Wow!
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
No. 3 build ready to kick off...
- Thread starter PeteMcP
- Start date
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This bike is so cool, I am browsing the mobile.de right now!
Hi Toro, These bikes are super rare outside Japan. You might want to check out the Solo currently for sale at Fourstrokebarn in the Netherlands. Good price compared to another being sold privately in the Netherlands for almost twice as much. There are another couple of Solos being sold by dealers in the UK too.
HONDA SOLO 50cc - Bicyclette to Bobber make-over update...
Hope everyone enjoyed a Merry Christmas. Here's wishing folks all the best for 2020.
Completed most of my planned changes to my Honda Solo. So far these include fatter Mitas knobbly tyres, small front fender, stainless exhaust, cafe bars with alloy risers, alloy grille-type headlight/indicators/tail light/horn, side-mount license plate, left side hand shifter with pistol grip, custom airbrushed tank. Still running the original 50cc 3-speed semi auto Honda motor for the time being. I'll swap this out come springtime for the replacement 125cc 4-speed semi-auto Lifan motor I've purchased. Running fenderless at the rear for the time being. Undecided if I'll bob the original fender.
Hope everyone enjoyed a Merry Christmas. Here's wishing folks all the best for 2020.
Completed most of my planned changes to my Honda Solo. So far these include fatter Mitas knobbly tyres, small front fender, stainless exhaust, cafe bars with alloy risers, alloy grille-type headlight/indicators/tail light/horn, side-mount license plate, left side hand shifter with pistol grip, custom airbrushed tank. Still running the original 50cc 3-speed semi auto Honda motor for the time being. I'll swap this out come springtime for the replacement 125cc 4-speed semi-auto Lifan motor I've purchased. Running fenderless at the rear for the time being. Undecided if I'll bob the original fender.
The Renaissance Man
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Very cool!
Love the exhaust, looks loud.
Happy New year to you my friend!
Love the exhaust, looks loud.
Happy New year to you my friend!
MOTO GUZZI MOTOLEGGERA 'GUZZINO' progress update...
Recommenced work on my Guzzino. Bike was purchased minus a few parts, ie, throttle, grips, air/fuel filters, fuel line, horn etc. all of which have now been taken care of. Decided to go with a twist grip throttle instead of the original thumb lever type. New throttle and clutch cable now installed too. Stripped/cleaned the carb. Fitted new tyres and tubes. Stripped/cleaned the front and rear drum brakes and the shoes have been sent off to Villiers Services for re-lining. Exhaust was holed, but luckily I just scored a NOS exhaust from a UK seller for 40 quid - saving me splashing out 129 quid for the same muffler advertised by an Italian seller.
Purchased a new wiring harness from Italy and that's the next job on the to do list to crack on with. That and removing the pillion seat. Guzzinos look better as solo machines I reckon.
Guzzino's motor has plenty compression and generates a healthy spark. Gas tank flushed and is now spotless inside, so hopefully we're not far off firing her up for the first time.
Recommenced work on my Guzzino. Bike was purchased minus a few parts, ie, throttle, grips, air/fuel filters, fuel line, horn etc. all of which have now been taken care of. Decided to go with a twist grip throttle instead of the original thumb lever type. New throttle and clutch cable now installed too. Stripped/cleaned the carb. Fitted new tyres and tubes. Stripped/cleaned the front and rear drum brakes and the shoes have been sent off to Villiers Services for re-lining. Exhaust was holed, but luckily I just scored a NOS exhaust from a UK seller for 40 quid - saving me splashing out 129 quid for the same muffler advertised by an Italian seller.
Purchased a new wiring harness from Italy and that's the next job on the to do list to crack on with. That and removing the pillion seat. Guzzinos look better as solo machines I reckon.
Guzzino's motor has plenty compression and generates a healthy spark. Gas tank flushed and is now spotless inside, so hopefully we're not far off firing her up for the first time.
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Ha Ha.
Wife Jen suffers with dementia after being diagnosed in 2013. Jen's a falls risk and can't be left unattended on her own, so being her sole 24/7 carer, building bikes in the same room is my best and only option. It's the best form of respite for me and Jen doesn't even care if we share the lounge with a bike 'art installation'. Be assured I go out of my way to keep the place spotless.
