Honda CB125 superdream

Steve K wrote:

Ive just bought an old cb125 superdream. Its a 1985 but in the past has an older CB125tb engine fitted. Its not had an MOT for 13 years. It runs stops and starts really well and appears to not need much for an MOT.

I am more sanguine about MOT exemption... I DO think the MOT's useful, especially for 'occasional classics'....

Standards or restoration and maintenance on 'classics' is at best patchy; notion that 'all' old vehicles are valuable, and treated to the 'best' care is rather nebulous; and it's all too common for vehicles to only get 'skin-deep' restorations; the heavy and often more expensive mechanics, short-changed or even ignored, whilst major attention paid to paint and pin-striping, which is oft made plain by 'post resuscitation failure', when resto vehicles are pressed into (usually light!) service, and the jobs that were dodged or skimped on or just not done properly, show up as motors burning gallons of oil as old piston rings finally give out, or perished hard to get seals finally crumble under pressure... also not unknown for brakes, similarly 'short changed' on resto to give out when asked to work for a living, which is slightly more worry-some.

Notion that loads of folk will start buying up old shed find GS550's and the like with rotten swing arms, or drum-brake dirt-bikes with the lining de-laminating from the shoes, painting up all the pretty bits, and taking to the road with frayed cables and perished tyres IS rather worry-some!

The MOT IS at least 'some' precaution against the over ambitious and less clued up!

BUT... of the major overheads, insurance remains the kick in the crotch, and while 'classic' or 'small fleet' policies seem to make it 'appear' more affordable to run a classic.... personally, I don't think it much does....

The terms and conditions placed on multi-bike policies, have, over the last ten years, consistently seen me buy individual policies for each bike! They just 'haven't worked out 'cheaper' on a classic or combined policy; whilst small-print 'restrictions' most significantly the mileage limitations, have often been quite horrendous, to essentially deny any real chance of using a 'classic' as an every day rider, without getting a bit dodgy swapping clocks between MOT's and the like!

Interesting to note; when HVS was first proposed in the mid 90's, and came into effect, I think 1996; he 'rolling' 25 year threshold was a feature; one removed by the later 'New' labour Gov't within a year or so!

That 'froze' 'tax-exemption' for vehicles made before 1973.. a co-incidental year for bikes... that was the year that both the Moped Law for 16 year olds and the Compulsary Crash Hat laws were introduced, along with the bankruptcy of the BSA group, that propagated the collapse of the Brit-Bike industry in general, as well as marked the year-on-year decline in UK new bike sales, that essentially hit rock bottom n 1982 with the 125 learner-laws.

SO, the effect of the 1973 cut-off was to re-inforce the divide between 'old' 1960's and earlier 'Brit-Bikes' and later significantly Japanese 'Imports', and perpetuate the preponderance of the antiquated even in the 1960's Brit-Bikes as the quintessential 'classic'.

Re-inventing 'Tax-Exemption'..... now..... seting the clock to 40 years, err.... 1978.... oh! brings the bar forward oooh! a WHOLE five years, fro what it has been set at twenty five years ago! AND sees it again favour the old 1960's Brit-Bikes.. and pay token favour to a declining number of 'imports' from the 70's.....

In a couple of years, the threshold, IF it is allowed to move, will start to include early 80's machines.. from an era of declining sales... where there weren't an enormous number of bikes originally sold to be granted tax-exemption and even fewer will have survived the ravages of time!

It wont be for another decade or more, that bike-sales started to pick up, and bikes like the early Jelly-Mold CBR600's, start to become eligible for HVS... and such devices, with such intricate designs, and complexty and such niggles as acres of expensive custom moulded body-work, that are already not just a restorers nightmare, but more difficult to even keep in service as a 'rat-rider', WONT likely benefit much from gaining HVS tax-exmption... A-N-D.. back to the MOT.... how many, will be likely to properly 'restore' something like a CBR600, to 'brochure' standards, and find the money to find replica fairings and have them expensively painted to match that years colour livery, compared to the number that will likely 'give up' as they already do, and 'fighter' them.. and then moan that brakes are rubbing or sticking, or forks are weeping damper fluid, B-U-T gleefully point out "It dont matter.. Don't need an MOT!" Shocked

Either which way, the 'saving' of the Road-Fund-Duty' is small potatoes, and when brand new cars are so often favored by 'emissions based' excise, It IS all made much of a mockery!

