Planet Minis

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Makes me miss all my old hard tail projects

I love how a crap rusted frame looks when it comes back from being blasted and powdered. Then with a few shiny new bits, it often looks better than new.

Great job on the rebuild. Those old Z rims are a pain. you did right by pitching the original set and opting for the new rim halves.

The old picture you posted reminds me that I need to go over to my parents house and dig through the old photos of my brothers and I on our old Hondas. What great memories!

chipwich

After working every night this week, and two back to back 12 hour weekend sessions, I finally got to put gas it it and give the engine a try. She fired on about the 5th or 6th stab. I'm not ready to call it finished yet. The lights didn't work, the chain guard rubs a little, the headlight cup needs some work, and the jetting needs some fine tuning, but....I did terrorize the neighborhood tonight at dusk LOL. OK, I made a couple of 4th gear runs to the end of the block and didn't frighten anyone but myself - running without lights.

I'd post some more photos and build details, but my back and feet ache from standing on concrete for two days. I'll get the Mini out in the sunshine and post the details one day when it's done. Thanks for reading.








BTW, I know that purists will not like the K1 fender and headlight emblem or Lifan engine. Those things will be put right one day when the oportunity presents itself. For now, let's just be happy that another hard tale is SAVED!!!

cdoublejj

VERY nice youm ight get bigger pipe tp let your engine breath specially if you ever plan on an 88 kit i doubt it will kill a lot of power, i ran my 125 with a stock pipe, killed power big time but, still had plenty of torq. any who you did a great job just look at it now looking back a how bad it was at first.

big pete

Great job!

chipwich

Yes, it is sputtering a bit at high RPM. With the K&N filter, larger intake tube, bigger card, and more CC, the stock exhaust probably doesn't flow near enough gases I would imagine. As you said the low end is fine. I really like the looks of the stock exhaust, so was thinking about tinkering with it a bit. Probably an aftermarket would be a better solution though. I've seen a Two Brothers around. Any other suggestions for a hard tail exhaust?

50-50

Awesome looking bike! I'm not a fan of the hardtails until I see them looking this nice.

I don't know if these exhaust systems will fit, but they are sweet!
New Trailbikes exhaust systems.

HondaZrider

The minigunz pipe looks nice, fits perfect, and flows great.

RAZZO

The Z looks great!!! Fast build too! Go with the Minigunz pipe. Excellent perf. and quality. Only one really available for the Hardtail in this country too! The Trailbikes pipes are for the softails.

cdoublejj

i was gonna say the minigunz but, i bet people get tired of hearing me talk about it, i have one on my soft tail very nice, my dad and i couldn't stop oogling at when i got it out of the box and on the bike when i had my stock pipe you couldn't get on the throttle too fast or it would die.

yadihonda

Nice resto! It still amazes me that something so rusted and trashed can be brought back to life. How did you do the tank? I believe I read that you powdercoated, but was the silver powder coated as well?

chipwich

The Minigunz looks like the way to go and thanks for the feedback. On the home from work tonight, I began thinking about the exhaust issue, and I remembered that my little brothers used to pull the stingers out of theirs, just because it sounded better. I pulled mine out and ran the mini a couple of times around the hood. All of the stumbling was gone, and it felt like it had about 30-40% more power. It wasn't really too loud, especially after the neighbors are used to hearing me fire up the Duc, but I didn't care for the look. Examining the stinger and the little pinpoint opening on one end, it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that it must be choking the life out of the 72cc motor, and I bet the 50 too. So, out with the cutting wheel. Installed the stinger and man, still pretty quiet, motor runs very smooth, and has plenty of power. In fact I really need to gear up, because shockingly it pulled my 225 lb ass up the steep driveway in third gear. OK, now way under geared.

The stingerectomy took about 3 minutes with a cutoff wheel.



