1974 Honda Cl 125 Cafe Racer Project

Hey everyone. I am just starting my first project which is as you can see it is a 1974 Honda Cl 125. I got it for free and it is a fun little bike. I have been reading about cafe racers and i really want to "cafe" mine even though its a 125. Who cares it is fun. I will be posting my progress on here so please give me all of yours input! I am new so i will take anything to help.



This is her. She is in decent condition. Has a excellent shaped gas tank. It is actually a cb125 gas tank but the guy needed to replace the other one and this is all he could find. I want to paint it another color BUT this tank is in really good condition i may sell it to someone looking for a good one. If your interested tell me! It is just missing the emblems on it.





This is my first day working on it and i basically have it all dissembled. It is very basic i am just a little scared about the wiring it back up.



This is an idea of what i want to do with mine. If you have any ideas or suggestions please tell me. Thanks everyone

Hi Danny, as I said before, any problems post on here. BHP doesn't necessarily equate to fun and everyone starts somewhere. Keep the pictures coming!

Oh i will trust me. First question out of many. I am going to order some new handlebars. The throttle right now goes into the handle bars through a hiole and comes out. With the new handle bars would i have to drill a hole and route it through similar to the stock bars or is there another way to do it.

I suspect the routing of the throttle cable was an attempt by Honda to 'tidy things up', it's not a given that you route the cable through the handlebars so personally if your going for a change of bars such as 'ace' bars or clip-ons just route the cable through the easiest/ least kinked route.

I think it may be hard with the way it is right now. I took it apart and its a slide style throttle. So when you twist the grip it pulls the cable outward. Does anyone make grips that have the cable wrap around somehow inside rather than slide? This would make it so i can attach is directly to the grip rather than going through the piping. I hope you get what i am saying ha sorry if its confusing.

Hi Danny, what you are talking about is a standard 'twist-grip' throttle, that's where the cable is 'wrapped' round a guide inside the handle casing and twisting it pulls the cable taut and operates the carburettor slide.

In the UK we have bike 'breakers', these are places where old bikes go to die and get cannablised for their bits. I don't know if it's the same in the US, but if you can find a local breaker I'm sure many, many of the bikes will have what you are looking for and for not a lot of money.

Alternatively check out E-bay, lots of dirt bikes use them so you should be able to find something. Just make sure the internal diameter is the same as the bars you're going to use. Most Japanese and British bikes use 7/8 inch bars, but some of the bigger bikes and (I think) all Harleys use 1 inch, also look at the cable that it's attached to and see what you need at the carb end to operate the slide.

Thanks alot! I did some surfing on the internet and i found a number of different kinds to order from. So i was thinking about switching my turn signals to led rather than bulbs. Currently there is only one wire running to each of my turn signals and i know with leds you need two. How would i go about this? I did some reading about leds and motorcycles and understand that i would have to get a load equalizer. also is it worth changing my 6v system to a 12v system at all? Sorry for all the questions i am a newbie and i appreciate everything. Its a learning experience.

All lights work from two connections, a live and an earth. The reason your turn signals only have one wire going in is they use their mounting to the bike's chassis as an earth.

To use LEDs all you need to do is use the existing live connection for your live wire (probably red or brown in colour) and run the black wire to a convenient earthing point, but check that your LEDs will run off the 6V system or they will be very dim!

As for changing to 12V, you woudl need to see if teh bikes electrics could cope. You would need to change the starter (assuming it has one) alternator, bulbs, possibly the coil, and see if your fuses are 12V rated.

Alright that is what i thought but just wanted to make sure. In the us we call it ground. Basically the same thing. As for changing it to 12 volt. That is something i would rather do down the road. I dropped off the frame, swingarm and exhaust pipe to get sandblasted today. Hopefully they can save the exhaust pipe because that was just complete rust. If not whatever i think i may just get a cb exhaust since i like the down sweep better. Within the next 2 days the main parts should be painted besides the tank for now. Ill be sure to post more pictures as progress.

Here are the main parts after sandblasting. I wasn't expecting them to come out so well. There are two holes in the exhaust pipe so that gives me a reason to buy a nice new one




Going to throw primer on them asap.

Got it primed, painted and clear coated. Looking brand new. Also got some parts in the mail. New clubman style handlebars and a motion pro twist grip style throttle.

Looking good Danny! Just got some nice shiny bits in the post for my build as well, a set of clip-on handlebars, new headlamp mounts and a beautiful set of alloy velocity stacks, now I just need some time to fit them!



Hopefully the Honda will wind up like my last build

how you getting along with this project? looks like a promising start! will be keen to see how it turns out for you - i'm looking at getting a bike licence very soon and then sorting out my own cafe racer, probably based around a more recent CG125, ca 2005.

Nice! I hope it turns out the way you want it!

These small bikes i feel are the best to start off with. I was lucky and got this one for free and it just needed a carb cleaning. I still dont have my motorcycle license ha. These little bikes are so easy to work on and it doesnt cost that much to cafe them out which is nice. And it is a great learning experience. I have so much more to learn

UPDATE!

Started putting her back together. I painted the motor black because i am going to black the bike out. I was on Craigslist yesterday though and there is a brand new honda 125 replica motor that has barely been run for a cheap price that i may pick up tomorrow. ITs all chrome and shiny. It is beautiful. I will post pictures soon.

Picked up the motor got a steal on it and it is basically brand new. Will need work to put on bike though. Its 12 v so i have to change a fews things up which i am happy about. It give me a reason to. It cam with a coil rectifier and 2 wire harnesses. Its all electronic if i want it to be. It has a plug in for the speedo rather than a cable. I may get a new speedo i may not. something i need to think about. It has electric start witch i will hook up. We will see. Tell me what you all think of it. One question. It has a cdi ignition box in the harness what exactly is that used for?






Here she is. Shes Purddy

Hi Danny, nice looking motor and loving the 'shiney bits', well done that man!

I think if you Google cdi box you will find it's actually the electronic ignition system, rather than using the old fashioned points the cdi excites the coil pack which sends the spark to the plug.

I decided im not going to use the new motor. To much changing stuff. So i will just sell it or maybe make a go cart haha. The bike is halfway put together. Got a cb header today in the may and tried putting it on. i had to take off the kickstand because the footpeg was in the way of the muffler. I will need to find a way to put it back on. Maybe i will just put rearsets on. Another problem i may have is my foot brake might be rubbing on the muffler. Im not sure yet. I thought i ordered 1 header but it came with 2. Im guessing there for a 2 cylinder 125 then. Which may be the reason why the footpeg holder and brake pedal are interrupting its path. Mine is also a cl so that may be another reason. Im not sure if there are minuet differents in the setup.

Next on my list after everything is put together is to order new turn signals and a little brake light. I am going to fabricate my own seat. pan, cowl, fiberglass, cushion, leather and everyhing. I going to try installing the brake light in the back of the cowl. I have seen it done and i think it looks really cool.

Another question for you all. I bought new perches for the clutch and brake. So i had to eliminate the electronic controls because they are built in. I want all the controls on the left side and i found the perfect part.

http://www.dimecitycycles.com/vintage-cafe-racer-caferacer-bobber-brat-chopper-custom-motorcycle-electronic-handlebar-parts-black-headlight-blinker-control-killswitch-12-0041.html

Now for the actual question. It says the operating range is 10v-14v. Is it possible i can make these run on my 6v system?

Hi Danny, you've been quiet for a while, how's the build coming along?

Danny, any updates? I is the bike finished?