KEEP the MOT.. if you cant afford £30 and half an hour to take your vehicle for one, you cant afford one full stop! And it IS the one assurance we have that the vehicle has at least had some one pay some attention to the safety bits!

As far as Road-Fund-Duty is concerned? Having got rid of the actual tax disc, the arguments for having ANY is now even more questionable, especially when they have over 90% duty on road fuels! THAT at least is being paid in proportion to either how many miles a vehicle does and/or pollution it makes!

The whole system, more now than ever is bureaucracy for its own sake, and the tax man refusing to give up any little grip on a cash cow he may have!

It's signficantly not 'new' just a re-invention of something introduced over twenty five years ago, and bastardised by new-labour, with the clock essentially re-set, back 'almost' to what it was then.... and almost zero use to any-one. WITH a lot of strategic 'politics' in it to make it 'look' like they are doing something 'friendly'.. that has as little real 'impact' on anything at all! But that's politics I guess! (But, I am STILL disappointed, that I last voted for the Liberals, when they promised that would result in a 'Hung' parliament, and they never strung up a single bludy one of'em! Politicians, the only thing they can be trusted to do is NOT keep their promises! Laughing

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They locks getting worn on the seven-fifty, and can be removed without turning the ignition 'off'...

Thirty years ago, the worn ignition key in my Moggy minor fell out the dash on the way home one night.. I cursed the lack of a curtecy light scrambling about on the floor to find it.. went in the house, found a torch, came back.... and found a 'hole' in the gear-lever grommet....

There was that 'moment'.. looking at the hole, and pondering a bit of gearbox... "It could't have fallen through THERE... surely?" More grapling with rubber mats, discovering more rust on the foot wells, until I HAD to admit the key wasn't in the cab.... and I cautiously retraced my tyres tracks, cursing Lucas Prince of Darkness sealed beam headlamps....

Sure enough, five Miles from home, I spotted my Keys in the gutter chucked by propshaft!

It is a dilemma... am I more likely to loose motorbike key from worn lock, or from a pocket?

Where you look is where you go......
If you really believe you are going to crash... you probably will... prevention is better than a cure.
Ponder that a while....

'rear-sets' are after-market accessory footrests and brackets, that 'set' the peg higher and further to the 'rear'.. usually for racing.... So doing, they tent to reduce control that might be effected through the pegs... read up on 'peg loading'... in off-road sport, foot-pegs are placed pretty much amid-ships for weight distribution,and riding for fine control, stading on the pegs, riders will 'weight' one of their peg or push weight forwards or back to maximise traction.... rather hard to do this from a kneeling position, B-U-T in the days of the bucking-bronco two-stroke GP bikes, even full on race bikes tended to not shift the pegs all THAT far back or high, so that riders could 'load' them like a trials bike when they inevtably stepped out of line....... However... that little bit of more elevated terminology explained, your 'problem' isn't the foot-peg posstion.... your problem is that the pegs are not very grippy! Good chance on an old bike that they are rather worn and polished, also good chance that your boots aren't exactly the best, and sports bikes do have a habbt of breaking the arch on boots if you do use heavy loading and or poor footwork...

I would suggest you start there, and look at the state of the pegs and your boots. New pegs, possibly after-market items with wider foot-print and or a grippier tread, possibly a rbber oot might be a 'better' way to tackle the suggested niggle, rather than leaping on a race-mod, that's probably the least helpful way to not solve the problem implied.

