Hello from a new member from the Wirral;

Hi All
Name is Mike and I’m from Hoylake Wirral.
I used to play with bikes and cars when I was young, Back then I had time ! Over the years with career pressures and bringing up a load of kids I stopped working on my machines. (the cars got too complicated anyway)
Now I’m semi-retired and have more time I’ve decided to rediscover the joys of getting covered in grease.
I wanted a motorbike restoration project and decided to take it a step further and do some re-styling.
I like the café racer look so that is the route I am going down.
Strictly speaking I will not be making a café racer, as it is not my intention to increase the power of the bike. (lets face it doing much with a 125cc single cylinder pushrod engine would be a challenge) Lets just say I’m making a bike that is inspired by the style of the café racer.
So what have I bought ?
It’s a 1988 Honda CG125(BR) E/F (pause whilst the laughter dies down !)
It was one of the first batch of Hondas built in Brazil.
So why did I go for this particular bike ?
It was cheap !
It was complete, original and mechanically sound.
It kicks first time and the running engine sounds sweet.
All electrical items work.
Parts (both second hand and new) are inexpensive and easy to source.
It’s had a long production run (1976 till now) so swapping out parts from newer models should be easy, thinking of things like clocks and switches.
It’s a basic, simple bike.
All the engine / frame numbers and the registration match up OK
It’s a Honda !

So what are my intentions ?
I want to produce a bike that is safe, comfortable, in first class mechanical condition, and hopefully better looking than the standard bike.
Working on the basis that Honda probably know a bit more about the geometry of a motorcycle than me, I am not going to make any changes to the standard frame of forks.
During the strip down / rebuild I will refurbish / replace any defective or suspect components.
I will change the handlebars (the existing ones being the high commuter type)
No clip—ons or clubman bars but something a bit lower and straighter. If the new bars compromise the seating position I will fit rearsets (but I hope it will not be needed)
I like the standard tank so will probably keep it. I will make a custom seat.
I will de-clutter the frame and re-route the wiring harness for neatness. The coil and regulator are already hidden under the tank so that’s one less job !
I have the gear to do all my own paint spraying.

I’ve made a start on the strip down, I am amazed at how well it is coming apart considering it’s 25 years old. Only had to grind 2 bolts that were on lugs that are coming off anyway.


I will post some photos when I learn how its done !!
Oh! and the colour scheme ? Thinking of a yellow frame ( think Bimota) and dark (gunmetal) grey for the other bits.

This project is really a ‘test bed’ to get me back into some hands-on mechanical stuff and to stretch my creativity, my intention is to take on something more ambitious once this learning curve is out of the way.
Sorry for such a long post, hope I didn’t bore you too much.

Look forward to any comments regarding my general approach to the project.

Regards

Mike

Hello Mike, i`m Mike too.

I`m up in Durham and am new to this site too.

Have fun.

Hi Mike and welcome. You obviously already have a good basis for what you want to do, try Googling 'CG125 cafe racer' images', you'll be surprised what comes up!

And don't worry about it 'only' being a 125, takes just as much work to make it look individual as it does with a 4-cylinder 1000cc bike, it's just scale.

Good luck with the build.

Thanks for your words of encouragement.
I Googled 'CG125 cafe racers' before I bought the bike. Some great looking bikes came up !
Must admit they influenced me in my decision to go for the CG125.
Some really nice designs coupled with fantastic workmanship.
If mine comes out anywhere near some of those I'll be very pleased.
Regards
Mike