Starting Point

Starting Point:

I stupidly bought a supremely messed up Honda c70 a while back, thinking I could fix it up. It looked okay, but in reality it was one of the most thoroughly damaged bikes in the universe. A group of karate masters had certainly practiced on this thing and then chucked it into the Sahara desert from a high flying cargo plane. 

But this is what I could salvage:

-Exhaust Pipe (kinda rusty)

-Front fender (cracked but fixable)

-A frozen carburetor

-Intake Tubing

-Front shocks

-Choke and Speedometer cables

-Rear cargo rack

-C70 handlebars 

-Gas tank and seat bracket

-Random nuts and bolts

The frame, trashed engine, fork, and wheels were stolen by the roving Mexican junk collector trucks. The frame and front fork were still good. Damnit!

Most of this will be useless on the new bike, except the exhaust pipe and possibly the shocks and cables. I want to try and use the plastic fender somehow as well. I'm imagining doing a frankenstein fix on it by sewing up the crack by drilling small holes and tying it up with fishing wire, then melting it a bit. Just a theory. 

As I said, I was planning to fix this c70, so I bought some stuff it needed. This stuff is all in good condition:

-Rear swingarm, faded red

-C70 solo seat

-Chain guards 

With both of these boxes of parts, you might get 1/6th of a bike. I was too lazy to sell all of this, so I bought another parts bike.

1973 Honda Z50 in very muddy condition. It had been sitting for 5 years. It was in the Suburbs and cost $200 total for the bike and shipping to my place. It looked like crap, but I'm discovering that it wasn't such a bad deal. 

My first expense for this project. 

- $200

I would say that most of the parts on this bike are usable. The engine is certainly in good shape and seems like it almost wants to start. I can tell by the sound that it's got good compression. I've kicked it over a few times and it sounds like the compression is good, has a nice "plowp-plowp" sort of sound to it, and I can feel puffs of air coming from the exhaust. 

The wiring looks very messed up so I'm assuming it's not getting spark. I'm sure the carburetor is very dirty as well. 

These are the parts I certainly want to keep for the build:

-50cc engine

-Carburetor

-Any random bolts I need

Here are some other parts that MIGHT fit on the new build:

-Front and rear brake hubs

-Front fork triple tree (it seems very sturdy, perhaps I could put in some longer legs?)

-Cute Z50 gas tank, totally rust free

Again, not THAT much stuff I can keep, but just for the engine and some other stuff, it's a pretty good deal. If I were in Thailand, I'm sure I could find a good working 50cc Honda engine for $20, but this is Chicago!

Here is the stuff I will sell for sure. I'll have to check ebay and see what's a good price:

-Z50 Frame and swingarm

-Z50 wheels, both nice and round

-Chain guard

-Rear fender for like $1, it's cracked. 

-Seat is split open but definitely salvageable

-Right handlebar and throttle assembly

If you're on my blog and want to buy any of this, I'll set a good price for you!

So this is the starting point for the project. I basically have an engine, carb, gas tank, and a swingarm.