Crash-Bungs? I am utterly unconvinced by these devices...... Newtonian laws, specifically the concervation of momentum says, 'energy' ca either be created nor destroyed, merely converted in form... 'impact' energy MUST go somewhere.... So, think of a car bumper... now make that solid... and drive another car into the back of it... car has mass, and it has velocity, that means kinetic energy... that energy is imparted into the car it hits.... and makes car it hits move... if that car don't move, impact energy has to be 'absorbed' by the car struck... that may be dissipated by the car rocking and resistance to that motion wasting the energy stirring air.... but t would have to be a very very light impact! Normally, that energy will do destructive damage... bend or break stuff.... which is why they have a bumper... and in the glas-fibre cover, is a metal bar with metal expresely designed to bend when hit, so as to absorb the impact energy... its a one time shock absorber.

Now apply that theory to an old fashioned pair of engine bars; when bike falls over, bars take the impact, and disipate the impact energy by bending, either in the tube or the bracket that holds them on, rather like a car bumper.... If you have a door-stop crash-bung..... well, if t was made of soft enough plastc that deformed when it was struck, it may absorb a BIT of impact energy, but its tiny, most of that energy will be transmitted through the bung-mount, usually what, an 8mm bolt?

Think about this, whats going to do more damage... wack a brick wall wth a 2lb lump hammer, or put a chissel between the hammer and the brick to 'concentrate' the force fro the hammer onto a few square mm of contact area.. THAT is the effect of a crash-bung....

Rather than the fairing, a few square feet of plastic touching the deck and spreading the impact over a wide area, and getting skufed up i the process, wasting impact energy.... the 'bung' concentrates that force and energy to a single 8mm diameter bolt... and if that bolt is attatched to something solid.... like the frame... probably going to concetrate the force into the main structural member with enough pressure it will do damage! If its bolted up with a deform able bracket behnd it.... it 'may' absorb enough energy to save something.. but ultimately only as long as the bracket does bend and absorb energy and not simply transfer the force to something else,more critical to get bent.... whilst bung bends and cracks the expensive fairly you hoped it would protect....

As a precaution against drop damage, bit like a crash hat, they wont stop you drop the bike, and if you do, it gonna hurt, and how much they might cusion the blow is only between certain limits AND entirely dependent on the mounting and the accident.....

And STILL prevention is better than a cure.....

Starting there.... old racing addage, before looking for more than standard... make sure you have all you should AS standard......

Crap roads are crap roads.... and fear of winter weather is significantly psychosomatic....

Look at race lap times for the same class in wet and dry.. they are usually well within 5-10% of each other... come the 'wet' the roads dont suddely loose 'that' much grip..... and those lap times are set by folk pushing the ragged edge tryng to fall off!! On the public road, you should be NO WHERE ear those limits of adhesion......

So start by making sure tyres are good... check the pressures, and look at the suspension, and makes sure that dampers have new oil, and bushes aren't wobbling links about. Check the headrace bearings; check your brake pads, clean the brake calipers; grease the float mounts etc etc etc.... all basic serivce stuff.. make sure you have all you should AS standard.

On the road.... winter riding, more nigglesome than wet or icy roads, I find is the dark... so lights; check your headlamp, make sure its not adjusted high and blinding oncoming traffic likely to try run you off the road! Clean the lens; find some-where to stop a small squirty bottle of water and a rag so you can keepit clean when out and about... look at the tail lamp... make sure that brake lamps not 'dragging' especially f you 'rest' the lever when not braking..... and look at your indies.... they are useless to any-one if no-one can see them.. stubby inies may look cool in the car-park but they can be a ruddy liability on the road.... even more so LED indes that tend to be very directional.. great for blinding traffc imedietly infront of behind with thier orange brilliance, but folk from the side? The ones more likely to SMIDSY you often dont see a darn thing!

Then... slow down and get smooth! Smooth is swift is safe! With that headlamp adjusted down so it dont dazzle, change the mind set and rather than bemoaning you cat see where you are going, slow down and ride within the reach of the lamp....make space and make time to deal with the unexpected and make less unexpected to start with.. like the SMIDSY in the side turn! Dont assume they will see your indies when you decde to make a brisk over-take! They probably wont even see you, let alone the indies, even if you have stalked them out for best prominance! Hold back, think twice, wait till you are past and THEN think again, do you really need to over take?

