1988 CR125 build

Manbearpig
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Manbearpig
Edited Date/Time 12/19/2018 1:04pm
I picked up this little thing the other day and am hopeful it won't break the bank. It runs strong and I'm pretty excited to get to work.
Pros: a lot of original parts with a fresh motor and clutch.
Cons: stripped gas tank nut inserts and a bullshit fix going into the water pump that I have to make right. If anyone has a right side case for the water pump fix I would appreciate it greatly!



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sandman768
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sandman768 11/21/2018 7:21am
11/21/2018 7:21am
Nice find...is the water pump case rotted like the that era of 250"s? I was wondering about the 125 case material being the same.....I almost bought a pretty nice 89 cr125 a few days ago but held off ...
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bonseff
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bonseff 11/21/2018 10:44am
11/21/2018 10:44am
Have fun! I am building an 89 down the page.
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JMX247
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JMX247 11/21/2018 10:58am
11/21/2018 10:58am
sandman768 wrote:
Nice find...is the water pump case rotted like the that era of 250"s? I was wondering about the 125 case material being the same.....I almost bought...
Nice find...is the water pump case rotted like the that era of 250"s? I was wondering about the 125 case material being the same.....I almost bought a pretty nice 89 cr125 a few days ago but held off ...
The 125’s used the same material for the cases like the 250’s. My 89 is all rotted out.
bonseff
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bonseff 11/21/2018 11:58am
11/21/2018 11:58am
Also, mine rotted as well. Not terrible but I might look into some sort of sealant during rebuild.

The Shop

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sandman768
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sandman768 11/21/2018 12:52pm
11/21/2018 12:52pm
The updated 250 waterpump case is readily availible from Honda, I just purchased one for my 89, 180.00 for the case, not too bad, I"m not sure if Honda ever reproduced an updated 125 case. Inspect all water passages for calcium/ mag build up. My radiators did not look to bad & appeared to flow good, but for precautionary measures I connected both radiators & filled with Muratic acid, let side a few hrs & then rinsed with a garden hose.....a lot of magnesium & calcium buildup washed out & they flowed much better....
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SmokinJoe439
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SmokinJoe439 11/21/2018 1:46pm
11/21/2018 1:46pm
Some where someone found out with the 125 the right side case from 87 to 99 was the same dimensions. With i believe 90 plus being made of alloy not mag.
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Manbearpig
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Manbearpig 11/21/2018 1:59pm
11/21/2018 1:59pm
sandman768 wrote:
Nice find...is the water pump case rotted like the that era of 250"s? I was wondering about the 125 case material being the same.....I almost bought...
Nice find...is the water pump case rotted like the that era of 250"s? I was wondering about the 125 case material being the same.....I almost bought a pretty nice 89 cr125 a few days ago but held off ...
Yes sir... the search begins. Haha
Manbearpig
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Manbearpig 11/21/2018 2:02pm
11/21/2018 2:02pm
SmokinJoe439 wrote:
Some where someone found out with the 125 the right side case from 87 to 99 was the same dimensions. With i believe 90 plus being...
Some where someone found out with the 125 the right side case from 87 to 99 was the same dimensions. With i believe 90 plus being made of alloy not mag.
I will have to look into that. Thanks man.
Manbearpig
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Manbearpig 11/27/2018 8:47pm
11/27/2018 8:47pm
I'm getting the easy stuff done first for motivation. A new seat, fixed the 3 out of 4 stripped tank bolts and a couple of new plastics and decals. I have a bunch of stuff in transit and then the dirty work starts.





Manbearpig
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Manbearpig 11/28/2018 10:21pm
11/28/2018 10:21pm
Pulled the motor out today.. looks like I need a new gasket for the power valve cover and a possible fix to the cylinder.



sandman768
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sandman768 11/29/2018 6:33pm
11/29/2018 6:33pm
What happened to that cylinder?
Manbearpig
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Manbearpig 11/29/2018 7:26pm
11/29/2018 7:26pm
sandman768 wrote:
What happened to that cylinder?
No clue. It has good compression though. It scares the hell out of me though. It's a 30 year old bike and am just wondering if this is a Honda thing of yesteryear?
Manbearpig
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Manbearpig 12/2/2018 12:24am
12/2/2018 12:24am
SmokinJoe439 wrote:
Some where someone found out with the 125 the right side case from 87 to 99 was the same dimensions. With i believe 90 plus being...
Some where someone found out with the 125 the right side case from 87 to 99 was the same dimensions. With i believe 90 plus being made of alloy not mag.
I found one from 97 new oem. I'm just waiting on the OEM gasket. Thanks a ton man.


