Hi Mustie, I originate from the UK, I am now retired & living in Thailand. My background is in aero engineering but I was bitten by the motorcycle ‘bug’ long ago. Until I moved to Bangkok, I spent my spare time restoring old motorcycles. It gives me so much pleasure to watch your videos. My main weakness was painting. I restored a 1955, 350 BSA & decided to have a go at painting it myself but I did have the fuel tank professionally painted. I used an engineering paint, made by a company called Blackfriars, but it’s main drawback was a long drying time & white spirit as a thinner. I didn’t have a spray booth - I got chucked out of the wife’s laundry shed for getting overspray on everything. I sprayed it outside on nice days. Trouble was it seemed to attract bugs. So many times I had to remove the paint & start over. After I sold it, the man who bought it sold it on but one day I got a phone call from the new owner. He told me that he had entered it into a concours exhibition & it won second prize. He said that the judges were impressed by the paint work because it didn’t have that hard ‘glassy’ look to it, which made it look as if it had it’s original paint. It’s main let down point was the fuel tank that was black with silver panels on each side, the silver should have been chrome! He wanted to know what other parts were not original so that he could make it fully original for future shows.
You repair of the exhaust pipe flange fitment and the air box cover really demonstrates the value of your metal working knowledge and experience. I'm impressed.
Very nice metal work with the flange and the cover! My dad had the gift, I saw him straighten a Model A headlight bucket with a decent dent in it and make it look like new. Couldn't even tell where the dent was! Thank you for the great videos, I really enjoy them!
Awesome job on the exhaust flange! You are truly a mechanic...not just a "remove and replace" artist. You actually repair "stuff". Love your work. Thanks for letting us be a part of the project...and helping YOU talk your way through!
Nice work! I owned a new TL250 in 1976, sold it to a deer hunter in Denver in 1986. Good bikes, although a bit heavy for trials, make great trail bikes.
Hats off to you. Such tremendous amount of hard work on Mechanical side, plus you gotta film the process, decide certain critical designs on the spot etc etc.... I can imagine how hard must be your Central Nervous System working ! Above all... this is a one man show, no one around you to lift a finger.. and the result, so flawless and some times better than the manufacturer. Watching, some times, several episodes at a stretch; I feel the Clock is Warp Speed ! To be so honest, I have seen the East in Crimson. Cheers.
After a lifetime in the trades I am able to do little else now but watch. That said I sometimes have a little trick to share and I think you will use them. Here's one. When cutting ,drilling or milling aluminum get a spray bottle of denatured alcohol as a cutting fluid . This keeps the metal from galling by keeping it very cool. You'll find it leaves almost a polished finish.
I’ve been mucking around with small motors for years and I have to tell you that I learnt more about carbs and valves in the time since I found your channel than i have in twenty years of guessing! Thank you!!
Gotta tell you, the self control you use, in not over restoring things is the reason why you have so many toys, I would've been on EBay and probably bought an entire air box, cause I couldn't make a cover, God bless you have gold in your hands
I taught electronics troubleshooting and calibration in the Navy. I can only imagine how much you have learned doing these videos. I learned more as an instructor for 3 yrs than I did in 6 yrs as a tech. Thanks for what you do. There are people out there that know a lot but, there are a lot of back seat drivers too.
Mustie, I was going to suggest you use anerobic sealer on the rocker cover in the last video but forgot to mention it after watching. It will only harden where the surfaces meet, otherwise it stays soft and wont clog anything. I use it on supercharger assemblies because it stays soft when it squeezes out and wont damage anything if it comes in contact with the internals. That was some impressive flange making!
He gets better and better every video since the first. Also Mustie is becoming a great camera man and editor. All around very talented man. Thanks for the videos.
Oh great happiness! A hour with Mustie! Hondas in the 1980s used a cream that you let firm before assembling. Learned this from a friend I had in California when I had a similar bike. Honda informed me that you are to put a drop or two of oil directly to the wick lubricator for the points.
