No Garage Rebuild on a 1988 Cr 125r

Here's the side shot before I put the power washer to her. I remember putting those black sticky sheets on to protect the plastic. Guess that was a bad idea now that I am looking back.

Even after power washing I still had some nasty grease that just wouldn't come off.






Shock is removed and I want to get it re-valved. This was a lousy shock in its day but I never could afford to get it worked on years ago. Plus, I was a Novice race so I probably wouldn't have noticed if I did.



Contacted what I thought was one of the better Colorado local suspension experts and turned out I was in for a little surprise.

So I contacted Race Tech and it appears they can do it and do some hard anodizing too.

Since I plan to revalve the rear suspension I thought it would be a good idea to do something special with the front forks. I've seen different 80's model bikes with inverted forks. I know what you are going to say. The forks on your bike were great just get them revalved and set up properly. Well, what fun is that. I learned about All Balls Racing and saw what I thought was an easy match up with a sweet triple clamp from a Suzuki 2006 RM. As you can see from the picture it matches right up..... but then there is the problem with the triple clamp stem. Guess what? Yep, wrong size and apparently there aren't too many places that want to make one for you. And of course the stem design has changed just enough where I don't think the old stem will fit into the bottom of a newer triple clamp.






Now if I was a patient person I would have waited and found a builder. I did contact Emig Racing but after three weeks I have yet to get a response. But apparently he does make custom triple clamps.



Since I don't have any motorcycle salvage yards in my area I contacted some people on Ebay and Craigslist about the triple clamps they were selling. And to my surprise I actually received some valuable intel. It appears Honda hasn't changed the headset length on their bikes in many years. I came across a sweet set of forks from a 2008 CRF 250 and the measurements are real close. I ordered my All Balls Racing bearings and low and behold they fit.

I'm just trying out different parts to make a modern 1988 CR 125r. I'm just not a vintage guy that wants to keep everything the same. I know it would be a lot cheaper to just scrap the bike instead of fixing it up, that's what my friends keep telling me. I guess I would if 2 Strokes weren't so much fun to ride and so enjoyable to listen to.

So as I started working down the bike it appears my rear master cylinder is shot. A rear master cylinder rebuild kit is about $19 bucks but I started looking at the basic design and size of the newer rear master cylinders and again decided to take a chance. I purchased a newer style master cylinder, if the current bikes are using them there must be a reason. Unfortunately, I did rear that in 2002 Honda actually make the rear brakes smaller so this might be a mistake if there isn't enough pressure for my old brake caliper.



In 1989 Honda put the newer style rear master cylinder "rmc" on the 125. The clevis is different and the bolt is smaller, therefore I ordered a 1989 brake pedal figuring the frames are close in size and can't be that much different, I hope. I also came across a new product which solves the other problem, that being the spring. A company named Fasst Company makes a rear brake return spring which fits on the bottom of the "rmc". Using this product makes the brake pedal spring attached to the bike frame unnecessary.


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I have my fingers crossed the the brake pivot bolt for the 1989 cr 125 will thread into my 1988 frame.

Wedgehead wrote:

Pulled my old Honda out of storage because I decided it was time to be a responsible owner and get the bike up and running again.





Let's just say this isn't my most proud moment.

I actually bought this bike brand new back in 1989 from Fay Myers in Denver, CO. This is what it looked like new. It's a stock picture but that was what she looked like before I got a hold of her.

If you need a good laugh I made a YouTube video of the trailer.

Just found the solution for my fork stop problem. Weird that there aren't more of these floating about but it seems like most companies making parts for bikes, like anodized triple clamps, just want to make them for the newest bike. Probably figure those are the only people with money to spend on parts.


As you can see no stoppage there.

Cognito Moto sells these handle little aluminum stops.

Upgraded the stator plate cover from plastic to aluminum. Picked up a nice 2002 plate of Ebay cheap. Plan on getting some color on it to make the engine look more presentable.

So I think my Re-Build idea is off base. I think I am doing more of a rebuild / 1988 works bike. My friends think I am just wasting my money and I should just go out and buy a new bike, but what fun is that.

Pictured below is the rear suspension of a 1987 Cr 125, which is pretty much the same as my 1988, just with better valving. Now after looking at photos of newer bikes into the 2000's I noticed the mounting of the shock is different. The 1988 was the last year of the top mounted linkage to the rear shock on the cr 125's. Ricky Johnson's 1988 250 had the bottom mounted linkage to the rear shock. This enabled Honda to put on a longer shock, I am guessing, and of course lower the center of gravity on the bikes. Oddly enough the design hasn't changed much over the years.

vs a 1995 bottom mounted linkage


With that in mind I started looking at rear swing arms I could install on my Works Bike to possibly improve the suspension. I haven't done any measure but I know the engine cases didn't change into the 90's so the newer swing arms should fit. Unfortunately, most of the swing arms I came across on Ebay were trashed. Not sure how people trash a swing arm with a chain but there are a lot of bad one. I guess getting one welded is a possibility but I found one that was in good shape and Black Powder coated for the same price as the crappy ones. Thing is it is not a 1989 or 1990 which I think will mount up perfectly, except for the linkage and shock. The one I bought is a 1992 but after looking at pictures and knowing the engine cases haven't changed nor has the frame it should work but I have my fingers crossed.

This is the 1990 swing arm

Vs the one I bought, the 1992

Good stuff. Keep me posted.