Topic: Black Friday - a red 1965 CB160 build.

[Alan F.]

I just gave the first fork a wipe down, placed it in the plastic tube then filled the tube with Evaporust, it was really odd seeing it clean from the jug as badly as I'd dirtied it last time. The seals look shiny, young and still leak free. I took low resolution pics so they'd upload easily, I hope they're clear enough. I'll check back in a day or two at most & put the other in to soak.

[Terry in Australia]

Those baseball bat tubes are a good idea Alan, and I hope your Evapo Rust works batter than the crap I used in my Fireblade tank.

[Alan F.]

Thanks Terry, using silicone caulk to seal that vent hole probably wasn't so hot of an idea though, it leaked just a little into the drain pan I put beneath the tube. In its defense it was soaking for 5 days while I had a busy week.

I drained the tube and put the other fork tube in to soak with the same liquid topped off with a little new from the jug. I'll check it often for leaks, if I can call it finished on Monday I will.

I popped the dust seal out of the chrome seal retainer tube and cleaned some gunk out then stood that fork up next to the other & filled the seal retainer tube with Evaporust, I'll check it often in case some evaporates.

The dust seal I popped out was in great shape, if they're both that nice I'll reuse them.

Some crappy pics:

[Alan F.]

Today I took the 2nd of the two assembled forks out of its Evaporust soak, gave it a good soap & water rinse & dried it. Took a few photos and popped the dust seal out, stood both forks back up & filled the chrome seal tubes with fresh Evaporust again, I'll let that stuff do it's job for a while. I still think the seals are in good shape and I'm not gonna fight to get these forks apart. I'll just drain & fill with kerosene for a while, then drain & fill with fork oil and call them done. At that point I'll give them a coat of CorrosionX. There are some obvious spots where the original paint has flaked off, I'm tempted to repaint but if I paint one thing I'll have to paint everything, so no. I'll have to find a new clamp bolt and new drain bolts with crush washers.

[Alan F.]

Some free time today to make a little progress, I tapped 1/4-28 threads into both ends of the swingarm pivot (I'd previously drilled them out to 7/32") cleaned out the chips with brake cleaner then verified clean with cotton swabs before adding grease zerks with blue loctite.

[Terry in Australia]

Good job Alan, keep plugging along mate and you’ll get there. How’s the RE going? I’ve been offered an old 350 single, it’s still daily ridden by a guy I work with, the 350 is pretty slow but a good little commuter so I might use it to ride to work in the upcoming warm weather.

[Alan F.]

Thanks Terry. The RE is right where I left it...
I'm looking forward to some riding time this month and next. I've been working through every weekend since the end of July, this weekend the new guy is on and I'll finally be off. I've got a few weeks vacation to take before year's end & I'm hoping to do some riding & wrenching.

[jgger]

Alan did the 160 go M.I.A. since you got that RE?

[Alan F.]

I've still got it but haven't spent any time on it for a while now.

As "the dissease" progresses, I've picked up a pair of 50cc scooters for my Daughter and my Girlfriend, one just needs maintenance and tires and should be good to go, the other needs some troubleshooting as the previous/previous owner found it in a storage auction and defeated the ignition lock to free the steering, hopefully I can make something of it.
Both are 50cc 2-stroke with 16" tubeless wheels.

[HondaMan]

Boy...looking at those CB160 fork lowers after working on the 750 for all these years makes me wonder how they didn't shear off with the front axle?

[Alan F.]

Yeah they're a little thin, not sure how Honda signed off on those.

[grcamna2]

Boy...looking at those CB160 fork lowers after working on the 750 for all these years makes me wonder how they didn't shear off with the front axle?

They're 31mm O.D. fork tubes;not too shabby for a 265lb. bike plus load.

[Alan F.]

I think Mark was on about the axle clamps.

[grcamna2]

I think Mark was on about the axle clamps.

oh,the lower clamps;well I know you'll improve those as much as you can.

[Terry in Australia]

Are the scooters Honda’s Alan? I taught myself to ride on my big sister’s C50 when I was 8 (the year before I got my first bicycle) and I still have a soft spot for them.

[Alan F.]

I'd have bought Hondas if I could register them as mopeds here, but there are 3 classes of registration here in Massachusetts.