Fixed the chain guard problem, and started troubleshooting the lighting. Didn't get far, because the little biotch shocked me thrice through the handlebars and the ignition switch became inoperable. Laughing, I had to turn down the idle screw to get it to shut off. Well, I'll call the stingerectomy a victory, but the wiring is now really got me confused. I've downloaded all of the wiring diagrams that I can find on the net, but my wiring color doesn't match anything that I could find. Need to think outside the box I suppose. At least it runs, and really well at that.

yadihonda, the frame and tank I had powder coated with RAL 5010. Krylon True Blue spray paint is a really close match, and since the repro headlight bucket is plastic, couldn't get it powder coated. I sprayed it with the Krylon, which looked great in the garage, but out in the daylight, it is a micro shade darker than the RAL. It's close enough so that the headlight bucket and forks are really close, but next to the tank in sunlight, it was not to my liking. So, I lightly sanded the the tank and sprayed it with Krylon True Blue. That brought all of the shades really close. I have to say at this point that although it is quick drying, the Krylon really doesn't lay down well. It is _really_ hard to avoid orange peel for any surfaces that are not on the same plane as the surface that you are painting. So, curved objects like headlight cups and gas tanks need to be sprayed over and over to get an even finish.

I debated leaving it solid, but after looking a a bunch of K2s, decided to paint the bottom stripe for a more of a nostalgic look. I've always wondered why Honda painted them white, when the silver that they used in the K1 looked like a better match to all of the chrome. Anyway, I brought home some Rust-oleum in white and metallic silver, shot some cardboard and held it next to the tank. The metallic silver looked better IMO, and since it is resto-mod I decided to shot it the color that I would have made it. The Rust-oleum went on _much_ smoother, without orange peel. Me likey Rust-oleum now.

I should invest in a paint gun one day you think? (and a media blaster) Anyway, it's far from perfect, but for my first effort I was pretty happy the way it turned out. I used 3M Blue Delicate painter's tape to mask, but won't do that again, because it left little chunks of glue all over the tank that had to be cleaned. At least the line was relatively straight, and it didn't pull off any paint, knock on wood.

freakytikitv

great post...you should be proud of your project. I love the history of the build. I also love the fact that you saved that little guy from z50 graveyard. I have alot of z50's but none are as nice looking as yours. I have similar background and have big plans on getting a few from 69-71 back on the street. where local kids can bomb them around. Keep the great stories coming...after this one gets close......start another.....maybe red for old times sake.

PitRacerVince

this build is epic in a nostalgic way. its feels kinda warm n fuzzy w/ the authentic childhood pic. Im only 25 but cant wait to rebuild a 90 Z50R which wa my first bike my dad eventually sold... but warm n fuzzy all the way. luvin it thnx

yadihonda

Thanks for the info on the paints. I did a K1 tank red and silver, all spray can. The silver was a Rustoleoum product but not your ordinary. In fact it looked and laid awesome - very easy to use, but the cap would keep pluggin every five seconds. I even purchased another can and it did the same thing. Only solution was to keep a cap soaking in mineral spirits - pain in the butt. Finally, I wanted a good clear coat from a gun so I found someone local to spray it for $75. He ended up sanded through some of the red, plus the clearcoat didn't hold up to fuel spill. Nuff said.

gbunner

Besides obviously the frame, what other parts are restored or still original? The bike looks like almost every part was replaced.

chipwich

Things that come to mind:

-new-
headlight and cup, hi/lo light, emblem (missing)
taillight and bracket (missing)
engine (original will get a rebuild to 88cc)
exhaust
seat
footpeg assembly
cables
handlebars and knobs
seat
tank
tank badges
tires
tubes
rims
bearings, bearing seals
fork rebuild kit
rear brake switch
about $20 in fasteners
brake shoes
tank rubber bits
gas cap
wiring harness
grips
all springs, except brake shoe springs
10 steering stem bearings
drive chain and sprockets
fenders

-original-
brake baking plates, shoe springs, arms, nuts
hubs
frame
fork
headset bearing cups and races
32 of 42 steering stem bearings
fork legs (badly pitted)
axles and spacers
rear brake arm, lever, and switch bracket
a lot of fasteners
handlebar holder and bolts

