Planet Minis

ashz50r

Hi everyone, i'm Neil & from the UK. I have just recently bought myself a 1980 z50r. It hadn't been run for at least 15 years & i got it hooked up & running a treat in just 5 evenings. I took it over to France in the back of my car & it was used day & night for a week & survived. Well impressed!

I have previously owned a '01 XR50 & still own from new a 1999 Jincheng M50 monkey with a 110 zongshen motor & disc brake front end (road legal). New to the z50r game so i have a few Q's if that's ok?

My original forks are in a pretty bad way, i've been reading on here about people using xr/crf fork legs & springs and bolting them up to the original z50 fork tops & bolting the wheel up the other way due to the drum being on a different side. Is that the case? Will using the xr/crf legs & spring give me an extra inch of travel? Will i need a longer brake cable, bearing in mind the next question..

Does anyone know of any sources of top clamps? Fast 50's list them, but they're almost impossible to source here in the UK. Anyone know any different or have any ideas? Will i need a longer throttle cable bearing in mind the stock cable is being used at the moment in conjunction with a Fast 50s billet throttle...

Snow hog tyres, what are your views? I think they look sweet, but are their any significant advantages over the original Bridgestone tyres (tires)!

Exhausts/mufflers: What's everybody running? mines been repaired & really needs replacing. Ideally i want an aftermarket pipe that i can use without removing the number boards. Who makes 'em & what price will i have to pay?

Thanks in advance for your help guys..

some pics of my bike to liven this thread up a bit!

as bought off eBay:







later the same week:

Miniac

Now that is one really well used Z!! I guess it's a testimony to the fact that you can't hardly kill a little Honda. Looks to me like your first mod should be a new stator cover to keep the chain from slinging goo on your ignition system. Are the tires on that thing 8s or 10s? Hopefully some of the Znuts can steer you in the right direction on the suspension stuff, . . . I'm not up on Z mods. As far as the "tyres" go, Snow Hogs? What are Snow Hogs, . . . . in fact, I'm from East Texas, . . . what's snow? <HA>

There is a thread in the Roost Area entitled, "anyone running 14" front and 12" rear wheels?" that you might want to take a look at. Could give you some ideas.

dirtbkr188

If you use the CRF/XR fork springs and +1 heavy-duty legs, then you will need a longer brake cable. Everyone turns the front wheel around so the brake panel is on the left side so they can use the plastic CRF/XR fork guards, hence the longer distance needed.
The Minigunz pipe should fit in place without interfering with the right side number plate bracket, the Big Gun pipe is a tight squeeze with the bracket in place.
I run Sno-Hawgs on a few of my Zs, they definitely will hook up a lot better than the Bridgestones for off-road use
You can use OEM Honda bar clamps with your top clamp plate, here is the microfiche diagram to show you:

monkeybike_mike

I had Snow Hogs on my '91 and didn't like them . They look nice but they don't turn well . I think it's because of the square profile. I'm sure others have them and think highly of them , just not for me.

mxr33

i love that style z, looks good to me just needs some tlc. any 7/8 bar clamps that you can bolt onto your topplate will work. you can use the ones above, xr70 clamps work good, had a set off a street bike that i used on my 95z. if you put taller bars on you will need longer cables. sometimes you can rotate the throtle and route the cable behind the bars. lots of possibilities. give that z some tlc and let us know how it comes along.

Lair

I've used bar mounts from a variety of bikes over the years. The Honda TRX and ATC models use a short clamp that works perfectly with the Z50 top fork plate. I picked up a set from Ebay recently foir $10 shipped. Most full-sized motocross bikes have removeable bar clamps that will work on the Z50. I have a '74 model that uses Honda CRF450 mounts on a Z50R plate. I had to build custom spacers, but it works well. If you stay away from the rubber-mounted versions, you should be able to bolt them directly to your plate with no mods. Check your local breakers or Ebay.

I always use a stock throttle cable.

Here's a set for reference: eBay Motors: ATC honda big red 250es 250 ES HANDLEBAR MOUNTS CLAMPS (item 300221306207 end time May-11-08 1900 PDT)

ashz50r

thanks for the input guys, this seems to be a great forum; loads of useful information & knowledgeable people. nice!