Manbearpig
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Manbearpig 12/14/2018 11:28pm
12/14/2018 11:28pm
More progress. I found a side case new OEM for a 1997 and it bolted right up. New inner hub for the clutch and about 100 OEM bolts to help with the fresh look. I actually like the look of the factory bare side case instead of all black... not era friendly but I can always paint it.
bonseff
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bonseff 12/15/2018 5:57am
12/15/2018 5:57am
beautiful!
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Manbearpig
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Manbearpig 12/15/2018 7:40am
12/15/2018 7:40am
bonseff wrote:
beautiful!
Thanks! Its getting there
sandman768
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sandman768 12/16/2018 5:56am
12/16/2018 5:56am
Looks good! I would not paint that cover either. It must have been a revelation for G.Holland to get off those Suzukis and onto the Hondas!
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Manbearpig
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Manbearpig 12/16/2018 6:52am
12/16/2018 6:52am
sandman768 wrote:
Looks good! I would not paint that cover either. It must have been a revelation for G.Holland to get off those Suzukis and onto the Hondas!
Thanks man! This bike is kicking my ass though. The radiators are both shot due to the famous Honda magnesium corrosion as well. So I ordered some new ones yesterday. I've had much better luck with my Suzuki builds. Haha
Manbearpig
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Manbearpig 12/17/2018 7:11pm
12/17/2018 7:11pm
Almost there.. just a few more details
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Banana_oil
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Banana_oil 12/18/2018 12:09am
12/18/2018 12:09am Edited Date/Time 12/18/2018 12:10am
Looks great! I like the 88, you don't see many restored ones. They are quite popular at Farleigh though.

Here is my 90:

3
Manbearpig
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Manbearpig 12/18/2018 4:22am
12/18/2018 4:22am
Banana_oil wrote:
Looks great! I like the 88, you don't see many restored ones. They are quite popular at Farleigh though. Here is my 90: [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2018/12/18/310946/s1200_20170603_133624.jpg[/img]
Looks great! I like the 88, you don't see many restored ones. They are quite popular at Farleigh though.

Here is my 90:

Thank you. Your bike is amazing man. Nice work!
Stuntman_600 12/18/2018 7:46pm
12/18/2018 7:46pm
Love it! My first full size bike was none other than a 1988 CR125. Not a common build to find but a much appreciated restore. I had the same problem with cases deteriorating & leaking requiring new right side case etc. Happened to me in 1994. Very respectable results on your project. Takes me back.
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500crazy
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500crazy 12/19/2018 12:51pm
12/19/2018 12:51pm
Manbearpig wrote:
More progress. I found a side case new OEM for a 1997 and it bolted right up. New inner hub for the clutch and about 100...
More progress. I found a side case new OEM for a 1997 and it bolted right up. New inner hub for the clutch and about 100 OEM bolts to help with the fresh look. I actually like the look of the factory bare side case instead of all black... not era friendly but I can always paint it.
Nice work on the build! Did you end up painting the frame or powdercoat? Any issues with the cyclinder?
SmokinJoe439
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SmokinJoe439 12/19/2018 12:55pm
12/19/2018 12:55pm
SmokinJoe439 wrote:
Some where someone found out with the 125 the right side case from 87 to 99 was the same dimensions. With i believe 90 plus being...
Some where someone found out with the 125 the right side case from 87 to 99 was the same dimensions. With i believe 90 plus being made of alloy not mag.
Manbearpig wrote:
I found one from 97 new oem. I'm just waiting on the OEM gasket. Thanks a ton man. [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2018/12/02/306882/s1200_20181201220427.jpg[/img]
I found one from 97 new oem. I'm just waiting on the OEM gasket. Thanks a ton man.


Glad I could help and that i remembered that clutch cover swap.
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Manbearpig
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Manbearpig 12/19/2018 1:01pm
12/19/2018 1:01pm
Stuntman_600 wrote:
Love it! My first full size bike was none other than a 1988 CR125. Not a common build to find but a much appreciated restore. I...
Love it! My first full size bike was none other than a 1988 CR125. Not a common build to find but a much appreciated restore. I had the same problem with cases deteriorating & leaking requiring new right side case etc. Happened to me in 1994. Very respectable results on your project. Takes me back.
Thank you very much. I saw the old bike locally and thought the same thing about not being a common restore... now I know why. Haha. Cost more than I was hoping but I'm pretty excited now.
Manbearpig
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Manbearpig 12/19/2018 1:03pm
12/19/2018 1:03pm
Updated pics. Waiting on radiators still and a PC pipe

Manbearpig
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Manbearpig 12/19/2018 3:10pm
12/19/2018 3:10pm
Manbearpig wrote:
More progress. I found a side case new OEM for a 1997 and it bolted right up. New inner hub for the clutch and about 100...
More progress. I found a side case new OEM for a 1997 and it bolted right up. New inner hub for the clutch and about 100 OEM bolts to help with the fresh look. I actually like the look of the factory bare side case instead of all black... not era friendly but I can always paint it.
500crazy wrote:
Nice work on the build! Did you end up painting the frame or powdercoat? Any issues with the cyclinder?
And I ended up just painting the frame. Also it turns out to just be less than average casting on the cylinder.

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