The last engine (outside of work) I worked on was a little 2.5cc nitro car engine. These videos have made me want to buy an old bike just to tinker with!
I don't comment much but just wanna say you've inspired me. Not to be a downer but I never had a dad to teach me this kind of stuff and I find myself wanting to tinker and learn about it! Thanks.
Excellent project that is inspiring me to finish a 1963 Honda 90 CL that I put together back in the late '80s and never felt the need to complete, as I was riding a HD Sportster back then & 1200s later, but now that I'm old and busted up, I might pull it out of the shed and get 'er done finally. Hmmmm?? Thank you for sharing this video.
I love your vids man, especially the Honda ones. Im in the process of restoring a 1952 Honda Dream E-type, watching what you do gives me the confidence to tackle it.
When you were forming the air box cover, a neat trick I learned from a metal worker: a foam seated bar stool. Put your piece into the middle of the stool seat and pound on it in the middle. It will draw the piece out where you hit it. I saw Jessie James do a fuel tank this way without using an English wheel. I've tried it a couple of times, works great!
If my copper seal rings are a bit too small, i get a punch or something that's cylindrical, put it inside the ring and roll it on a steel plate under hand pressure. Basically stretching it a little all the way around. Works for me. Love your channel btw, i work on old American cars in Europe.
Without a doubt one of, if not the finest video I’ve ever seen. A mix of you “live”, Hand Tool Rescue, and Retro Hacks. This must have been a compilation of a weeks work. Darrin, you are amazing!
When you’re tapping out the axle it helps to put a piece of hose on your brass rod to keep it central on the shaft. And the brass rod just pushes right through
Love your videos. I know I can always count on them being real and truthful. Just watched a metal detector find a huge silver coin. you could tell it was a setup and the dirt had been previously pressed onto the coin.
A trick I learned for adjusting valves with those square adjusters is simply screw a #2 Robertson screw into a small wooden dowel and there ya have a holder for that square adjuster.
The XL Airbox is a different shape I believe because XLs had a battery in that area strapped onto the side of the box behind the opposite side cover. The edges of the original TL airbox side cover (I had a TL125, but yours looks similar) was rounded so that the edge fits into the groove in the neoprene gasket, so when you tighten it on it is completely watertight. That way the only water ingress point is the inlet which is at roughly the same height as the tailpipe. That way you could ride a TL through a river pretty well up to height of tailpipe without water getting in the carb. I rode TLs in very wet trials in the 70s & passed many a Bultaco knocked out by deep river sections.
Great video as always! I understand why you speed up repetitive work, but I would appreciate subtitles for the high speed commentary if at all possible. I bought a broken 1965 Honda C110 (50 cc)at age 13 in 1971 for $100. It was completely dissasembled and Honda had stopped making shop manuals for it. Eventually I figured out that the exhaust valve was slightly bent. I tapped it lightly until it was straight as tested in a drill. After using compound to seat the valve and enlarging the exhaust port to match the pipe, a smaller friend hit 62 mph on it. It's 4 speeds, a clutch, and 17 inch wheels were lots of fun. Looking back, I'm glad nobody ever got hurt riding it. My rule was, if you wanted to ride it, you had to wear ear a helmet.
Great video mustie. I like the metal fabrication videos. Love to see more on the double cab repairs. Crazy all the equipment you’ve got in your garage. I just recently got a band saw for some bird house projects I’ve been wanting to do.
