Honda CM250T ‘Restoration’ project

emeldc · 31-03-2021 10:15pm

Finally got the clocks done. Tedious work. Finished them off with some shiny new dome nuts underneath.

I also dismantled the front brake caliper. It’s actually not as bad as I expected although that square inspection plate was fitted back to front and it’s also damaged. I’ve spent a couple of hours now trying to free the piston from the caliper but it’s rock solid in there. I’ll leave it soaking overnight and have another go tomorrow.

H_Lime · 31-03-2021 11:00pm

Get a big ass rawl bolt and wedge it in the piston to give you purchase to do whatever to pull it out.
Or an airline can help if you assemble the caliper and giver full blast.
Clocks look mega.

emeldc · 31-03-2021 11:22pm

H_Lime wrote: »

Get a big ass rawl bolt and wedge it in the piston to give you purchase to do whatever to pull it out.
Or an airline can help if you assemble the caliper and giver full blast.
Clocks look mega.

A bicycle pump is the extent of my air pressure unfortunately! I thought about wedging something into the piston alright and that remains an option. I have a round vice grips that is holding quite well considering the abuse I’m applying. It’ll move eventually. Tomorrow’s another day. I’m hoping to try and do a bit on the carbs over the weekend and get it running a little smoother.

Hotblack Desiato · 01-04-2021 12:41am

On my first bike (Suzuki GP100U - alloy wheels and disk brake, snazzy, eh!) when it came to replace the front disc pads I was f**ked eh, stumped. The piston sde pad moved, the other side was wedged in place tighter than a nun's snatch on a cold day. I ended up drilling through it a few times to reduce it to a pitiful mess which could be hammered out of position.

listermint · 01-04-2021 3:00pm

I just pump them out while still attached to the reservoir. Saves all the messing with them off the bike.

galwaytt · 01-04-2021 3:58pm

emeldc wrote: »

A bicycle pump is the extent of my air pressure unfortunately! I thought about wedging something into the piston alright and that remains an option. I have a round vice grips that is holding quite well considering the abuse I’m applying. It’ll move eventually. Tomorrow’s another day. I’m hoping to try and do a bit on the carbs over the weekend and get it running a little smoother.

Air is compressible, so it it's very bad, may not be enough.....but a compressor would be needed: a hand pump won't shift it.
Brake fluid is not compressible, but you're limited by the power of the master cylinder - and you don't want to bust anything.

Which leaves a grease gun. Grease doesn't compress, and a hand grease gun can shift a lot of things.........

H_Lime · 01-04-2021 6:01pm

galwaytt wrote: »

Air is compressible, so it it's very bad, may not be enough.....but a compressor would be needed: a hand pump won't shift it.
Brake fluid is not compressible, but you're limited by the power of the master cylinder - and you don't want to bust anything.

Which leaves a grease gun. Grease doesn't compress, and a hand grease gun can shift a lot of things.........

I've heard of that being used before and I'm sure used by smarter folks than me but it never sat well with me.
The idea of me having to remove (non soluble?) grease from all the nooks and crannies of a calipers pathways just gives me the gawks.

emeldc · 02-04-2021 10:55am

Got the piston shifted eventually. All cleaned and painted ready for a rebuild kit.

emeldc · 09-04-2021 9:58pm

Right, the rear shocks are off and now in primer ready for paint.

Exhausts, headlight and complete wiring loom also removed. The fuse/rectifier plate is very rusty. I’ll need to do something with that.

And just a couple of shots of where I’m at tonight. Next will be the engine off, then the back wheel strip down, front forks rebuild and whatever odds and ends are left to get to the bare frame.

emeldc · 18-04-2021 9:04am

So the frame is naked, cleaned and ready to go to a mate for sandblasting. There’s lots going on in the background that I’m not posting simply because there’s just too much of it. Every single thing that comes off the bike needs to be cleaned, repaired, painted or replaced. That includes ALL the nuts and bolts. They are all very rusty but would cost a fortune to replace them. I’m not sure what to do with the tank yet as the decals are no longer available and I can’t find anyone willing to do them as a one off.
The small parts list is almost ready for ordering so from now on it will be painting and rebuilding all the minor bits before reassembly. So stay tuned! I’ll come back with pictures of the tank when I start working on that.

Note the Jap writing still on the back of the engine!!

