Many, many years ago I built a series of bikes from old Honda Cubs, the C50, C70 and C90, using whatever material I could find either in my garage or in the unwanted section of the local bike breakers. My most used one had a Kawasaki tank fitted, and did a lot of miles off-road - not only in the UK but also in the Alps and during a long weekend in Germany. Another one was used for moped racing, and both are shown in the picture below, with my Chris riding the latter.
The reason I chose the Cub as the basis was that they were cheap, no one cared what you did with them, and there was very high parts compatibility - and in the picture I know that this was the moped racer's first run as I had taken the C70 engine out of my trail bike and popped it in - and not a standard C70 but one with the 4-speed and manual clutch from an SS50. The point was to have a minimal parts stock and machines that could evolve.
Fast forward to today and I have a workshop full of Romet Turing, Jubilat and Wigry parts, and some other bikes that I use as sources to extend the possibilities of my Romets. Below is a Kross Best that I bought for the 24 inch wheels and 5 speed derailleur set up that I planned to fit into one of my single-speed Jubilats, which I never got round to building as I then discovered and purchased a rare Zenit version of the Jubilat with 3-speed derailleur. I then exchanged the frame that did not get modified for a BSO with bouncy front and rear 'suspension' (suspending both the bike and belief, without any apparent useful function).
Ta-raaah! 1 x red Best, 1 x yellow fork, 1 x pink steel source (and, accidentally, 1 x incredibly rare 'Danusia' Jubilat front fork).
So the plan is to take the parts here, add to it parts from my Zenit while that is stripped down to straighten the frame and replace its toasted BB, servicing the borrowed parts at the same time, saw up some barn door hinges to connect the yellow forks to the Best forks and extend the rear dropouts. The Best is a child's frame, and cannot be pedalled and steered into a corner at the same time, so the forks sounded like a fun way of getting more foot room, and in combination with rear dropout extensions gain a little ground clearance. These are the kind of things I was doing in the 1980s with my Cubs.
I have no plans for painting, although the rims and spokes will be painted but only as part of the Zenit renovation process, not because I think the project needs it - indeed, my choice would have been one of my matt black rim sets. Red, yellow and pink - what could go wrong!
The reason I chose the Cub as the basis was that they were cheap, no one cared what you did with them, and there was very high parts compatibility - and in the picture I know that this was the moped racer's first run as I had taken the C70 engine out of my trail bike and popped it in - and not a standard C70 but one with the 4-speed and manual clutch from an SS50. The point was to have a minimal parts stock and machines that could evolve.
Fast forward to today and I have a workshop full of Romet Turing, Jubilat and Wigry parts, and some other bikes that I use as sources to extend the possibilities of my Romets. Below is a Kross Best that I bought for the 24 inch wheels and 5 speed derailleur set up that I planned to fit into one of my single-speed Jubilats, which I never got round to building as I then discovered and purchased a rare Zenit version of the Jubilat with 3-speed derailleur. I then exchanged the frame that did not get modified for a BSO with bouncy front and rear 'suspension' (suspending both the bike and belief, without any apparent useful function).
Ta-raaah! 1 x red Best, 1 x yellow fork, 1 x pink steel source (and, accidentally, 1 x incredibly rare 'Danusia' Jubilat front fork).
So the plan is to take the parts here, add to it parts from my Zenit while that is stripped down to straighten the frame and replace its toasted BB, servicing the borrowed parts at the same time, saw up some barn door hinges to connect the yellow forks to the Best forks and extend the rear dropouts. The Best is a child's frame, and cannot be pedalled and steered into a corner at the same time, so the forks sounded like a fun way of getting more foot room, and in combination with rear dropout extensions gain a little ground clearance. These are the kind of things I was doing in the 1980s with my Cubs.
I have no plans for painting, although the rims and spokes will be painted but only as part of the Zenit renovation process, not because I think the project needs it - indeed, my choice would have been one of my matt black rim sets. Red, yellow and pink - what could go wrong!
