CBINVB challenged me to build something different from my horizontal platform bikes and I decided that seeing his Ape based on the Lifan Pony and riding it, that I wanted to make a bike similar in size but bigger on power. Enter a honda CB or CL125.
This build will be fully custom with the desired outcome to produce a bike that can cruise comfortably at 60mph, was about as physically the same size as a honda CL70, have a seat height about the same as a CT70, and have a seating position like a stock Norton Commando for comfort reasons. So, my vision has moved forward with the following:
Honda CL125 Frame
Honda CRF230F engine, ported, cammed with stock carb
Custom Exhaust made by me
Custom Swingarm made by me
Ninja 250r wheels with brembo brakes
Fast Ace 650 adjustable forks
Gcraft triple trees
Cafe style seat
CG125 Chrome tank
Billet aluminum rearsets
LED headlight conversion
Renthal CRF150r adult bars
A lot of fabricating will need to be done to make this all work. Engine mounts top and front, swingarm from scratch, rearset mounts, seat and tank mounts, shock extensions, speedo mount, fenders, and exhaust all has to be done.
I started this project back in September and will now start throwing some pictures of it. Enjoy.
I got the frame with a title in the mail. Fortunately and unfortunately I suppose it had damage that was unreported. The front downtube was cracked at one point and very bent. This worked in my favor since I wanted to change the length anyway to make getting the large CRF230f engine in and out easier. Also, the guy gave me a refund of half price, which worked out nicely. Got this frame with title very cheap in that regard.
So now that I had the frame, it needed to be cut and a new downtube installed. I mocked fitment up with the engine and cut the materials and welded in a different length. I intentionally cut it slightly angled and intentionally offset the tube...so the downtube is perfectly vertical now, but actually over to the non-exhaust side by about 1/2 cm. Did this to make sure I had proper clearance for the exhaust.
You can see just how tight the engine fits in there.
Then I started doing some mockups so I can get a feel for what it looked like. I fabricated the front mounts, reused the original engine mounts from the CRF230f on top. I did have to enlarge the rear mounts on the frame so the engine bolts would fit in there. Starting to show a basic shape here.
Moving along it was time to work on the swingarm. Because the ninja wheels were wider, I did have to make the swingarm wider. I also ended up narrowing the sprocket carrier on the hub by about 2cm and removing 1cm off the total width of the wheel at axle point. But the swinger build was interesting. I decided to use bearings and also had to make a custom pivot bolt that would be used for another purpose as well...
TO mount up the rearsets, I had to make a custom pivot bolt and also mount to the existing brake hanger on the frame. I ended up drilling and tapping the brake thing so the rearsets could mount. I had to make the lower mount portion to work right.
The shocks I chose are pretty slick. Rebound and compression on each shock along with adjustable on the spring. Unfortunately, they were a tad bit too short, so I had to fab up something to lengthen them. Not hard to do, but that m16x1.25 thread was annoying.
I did have to do some work on the engine because I could not leave it stock. It was a perfect runner, but I wanted a little more out of it without sacraficing any reliability. So, I ported the head and added a webcam grind. the rest will stay stock. I used a soda blaster to blast the head and center cases, then took the the top end and covers off the bike to recondition them. The head and cases are natural aluminum and the cylinder and side cases were painted in engine enamel. Engine assembled with some nice stainless allens and mounted into the already satin black painted frame.
The mockup continues. Here I have mounted the rear wheel, cut the chain to size and completed the rear wheel mounting and spacers. I also started running the electric which will primarily live under the tank. A small battery box under the seat will conseal a small 4cell ballistic battery. I am experimenting with the expanded metal side panels. Not sure how I feel about these...these were just quick and dirty cuts so I could see how it would look. I"m not sure if i like the look or not yet...but if I go with it, I'll use stainless and one that the holes are smaller than this. I will also have to drill into the frame to make mounting bosses, which is no big deal, since the whole thing will come apart to be powdercoated at some point. Lastly, you can see the fender and tail light. I need to fab some additional mounting points on the frame to securely hold the fender in place. Right now I just ahve two small top mount bolts holding it but I don't think that will hold the heavy billet tail light bolted to the back over time.
This is gonna be one hell of a bike once finished. After some thought, I really like the idea of something there in the hollow area (so long as you move it behind the frame members) . Hollow-mode cafe's are so common such that some sort of differentiation is appreciated, at least by me. I think once you find the right pattern and finish for those sheets it will really look good. Also a logo like you mentioned is another good idea for unique aesthetic.
Here's the oem style covers should you decide to go that way.
A really bummer on the caliper tho, suppose you'll have to settle for a crab up front. There are no 2-pot floating calipers in that gold color like your rear. But let me know if you do decide to space off the front disc.
I spent time doing the exhaust today. It was actually pretty easy to do this and it came out just as I wanted it. It may not be as pleasing to the eye to some, but this was absolute purposeful in that it allows that hallow center of the bike to really stick out. I started with the stock crf230 header and expanded to 1.25 then to 1.375 and then used 1.5 mandrel bends that were chopped and welded back together. It all came out pretty good I must say. I have a 17" long reverse cone muffler on there that I had in the shop. I may elect to use it or may go with something a little shorter like a supertrapp.
This is just the recommended webcam grind, stock carb jetted 48/125 and a the stepped exhaust using the stock header. Goes from 1.125 to 1.25 to 1.375 to 1.5 to the reverse cone. It revs surprisingly quick.
I am making a little bit of progress...held up by the fact that my tool to enlarge the triple tree got lost in the mail...so had to reorder one.
The wheel spacing is correct, although the axle is a little shorter than I'd like...so I need to find another axle for that I think. The upper triple tree needs to be enlarged from 44mm to 45mm...this is from an RS125 and was the closest I could find for my fastace triples. These are 173mm wide and have a 55mm offset. I also had to swap the stem out of these for a ct70 length stem...no problem there.
The good news is that the triple trees do not hit the tank, like the first set did, thanks to that offset.
The headlight brackets you see here are too long and look out of place, so I ordered up some other ones that push the headlight back about 1.5" closer to the trees. From a fabrication point of view, the only thing left is the front brake caliper bracket and the foot peg connections to the rear brake and the shifter. Only part I'm missing is a throttle cable.
Once it is all together and functioning, I may keep it assembled until the spring when I can take it back apart and have it powdercoated. I am undecided on the swingarm if I will keep it or make another one. This one is not perfect but certainly servicable.
Well, the tool to open up my top tree is sitting in California and the headlight brackets are sitting in New York. These are the two items preventing me from having a roller at this point. I'm getting anxious!
still delayed on the top tree, but I did manage to get all of the bike wired other than the headlight and the controls. Also, I fabbed up the brake mount for that brembo crab I'll be running up front. This is made from 1/4" 6061 Aluminum. I have to metal finish it, but it will be PC'd anyway, so not too concerned. This ought to stop the beast. Same crab caliper going to be used on the back as well.
THe g'craft triple trees are from an RS125 with 44/48mm tree bores. The fast ace are 45/48. So the trees had to be bored out on the top. So we spent about 2 hours taking care of this. 45 minutes was spent screwing around with the gauge that worked great for the first one, but then the indicator needle fell off, and then the rest of the thing messed up. Eventually, I smashed it to the ground and did the second one by eye/hand without indicating it...worked fine.
Here's my buddy mike working on getting the machining done.