02 CR125 Clean up

Not planning on anything too modern on the front, probably just the 07 CR front fender so it’s not as round and a Cycra stadium number plate

Managed to get the bearings and most of the seals installed last night and got the cases back together today. It’s hard to get a few hours on the same day to work on it, but we’re making progress. 
For the bearings I sourced all of them from two stores and was able to get all of the bearings inside the motor for around $120. The OEM NTN bearings are $34 each at a dealer but I was able to get the 63/22 NTN from a bearing shop for $12 each. For a small amount of work it’s a good saving and I was able to stick to Koyo, NTN and SKF bearings. 
To show how little use this has had, check out the gears. The wear actually looks worse in the photo. 
 

I brought a motor stand recently, not sure if it was worth it yet, but it did make it easier to check the cases were getting pressed together evenly. 


 

Got the motor together after work tonight. Thought I had an issue at first as the crank would spin but had more drag than it should. Checked the clearance and noticed it wasn’t centred in the case. A bit of work with the rubber mallet got it centered and spinning much easier. 

Didn’t take any photos of the process as I just wanted it to get it done tonight. Managed to get it all buttoned up aside from getting the head torqued down as I couldn’t find my box of copper washers. Later checked online and realised Honda didn’t put crush washers on these. 
Pretty happy with how it looks, now just need to get it in the frame and see how it runs. 

Slowly getting more parts on. The bike didn’t come with the CDI mount bracket so I need to decide whether to buy/make a new one or relocate the CDI and install a spare HPSD I have. 

Thanks for the tip. It’s already tight swapping filters without adding anything to the airbox so that might be a better option. I think I’ll mount the pipe and everything then see what space I have. 

Haven’t had much time to work on the bike but I did clean up the stock exhaust in my lunch break. It’s got a couple small dings but should do the job

Decided for now to just get the CDI mounted in the stock position and I will look into putting on the steering dampener after I ride it. 
I 3D printed a basic bracket to get it in the stock position but the cables to connect the CDI were very tight. I then lowered it 20mm but I think I might lower it again to get some more slack. I also added some slots to run a cable tie through to hold the rectifier for my light setup. Once I get the setup right, I’ll modify the bracket to suit and will get some PETG filament that isn’t orange or make it from ASA. 

While I was mucking around with the bracket I decided to make a fork height gauge and a few different chain slack gauges. I was surprised checking the manual that the spec for the CR is 25-35mm. I’ve always just run the old two to three fingers so this will be an upgrade. 

Will do. I’m going to make a new mount that will drop the CDI lower to reduce the bend in the cables

Haven’t made any bike progress but had enough targeted marketing to pull the trigger on a 30L ultrasonic bath. I’ve got a 2L unit I use for carbs and convinced myself a bigger one could do motors and if I do some work for other people it won’t cost me anything. 
I tested it with some parts I am going to vapour  blast and coat for someone and it saved so much time compared to manual cleaning in the parts washer. 

Sadly it’s too late for this build but I’ll definitely use this a heap on my next builds. I only took before and afters on Snapchat but I’ll try remember to get some good photos next time I use it. 
For around $250AUD it seems like a very good deal

Haven’t had any time lately to work on the bike, but over the weekend I managed to get the pipe back on. This should’ve been easy but the subframe mounts had been cut to slightly shorten the subframe (I assume a cheaper way than cutting and welding to lower the subframe). 
I couldn’t fit the pipe and silencer with the metal insets inside the rubber mounts.

I thought about mounting the subframe in the stock position and using a larger washer to cover the cut open front section of the subframe, but wanted to try the bike how it was first. 

The holes in the rubber mounts for the pipe and silencer were both were elongated so I went back to the photos to see how it was mounted before tear down. The header pipe had the correct setup, but the silencer was just a bolt through the rubber. For the reassembly, I was able to add a washer to the silencer and just got each bolt started before tightening everything down. 

Got a bit distracted so didn’t take photos during but this is how it’s mounted. 


 

Filled the bike with oil and coolant last night and fired the bike up today. Sounds healthy, revved free and wasn’t blowing oil out of the exhaust so good signs of improvement. 
I did notice afterwards that the pipe definitely isn’t sitting right, there’s about 20mm of exhaust flange showing. 

I’ll have to revisit the exhaust mounting. 
a while ago I managed to get a Cycra skid plate on clearance for around $20. It was for an 08 CRF but I figured for the price it was worth a shot. 
The back of the plate mounts at the base of the frame and I’ll need to make a spacer as the mount is around 15-20mm larger than the frame. 
Width was pretty good, the CR frame is slightly wider than the plate but nothing major. The plate was slightly too long, it wasn’t touching the header but I had to remove a small section to get the exhaust spring to mount. I also cut a hole for the oil drain and stuck some foam on all the spots that will rub the frame.

I’m also using a Cycra stadium plate and front fender off an 08 CRF as it was on the sale clearance sale as the skid plate. It was cheaper to buy the full Cycra plastics kit than it was to just get the front plate. 
I tapped a thread in an angle bracket to move the plate mount for the front of the triple clamps to the top. I just need to decide if I cut off the brack line guide holder tab from the lower clamp or but a spacer behind the plate so it sits level. 

For now, I’m reusing the shrouds and side panels. I removed the stickers and gave them a quick clean. Looks good in the photos but there are some scratches. 
Here’s how it sits now.

 I also have a red Cycra stadium plate so need to decide what colour to use. 

All that’s left before riding is to finish mounting the skid plate, fix the pipe mounting, install a new chain guide block (ordered) and put on a chain. 

Thanks. I agree, that generation are still my favourite looking bikes. I just checked out the FMF Hondas, they looked good. 
I’m still leaning towards the woody graphics. Once I get the bike sorted mechanically (hopefully this weekend), I’ll get onto the graphics