Wife Jen suffers with dementia after being diagnosed in 2013. Jen's a falls risk and can't be left unattended on her own, so being her sole 24/7 carer, building bikes in the same room is my best and only option. It's the best form of respite for me and Jen doesn't even care if we share the lounge with a bike 'art installation'. Be assured I go out of my way to keep the place spotless.
BLUE BAMBOO e-Stretch build is fast approaching the finish line. Just awaiting delivery of the pair of laser-cut-to-shape mirror stainless steel side panels. These will be used as a template when overlaid onto the frame so I can mark/drill the locating holes for the panels in the frame.
In the meantime I'm busying myself with building the vintage girder fork front end for an upcoming build. These eBay sourced forks came minus a pair of the side links and three of the four threaded pivot pins. Managed to find a guy on eBay who plasma-cut a pair of new side links and an engineering company who quoted a nominal price for machining new pivot pins. Result is I'm now a lot closer to having a working set of cool forks. Mated these to a brand new 26" wheel fitted with Shimano dynohub and roller brake, scored for a steal on eBay as I was the only bidder. The catch is the wheel has a no maintenance solid rubber tyre fitted - of which I have zero experience. Tyre stays put for now, but planning to swap it out for something more meatier further down the line. Not even sure if the hoop is usable with a regular tyre - but I'll find out soon enough. Unless someone can tell me otherwise, looks like I'll be resorting to a hacksaw and snips to get the solid tyre off when the time comes.
In the meantime I'm busying myself with building the vintage girder fork front end for an upcoming build. These eBay sourced forks came minus a pair of the side links and three of the four threaded pivot pins. Managed to find a guy on eBay who plasma-cut a pair of new side links and an engineering company who quoted a nominal price for machining new pivot pins. Result is I'm now a lot closer to having a working set of cool forks. Mated these to a brand new 26" wheel fitted with Shimano dynohub and roller brake, scored for a steal on eBay as I was the only bidder. The catch is the wheel has a no maintenance solid rubber tyre fitted - of which I have zero experience. Tyre stays put for now, but planning to swap it out for something more meatier further down the line. Not even sure if the hoop is usable with a regular tyre - but I'll find out soon enough. Unless someone can tell me otherwise, looks like I'll be resorting to a hacksaw and snips to get the solid tyre off when the time comes.
BLUE BAMBOO build all but completed, apart from paint. Just need a few more test rides under my belt to see if I need make any mods before stripping her down prior to the frame's repaint. You can see more pics for this build in the e-bike section.
The Renaissance Man
__CERTIFIED DIVER__ (Open Water & Open Dumpster)
Staff member
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Pro Member
Impeccable work as usual Pete! Thanks for sharing.
NEW BUILD UNDERWAY...
Wife Jen's weight loss due to her dementia's relentless progress has reached the critical stage, but she's still hanging on in there, bless her. Her care here at home must remain my main priority but I'm still finding the occasional moment to enjoy faffing around with motorized bikes.
My latest build kicked off with the purchase of a new steel frame courtesy of AliBaba in the Far East. I'm mating this to a very low mileage (800kms only) 125cc engine from a Skyteam Ace sourced via eBay. Going with new, retro-styled drum braked Honda wheels front and back. Another home-made aluminium gas tank is taking shape and I found a local metal spinning company who agreed to make the pair of spun aluminium domed tank ends.
Turns out this project is not so straight forward as I first thought. For starters the frame needed mods. First, the rear dropouts were widened from 170mm to 190mm. Next, the frame was cut into three pieces and lengthened by 1-3/8" to accommodate the motor. Pics show the sleeved joints prior to me brazing everything up. Frame has also been drilled to accept 16mm dia. tubular front and upper engine mounts. Pics show the frame and motor laid onto its side with everything loosely assembled. Motor will be a stressed member in this build. Just need to draw up the rear engine mounts and frame gussets required which I'll have cut to shape by water jet as per my earlier Gnome Rhone build. Those vintage girder forks are too long, so will also need some material cut from the foot of the fork legs and new axle holes drilled further up. No biggie, that. Opted for a vintage Lepper Primus saddle for a comfy perch.
Here's wishing all a Merry Christmas!
Wife Jen's weight loss due to her dementia's relentless progress has reached the critical stage, but she's still hanging on in there, bless her. Her care here at home must remain my main priority but I'm still finding the occasional moment to enjoy faffing around with motorized bikes.