Like the saying goes, it is much cheaper to buy than restore. However, you don't get the glory of the save, don't develop any metal working, painting, or troubleshooting skills, and don't get to make choices on paint, engine, etc. Hindsight being what it is, I most definitely would have started with a better carcass. Having said that, I really wanted a blue '71 K2, because that's what I remember as a teenager. It wasn't easy to find. Funny thing was, when I picked it up in the back of a Harley dealership in Ten, the guy who signed it over to me said, "Too bad you didn't get the other one. It was red and actually ran." The irony was not lost considering that my brothers had one red and one blue. What do you think that the odds are? No way. Just a chance random coincidence. 7 degrees of Minitrail separation might have been at work

I've kept all of the receipts, but might not add it all up. Probably better that way. Frankly it didn't hurt that badly, because I bought the parts over about 14 months.

It was my first, and until I tried, never knew that I could finish it. I learned about using a grinder, making electrical connections, painting, installing wheel bearings, cleaning old rusty parts, etc. Yes, there are a lot of new parts, but there are hours and hours of me grinding, polishing and painting. Heck, it shocked the crap out of me last night LOL while I was troubleshooting the wiring. Something isn't grounded and if you are holding on to the right brake lever and reach over to switch off the ignition, look out

Now there are others on this site that are far more skilled than I. They can weld and fabricate, and paint like fiends. However, I started from just having an understanding of basic motorcycle maintenance. The thing was really a piece of rusted leaking crap when I picked it up. It leaked oil all over the inside of my SUV, and stunk like hell. There were mud dobber nests inside the seat and attached to the engine, and the tires were full of rusty water. It really smelled bad. I felt like I was fleeced big time, and I hid it under the house for a few weeks before showing it to my wife. She thought I was crazy. Now she thinks it's pretty cool and wants to ride it this weekend. Go figure.

Anyway, kudos to those who keep these things running and share information on sites like Planet Minis.

gbunner

I think you did a great job, you have a bike you can be proud to say you "built". Sure helps that there are so many new replacement parts available for the Honda mini's. I have a 71 CT70 that may be a little nicer than what you started with, that I'm having a hard time getting motivated to start on. But after seeing what you accomplished with what you started with definitely gives inspiration.

mexicanyella

You definitely deserve the thumbs-up attitude and a big pile of satisfaction for this job. The paint looks great and seeing the bike before and after...wow. (I tend to like them when they look like "before" pictures but run well, too.)

That stinger is different than the original ones, or at least the two K2 hardtail stingers I've got...with that little whistle-mouthpiece-looking diverting thing. On the originals, it's just a plain tube protruding up into the muffler, and where the headpipe enters the front of the muffler it's pinched into an alarmingy restrictive-looking hourglass shape.

One of the first things I did when I got my K2 years ago was cut off that hourglass section, shorten the stinger by about 1-1/2" and braze the cut-off stinger piece onto the headpipe to make it the right length again (same diameter and finish) and get rid of the restriction. I didn't notice much if any difference. Just this year that headpipe finally rusted through and I replaced the whole system with my spare pipe, which was still the stock pinched headpipe and stock-length stinger, and it might be a liiiiiiiiiiiiittle more choked at the top end--maybe--and very slightly quieter, but it seems slightly torquier down low. This is on an ancient original unrebuilt engine though, still 49cc.

Anyway, nice work! Something to be proud of.

z50 chopper

Try starting with parts from very different bikes and try and conglomerate them into one bike, like what I am trying to do.

But very nice save chipwich

chipwich

Yeah, it looked a little different than I remember. The end that I didn't cut had a little peep hole in it. I can't believe that the gases pass through that. I wonder if it was changed to satisfy some federal legislation. Regardless, you are right about the hour glass section of the head pipe. I'll get to that eventually.

And thanks again to everyone for all of the encouragement.

Found another picture of brother Rick getting it on. Shirt, shoes, and helmet optional LOL!