Starting the Motor

Well not starting as in firing it up, but starting as in getting started on the work that needs done.

I started by pulling the water pump cover off because I could see some green build up from anti-freeze and figured there might be some corrosion going on in there.  In my typical fashion I forgot to take pics of what that all looked like before I dove in and started cleaning it up.  This would all be more interesting if I could remember to do that so you could see actual before and after photos.  So Here it is before but its before I even pulled the cover and you cant see into the water inlet to see the green stuff.  (actually thought I took that photo but, nope)

So here it is after I cleaned all the corrosion out of the impeller housing.

Thankfully the impeller came off very easily, the shaft didn't have any corrosion on it at all.  There is a small pit on the sealing surface at the bottom, you can see it just below the shaft.  There is also a hole corroded all the way through at the bottom of the pump input that is about the size of the tip of a ball point pen.  I cleaned all loose material and corrosion out scraping and spraying with solvent multiple times until all the white and green stuff was gone then used contact cleaner to get rid of any other impurities. Then using good old JB Weld filled in the pits and the hole.  In 24 hours it will be good as new.

Fresh Flash Red Paint

Well I finished the frame Prep and didn't take any photos of it, really not that interesting maybe or the fact that I didn't have the camera with  me and didn't feel like going in and getting it might have some thing to do with no photos.  I used 120 grit wet paper to sand down all the exposed and rusted parts to bare metal then used a worn 220 to go over all the painted areas to scuff the surface. Then cleaned the frame with contact cleaner to remove any oils or dust left over.
Any way I did take photos of the finished product.  I painted the frame outside where it is a damp 45* , out in the wood shed so I wouldn't get red paint dust all over everything in the garage. I didn't feel like going through the effort of building a makeshift paint booth.  Any way the moisture in the air left a chalky white film on the finish as it was drying even after bringing it into the garage with the wood stove going. I used the heat gun to warm the frame up and see if the white would go away when dried and yes it did.  Leaving a very nice glossy flash red finish.

I also prepped and painted the sub frame but have not taken photos of it yet, when I do I will post them on this post.  While I was in the Prep and Paint mode I sanded and painted the foot pegs to a nice glossy black finish.

Update for February , Frame Work

I have not been working too much on the CR, due largely to working on the 86 CR and dismantling and selling parts.  Its unfortunate to me to have to do that to a potential restore bike but at the same time that is where my finances are coming from for my other two projects.  I have ordered mostley parts for the KX with what little income I have had but I am mostley caught up with the other things going on and now can start cleaning up the 87 CR in preperation for puting back together. 

I found and ordered frame paint in the Flash Red color that Honda used in the mid and earlier 80's, it has not arrived yet but I have started sanding down the frame to remove surface rust and smooth out chips in the paint.  I know that most of the restore purists wouldn't do it this way but I don't want to strip it all the way down and recoat with primer and new paint so I am going to over coat it and see how it goes.  Especially since I am planning on riding this bike some, super great paint is not at the top of my list. I want it to look nice but also figure if I really don't like it I can re-do paint any time.

Forks and Triple Clamps

Today I finished pulling the Forks and the Triple Clamps off the bike and just like everything else on this bike it came off really easy and still amazed me at how good it looks. Notice in the photo below there is just a few dabs of grease on the bearings and some of it has hardened up a bit. It is the factory 25 year old grease and no rust.  WOW! I am so amazed at every thing I have taken apart on this bike, how well preserved it is.  I can't wait for the re assembly process.

If any one out there knows where to get color matching paint for the Honda red frame send me a note please I could use a good tip on this one.

CR125 All Torn Apart

This weekend the 87 got the tear down treatment. The bike came apart like it was only a month old. Totally amazing. All the bolts came out easy and even the linkage bolts came out easy and didn't have a touch of rust or wear on them. The linkage bolts had only what looked like the original assembly grease from Honda and we all know that stuff just isn't enough and that's one of the first things that gets attention when you buy a new bike. Crazy enough that the bolts are in new condition even the bolt heads looked like they never had a wrench put on them.  I will have to buy a 12mm Allen wrench to complete the dis assembly of the rear linkage then I will go through all the bearings and grease everything up. I don't think any of them will need replaced as every thing moves very freely.










Took the motor top end apart to see what was happening inside. It looks really good. Appears that some water was left in the exhaust for some time. Caused a little discoloration on the piston and cylinder but no damage detected also looks like one end of the ring was broken off, can't tell when that may have happened, no damage to the cylinder walls.  Did a complete rinse out of the crank area with solvent.  From the looks of the piston it was near a melt down, thankfully it didn't go all the way to that point. The bottom end of the motor feels unbelievably new, very tight, no sloppy bearing sounds at all, pretty excited about that.   The cylinder head didn't have any carbon build up on it at all, there was a small amount of carbon in the exhaust power  valve unit and the exhaust port to the pipe.  I cleaned all this up and put a bit of tri-flow on the cylinder before putting it on the shelf to await a new piston and rings.  The only bolt I have found with any corrosion on it at all was the bottom motor mount bolt, and it cleaned up like new with the wire wheel on my bench grinder.
I will take a look at the clutch at a later time.

The Radiators are really straight,  there is a slight bend to one of the tabs for the radiator shroud and a couple of the fins are bent on that side, besides that they look new.










Also cleaned out the carb. It was pretty gunked up on the outside and there was some gunk on the inside as well.  I don't really know where this stuff came from or what it is.  It felt like grease but I can't imagine that it actually was.  There was some kind of fluid in the carb and tank but it didn't smell like gas or old varnished gas at all.  I don't know what Sta-bill smells like or looks like but was thinking that if some one actually used that and let it sit long enough for the gas to evaporate maybe thats what is left over or the same being that it should have been pre-mixed fuel, then the left over from evaporated gas would look kind of like grease??  It will remain a mistery.  Anyway sprayed solvent through all holes and jets in the carb untill everything seemed to flow like it should and re-assembled it and put that on the shelf as well.

Cleaned up the stock exhaust pipe and put a coat of fast black paint on it. It does have a couple small dents that I may consider removing later on.  I have a Pro Circuit pipe in a box in Montana that (well I hope its still there) was from the 87 CR I had when I was 17. I saw it a couple years ago when I was at my dads place rumaging through the shop, I told him to put it aside for me if he runs across it.  That would be a great addition to this project, especially if I can find a shorty 304 silencer to go with it.  Thats the combo I ran back in the day and it was awesome.