H_Lime · 18-04-2021 10:09pm

Flyin it man.
There's any amount of places to repro the oem decals. You don't have to use moto specific, lot of graphic designer who can output to 7yr vinyl.
Pre brexit I used Graham in image works in the UK who's good but saucy enough. Get pics and rough measurements and supply to a graphic designer to re draw. Once you have the file your options are wide.

Get onto ebay for a plating kit for the nuts and bolts. Being an eejit I bought new oem where visible and stainless button head everywhere else.

Do not reuse anything made of rubber, especially fuel related.

flashinthepan · 18-04-2021 10:17pm

Making progress :-)
Looking forward to the next instalment

emeldc · 18-04-2021 10:35pm

H_Lime wrote: »

Flyin it man.
There's any amount of places to repro the oem decals. You don't have to use moto specific, lot of graphic designer who can output to 7yr vinyl.
Pre brexit I used Graham in image works in the UK who's good but saucy enough. Get pics and rough measurements and supply to a graphic designer to re draw. Once you have the file your options are wide.

Get onto ebay for a plating kit for the nuts and bolts. Being an eejit I bought new oem where visible and stainless button head everywhere else.

Do not reuse anything made of rubber, especially fuel related.

Would you believe, Graham from image works sent me an email about a half hour ago saying he can do the decals. £65 + post which TBH is what I expected. I’ve asked him to send me an image.
The nuts and bolts while rusty are in good nick once cleaned up. I only need to replace about half a dozen or so that were well worn or rung off.
The front fork seals, swing arm bushes, steering head bearings and wheel bearings are actually ok but as I have them all stripped I’m replacing them anyway. Rear wheel Cush rubbers are well worn.
There’s a bit of play on the front sprocket like it’s loose on the shaft. The only thing behind it are two oil seals which I doubt are to act as any kind of support. Any idea what that could be.

flashinthepan · 18-04-2021 10:57pm

emeldc wrote: »

Would you believe, Graham from image works sent me an email about a half hour ago saying he can do the decals. £65 + post which TBH is what I expected. I’ve asked him to send me an image.
The nuts and bolts while rusty are in good nick once cleaned up. I only need to replace about half a dozen or so that were well worn or rung off.
The front fork seals, swing arm bushes, steering head bearings and wheel bearings are actually ok but as I have them all stripped I’m replacing them anyway. Rear wheel Cush rubbers are well worn.
There’s a bit of play on the front sprocket like it’s loose on the shaft. The only thing behind it are two oil seals which I doubt are to act as any kind of support. Any idea what that could be.

In fairness if it is something you cant buy off the shelf then €100 euro is not bad and you did not have to chase him he got in contact with you If you have the cash go for it :-)
I know easy for me say

As far as the front sprocket is concerned
My v has an issue where the sprocket appears to have been loose and caused some wear on the shaft
In the end I bought another sprocket and torqued it up right and it has not budged since

emeldc · 18-04-2021 11:41pm

flashinthepan wrote: »

As far as the front sprocket is concerned
My v has an issue where the sprocket appears to have been loose and caused some wear on the shaft
In the end I bought another sprocket and torqued it up right and it has not budged since

#12 in the pic. It’s held on by a small plate and two 10mm bolts. They’re both tight. It feels loose like it’s missing a washer. Maybe it’s just worn. The rear sprocket was hanging off it because of the worn dampers in the wheel. I might have some shaft damage. I’ve new bits on the list so time will tell I suppose.

flashinthepan · 19-04-2021 7:19am

You can see the wear on the splines of the output shaft on the V here the first couple of mm is fine and then it gets very sharp where the sprocket must have been floating caused the wear

emeldc · 19-04-2021 7:27am

Thanks, I'll have another look at the shaft and take a couple of pictures.

di11on · 21-04-2021 10:51am

Really enjoying this thread, thanks for posting and for all the updates! I've been watching some custom build videos on youtube and have been thinking about doing something like this for a while.

I see in some of your photos you have a ring binder - is that the service and repair manual for the bike?

Also - how are you repainting the parts? Spray can?

emeldc · 21-04-2021 1:56pm

di11on wrote: »

Really enjoying this thread, thanks for posting and for all the updates! I've been watching some custom build videos on youtube and have been thinking about doing something like this for a while.

I see in some of your photos you have a ring binder - is that the service and repair manual for the bike?

Also - how are you repainting the parts? Spray can?

