7/26/15
7/23/15
7/18/15
Z50R project
The seat looked like a dog tried to eat it.
We got a new seat cover. This was $21.99 with free shipping on ebay. You get what you pay for with upholstery, so I wasn't expecting much, but it isn't too bad.
I patched up the foam and installed the cover. It isn't a fancy molded cover, so wanted to bunch up a bit around the edges, but looks pretty decent.
I was liking the Honda logos with the gold wings, but my son wanted red, white and blue, and it is his bike, so that is what we got. Seeing them on the bike I think it was a good call. The bike got a new throttle tube, cable, air filter and the carb cleaned out and it's done.
Here is what we started with, a running but beat down and not rideable '96 Z50R.
And here it is now, ready to go back into service introducing kids to the world of motorcycles.
We got a new seat cover. This was $21.99 with free shipping on ebay. You get what you pay for with upholstery, so I wasn't expecting much, but it isn't too bad.
I patched up the foam and installed the cover. It isn't a fancy molded cover, so wanted to bunch up a bit around the edges, but looks pretty decent.
I was liking the Honda logos with the gold wings, but my son wanted red, white and blue, and it is his bike, so that is what we got. Seeing them on the bike I think it was a good call. The bike got a new throttle tube, cable, air filter and the carb cleaned out and it's done.
Here is what we started with, a running but beat down and not rideable '96 Z50R.
And here it is now, ready to go back into service introducing kids to the world of motorcycles.
7/17/15
Z50R project
The plastics are pretty beat up, but a little repair and freshening up and they'll look fine. Here is the front fender. It has lots of scratches, but no cracks.
The rear fender will need a bit of repair.
It has a crack, a broken mount, and the end is a bit chewed up. I used an angle grinder with a flapper wheel to clean up the chewed up end. The crack and broken piece will be repaired with fiberglass.
First thing is to remove the stickers and wash it.
Here is the front of the fender.
I then wet sanded with sandpaper, starting with a courser grit and moving to a finer paper, just like cleaning up oxidized aluminum.
Here is the front edge where it was the worst. It isn't going to be perfect, but looks pretty good.
Here is the crack and broken mount on the rear fender.
I first drilled a hole most of the way through at the end of the crack to help stop it.
I then taped it to hold it tight.
I super glued the mount to hold it in place for the fiberglass work.
Here it is from the bottom ready for fiberglass. I'd sanded this area with 220 grit paper to roughen it up to help the fiberglass stick.
Here is the fiberglass going on. You want it to go well past the damaged areas. I'd considered glassing the top of the broken mount also, but think this will be plenty strong.
Here is the rear fender ready to go back on.
The rear fender will need a bit of repair.
It has a crack, a broken mount, and the end is a bit chewed up. I used an angle grinder with a flapper wheel to clean up the chewed up end. The crack and broken piece will be repaired with fiberglass.
First thing is to remove the stickers and wash it.
Here is the front of the fender.
I then wet sanded with sandpaper, starting with a courser grit and moving to a finer paper, just like cleaning up oxidized aluminum.
Here is the front edge where it was the worst. It isn't going to be perfect, but looks pretty good.
Here is the crack and broken mount on the rear fender.
I first drilled a hole most of the way through at the end of the crack to help stop it.
I then taped it to hold it tight.
I super glued the mount to hold it in place for the fiberglass work.
Here it is from the bottom ready for fiberglass. I'd sanded this area with 220 grit paper to roughen it up to help the fiberglass stick.
Here is the fiberglass going on. You want it to go well past the damaged areas. I'd considered glassing the top of the broken mount also, but think this will be plenty strong.
Here is the rear fender ready to go back on.
7/15/15
Z50R project
The fork internals were in really bad shape.
The bushings had worn so much that the snap rings had grooved the fork tubes.
You can still get complete fork legs from Honda, but they are a bit pricey. For a less expensive alternative I bought a complete new Chinese knock-off XR/CRF50 fork to use the internals from. These are about $50 shipped on ebay, so way less expensive than the OEM forks would be. The XR/CRF50 uppers are too narrow for the Z50R's fat tire. If you are converting to the taller and narrower XR/CRF50 wheels, the entire fork can be used. The Z50R has the brake on the right and the XR/CRF50 on the left. If you want to use the XR/CRF50 fork guards you can flip the wheel around. Since we won't be using the fork guards, I switched the fork legs from side to side.
They were almost a direct fit to the Z50R fork uppers. At the bottom of the white bushings is a lip that seats in the fork uppers. The original forks used a washer underneath, and the new forks use a seal. The seal is too thick to allow the snap ring to fit in the groove. I just swapped the washer to the new forks in place of the seal and they fit just like the originals.
Here is the original Z50R fork upper with the new internals.
Here is the fork on the bike. Hopefully won't be too much longer and it'll be ready to tear up the lawn.
The bushings had worn so much that the snap rings had grooved the fork tubes.
You can still get complete fork legs from Honda, but they are a bit pricey. For a less expensive alternative I bought a complete new Chinese knock-off XR/CRF50 fork to use the internals from. These are about $50 shipped on ebay, so way less expensive than the OEM forks would be. The XR/CRF50 uppers are too narrow for the Z50R's fat tire. If you are converting to the taller and narrower XR/CRF50 wheels, the entire fork can be used. The Z50R has the brake on the right and the XR/CRF50 on the left. If you want to use the XR/CRF50 fork guards you can flip the wheel around. Since we won't be using the fork guards, I switched the fork legs from side to side.
They were almost a direct fit to the Z50R fork uppers. At the bottom of the white bushings is a lip that seats in the fork uppers. The original forks used a washer underneath, and the new forks use a seal. The seal is too thick to allow the snap ring to fit in the groove. I just swapped the washer to the new forks in place of the seal and they fit just like the originals.
Here is the original Z50R fork upper with the new internals.
Here is the fork on the bike. Hopefully won't be too much longer and it'll be ready to tear up the lawn.
7/14/15
The Indy Mile part 4
Kolby Carlile
Brad Baker
Mikey Martin
After the pit walk I took my seat in the grandstands even with the start/finish line. I'd compare watching the big twins on a mile to a top fuel dragster; you really can't appreciate it until you see it in person.
Dan Ingram was the Grand Marshal for The Indy Mile.
Here is Brad Baker after winning his heat race, and who went on to win the main in a thrilling finish after a few red flags from crashes.
