You’ve gone all out on getting new/old stock parts, it would be a shame to not get the engine covers done. Maybe you could get it powder coated with high temp paint - would look sweet. Also, great work on the bike mate, really happy to see it get a lot of love.
Hey Elliot, a word of advice about the tank- it looks in good nick, but you'll want to do more than rust removal otherwise the it'll just rot through again. Modern fuels contain ethanol, which is hygroscopic so absorbs water from the atmosphere. Water sinks in petrol.... you can imagine the rest. It's why tanks generally rust at the bottom first. POR15 do a good three-stage restoration kit (clean, etch, coat) which is messy but works, I've used it for a bunch of tank repairs. Good luck and nice restoration. I reckon keep the original engine, otherwise at some point it won't be the same bike any more. Keep a bit of its story!
I'd deffo have the engine covers powder coated or even chromed. At the very least painted though. Chrome would look sick. I used to ride one of these. It looks fantastic, Elliot. Brilliant job🙂
Look if this is your first restoration, then your doing a fantastic job. Youll really enjoy it and the bit with brakes was absolutely the best thing I've ever seen
Alloy paint for the engine all the way, just spray it on makes it a uniform silver and gives it an all alloy look... You could if its proper aluminium (note the extra "i" America...) polish it with dremel and mops and then seal it in with a clearcoat to maintain the high shininess if that floats yer boat or even go mad with some candy colours and give it some rizz...
So much respect to you for restoring this classic. My first bike was an old Honda CB100N in 1988 and I love how utilitarian the C90 was. Don’t forget the iconic Honda “Preserve Nature!” safety sticker!
Definitely paint it, if you hadn't replaced everything with pristine parts then maybe you could have left it but it'll look out of place and people will think it was an oversight or a work in progress. Also you'll probably be asking yourself the paint or not paint question every time you look at it. Once painted you will just be able to forget about it and take pride in your lovely bike.
I would say keep the engine as it links things back to the original bike. Plus maybe one day down the road you'll need an engine overhaul, so you can do the work then if it's really needed.
i like the idea of leaving the motor alone as a reminder of what you both have been through. Plus, its a good conversation starter when someone asks why everything is new except the engine. also I'm lazy and would absolutely tell myself i'll do it in the future and then it would stay original until the day i left this planet.
Elliot, I’m so happy for you on this. I know you were gutted when this whole thing started and although it’s costing you time and money to get it back to running order, I’m sure you’ve learned a lot and appreciate it a ton more. I’m excited to see the completely final build and scene of the crime. Just don’t let it out of your sight when you go back to Jersey. 👍🏻 Great Job!
Fair play man, it’s going to look so good when done! It’s already a world away from the sad state it once was! Love watching your projects whether it’s a Seiko watch, gaming mods or bike building!
Can't wait to see it all done and cruising down the road soon! You've done an amazing job! I think I would leave the engine as is, and then if/when the engine has to come out for future repair/overhaul, revisit whether you'd like to have it painted up. It looks great as it is.
Love to see this coming together! I would leave the engine as is, then if it gets enough use and needs to be removed for servicing, take the opportunity to refinish the engine exterior bits. Keep up the good work, I'm always happy to see what you're tinkering with!
I remember hearing about what happened to the bike a while back. I still can't believe someone would steal a vintage bike like this only to destroy it. It boggles my mind. On another note, I'm happy to see that the restoration is going well.
Good job! For the next time...I think the relay is just a normal one with the colindric case (like the first fiat 500). You can find one at a fraction of the price.
Have you considered taking it to the sea? lol so awesome to see you didn’t let those people beat you, the key to beating the terrible people in life is to live well!
I wanted to see it all wired up hahaha, next video you should finish the power and then show us it turning the key and using the lights, thatd be an epic finisher for the next episode. Maybe finished brakes as well
A tip to fix the pitting on your one turn indicator. Ball up some tinfoil and rub the indicator like sandpaper. It won't completely fix it but it will look 10x better
Hi elliot good video n very nice job restoring the bike. As for the engine I think you should strip it and paint it to get rid of any bad luck linked to the fire but that's just my opinion whatever you decide will look good. As for the indicator as a option you could send it off to a metal restorer they'll strip it and re chrome it n it'll look like new. Google Nottingham platers they'll be able to help you out. Good luck peace
5:14 Dunno if there is a chrome plating shop around you, but they can usually completely fix mild pitting like that no problem. My father has to get pitted parts re-chrome plated all the time for his old cars, and the parts always come back looking brand new. Just make sure it's a reputable shop cause some places will try to pass off nickel playing as chrome plating.
I finished rebuilding my heavily customised 4R35 tuna last week, putting the fishbone hands on and boy it looks hench or what, first Seiko rebuild for me and apart from a slight tweaking into regulation its jus' perfect... rebuilt my Alba Manta Ray (rare Seiko Samurai offshoot) but the donor 7S26 movement the little clip came off the magic fingers so gotta rebuild the autoworks and I am one second hand away from finishing my NH34 Bell & Ross "instruments" square which has legit B&R dial and hands and strap...
