circa 1970 Honda Monkey Bike- Project/Resto

[Malt_Vinegar]

After 3 years of staling, and moving my monkey bike around the garage and not having any space to work on it i finally got my bum into gear and got working.

With my garage cleaned, sorted and squared away, i could make some meaninful progress. (Some of you ma have seen my garage project thread)

So, this was the bike as i got my hands on it. (albeit, with the endine removed)

Fuel tank

Front wheel/brakes

49cc engine + Rear light + A big pile of bits!

Rear Wheel

Dodgy bars:

So, that was the bike as I got it. As far as I know, it has not been started for at least 10 years, but these things are reknowned for being bullet-proof. So a top end strip down/clean/rebuild is in order just to keep it in top nick

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Day 2!

After a bit of work, I managed to get the top end stripped down. I was pretty mucky in there, took about 20 minutes of some brushing to get the valves/head/piston cleaned up. Its not perfect, but should be ok (I will be looking to replace the engine at a later date with a 110 or 125) The bore looks superb though

Next up, the corroded wheels were stripped down and the rims were treated to a load of wire wheeling!

Both ended up looking something like this...

Not a perfect polished look, but it these are being painted, so no need really. Just a few coats of primer to keep them nice till painting time

The fuel tank was holy, so this needed wire-wheeling to see where the holes are, and where JBweld needs to be appied. (The tank will be petsealed before use proper)

So, now, you can see the many holes!!

Yukky - Should be able to get this repaired hopefully.

Managed to get the tank badges off un-hurt also

Thats it up to Last night. I need to get a gasket set for the topend, and some JBwelb to get the tank sorted. I think i will need a new carb, im missing some internal parts from the one I have, and dont think i can get a re-build kit

I am not sure on the legality of lights at the moment, I am being assured that lights/speedo/indicators are not requied due to the age. However, it will need a horn. As mine is pre-72, apparently a squeezy horn will do! I dont think thats a route i will go down though

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Cool! This going to be road legal?

Yup, thats the plan.

To register a Monkey Bike for road use you must acquire the following:
Age related certificate from manufacturer or MBUK or Roy Bacon
MOT certificate
Insurance certificate
V55 form from DVLA (not available in post offices)
£55 Payment
Photographs of the bike including close up of VIN

Send all that to your local Vehicle Registraion office and in a week or two, they will issue you with an age related registration mark

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Ok, I have been working on the fuel tank, and given the wheel a quick blast of black for now.

I should probably say that at this point i am just getting the thing back to road-worthy condition so I can get it MOTed and road legal again. Once it is registered then the proper paint job and frame re-spray will be done. (Basically, its easier to get this done whilst the old frame numbers are easily visable)

I am considering speaking to a local powder-coat company to see what they can do for the bike at a later date

The tank with a bit of filler, needs a few more goes to get it right(Im a bit new to this filler malarkey!) I think it might work better after a couple of layers of primer?

Liquid metal - Savior of fuel tanks - Worldwide! (Yet to be sanded in this pic)

Forgot to get pics of the wheels, but I will soon enough

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Looks like this is going to be a laff, I'm watching

Fingers crossed

I just ordered the gasket kit, a handlebar knob (to replace the broken 1) a spark plug, and the tank rubber set. - Fingers crossed that lot will arrive on Friday, so i can get the engine back together.

I am then picking up a few other bits from a guy I spoke to online

Standard Exhaust, Standard Carb, Original Coil, Ignition Switch and a tatty seat (for MOT purposes)

I just need to get my hands on a V55/5 form, and an age certificate from either Honda (£27.50) or MBUK (£20).

It is possible, if all goes to plan, that I might have a working bike by the end of next week. This will mean i can then get it MOT'ed and send off all the other documentation to the DVLA.



Going by my previous experiences with the DVLA, i fully expect there to be problems at this point.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

nice project

Thanks

I managed to get some work done last night.

Did a bit more filler work on the fuel tank. Decided to give it a light coat of primer to protect it. It still needs a couple more skims of filler to get the shape perfect though.

Sanded the wheels down a bit, and gave them another quick blast of black.

Not a perfect finish, and a little run on one side, but happy with it for now. Should look a bit better when the tyres are cleaned up too.

I then decided to try and remove the forks, and the handlebars, as they are a bit ropey, and will need some work. I managed to break the one good handlebar holder i did have.. Oh, and also managed to snap off the mounting bolt for the right hand bar. So, I think new bars are needed too

Managed to get them off though, and didnt lose a single bearing!

The frame is almost bare now.

Sorry about the poor pics, it was getting dark!

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Just realised that it's you Malt

I'm jealous...monkey bikes rock!

I know, they are wicked

Next -
I got the wheels built up...

Re-covered the old wiring loom....

...

Started to build the bike back up again..

Fitted the ignition, the coil, the forks/headset, wheels/brakes, enginecase (minus head/cyclinder) and did a bbbbit of wiring

Then i mocked it up with some of the newer bits to see how it might look

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Think if I'd have stripped it down that far I'd have got a leccy start C90 lump & a "thumper" exhaust on it. It's not fun unless you are disturbing everybody else on the camp site, waking babies 5 miles away & getting dogs to chase you like they have rabies.

/joke (Before the Brigade attack me)

lol, i would love to change the engine, but at the moment its a bit of a pain, as its a 6v version. I just want to try and get it on the road initially. I might have a looky at an 88cc kit (piston/cyclinder) at a later date. I could possibly go down the 125 juncheng route though....

ANYWAY

I was having some issues getting the cam sprocket back on its seat, as the cam chain seemed to be too tight. I tried all manor of things, and then threw a strop and gave up for a couple of days.

