I still hate myself for selling it off! Should have kept the damn thing..

LOL!!!!!!!!

After fitting a _LOUD AS HELLLLLL_ Bosson racing pipe to his DT, @Casper would always go out hunting for old tannies sitting in their cars at the robot with the window open (A/C was not common 20 odd years back). He would the pull up next to them, sit for about 3 seconds and then grab a hand FULL of throttle, blowing that old tannies eardrums! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WAHAAA!!!! You would IMMEDIATELY see that tannie grabbing the window winder and roll up that window!


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## Caramia

Nice @Clouder! I wish I could pick up an oldie (basket case would work too) like this for Hubby to tinker on over weekends.


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## Maxxis

Caramia said:


> Nice @Clouder! I wish I could pick up an oldie (basket case would work too) like this for Hubby to tinker on over weekends.



Might be selling the GS425 soon

Reactions: Like 1


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## Maxxis

The old girl is back and running 1000% again. 

Something special about the classics. The feel, the sound. Project is still under serious consideration.

Reactions: Like 2 | Winner 2


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## Maxxis

Set of clubmans installed, some bar end mirrors, and new grips.

Reactions: Like 2 | Winner 1


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## Clouder

I've been hard at work on the DT in order to get her running and right.

I am not planning on winning concourse with it as it'll be my weekend toy to go and play with in the fields. But, it has to be right and look right. I am still FAAAAAAR from any type of body work, but so far I've worked on the engine and some other small little things.

First off, WASHING!







I cleaned off years of decay, 2 stroke oil, grease and mud and there is still a lot of the stuff remaining in the crevices of the frame etc. That'll get cleaned off later.

Now, time to open that motor! I took off the carb and cleaned it out, blew it out with the air hose and stored it. Then I opened the motor and found the piston and rings smashed up!



I also found that the bike is heavily ported and bored out to 1.5mm oversize! She must RUN with those mods! Luckily the sleeve does not have any damage in it due to the broken rings!

I cleaned off the rest of the engine... 
Before:


After:



After this I painted a host of things including the gear shifter and the engine side pots. I cleaned out everything under the engine covers, took off the clutch plates, cleaned them, reassembled and adjusted the clutch, replaced those worn out star screws with proper Stainless Steel Allenkey screws, and fitted the covers back on the motor.







On Wednesday I received my new 1.5mm oversize pistonkit and gooid it in! I also removed and properly cleaned out the chain and re installed it.



As you can see, there are still numerous items in need of restoration and painting. But, the bike runs. When I am happy with the way the bike runs, I will paint the frame, tank, plastics and all the other parts.

The wiring loom on this bike was utterly butchered. The wiring only allows the motor to run. There is no wiring for any electrical components whatsoever. So I decided to at least add a kill switch so that I can kill all power that goes to the spark plug when I need to. Luckily I found a kill switch on the white and pink DT, complete with throttle tube and original throttle cable attached! 

Busy with the restoration of the kill switch:

Reactions: Like 5 | Winner 1


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## Cruzz_33

Some 2017 projects! 

WSBK spec KTM RC8 (2017 race bike)


Shot from testing a few weeks back 


CBR 600

Reactions: Like 2


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## Faiyaz Cheulkar

Missing my bike. Just had to sell it off as it was back in India. It was a two year old CB unicorn. Wish it was here.


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## Raindance

Faiyaz Cheulkar said:


> Missing my bike. Just had to sell it off as it was back in India. It was a two year old CB unicorn. Wish it was here.
> View attachment 128463
> View attachment 128465


Front numberplates, brilliant how burocracy finds ways to make stupidity seem normal. 

Whats up with the engine warmer cable tied to the crashbars? Did it not cause over heating?

Regards


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## Faiyaz Cheulkar

Raindance said:


> Front numberplates, brilliant how burocracy finds ways to make stupidity seem normal.
> 
> Whats up with the engine warmer cable tied to the crashbars? Did it not cause over heating?
> 
> Regards


Front number plates are a norm for bikes in India.
We have a 4 month rainy season in India. And Mumbai where I am from gets torrential rainfall during those months. That is a pvc board tied to the crash bar to prevent mud from splashing on the engine and ur shoes. Rainy season is cool so engine doesn't heat up much.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Raindance

Faiyaz Cheulkar said:


> Front number plates are a norm for bikes in India.
> We have a 4 month rainy season in India. And Mumbai where I am from gets torrential rainfall during those months. That is a pvc board tied to the crash bar to prevent mud from splashing on the engine and ur shoes. Rainy season is cool so engine doesn't heat up much.


Thanks for clearing that up. I found it weird that you would do that to an aircooled bike in a place with a reputation for being very hot. Glad to see you are a real biker that rides come rain or shine (monsoon or shine actually), so many nice weather 'bikers' tell big tales but have never been wet and cold on a bike at night. Damn, i miss my bony as well!

Regards

Reactions: Like 2


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