All boring, no fun schitt, but, you no wanna fall off, you no wanna crack plastic or bend , THIS is how, as first course you offer defense against the possibility.....

Like the crash hat, safety comes fro using your head, not buying a fancy plastic pot and hiding your head in it!

That, like crash bungs or crash bars is the last line of defence when all else has failed, and its not a question of damage avoidance, but damage limitation......

So back to top... IF you are convinced you are gonna crash.... cut to the chase now, and rather than buyng crash bungs that may or may not save plastics and bend frames; join bupa... and go buy a set of cheap chinky replica fairings 'ready' for when you have crashed and you are tackling the wreckage...... after bupa patched you up.. OR re-think fro the top, and start by NOT believing you WILL crash, and rather than looking to buy schitt you hope may 'help' if you do.. use your head, change your thinking, and do all you can to NOT crash in the first place, starting with approach, and moving going through basic maintenance!

Its ALL in your approach, NOT your accessories.

POWER is Force x Speed; end of. That is SI definition of the stuff.

You aren't getting the thing to move.. so no speed or force.. so no power at the back wheel... GO CHECK THE EFFING CLUTCH SLIPPERS!

You sound like you have far more ideas than know-how, that are going to help you make a darn site more problems than you'll solve.

Motor runs; its making power, its not getting where its useful. This does NOT suggest you should be diving in looking at carburettor jets, exhaust pipes, or aything else! Suggests your clutch isn't hooking up, and or your belt is slipping.

Sort THAT, get the book, do a service; BEFORE you start any more poking and proddngs i the dark, with wild ideas that an engine suddenly needs a totally different carburetor jetting.. as stuff wears out!

Err.. the chin piece needs to come forwards to open, and be shoved back to lock; was a bit more of a faff to get used to when mine was new.

Biggest issue, I find is having the visor open a couple of clicks to flip.. and remembering that before I try opening or closing the chin!

Practice makes perfect; seem fairly deft at it on the move now.

Steve K wrote:

I have two minor problems. A split petrol pipe to one of the carbs Theres a mixture of pipe sizes a t pieces. Can i buy the whole thing from somewhere or is it a case of making it all up.?

Carbs? PD26's are reather crude slide affairs, they aren't the most sophisticated, but they are big enough and they work... and conveniently match up to the manifilds pretty well. That manifoold is rather awkward and you would again have to make from scratch to fit much else, and given that CBR250.... well, how cheap and easy will you find bits for such a rare, non UK market device? But if you could, they are a parallel banked 'set' of carbs, with common butterfly rail and choke interconnect; not as easy as just lopping two off the end of the bank for a twin, and if you did, you would have to split them to mount 'splayed' on the 125 twin, and make a LOT of problems, probably not to find any benefits.

If you really want CV's, then off the shelf, you can buy the ones used on the CMX250, for reletive pennies from e-bay; and the manifolds and stubs to suit; they were used on the CMX250 and chinky derivatives, especially the big bore box cars, sorry quads sold on US market. But would beg loosing the OE airbox.

Exhaust? Like carbs and head, much the same and certainly the same header diameter used on the 10bhp 125's, through the 13 &17bhp 125's up through the 19-21bhp 'two-fifties'; no likely gains to be found there, either lopping off silencers or looking for anything more 'free-flow'.

Short of boring the bugga out, there's not a huge scope of likely targets to make anything much if any better.

Remember, out the crate, this engine, at forty years old!!! With air-cooling, two valves per cylinder, and simple slide carbs, makes MORE power than contemprary hot snot four-stroke 125's, that with water-cooling, 4valve heads and fuel injection cant do any better! And especially in the case of the YZF-R125 are a little on the fragile side before any-one tries adding lumpy cam or mapping the EFI!

And the old T-Shock, is a sack of spuds or two lighter than any of these things before you try lopping anything off it!