Moped: 30mph max, no clutch, automatic shift. No insurance, ride with a car or motorcycle drivers licence or Learner's Permit.
$40 every 2 years to register, Bill of sale required. No safety inspection as far as I can tell. (strange for this state to miss the opportunity to collect another fee) Modifications are of course illegal so don't get caught if you make any. I've read on different RMV pages that mopeds may only have top speeds of 25mph and scooters 20mph, but they contradict themselves many times, best not to say anything about top speed, or claim 20mph if asked. My scooters are on their list so I should have an easy time.

Limited use Motorcycle: 40mph max, Insurance required, ride with a car or motorcycle drivers licence or Learner's Permit. No highway use.

Motorcycle: well you know...

They https://www.mass.gov/orgs/massachusetts-registry-of-motor-vehicles have a list that gets updated every few years to determine what is legally what, I'm not sure what to do if your moped or scooter isn't listed. I bought models that are both listed as mopeds. A 2013 Kymco People 50 with 5300KM and a 2003 Piaggio LT50 with 807 miles (bought separately) both 2 stroke, both with 16" tubeless wheels. I've got $1050 into the pair plus tires, drive belt, front brake pads, fork seals and tune up parts for the Kymco so far.

[grcamna2]

I'd have bought Hondas if I could register them as mopeds here, but there are 3 classes of registration here in Massachusetts.

Moped: 30mph max, no clutch, automatic shift. No insurance, ride with a car or motorcycle drivers licence or Learner's Permit.

Limited use Motorcycle: 40mph max, Insurance required, ride with a car or motorcycle drivers licence or Learner's Permit. No highway use.

Motorcycle: well you know...

They have a list that gets updated every few years to determine what is legally what, I'm not sure what to do if your moped or scooter isn't listed. I bought models that are both listed as mopeds. A 2013 Kymco People 50 with 5300KM and a 2003 Piaggio LT50 with 807 miles (bought separately) both 2 stroke, both with 16" tubeless wheels. I've got $1050 into the pair plus tires, drive belt, front brake pads, fork seals and tune up parts for the Kymco so far.

I like the Mass. designation for 'moped';with a little of work,one of those mopeds could be made to pull upwards of 40mph and keep-up with traffic.

[Alan F.]

Oh for sure they can, check out YouTube for de-restricted or kitted mopeds and scooters. 70cc kits seem the way to go when a rebuild is needed but that's just the beginning.

[RAFster122s]

Problem bumping power output of any small bike is the brakes aren't getting improved as well, so it can make things more dangerous overall.  Never fly faster than your angel...

[Terry in Australia]

Those Kymco’s are “give away” bikes here, someone’s always trying to unload one on FB Marketplace. Probably nothing wrong with them when they’re new, but they are used primarily for food delivery around the city and flogged mercilessly.

Jeff at Ace Motorcycles showed me a Kymco engine, he pulled one of the 4 stroke versions apart for a customer who’d bought one cheap, it looked like no-one had changed, or even topped up the 1 litre of oil that it took in the 2 or 3 thousand miles that it survived before it died a miserable death. I hope the 2 stroke version’s are better.

[grcamna2]

Oh for sure they can, check out YouTube for de-restricted or kitted mopeds and scooters. 70cc kits seem the way to go when a rebuild is needed but that's just the beginning.

I imagine a 70cc kit would be good if the bike is run a lot and it's used to move along with the cars.
I had a 77' one-speed Honda Express and an 82' 2-speed model,liked them both and they only had stock parts.
I think what limited them was the chaincase OEM drive sprockets and the 14" rear wheel size..
I liked being able to slip into the lane and gain a little more respect as a motor vehicle;with another type of moped with variable speed CVT or just being able to change sprockets or wheel size could help.
I think being able to maintain 35+mph and good power up certain hills can help.
The one thing I didn't enjoy much was being labeled/profiled as a person who 'had to ride a moped' for some legal reason,as if my license had been suspended,etc.
I just like small bikes. 

[RAFster122s]

Kymco learned how to build Honda quality parts as they were a Honda OEM parts maker for Honda for a couple decades before they started making their own bikes. If maintained the Kymco motors are good...but like anything not maintained, they fall apart when abused.

[Alan F.]

Good reminder, thank you all!
I'll add crankcase oil to my maintenance list.

That was tough to find!
100cc drain & refill.

[HondaMan]

Never fly faster than your angel...

Roger THAT!

[Alan F.]

I have no plans to mod these things, just new plugs, front brake pads, air filters, drive belts, tires, mirrors, brake fluid, crankcase oil and maybe a few bulbs here & there. I'll lube the rear brake cable & throttle cables & take a long test ride to make sure things are cool before handing over the keys.