So, its been a few months since the boys and I brought home the “Dirt Bike Project”, you can read about that story by clicking here, and we finally have it up and running! Cheers and Shouts.
Here is what it looked like when we brought it home, pretty sad and worn out huh?
When we bought this 1973 Honda TL125, the gas tank, seat, and many other miscellaneous parts were from a 1971 Honda SL100. Many Honda motorcycles share similar parts, but they don’t necessarily fit correctly, and the SL100 parts definitely didn’t look right. We were going to bring this back back to mostly original condition.
We proceeded to strip the entire thing down to sand and paint the frame. Joshua really got into the sanding part.
Part of the frame/skid-plate had been damaged at some point; it looked as if a motor had blown a hole out the bottom of the skid-plate. Hard to imagine this happening, but we couldn’t think of any other explanation. Whatever caused it, we definitely had to repair that. So, we used the grinder to cut out the old skid-plate, and then cut a new skid-plate out of 3/8″ steel we purchased from a local welder. Then we marked out a pattern and drilled the holes in the new steel. Lots and lots of holes. But we think it came out really nice and was worth all the time drilling those darned holes. Did I mention lots and lots of holes. I didn’t count how many, but it was at least a million and could possibly been closer to a billion holes. I am not sure though so don’t hold me to that number. We then took it back to the welder and he welded it back to the frame. The rectangular cut out you see is to drain the engine oil through, it sits right below the oil drain plug on the engine. Honda engineers are pretty smart huh?
Next was to paint the frame. Nicholas did a fine job! We initially painted it a semi-gloss black, but it just didn’t look right. I finally found a textured paint that turned out wonderful, Rustoleum Hammered Texture in black.
Putting it back together. WOW, its been a long wait, but we finally have just about all we need to assemble the little Honda. We were able to find a lot of year/model correct parts during the last few months. Fortunately, it is not too hard to find salvage yards selling used bike parts for these vintage Hondas. There is also a lot of NOS (New Old Stock) parts available. NOS are parts Honda no longer makes, but people still have them in original packaging, never been used. We obtained the correct seat, foot-pegs, kick-start, kickstand, foot shifter, electric shut-off switch, new ignition coil, spark plug and wire. We ordered a new custom throttle cable and Domino throttle control from BJ Racing Products in Dickson, TN. He makes and sells a lot of great parts for these older trials bikes, and is a really nice guy with a lot of great information.
The biggest find though was an original 1973 TL125 motor. I finally found one on ebay, and it looks great. Not only more power than the SL100, but it is the correct motor for the bike with the lower gearing which is standard for the TL125. This lower gearing will allow it to climb hills like a mountain goat. We did a little checking out of the new motor, and everything “looks” in order. We will only know once we fire it up though…..
After getting it all bolted back together, we had to re-wire it. The SL100 is wired completely different from the TL125, so it was a complete re-wire job. We added some fuel into the tank, turned on the fuel petcock, we gave it some kicks, and the little thing fired up. ITS ALIVE!!
And here it is in “running” condition. The engine smokes some, probably needs new rings, but it is getting better the more we ride it. Over time we still need to find a correct gas tank, and will upgrade things like the exhaust, fenders, tires and wheels, shocks, etc. But it is running and the boys are riding all over the place, on a bike with gears and some horsepower power, although not too much. Sorry DoodleBug, you’ve been replaced!
I think its safe to say, the boys are happy with their “Project Dirt Bike”. And they should be, they worked hard and have something to show for their time and money.
Nicholas practicing his standing and clutch-less shifting. We even have a couple of small obstacles for them to get started on. Looking good Nicholas!
Thanks for following, we will update whenever the little Honda gets some new “bling”.
Michael, Joshua and Nicholas
Nice job guys!
Thanks Lonnie. Always great to hear from you!
So fun to see that whole process set being passed down to the next generation! Three cheers for useful skills!!!!!
XO,B
It is so fun to see them “getting it”, when their little light bulb goes off and you see them KNOW they know how to do something new. I hope all is well Bryn, always good to hear from you.
Michael
Good job, guys!!!! Of course my eyes glazed over with all of your detail, however, that did not keep me from being impressed at your skills, your love of detail and teaching your boys new skills. Yes, life is rich on The Banks. Thanks for sharing your lives.
We do have a lot of fun experiences here.
Hugs,
Karen
Wonderful transformation boys! Super cool project and fabulous learning experience.
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