Help needed in Southampton, CG125

[Cruiser420]

So i got the bike i just bought second hand - Honda CG125 1999 serviced today only to find today it's

front right seal is blown and leaking oil,
needs a new clutch cable
wont idle easily
engine top end is noisy-loud tapping
ignition barrel difficult to operate
left hand chain adjuster damaged
front brake operation is embedded by the throttle assembly
Clutch cable is damaged and likely to snap
clutch lever is damaged and likely to snap
frot forks show axccesive pitting

So.. yeah that's 675 down the drain and the money for the service Should i just try and sell it and buy another bike, he said my engine could blow, but another guy in there thought it could be solved with a car/valve adjustment clean.

I've had the worst day and get home to this, if anyone could offer any solutions that would be great, haven't even got it taxed yet, it was sold as a good runner with no problems

[von1papen]

Clutch cable is a tenner, clean your carb and make sure the idle screw is set correctly (its in the haynes manual).

Set the valve clearances yourself.

Stick abit of wd40 into the ignition barrel with the key half in, see if it frees up.

Apply fork gaiters and cease to care about leaks or lack of oil. I ran my CG for 2 years without bugger all oil in the forks and you know what, it was fine. Being such a light bike it barely mattered

Buy the haynes manual and a toolkit, most of all have fun! take photos of everything you take apart so you can refer to them.
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Honda CG125<Honda CM200< Kwak GT750 (SOLD) < BMW R65

[Cruiser420]

[SQL]

you could buy a decent CG for that money

[J.M.]

You should be able to do all of that yourself if you have a decent toolkit and a Haynes/Workshop manual for the bike.

Tapping top end probably just means the valve clearances need adjusting.

The only thing that would worry me is the pitting on the forks. However, so long as the pitting is not in the area of travel then it should be fine.
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2004 R1 & 2018 XSR900

[johnsmith222]

EDIT: said my engine could blow, but another guy in there thought it could be solved with a car/valve adjustment clean.

record this noise for us.


Do not put 600 odd quid into your CG as it's not worth that. This is the absolute perfect opportunity for you to learn how to do all these things.

front right seal is blown and leaking oil
frot forks show exccesive pitting

Hide these by fitting fork gaiters and fit kitchen roll under your dust seals to absorb any oil before the MOT. Replace the seals when you have the time to learn how to do this.

needs a new clutch cable
Clutch cable is damaged and likely to snap

Buy a new clutch cable, making sure it is well lubed before fitting. They are an absolute piece of piss to fit on a CG.

clutch lever is damaged and likely to snap
Buy new lever and fit it. It's very easy to do.


ignition barrel difficult to operate

Use 3 in 1 oil down the keyhole using the key to open up the sliding cover. Pump the key in and out lots, using a good amount of oil. Work it in by turning the ignition on and off repeatedly.

left hand chain adjuster damaged

These cost literally a few quid from Honda as I had to replace them on my CG125 (same 99 model). They take about 5 minutes to change by removing the rear spindle and sliding it out, putting new adjuster on and putting the spindle back on.

wont idle easily

I would try and see if you can take it for a decent run filled with new fuel and see if that helps. If not you might need to take the float bowl off the carb and spray carb cleaner in there and that should hopefully help.


engine top end is noisy-loud tapping

Valve clearances might need doing but don't worry as they are an absolute piece of piss on this bike. No parts are needed as it uses adjuster nuts and it should be able to be done in 10 or 15 minutes.


front brake operation is embedded by the throttle assembly

I'm struggling to understand what you mean by this. I'm thinking the cable has damaged the throttle assembly in some way. The assembly may need replaced but it's simple enough to do.

Once you're done your bike will be completely sorted and you will know it much better. I know that the proper way would be to get a stanchion that isn't pitted, replacing fork seals, overhauling carb but trying to keep it simple to start with.


Have the list of things to do and only do one thing at a time. When you have finished a job then score it out. You will feel like you're making progress and if you need any help then you can always take pictures/ask on here.

[Rogerborg]

Yup, you get a bike like that because it's cheap and easy to work on. See this CG125 site for servicing tips. Bodge it, when it actually dies, bin it.
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[YBR Ric]

All these listed problems should have been easy to spot and pick up on prior to purchase.

If this was a blind £bay purchase you may have some redress if threre's some doubt that what you have doesn't quite match the description of what was offered.

[P.addy]

Daaaamn.

front right seal is blown and leaking oil

Just sorted mine, took half hour and was messy. £20

Clutch cable £10 and 2 mins to fit.

Idle, clean carb. 20 minutes.

Noisy, it probably isn't as noisy as you think.

Ignition barrel, as said 3 in 1 or grab a universal one for £30.

Chain adjuster from ebay £10.

Clutch cable would be sorted as above.