Of ALL the things you could do to a T/T2?

Well, OE 'Have a Drama on a Yokahama" rubber is top target. Decent modern rubber is GOOD. I think that they have been discontinued now, but we run Mitchelin M45's on the Pup, in T/T2 narrower sizes. Soft-ish compound, they grip! And I deck the pegs on the Super-Dream on them with abandon; in fact I did it by accident first time out to scrub them in for our Snowie!

Next up the old punger T-Shock suspension is a bit bouncy. T/T2 use narrrower forks than the TD's, and not a lot that can be done with them, but decent fork oil and a few 2p's preloading the springs can stiffen them up a lot. Haynes ISTR suggests using water thin ATF fluid in them, any wt fork oil, 5 or 10 will make them significantly more useful.

Back end plungers had effall damping from, the off, and sealed units, other than winding up the pre-load not a lot to be done with them, but plenty of better after market items available; check the pit-bike emporiums.

Top target for upgrade though has to be that suicide front disc. My main experience with one was on a CB100N, and it was effin-orrible! I am reliably assured that decent pads... if you can track them down, and IF you pay assidiouse attension to setting up the brake and cable very carefully, can make it almost 'good'..... but I still have flash backs to the CB100N.. I am not convinced!

A hydraulic caliper from something like a 125 super-dream would give better availability of better more modern pads, and full hydraulic actualtion. Provided the caliper and master cylinder were properly fettled and overhauled first.

Not sure about the fork hanger arrangement on the T/T2, I would expect to have to fabricate an adapter to take a hydro caliper; but posibly not as stand out obviouse as a TD front end or anything, It would probably be where I looked for significant improvement.

Otherwise I would tend to try and leave the thing as standard as possible.......

On the 12.5bhp 'reduced effect' Pup, even carrying excess weight, baited by a couple of local lads on more powerful and full faired YZF-R125, deturmined to show me what a 'real' sports bike can do, when they spotted the L-Plate.... They haven't been in my rear-view more than a couple of corners! And had a good dice with a chap on an Fazer 600 on the twisties coming back from a show!

Rather more grin inducing, to my mind to do it on something that looks like hum-drum low cost commuter, than something that looks modified....

A-N-D on a twisty road? If a heavier, 'Restricted' 125 Super-Dream wont discrace itself, even against 80horse big-bikes, no reason a lighter, full power T/T2 should....

Meanwhile; long considered opinion for a hot benley motor, was to use the 125's 44mm stroke 180 crank, topped with over bored CB'Two-Fifty' 53mm barels, over bored to 55,5mm to give samebore and stroke as the older CB200; 309 Cam, PD26's and Super-Dream CDi ignition... that's about the ultimate spec of Benley motor, and aught be 'good' for something in the mid 20's bhp wise; as much as any managed with the 53/53 big bore motors, plus a bit. BUT, hinges on having that cam; begs the crank cases machining to take the bigger barels; begs some pretty considered parts hunting amd machine mods to make them all fit... A-N-D you have about as much oomph as an out the box unrestricted NS125..... big work for small gains.... and is it really worth it, when you can still dust most 4T stuff that can wear an L-Plate on the 'reduced effect' motor..

With the full-power twin-shock? I would be inclined to restore to brochure and keep it classic; the most powerful 'production' four-stroke 125, it will always be that, even sat still.

I'd save doing the dispicable to the common as muck Super-Dream, that has more scope to capitolise on it, as well as more you can do, and isn't such a 'classic', and is still a pretty potent sports 4T125....

Remember the CX500 Turdo?

I have always had a hankering to build a silver 125 Super-Dream with a square headlamp Power-Bronze full fairing; Decalled up in factory style dayglo orange stickers declaring "Turbo" on the side; and one, maybe two of these Chinky pit bike blowers.... Would work pretty well, and probably better on a soft cam CM/CD engine; but hey, who cares.. it got a TURBO!

