few questions...

hi there, before i begin on my h100, I'd just like to ask a few background questions to help me form a plan.

here's my base


First, clocks... obviously if I drop the bars lower in any way at all, these clocks are going to be like a tower block on top of the bars... is there an easy way to lower the standard clocks? or am I better off getting some plain universal jobbie to mount more discreetly?

wheels and tyres... I'm fairly sure there are tubed tyres on it at the moment, is there some way to run more modern sporty rubber on these wheels? most of the options I come across have quite a square section, not really the best for chucking the bike round corners. (i'm getting new replacement wheels. or potentially off a bike that had disk brakes, inc front end)

indicators.... can I do away with them? I hate the standard ones, and cant be bothered unless I have to, to find some 6v stuff that actually works...

and lastly... where can I find a sort of "brat style" seat, along these lines



cheers for any advice folks

Hi and welcome.

Clocks are going to be difficult because of the size of the housing, if they are separate in the housing you might be able to make up a bracket from ali or mild steel. If not then I'd look at a single, retro-style speedo, you don't really need a rev counter, your ears should tell you if you're overdoing it!

Indicators are compulsory on any bike registered after Aug 1st 1986 so if yours is newer than that you have to have them and they have to work!

You're going to struggle to find 'sporty' tyres for that section wheel, better to get something a bit bigger width wise with tyres already fitted. Remember if you're going for discs you will need forks with mountings for the calipers, your existing forks won't do.

Can't help with the seat, that looks home-made, but have a trawl on e-bay for cafe racer seats (or even just motorbike seats) and see what that throws up.

Good luck with it and remember to post pictures as you go along.

in order to drop the clocks you're going to have to lower the headlamp,get new brackets so this can happen then get/make some spacers to go under the mounting brackets of speedo. cables may be then too long.measure stansions & buy some clip ons that fit & cut off old handlebar mounting points, & polish up top yolk. ps junk/move ignition switch!

I think i'm going to just go with one of those little speedos you can get... like you said paulie. these square jobbies are too 80s anyhow.

it's a november 1986 bike turns out, so looks like going to have to run indicators, i'll find something small and inoffensive. i want to convert the bike to 12v, as i think the options for bits and bobs are better. can get a little battery and run led's for all the lights then. currently the headlamp and tail light run directly off the generator which means at junctions in the dark, i basically lose all lighting as the light dies down. including my rear, which is worrying as i don't have any hi vis gear. have to sit there and rev so that i'm visible... but look like a chav at the same time. so if i can get it to charge a 12v battery, i can run everything off that permanently. i think it's as simple as change the reg to a 12v one as the generator can handle it (fairly sure i saw that somewhere before).

either going to run clipons, or straight bars... haven't decided yet. like the look of both. is there any reason not to flip the stock bars rather than use clip ons? seems to be done with mixed results...

i think tyre options get a little better once stepped up from 2.50/18 and 2.75/18 to a 2.75 front and a 3.00 rear.. i think these sizes are on early modern ybr125s too so are very common. these size wheels are also on many old cb125 which a lot of also have a front disk. so i might see if i can get hold of an old cb125 and take it's wheels and forks etc, and then sell on any bits i can from that to make some funds back. will have to double check the fork diameters, wheel width should be fine.

other than that, it's just service items and cosmetics to do. i'm going to leave the engine as they are decent for what they are, and it is more than willing to take a hammering. they race them in australia, and i think lots of those folk squeeze over 20bhp out of them and still hammer them about.

picked up keys to new house, move in in around 2 weeks or so. so hopefully i can get started before christmas and make some real progress


also... re the speedo cable being too long... would i be able to just buy a shorter one? and also, if i fitted an aftermarket speedo, how accurate are they?

You can probably get a shorter speedo cable but to be honest I doubt there will be much in it. You will need to find an aftermarket speedo with the correct ratio for your speedo drive to be sure of it's accuracy.

How do i find the ratio? Count teeths on the worm drive or something?

although those mini speedos may seem like a good idea, in reality they're a bit of a joke. they're for streetfighters with big ego's who want it to say 160mph, it'll barely get off the stops on a h100 & then you'll still have to mess about sorting your warning lights out. look on the grass verges by the side of any road, hi-vis bibs are everywhere where they've fallen off peoples ladders. ps most modern bikes have 17" wheels

mike151 wrote:

 look on the grass verges by the side of any road, hi-vis bibs are everywhere where they've fallen off peoples ladders. ps most modern bikes have 17" wheels

I think the OP means his lights need to be seen, which having had bikes with no battery in the past I do understand what he means!