My latest build kicked off with the purchase of a new steel frame courtesy of AliBaba in the Far East. I'm mating this to a very low mileage (800kms only) 125cc engine from a Skyteam Ace sourced via eBay. Going with new, retro-styled drum braked Honda wheels front and back. Another home-made aluminium gas tank is taking shape and I found a local metal spinning company who agreed to make the pair of spun aluminium domed tank ends.
Turns out this project is not so straight forward as I first thought. For starters the frame needed mods. First, the rear dropouts were widened from 170mm to 190mm. Next, the frame was cut into three pieces and lengthened by 1-3/8" to accommodate the motor. Pics show the sleeved joints prior to me brazing everything up. Frame has also been drilled to accept 16mm dia. tubular front and upper engine mounts. Pics show the frame and motor laid onto its side with everything loosely assembled. Motor will be a stressed member in this build. Just need to draw up the rear engine mounts and frame gussets required which I'll have cut to shape by water jet as per my earlier Gnome Rhone build. Those vintage girder forks are too long, so will also need some material cut from the foot of the fork legs and new axle holes drilled further up. No biggie, that. Opted for a vintage Lepper Primus saddle for a comfy perch.
Here's wishing all a Merry Christmas!
Wife Jen's care requirements take priority, so work on the latest project is slow and tends to happen in short spurts. Made quite a bit of progress since my last post.
Finally received the spun hemispherical ends for the aluminium tank which I've now completed. 3-piece tank and alloy filler neck were brazed together using Alu-build300 low temp rods and a MAPP gas torch. Tank bands rolled to shape from 10mm x 2mm aluminium stip. Tanks and bands were then drilled to accept aluminium rivets, after which the tank was thoroughly sealed internally with two good sloshes of POR15 tank sealant.
Rear drum brake torque arm fabricated from M10 all-thread, rod end bearings and sleeved with stainless tube. Stainless bracket silver soldered to lower frame stay.
Those vintage girder forks needed shortening by 2-3/4" to get the bike sitting level and that's now been done. Left fork leg needed modifying to fit neatly round the cast-on speedo drive on the wheel's brake plate.
Headlight and indicators fitted because this build will be registered for fully legal road use, so must be submitted for an MSVA (Motorcycle Single Vehicle Application) test, then I can apply for it to be registered with the DVLA and allocated a license plate.
125 engine's been tarted up with painted crank cases and fitted with a modified exhaust from a Honda 250. Exhaust needed the oversized 40mm manifold flange cutting off and a replacement 38mm stainless flange silver soldered in its place. The heat shield is a nice finishing touch.
Currently building a battery box and drawing-up the various frame-bracing panels which will be sent off to be waterjet-cut from steel.
Very pleased how this latest build is shaping up.
Finally received the spun hemispherical ends for the aluminium tank which I've now completed. 3-piece tank and alloy filler neck were brazed together using Alu-build300 low temp rods and a MAPP gas torch. Tank bands rolled to shape from 10mm x 2mm aluminium stip. Tanks and bands were then drilled to accept aluminium rivets, after which the tank was thoroughly sealed internally with two good sloshes of POR15 tank sealant.
Rear drum brake torque arm fabricated from M10 all-thread, rod end bearings and sleeved with stainless tube. Stainless bracket silver soldered to lower frame stay.
Those vintage girder forks needed shortening by 2-3/4" to get the bike sitting level and that's now been done. Left fork leg needed modifying to fit neatly round the cast-on speedo drive on the wheel's brake plate.
Headlight and indicators fitted because this build will be registered for fully legal road use, so must be submitted for an MSVA (Motorcycle Single Vehicle Application) test, then I can apply for it to be registered with the DVLA and allocated a license plate.
125 engine's been tarted up with painted crank cases and fitted with a modified exhaust from a Honda 250. Exhaust needed the oversized 40mm manifold flange cutting off and a replacement 38mm stainless flange silver soldered in its place. The heat shield is a nice finishing touch.
Currently building a battery box and drawing-up the various frame-bracing panels which will be sent off to be waterjet-cut from steel.
Very pleased how this latest build is shaping up.
Spectacular job, in the shop as well as in the home. Best thoughts to both of you!
The Renaissance Man
__CERTIFIED DIVER__ (Open Water & Open Dumpster)
Staff member
Moderator
Pro Member
Always top shelf work. Thanks for sharing!