I posted on a forum, and found out that you have to remove the cam chain tensioner from under the block before you try to re-fit the cam sprocket.. Duhhhhh...

With this in mind, the engine went back together perfectly! This allowed me to move on to a few other bits and bobs...

It was late, so I was a bit lax with the picture taking...

Progress:
Engine Fitted/Built up
Engine Timed up (i think)
Carb fitted
Exhaust fitted
Seat almost Fitted (one bolt missing, need to locate one)
Reat light fitted/connected
Loom Almost completed
Handlebars fitted
Brake Levers fitted
Footpegs/stand fitted
Coil/Spark plug connected


Yet to do:
Secure Gear change lever
Adjust front brake
Fit rear brake cabling/adjust
Cover Seat

Fill with petrol!

Slighty closer up..

The seat is tatty, but its just to get it through the MOT.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Subscribed.

I want one of these to go with my camper but can't find the right one, Plenty of monkey metal foreigners about but no Gens.
I'll make do for now watching your rebuild, Good effort. Monkey bikes rock.

I forget to say Malc, if you want a gen bike, your best bet is probably to ask on www.monkeyrun.co.uk.

Members often sell the bikes on ebay, linking them into the sales section on the forum. The other thing to do is just post a wanted, I am sure someone has a couple of bikes that could do with a loving home

<Insert VTEC Joke here>

Seriously, a very nice, different project - good luck.

Thanks, its been great fun so far. Im sure it wont all go to plan later tonight if i get around to starting it, but it will be fun

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

I got it going

It works ok, the brakes need adjusting, and lots of tweaking is needed. But it runs

Had a quick 5 min ride about. Very happy with myself. I need to do a lot of little bits, but having it running really gives a boost.

Wooo hoooo

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Nice one! Not crashed into a tree yet?

No, luckily no trees around where I live, although i did have a close encounter with a cat

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

we want video clips next!

I will get some videos

I did almost come off the back when i went from 1st to 2nd! Would make entertaining viewing im sure

take it to the next meet in your car, does it easily fit in [strikethrough]your pocket[/strikethrough] the boot?

Im sure with the handlebars unscrewed it will fit

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

So yesterday I did some more work on the Monkey.

Rear and front brakes are now adjusted and work ok enough!

This meant I could have a little ride about without fear of driving straight into something with crappy brakes. Very nice to ride, and suprisingly comfy considering it is a hardtail. Perhaps only being 5'8 helps

I had to do a bit more work on re-sealing the tank, as it was leaking from a couple of places where i had not sealed it well with the liquid metal. Also, the primer finish was looking grubby after my dirty hands had been over it. So after sorting the holes, i re-primered, and gave it 2 quick coats of the only colour paint I had left lying around (green gloss) Should keep it looking half decent for the MOT, and also gave me some ideas for the final colours!

Next I plumbed in the rear light, and managed to snap the kick start when i was about to test it. I almost impailed myself on the spike remaining, seems I dont know my own strength. This put paid to any further tinkering, and I retired for the evening.

New kick-start was ordered last night. Ready and raring to go. Still need to find myself some cheap Mud-guards (Presume I need these for the MOT)

I do find myself looking around at the headlight buckets, but they seem to be VERY expensive for what they are! So, as it is not needed for the MOT, i figure i can do without for now.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

New kick start is on, so I can resume tinkering again now

Still trying to find a decent priced headlight/speedo combo at the moment. Oh, and I have confirmed from the engine number that it is a 1970/71 Z50A K2. Which means.... No road tax

I am awaiting my age certificate from MBUK, and the DVLA are posting me the forms required to register the bike. So i should be all sorted in a couple of weeks, fingers crossed!

I might even put it in for the MOT next week.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Looks great well done!

Thanks Colours are not final, but I am liking the green, so might add in some green to the final colours now.

Sweet

Awesome.

Thanks guys, i cant wait to give it a bit of a blat (lol) when its road legal!! My first bike!!

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Why oh why does this make me laugh out loud? I sooo want one...

You will laugh even more when I am driving about on it to work in the mornings

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Ok, as it so often seems, these things always take longer than planned! Going into the winter, not a lot got done due to a number of reasons. Mainly Funds were tight, moving house, and dating certificate crap knocked my mojo.

Anyway, getting things back on track.

The dodgy old cloth bodge seat has been binned and replaced, and new bars are winging their way (slowly) to me from some far flung country!

Bars - Stripped down, removed throttle/brakes/cables etc, then removed the perished old plastic coverings, and will be electrical taping everything

The grips are too far gone, and I have replacements here already waiting for the final build.

The new seat makes a difference:

Sorry about all the dust, new garage is untreated cement floor, and an industrial dust producer.

So, on with the battle to get the dating certificate, then it can be MOTed/registered. I really want this done for the summer!!

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

Originally the idea was for kids to ride them at the Honda World theme park!

They were liked so much, were so reliable, and were cheap... So it made perfect sense to sell in the real world!

Once they were out there, they become very popular, so Honda started making road going versions, and they still sell and sell worldwide

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

The new bars arrived this morning, far earlier than predicted?!

They look very good, and means that when I am next with the bike, I will be able to build it up to ride-able again!

I should then be able to make a video of me on it, and riding about a bit

This leaves just the headlight/speedo combo to sort out and it should be effectively road legal!

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

I may have gone on a parts ordering spree a few minutes ago... From a UK supplier, for next day delivery.. Not had confirmation yet, but I might have all the stuff I need to finish the build by Friday!!