I got chatting to a young lad (17) in Australia through a FB page whose mad into the 400T, which is basically the same bike. He sent me a link to a file sharing thing and I was able to download the workshop manual from there. They're invaluable.
Yes, I plan on using rattle cans for the paint job. Vinny Byrne's can match any paint you need if you have the code. As long as you take your time with the prep and painting you can get really good results. This is the 500Four I did about 10 years ago.

di11on · 21-04-2021 4:02pm

emeldc wrote: »

I got chatting to a young lad (17) in Australia through a FB page whose mad into the 400T, which is basically the same bike. He sent me a link to a file sharing thing and I was able to download the workshop manual from there. They're invaluable.
Yes, I plan on using rattle cans for the paint job. Vinny Byrne's can match any paint you need if you have the code. As long as you take your time with the prep and painting you can get really good results. This is the 500Four I did about 10 years ago.

That is a very nice looking machine - very nice job. In the customs videos I was watching on YT I was a little intimidated by some of the very specialised tools they use... but I'm quite impressed by what a little improvisation with common household objects can achieve :-)

Thanks! I may just take something like this on. I have some terrifying memories of being taken around on the tank of a Suzuki 550E as a lad with my uncles. SP that's what I'm thinking. Them were the days lol :-)

H_Lime · 21-04-2021 4:15pm

emeldc wrote: »

I got chatting to a young lad (17) in Australia through a FB page whose mad into the 400T, which is basically the same bike. He sent me a link to a file sharing thing and I was able to download the workshop manual from there. They're invaluable.
Yes, I plan on using rattle cans for the paint job. Vinny Byrne's can match any paint you need if you have the code. As long as you take your time with the prep and painting you can get really good results. This is the 500Four I did about 10 years ago.

Beautiful work!

emeldc · 26-04-2021 10:26pm

I got the frame back from the sandblaster this evening. I’m forking delighted with it

lennymc · 27-04-2021 9:23am

emeldc wrote: »

I got the frame back from the sandblaster this evening. I’m forking delighted with it

That looks like a really good job. Out of curiosity, where was the frame blaster, and what was the ball park cost of the job?

emeldc · 27-04-2021 9:48am

lennymc wrote: »

That looks like a really good job. Out of curiosity, where was the frame blaster, and what was the ball park cost of the job?

He's in Kilkenny. He'd be more into bigger stuff like 40ft trucks and trailers but I've known him for years so he did it for me. He charged me €100 to blast and paint it which I think was free. Don't know what his real price would be but I'll give you his number if you're interested.

emeldc · 03-05-2021 9:17pm

A few more bits done this week.
Fork legs polished. Just waiting for seals to rebuild.

Rear wheel refurbed. Bearings are good. Everything else needs to be replaced.

Just to give you an idea of the nuts and bolts thing. These two are from the rear foot pegs. One as it came off the bike, the other one polished. Both needed heat to get them off. So far I’ve only lost 4 or 5 to breaks.

Clutch casing. It’s not perfect but certainly better! They take fcukin hours to do.

H_Lime · 03-05-2021 10:22pm

You have the touch!

emeldc · 11-05-2021 9:52pm

This casing was damaged. I sanded as much as I could out of it. Happy enough with it I think.

Had another go at the carbs today too.

lennymc · 12-05-2021 9:45am

They look great!

Hotblack Desiato · 13-05-2021 1:45pm

Looks great.

You going with lacquer on the casings and forks or leave them bare?

emeldc · 18-05-2021 11:43pm

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Looks great.

You going with lacquer on the casings and forks or leave them bare?

No i think I’ll leave them bare. Once you have them polished up it’s easier just to buff them up once in a while.

I’ve decided to get the tank and covers professionally painted. I need to get a ding on the the tank done anyway so I did a deal with him to do the lot. And let’s face it he’ll do a much better job than I can.

I’ve run into a bit of an issue with the rear wheel. Having rebuilt it fully, the circlip that holds everything in place including the sprocket is not seating properly due to wear/damage on the hub. I wouldn’t be happy to use it in its current state. There’s a precision engineering firm close to me, I’ll show it to them and see what my options are. Second hand rear wheels are as rare as hens teeth. So it could hold me up for a bit but hopefully I’ll get it sorted.

Other than that front forks, brake caliper, master cylinder and any other bits that needed reassembling are all done. Once I have the VHT paint on the engine I’ll start to put it all back together. Maybe I’ll get a spin on it before the end of June.

Honda CM250T ‘Restoration’ project

Comments