Yep.. but from what i can see you can buy matched pairs of eg michelin pilots for "ybr" in thos sizes. So i think all the gear off a cb125 is the way to go.

Yeah true... surely some read lower? I'll find something anyway.

Mb80 front sprocket and the larger tyre (slightly) do take the gearing to allow 78mph (gps) on the h100, as its the gearing that is the massively limiting factor on the standard bike. It will rev off the clock if you let it.

ocatoro wrote:

How do i find the ratio? Count teeths on the worm drive or something?

No, just look for a clock which runs on the same wheel diameter as yours, don't forget to include the tyre profile as that will give you the same rolling radius and the speedo will be fairly accurate.

Or go for something like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=honda+speedometer&_lncat=0&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313&_nkw=honda+speedometer&_sacat=0 Just e-mail the seller and tell them what your wheal diamter is and they should be able to tell you how accurate it will be.

How awesome to find this post whilst googling random H100 info.

I am also just starting my own 1987 H100 S2 café racer project so hopefully we can help one another out here and there.

I have literally just finished stripping the little blighter down to its frame ready for the engine, frame and swing arm to be bead blasted next week so we may be doing similar work on the same bikes at the same time. All good.

I am going with Ace handlebars on mine as clip ons (that fit the h100) are expensive and you would need to fabricate another headlight bracket as you have to lose the current ones to accommodate the clip on, with ace bars the headlight can stay in place and the current speedo bracket can be used to attach your new speedo (you may need to angle it slightly differently though, maybe cut a section off and drill new holes)

I have bought a speedo off a 1974 Honda CB125 which should in theory have the same ratios and only goes up to 90mph so looks the part, it was on ebay for £20 and to be honest looks much cooler than the small aftermarket ones available and being Honda should be more reliable.

The tyres I am going for are likely to be Continental Conti Go's, 2.75 front & 3.00 Back. Conti go's are cheap (in comparison to others) , have good grip and last well, I have had them on a CBR600 before now and they were a good tyre.

I was also thinking of going for a bratstyle seat and have gone a little crazy here :)I have bought a skateboard for £10 that is pretty much the right dimensions with a lovely kink at the back, it will need cutting and shaping slightly but will form a nice base. A 1m Square of fake leather cost me £4 and then you then need to find a quality motorcycle seat upholster to finish it off, give him the old foam from you old seat, the skateboard and the material and bobs your uncle. Should cost around £60 - 70 all in.

I have already bought a new air filter, 16T front sprocket, performance reed valve and new exhaust which should give it a bit more va va voom.

I have a few links for parts that I will post up next week, it wont let me post them just yet as I am too new.

I will update this post as things progress with my project and hopefully we can move one anothers on.

Once they are done, lets meet up and race

awesome! be interesting to see how same and different they end up

I'm thinking of putting a 17t front sprocket on.. see how things go... to be honest i'm wondering if the top end is worth bothering with for what I'll be using the bike for. suppose how much acceleration is sacrificed in the process.

I was looking at the conti go's as well.. £70 a pair can't knock that.

skateboard is a good idea... friend of mine suggested it the other day and we were like hmmmm

reading about lowering the position of the speedometer, Old Empire motorcycles had a nifty idea for fitting one of the Smiths speedometer From the place where I work, they fitted it into the top yoke - follow the link

http://oldempiremotorcycles.com/17082013-smiths/

that's purdy!

ocatoro wrote:

that's purdy!

Thanks, they take a few from us on a few of thier bikes, The Pup was the first one, then the Vulcan, cant remember which other bikes they got them on, also we produced the original set for the Royal enfield prototype http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oZZrCjinL0M/Tw_P0cRNMaI/AAAAAAAAI6s/_eUEDok8dec/s1600/Royal+Enfield_caferacer5.JPG



have a look here www.smithsspeedos.co.uk

That is a beautiful speedo, looks expensive though which is a real shame  

You really could go crazy with the amount of money you could spend on your "little" project.

I am really having to keep myself rained in at the minute, otherwise my budget will just spiral out of all control.

Ocatoro, where are you up to with yours at the minute? Is it still intact, in bits or a mixture of the two?

