1972 Honda CB175 Super Sport restoration

[KS]

I had an XS250 for a while as a cheap daily - probably the slowest Jap 250 ever built!

[911hillclimber]

Someone is now making full repro seats, look really nice, steel pressed base new everything for around £110.
A used one here costs £130 plus the new cover @ £40, why restore?

Wife thinks this will all be done by the end of July, and not Dec as planned! Been told to slow down and stop spending.

Frame is missing some brackets, easy to get from a gold mine of parts just 45 mins from me, but why has this bike got so many missing parts that would be needed?

The previous owner was over 80 years and was a stationary engine guy, so I bet all these parts are in the house in Wales being cleared....

Got to pre-MoT the 911 this weekend, so progress will be slow.

[911hillclimber]

End of the easy stuff today, and bup down to reality!

The bike is down to the bare frame and the grit blasting pile is mounting. Big stuff will go to a pro.
Centre stand needs some tlc/welding, frame looks great. The black paint used to 'restore' is made of unobtanium in a tin.

Stripped the forks and there is a stainless sleeve on each leg, 46.6 mm ID, 0.7mm wall and 100mm long.
They are a friction fit when new, and corrosion has welded them on.
I have 1 NOS sleeve, so could cut the one off, but need to tease the other off which is proving something of a challenge/impossible.

These are not available, though a man in the UK makes them, machines stainless, polished and perfect, but £60 a pair. That hurts to pay so will try much harder to get the sleeve off tomorrow, but real heat, WD40 drowning etc all to no avail. The last bike was just as hard but I cracked them.

[jehintheuk]

This is making me so nostalgic for my old 175. Can't wait to see the end result.

[911hillclimber]

Could be a long wait!
Done the easy bit, now the work starts, not just doing it, but keeping costs down.
These rebuilds can cost £4000...

Very easy to buy buy buy.

[Kneeslider]

I had an XS250 for a while as a cheap daily - probably the slowest Jap 250 ever built!

Yup! I think that the main issue was that the XS250 had identical frame, cycle parts etc to the XS400. To achieve much more than 70mph took a lot of thrashing, hence the engine rebuilds! I don't admit that I owned one to many people, they were very cheap and nasty compared to a nice little Honda.

[neilbardsley]

Nice project. Engine looks pretty clean

Sent from my Redmi 7 using Tapatalk

[911hillclimber]

It is, the least of my problems!

Finding parts missing, some rotten with UK salt roads, but actually rebuilt something today!

Both front foot pegs under the rubbers were rotten, £25 each, but have managed to restore them with metal I had over from the Lola build, so cost is £0
It is just sooo easy to click and pay which is what happened to my first one.

The stainless sleeves on the forks defeated me, so cut them off and bought a new pair, £65!

Need to get organised a bit now so some things like grit blasting the frame and other big bits are away and I do the engine while waiting for their return (etc).

The engine case parts will be blasted by me in my small cabinet using old grit, less harsh on the alloy. The fresh pistons already done have saved about £120, last time it was re-bore few wanted to do, but found a place sort of local who do a lot of scooter parts.
The brand new wheels with stainless spokes came with the bike and get that all together took a long time last time, lacing wheels and getting them true is no joke.

Trying to ignore the chroming. Cost a zillion last time, BUT also took ages as it was in the winter, the Busy Season, so that may be the priority very soon.

Feel as though I'm rushing it, so must slow down.

[911hillclimber]

A few more hours today, rust, rust rust!

The main rider pegs were rotten, water trapped between rubbers and steel for nearly 50 years.
Simple repair, satisfying! Saved £40 (you will soon read why cost saving is #1 priority...)
Next was the main stand. The foot 'assist' lever was rusted through, again, nice simple repair, took 20 mins! Saved £40 again.

Next were the paper thin headlamp brackets. One needed minimal help, the other had been 'helped' before with an intricate brass sleeve, copper rivets and filler. All
that hid rot, so cut 20 off the end to find fresh steel, made a ring of steel sheet and brazed/welded it into place. The bracket has a pronounced taper from top to bottom, so added lead to the repair and filed that to match the taper and fit the chrome ring fitted to the large end.

