When someone says they’ve been bitten by the motorcycle bug they usually mean that they have developed an obsession with the motorcycle they own. But for some it’s means much more. Back in 2008 Jason bought his first motorcycle, since then he’s bought 12 (or so) more motorcycles which he currently has in various states of repair with the plan to rebuild and customise every one of them…now that’s obsessed.
The Cafe Racer you see here is “Big Blue”, a 1974 Honda CB125S. The first challenge Jason faced was converting the electrics to 12 volt. “It’s hard to find 6 volt blinkers that look good and the stock lolly pop blinkers would not work for the look i was going for”. The carb also required a full rebuild to get the little CB running right again before the custom work could being.
A set of 27mm clip-ons were sourced and modified to retain to the internal throttle. To keep the bars uncluttered a drum brake, CB100 front wheel was fitted along with a gator-less set of forks from a 78 CB125. The fiberglass tail is from Airtech Streamlining which has been cut down and modified to get the right profile. The tank has also been dropped by 3/4 of an inch resulting in a nice straight line from the headlight bucket along to the peak of the tail.
By removing the rear fender, air box and standard lights the frame has been opened up and the bike looks even leaner than in its standard state. New rear shocks, cables, LED lights, a custom leather seat and a fresh paint scheme have finished the Honda off and the result is one tight little Cafe Racer.
Jason, the 125 Honda ‘Big Blue’ looks great!I did something similar to a CB125s 76, but I didn’t get around to making, or finding off the shelf, rear-set foot pegs and as a result, as good as it looked, I found it tiring to ride for any length of time- I had to sit up every few minutes in order to be able to fill my lungs properly, admittedly, I am 6ft tall, but the lack of proper rear-sets spoiled my enjoyment of it, I always wished that it rode as good as it looked! BTW, I changed the throttle twist grip to one from a trials bike, it went from tickover to full bore in an 1/8 of a turn! Another thing I did, was use a 3 tooth smaller rear sprocket – Honda do a selection of them for all their bikes, but as standard they’re all set up to cater to the American market, ie 15 stone riders, and being only 8.5 stone, 1st gear was too low and I always felt that I needed another top gear or two! I loved the early CB125s, and had 5 of them over the years, and the 1st thing I did to all of them was change the the sprocket and chain set, why people don’t set up the bike according to their own weight, especially when the makers provide you with the means to, and the rider’s own weight is such a large proportion of a small bike’s all up weight, saving both fuel and reducing engine wear, has always amazed me. Many years ago, doing this was seen as a routine thing to do when setting up a new bike for yourself, just like adjusting the shocks and dampers. Anyway, once again, you’ve built a beautiful bike mate, best wishes, J