Given how many times I have been accosted and accused of riding a 250, and had folk a good half decade or more older than me, wax lyrical about when THEY had one 'back in the day' obliviouse of the very obviouse 125 decals on the side-panels, and abscent T-Shocks... I have always wondered how many would, at meets, start telling me they remember reading about the 125Turbo in the magazines, and how it was made in itally, and such a pitty the 125 L-Plate laws and power limit, put the kybosh on it, and start asking me how hard parts were to get for it LoL!! Another project, for another life-time perhaps!

ANYWAY... your bike your call. Bottom line is that the 125 twin doesn NOT lend itself to much more tuning than the factory gave it, but a lot of scope for part-bin pondering that in the cold metal makes as many problems as likely solved.

Have fun!

Steve K wrote:

Second problem is headlamp works on sidlight but not on dipped or main beam , i thought bulb, but main beam works with the pass switch. Any thoughts please

Have you changed the brake lever at any point?
Usually a micro-switch that pops 'out' to turn on, so held 'in' when brake 'off' by tang on the lever.
If it's intermittent; then it can be that the switch is sticking, and lagging the lever; some WD40 and working it back and forth may free it up.
Or it could be that the lever isn't always letting the switch pop out every time. This can be down to adjustment which may not be obvious depending on how switch is fitted, but worn levers can wobble a little, or the tang that presses it in can be a bit corroded or covered in dirt that doesn't let the plunger 'pop out' as far as it should every time, and replacement lever-blades or bent levers can do daft things.
I would start by removing the lever blade; cleaning the lever, the pivot and possibly running a fine flat file 'lightly' over the switch tang to clean and flatten.
Then I would clean the switch, area, maybe even remove it completely to clean properly an drench with WD40,manually working switch back and forth a few times to work it 'in' and try and work loose any 'gunk' making it sticky... though they are usually only a couple of quid to replace....
Turning attention to the lever bracket, I'd clean that up, and look carefully at the fork; I have come across the forks dinged in making the lever 'tight' but not cracking the bracket, as well as brackets that have bee bent or broken and let the lever wobble and rake lamp do daft things.
The bottom tang of the fork should also be threaded the lever pivot bolt; I have come across them stripped, where folk have tried to remove without undoing the lock nut beneath and stuff,so inspection worth while.
Worth looking at and cleaning the master cylinder plunger whilst you can see it too, and check the state of the boot; not unknown for these to perish ad bits of rubber to get in the way of the switch...
So clean & check thoroughly, then re-assemble, making sure that the lever moves freely in the bracket fork.... with very light application of coppa-slip on the mating surfaces of the hinge and the pivot bolt.
Again, after-market replacement blades are notorious, and I have often had to take a flat file to them to clean up casting flash or true them up to fit neatly in the bracket and swing freely... and get the brake lamp tang to let the switch pop properly..
Then check for adjustment... there sometimes is some on the switch to set its 'on' point.. but again, I have occasionally had to resort to the flat file on the tang to let t pop enough to come out early enough to switch brake 'on' for lighter applications, especially if brakes have braided hose and sharper take up....
If brake hasn't been serviced / overhauled lately, this may be worth a thought first; gumy calipers and old brake fluid can change the effective take up point, and a rake lamp flicker may be tell ts time to do the calipers or fluid.

BUT basically, strip, clean, lube and re-assemble... usually sorts such stuff... where brake lamp switch sits is a bit of a crud ad corrosion trap.

They started fitting helmet locks to bikes around the time that crash-hats became compulsory riding wear in 1973, so that you had some-where to store a crash hat when the bike was parked.

Many helmet locks have American stickers that say "Motorcycle should not be ridden with helmet attached" or similar, and likewise in the owners book, to avoid US liability suits.

This is because a helmet on a helmet lock, may interfere with the rider or suspension of the bike, and it may NOT be secure, depending on how the helmets hung on hook.

Personally, in almost 40 years, I have never ridden a bike with a hat on the helmet hook or lock. 1/ it may get in the way when riding; 2/ it might get tangled in back wheel or suspension, but mainly 3/ it'll tend to flap about and get bashed chipping paint etc! And hats is expensive!