Part of me says leave it, as a reminder of all of the work you've done and proof of how far gone the bike was after "the incident". The other says you'll be asking yourself for as long as you leave it, should I? 🤔 I think it's amazing either way honestly Elliott, ultimately it's about how you feel when you look at it. If it bothers you, restore it, if you like the fact that you can nerd out with other people about all of the work you've done, with that engine as the conversation starter, I say leave it ✌️
Yeah I definitely think you should paint the engine. It'll finish it off nicely I think. I reckon you're right that it'll stick out like a sore thumb with the rest being new.
Loctite liquid has a 2 part cap. You hold the part you unscrewed and unscrew the top leaving a needle dripper. I think you might need to trim the top of the needle with a knife. I highly suggest getting the stick form next time. Its way less messy and is exactly like a glue stick. For the engine look around for local vapor blasters if you can find one. You might not even have to take the engine apart, just remove it from the bike and the can clean it like new. You have done so much work and the rest of it looks great, shame leaving the engine looking cruddy like that.
As long as the engine still runs well, I think it's fine to keep it original. Give it a few years and you're going to have some scuffs and some pitting in the paintwork. The engine doesn't look like it was set on fire and left overnight in salt water. It just looks like an engine on an old bike would look. The rest of your work will age, and it will kind of "catch up" to the engine in appearance over the years. You'll never let it look awful, but just riding it around you're going to get some battle scars even from loose road gravel or something. My point is, if that engine runs well, there's no point in stripping it and restoring it, and the effort will probably be wasted if you're only going to do it for aesthetic reasons. If it doesn't run well, then at least you'll learn something as you strip it.
If the engine runs fine, I'd just remove the covers and repaint them otherwise it looks out of place. And being that you've restored the rest of it, you can then use it as a blueprint for someone else who is restoring one. Nice job too 🎉.
I'd take the engine covers off and paint them, you don't have to take the whole engine out to do it. You may have trouble finding new old gaskets for it though.
When I have finished my 1984/85 Vespa MK1 T5 custom I can meet up for some tootling around on two wheels, you should go to a scooter rally like the Big 7 in Kent, Mersea Island in Essex as old vintage stuff is always welcomed, enter into shows etc and have an absolute gawjus time... the biggie event is IoW bank holiday abs massive and get folks like Paul Weller drinking with you and those who arrive early for Bestival so plenty of famous faces about :D
I would media blast the engine cover. It's difficult to tell if it's all just rust on there or what from the footage, but you should be able to clean it up pretty nicely. You could use high-temp spray paint and it will look great as long as you take your time and wet sand it. You could also have it powder coated but that would be quite a bit more expensive.
The bike's really coming along nicely. About the engine, it depends on what you're going for. If you want it to look as pristine as possible, you've gotta pull the engine off. If you want the bike to kinda tell its story, the engine is perfect as is. Personally, I'd leave it as it is. I like how it's kinda telling it's own the little engine that could story.
Mate I think you would cry the amount of these bikes I rode into the ground over the fields as a kid 😂 that was before I was working and could afford my proper mx bikes.
You may have to change the selenium rectifier out with a diode and an appropriate dropping resistor at one point since I know that selenium rectifiers are known to go bad especially in old electronics such as tvs and radios. I am not sure if versions of those rectifiers for bikes go bad though. Also I think you should leave the motor original since the battle scars makes it look cool in my opinion.
I would paint or polish the engine. The spots are disturbing compared to the rest of the bike. It is a beauty and deserves a complete restoration. There is no point in keeping in mind those who tried to harm you. ❤
Take a shot every time Elliot says "new old stock", you'll have alcohol poisoning before the video is halfway in. Also tossing a "new old stock" screw because you scratched it in a part nobody will ever see is a little silly.
With the engine, personally I’d be thinking do I want to maintain the story and journey you’ve been on with the bike by leaving the engine as is. Or actually is that quite a negative memory you want to move on from and therefore by sorting the engine you can almost leave the past behind. Personally I’d leave the engine as it is to keep the story and journey there but understandably man it was so upsetting at the time that leaving that all behind you and making the bike the best it can be does also make sense!
Man, I just noticed it is an Econo 😂 there is a Argentinian guy that repaired one of these and is riding trough America (the real America) from Argentina to Alaska, after months of seeing your videos I never noticed
Doesn't the Loctite have an applicator lid? Twist off the white part while holding the clear part and it should have a nozzle for squeezing controlled amounts into the threads. You may need to snip the tip off the applicator, but it definitely doesn't require dunking the part into the bottle.
Looking very nice. Only thing I can say is that after years of owning and riding this era of honda bikes.... you can assume you'll be replacing that rectifier very soon. If it even works at all out of the package. Odds are you'll be upgrading that to a new modern style rectifier. The old style are pretty garbage after all these decades.
i think the idea of keeping the old engine sounds cool, but in my opinion itll mar the look of the bike, i think a complete refurb will make the whole thing come together, its a nice idea but maybe not a good execution