with any stuck valve its sensible to remove the cylinder head and check out the valve stem,,seat and guides for corrosion.Good time to fit new valve stem seals if it has them. 9 times out of 10 the valve seats spotty with rust,and the stem needs a good clean.Guides need a good look over and clean, Lap the valves in by hand and its away again.Check the play in the piston and check the lip at the top of the bore which is a good clue for blow by. Enjoy your videos,cheers Graeme from New Zealand
I haven't worked on a Honda bike since a year or two before that bike was born. Sure took me back! I still have the requisite impact driver, but I've upgraded my hammer. :)
I used to have a 1981 XL125S, before that I had an XL75 from 1977. Watching these makes me regret letting them go even more than I already did lol. I did a lot of work on the XL/XR engines, and that looks like the design they evolved from, a lot is very similar. I'd bet you could put an XR or XL 250 engine right into that frame with no fab work. I still remember the valve lash for those engines, and it might be the same for that engine, 40 thou on the exhaust and 30 thou on the intake.
love watching your videos i like working on old hondas as well lil trick i learned take a square head drywall screw heat it up bend it over fits those valve adjustment screws makes adjusting them easy keep those videos coming !
I have a bone to pick with you mister. I have two garages and a yard full of projects. Long before I found you on youtube. but now I find myself wanting to add VWs and bike building to my lists. Oh and VW trikes too !!!!! thank you very much.
Hi mustie1 i have had the same issue with orders from ebay things just don't fit and they have to be modified often .my labrador "boe" passed away peacefully this week I've had him 13 years and He used to come in my garage and sit watching as I mended and made things so it's been a sad week for me .I hope you are well and look forward to seeing your next video 👍
Mustie1 thanks mustie labs make great friends and good company in the garage I talked to him and asked him what he thought on how to mend things lol alot like how you do with the camera . Any way thanks for the great video today really cheers me up
theone2be33 thank you for your kindness. Labs are great companions he has left a big hole in my heart new he has passed working in my garage dose not feel the same .
You are a metal Drummer. LOL. I was going to say the same thing. I am working on the Honda SL250SE motor now. Your videos are helping me a lot. Thank You.
Just bought one of these, supposedly it runs but throttle is not working........love watching you take this one a part.......may have to hit you up for information on where to get parts i.e. carb rebuild, etc.
I just read most of the comments and as usual they were spot on. You remind me of my father and brother who were mechanics. I was just the busted wrench. I think we need to call you “Elf Darrin”. Hope I got the name right.
Another great video Mustie, it's always good to see old stuff being brought back to life... I'm currently renovating a 1977 CB 750 F2 and scour the Internet for ideas... Stumbled across your videos when you bought the CB 350 T, and I've been hooked ever since... Keep up the great work. Roger (Gloucester England)
Ladies and Gentlemen, always use a softer metal rod (Brass) to hammer out something threaded and steel. Otherwise you will "Mung" the threads. @41:24, Mustie1 (off camera) was bashing down the "Mushrooming" of the brass rod so it would fit the bore of the bearing. The brass is what you would call "sacrificial". Don't use a steel rod to do this. I hope I am not stepping on Mustie's toes. :-) Great work sir.
I have a matco compression tester I've had for 25 years, it looks like the one you have, except there is a short hose that screws into the spark plug hole and a adapter for long thread motorcycle style spark plugs. I never had a problem with mine. My check valve was on the guage also and the hose was wide open, and it fits my air hose Chuck at the shops I worked at. I would use it to hold valves closed while replacing valve stem seals on the car.
When you kick it over and the compression blows out the spark plug, THAT’S compression!! For that “little” 250, you’ve got more than enough. I had an XL 250 Enduro 1974 that ran like a top for years and enjoyed every minute of it roaring through the woods/trails. It was a dual purpose bike(street-trail) , but I stripped off signals,front fender, tail light, gauges ,swapped out the dual terrain tires for a good set of knobbies, changed the rear sprocket- dropped 2 teeth, and first time out torqued every nut/bolt/screw. Also had the high ground clearing exhaust (scrambler ?) sitting just high enough to get your inner thigh burned if you weren’t careful.
Exactly, all the armchair experts with the "you're doing it wrong" and "you need to do a leak down test", etc etc can just keep it to themselves. It has good compression, it runs fine, no need to go further with trying to find something wrong. Mustie obviously knows what he's doing so let him.