Lever, £5 ebay

If pitting is outside area of travel, ignore.

All in all <£100. If you are anywhere near Maidstone or around Kent, I'd happily sort that for you, £600+ is robbery unless its a main dealer.

[Mark65]

https://www.wemoto.com/bikes/honda/cg_125_w/98-00/picture/clutch_cable/ £10 or £16 for OE Honda

https://www.wemoto.com/bikes/honda/cg_125_w/98-00/picture/clutch_lever/ £7 or less on ebay

https://www.wemoto.com/bikes/honda/cg_125_w/98-00/picture/manual_haynes/ 16.95 or less ebay

Fill pits with epoxy as others have done then
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ARIETE-MOTORCYCLE-GAITERS-7907N-BLACK-28-46-215mm/dp/B006VC9JJE/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1372512578&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=ariette+fork+gaiters+7907 £13.99 Amazon

Chain Adjuster

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Rear-wheel-chain-adjusters-Chinese-CG125-Yamasaki-/370167710437 £5.40 or a bit more from Honda.

Valves do yourself, barrel clean and lube, fork seal Honda not sure on price.
A weekends farting about.
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07 Yamaha YBR125, 07 Honda CG125 , 15 CBR300R (Chocolate Crank, Deaded), 16 CB500FA, 19 Honda Forza 300, 70 Suzuki SV650

[cb1rocket]

easy to fix, even I can do that with the minimal tools! As Paddy said where are you based?
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Honda H100S2 Rebuild - https://www.bikechatforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=253852

[Cruiser420]

Thank you so much guys, i live in southampton at the moment, so not very close to kent :/

Ok so i'm thinking this would be a good opportunity to learn how to work on bikes as i'll be needing to in the future..

Literally the only thing that concerns me is the engine, if it's not a simple valve adjustment and it blows i'm left with well... scraps.. that i paid all together 675 + 90 + 100 if i did get this all fixed because i'm sure as hell not buying a new engine for it, i simply cannot afford it all at the moment, i think this could be to do with the valves though as everyone i talk to just says valve adjustment..

I'll record the sound and take some photos for you guys I didn't really notice it to be honest , i basically copy and pasted the list of problems from the service receipt, so that's a mechanics point of view as to what's wrong with it and whether the engine is top end noisy, which one of the guys said in there is a little bit of an understatement, but he was just a guy, experienced i'm sure but not an expert.

Edit, things are looking up a bit, found a pair of honda fork seals for £6.20

[Cruiser420]

[von1papen]

Even rebuilding the Cg's engine is a piece of piss. Genuinely because its pushrod it is incredibly simple, you can buy a new barrel and piston kit for £40 on ebay. Most bikes you can barely get the piston kit for that!

Buy the haynes manual and read up plenty until you're half confident you know what you're doing. Take lots of pictures if you need too and feel free to ask on here. Plenty of threads 2 years ago from me asking how to fix things on my CG!

Now I'm happy to rebuild an engine/bike. Plenty of people here started off like you
____________________
Honda CG125<Honda CM200< Kwak GT750 (SOLD) < BMW R65

[Rogerborg]

Fair enough, the pain will teach you.

It's really not as bad as it sounds, if you just get fired in.

The fork seal is probably ripped if the forks are badly pitted, but get them smoothed off first anyway.

Then watch this video and consider that their tool is a piece of stiff plastic. Got some scissors and stiff plastic to hand? Look in the kitchen, near the sink...
____________________
Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Cruiser420]

Cheers guys for all the info, i've decided i may as well fix this my self and get to know my bike more,

[Cruiser420]

Ok here's some more info and a recording of my engine (wont upload) with was hard as fuck to get started since it got back from the shop....

And some pictures of my forks both seals have now gone...

[P.addy]

Sure if you change your title to "Help needed in Southampton, CG125" you'll get a multitude of people willing to help

[SQL]

if that was me i'd use wirewool, 1000 Grit paper, araldite.

[mudcow007]

my CG forks were worse(r) than them, i just covered up with gaiters an forgot all about them

Ariete 7909 are the best you can buy

[J.M.]

I found that aluminium foil and water worked quite well for cleaning up chrome. I used it on my exhaust. Took a fair bit of time, but it cleaned up most of the ugliness before I stopped.
____________________
2004 R1 & 2018 XSR900

[Cruiser420]

[SQL]

Yes because you can't see them leaking

fix seals, fix pitting buy gaiters (To stop weathering)

[P.addy]

If you can get the parts and no one in Southampton can help, it is a fair ride, but its cheaper than £600+ ... you can happily ride over one weekend after I'm back from Spain (assuming the engine stays intact)

[mudcow007]

aye, change the seals an fit gaiters

mine still leak after changing the seals, still passed its MOT though