When I have wanted to carry a spare lid, I have either put it in the top box; or strapped or cargo netted it to the pillion seat, usually in a helmet sack or other bag, as luggage.
You start with the idea, you look at both ends, go round the circle, asking quations and deciding if the idea has any merit, and change the remit a bit to come up with a spec that is achieveable; they you go around the loop again, looking at the details, changing the plan to suit, then put it into action... pays your money and takes your chances.. get the bike YOU think you would kike to do, that stands best chance of being done... and then start going round the loop again, and again and again, resolving the unseen, the problems, adapting and clarifying to get closer to the goal,,, you set NOW.. which has to be clear, and near cast in stone, and kept in sight at all times IF you want any chance of seeing it through and achieving something even close to what you hope.

That is aboutr the onbly real advice I can offer; start with a clear idea of what you want to achieve, and stick to your objectives; if half wayu through, DONT change the goal.

Eg: you start out to do a concourse resto, but find half way through that there is something critical, like say an air-boxc you cant get for love nor money; you dont suddenly decide, well.. Oh kay, we can live without the air-box, use a cone filter, and hmm... its not concourse any-mnore, and exhausts are expensive, I'll build a chopper.....

You get into that sort of game, the project goes off track; every time you get stuck, or hit a problem, changes direction, and you end up with something that is neither nor; bits here and there are done to concourse, bits there are done like a chopper; bits over there, are done like a dirt bike, and NOTHING really works or fits together, and what you end up with, if it gets finished doesn't fullful any real purpose or deliver the fun in the riding, cos its painful to ride.

B-U-T all starts at the beginning... its YOUR project, check dictionary defanition; that is a defined endevour of whatever YOU wish to do.. no one wlse can do the defining for you; you have to do it. And THAT if anything is the key... defining what you want to do, making a plan and sticking to your guns not chopping and changing until you realise goals.

You want advice for a first timer; keep it simple, keep it standard; work to the book,; rather than trying to re-write it.

Dont have any daft ideas that its going to be 'cheap' or easy, or 'quick'.

It will almost certainly take three times as much money as you originally plan, times the space, and ten times the time....

So make your plan flexible, and give yourself lea-way for this sort of over-run.

Look in profile, you will see pretty detail threads on at least two of my projects, an air-cooled Yamaha DT12/75 mono-shock, which was originally supposed to be a low rent pocket money project and was far from it; another Honda 125 superDream done as a 'Watch and Do' example for Snowie, who did her own, also linked on another thread. Off Snowies profile, probably linked from her 'Pup' project is her having a crack at rebovating a MotoGuzzi 750 after she had passed tests, I hindered with and put up with its gearbox on my kitchen side!!!!

Should be plenty of inspiration there; and even more in the threads in show and tell... which is worth a look at how many end abruptly, often after little more than an optimistic intro, and some photo's of old scrap, we never see turned into anything resembling a working motorbike..... whether they want to build a concourse Classic out of a Bantum or a Cafe--Brat-Chop out of a Shinrey chinky CG clone.....

That is where you probably should start, and noting just how many 'projects' get started... and so few 'fininshed'... you have been warned.

NOT the answer you were hoping for, I am sure.... but sorry....

Me, I would do another Honda CB125 Twin.... mainly 'cos that's what I got. Or a Montesa Cota 248... cos thats also wot I got.... or a VF1000 cos thats another wot I got... and I'm a glutton for punishment..... none of which are particularly sensible... not that any project ever is; so what the heck... how many quick do you want to chuck down the drain.... or transfer into my Pay-Pal.....

Its your call... give us some better idea of your budget and aspirations, and we might be able to advice or steer... BUT its ultimately down to you.... remember, three times, five times, ten times, money, space and time, let alone the hassle.... its not 'sensible' and whatever you pick and however you tackle it, all you will ever manage to do is make it a bit less daft.....

Would you rather be fishing? that is the question.