Mine is strewn all over the place at the minute in what seems like a thousand pieces  

They are not really that expensive, you can buy refurbished 2nd hand ones for a similar prices but they are used.

our brand new ones are fully programmable and you can ride to set, so if you change your wheel and tyre combinations, you will be still legal once you set up the speedometer.
The Chronometric (electronic) version we have even incorporated the old mechanical tick of the pointer.

if anyone went to motorcycle live at the NEC and saw the Gladstone motorcycle, I had a hand in the speedometer design and build.

https://s4.photobucket.com/user/DaveBelton/slideshow/motorcycle%20live%202013


http://www.sunbeam-twins.com/smiths-chronometric-speedometer.html

bike's still 100% complete at my grandmother's house a hundred miles away. I'm moving house on the 14th, and we have a garage there, so I'll be vanning it down and commencing strip down over christmas.

Shouldn't take too long, and I'm not going to be too anal about it.. just give it a good clean up and hammerite the frame.

I'm not even putting a time frame on things as time and money are going to be an issue. there's a few shortcuts I'm happy to take though, like plastidipping the wheels rather than replacing them. and I'm now going to keep standard forks/wheels/brakes etc too.

When I tarted up my TDM850 swing arm I used smoothrite silver in a rattle can, very good match to the original colour and give a great finish.

if you want I can post before and after photos of the swingarm, it will give you an idea

OK. The strip down is pretty easy (mostly) There are some trouble spots though!! My number one top tip is, if the swinging arm moves well enough and the bearings seem to still be good DO NOT attempt to remove the swinging arm from the frame. My bolt was not only seized, I think it was also welded, glued & stitched cause that little bugger did not come out at all.

I work at a bike dealership and all of the technicians had a go at removing it too. Its still in there!!!!!!!! We tried a sledgehammer, heating the area until it was white hot, more sledgehammer, a hammer drill. In the end I let frame soak in diesel for two weeks in order for the diesel to penetrate the bolt. Still no Luck.

I am lucky that I have some great contacts in the trade so managed to get another frame (same age) in a much better state for £20.

Soooooo I have a spare frame if you need one  

For mine I will also be using hammerite on the frame and sticking to the stock forks, wheels, brakes. I will just try to spruce them up as best as possible.

I will start a build post soon and add some pictures up of where I am up to.

The frame, swing arm, foot rests and engine is off to the bead blaster today so will update asap on how I got on.

Evil Twin wrote:

When I tarted up my TDM850 swing arm I used smoothrite silver in a rattle can, very good match to the original colour and give a great finish.

if you want I can post before and after photos of the swingarm, it will give you an idea

handy, cheers would like to see

stroke of luck on the frame!!

I'll give it a look, and leave if it's anything but forked, cheers!

I'm in need of a new barrel for my engine, and then i think i'll paint it black rather than clean it up... can always get it blasted later if it looks sugar.

pm'd you my email... look forward to seeing the H come together

Before you go buying a new barrel, check out the Honda MB80 125 barrel and piston from Athena.

Obviously it depends on how crazy you want to go budget wise but it will bolt directly onto a h100 engine!!!

A few other little tickles to the engine, carbs, reeds etc and you would have a H100 that goes 90MPH ish  

I am seriously considering it, dependant on how much my budget stays within plan. All in completion currently should cost me £600 ish, Athena barrel would take it up to £750 - £770.

Oooooohh tempting.............

yeah, I'm investigating carb and reed valve... that along with 17t front sprocket should be enough to make it silly. theyre already a powerful little animal for what they are. seen the athena kit, maybe one day

reason I'm after a barrel is that whoever had mine before me had managed to break the exhaust studs off and had just screwed oversized bolts into the remaining holes... one of which has become chewed up immensely and is causing a leak on the system now even with paste crammed in. i'm only on the first oversize piston, so should be easy enough to find a decent barrel that i can hone to the piston size. Having it running right is more important than having it running powerfully. at least to begin with.

as for 90mph.. i think you'd need different rear wheel and sprocket... the gearing is the limiting factor on the speed on a h100, not the power. Have you looked at the 6speed options? I have some notes at home, I found that there's a couple of 6speed gearboxes that slot straight into the standard housings... I presume those too would up the top end, and potentially keep the low and middle at decent levels too.

ocatoro wrote:

Evil Twin wrote:

When I tarted up my TDM850 swing arm I used smoothrite silver in a rattle can, very good match to the original colour and give a great finish.

if you want I can post before and after photos of the swingarm, it will give you an idea

handy, cheers would like to see

i got carried away and resprayed the wheels