Now, Chrome. There is a lot of chrome on a bike, and this Honda is no exception, so sent a picture (as below) of the chrome I did last time 4 years ago to the same supplier.

4 years ago the bill was £480, the quote todat was £800 to £1000 + vat..... Going to ask for some more quotes.

[911hillclimber]

Had 3 more estimates for the chrome @£1000, struth!

To console myself, endevoured to save money by make - n - mend.

The original headlamp ring is unobtainable, a new headlamp assembly? Easy, £160 sir.
Cut the rot out at the bottom of the ring and brazed in a patch. The chromers can earn they pennies by finishing it.

The rear indicator mountings are a bit odd on Hondas, and I was missing one, so made one from an odd support I had, brazed, turned out well, now have the full set for chrome.

These are £30 with a flash of chrome, aftermarket chrome is not what you expect....

Finally, arranged to have the frame and swing arm grit blasted tomorrow at Redditch who do a fabulous job if a touch pricy but they guard all threads etc, so the detail is worth it.
This leaves me with a good pile to DIY next week.

Will be done mid next week, that is a very short lead time, 4 years ago it was 4 weeks. Just under £100 cost.

Etch primer on the way, so can coat it as soon as it is done. will finish off with Hammerite Smooth gloss black.
Decided to go for an unusual paint scheme/colour combo.

The only negatives are:
The work done on the headlamp bracket is scrap. Won't bore you why.
The wood for the garden fence has just arrived, so that will take priority very very soon.

[Kneeslider]

I thought that the headlamp bracket looked very nicely done?

[911hillclimber]

Well, it helps if you do all that work working to the right diameter of the chrome rings....
This Pratt used the wrong larger diameter to make the fabrication to.
So that wrecked that, and will need to find and buy a another set, about £40 well used but not rotten.

On a better note, another chroming quote today, £460 / 4 weeks, and another comment from another, they are working to 10 weeks lead time...

Think I will be going with the Brummies at £460.

[911hillclimber]

Agreed to the Brummie chrome, so filling the box rapidly for delivery next week.

Redditch blasters have the frame etc, that will be ready next Thursday, so moving along well so far.

My seat gamble paid off! Have a brand new pattern seat from Wemoto/Taiwan for the bike and it is superb, real value for £112. Knackered original rusty and torn seats are £150 then a new cover etc for £50 and the barbs for the cover are usually too rusty and break off...

The left NOS air filter cover, the REAL rocking -horse stuff arrived in splendid original gold candy in a Honda bag all the way from David Silver in the USA. Just need the right hand one now.
The tacho drive assembly arrived also from the States with the all important and expensive drive extension a week early. The cover is in the chrome box.
And finally, the locally made stainless fork piston covers arrived and are superb, CNC'd in Derbyshire.

Whew.

Drilled the rear mudguard for the stop light/number plate bracket and a few other bits and bobs.

The garden fence is looming. 130 feathers to fit onto all new uprights etc.
I often say, "if I cant weld it I'm not really interested" but when DIY can save the £500 installation quote, then that's the chrome paid for!

Perfect man-maths right there.

This leaves me for now with a decision to be made on the front mudguard.
The one on the bike is a real mongrel, though could be persuaded to fit, but it would need re-chroming too, so might simply buy new as I did for the gold bike.



Shape is not too bad on the one I used last time, but not quite there (?)

[Bruce M]

Have you go a nail/staple gun?
Cheap & great for repetitive jobs like fencing.

[911hillclimber]

Son in law has one, coming my way hopefully with a zillion nails.
Not really looking forward to the 2 days I've set to do it all.

Current one is about 40 years old. One simple push should see it on the floor.

I'm good at disassembly, its the re assembly that shows my short comings...

Pulled the trigger on a new cb125S front mudguard, all for £32. The chrome will be functional rather than good, so will be going in the chrome box to be stripped and properly plated.

Time to order the boring bits, seals and the odd bearing, silver paint and a bag of stainless bolts etc from Namrick.

I thought I had made my mind up on colours but seeing the NOS side cover today in original Honda candy orange has put a doubt in my mind, but I'll never paint that at home.
Last paint job in this colour cost £450.
Also, they are all flippin' orange, be nice to be a bit different.