Honda-SOHC

A few of the cable clips on the NC30 have some sort of plastic/rubber covering on them. This is going to get removed during blasting and powder coating.  Previously I have used heat shrink to replace the coating but on some of the brackets I don’t have this option and the bracket is large and split in two. Does anyone know of a suitable product that can be applied and give the same protection, I’m thinking of a liquid rubber type product that will air dry but am unable to find anything.

Welcome to my VFR400 NC30 thread.

I was gifted this bike by an old work friend last year when she emigrated to Aus. Now the Honda TL125S has departed it is the NC’s turn on the workbench.

This is going to be an occasional thread as I know it’s not a sohc and shouldn’t really be here but as its winter and we all get bored and look for projects to follow I thought I’d start this thread.

So, what am I going to do with this NC? Well, I don’t fancy doing a full restoration as it will become a money pit so the idea is to undertake a sympathetic restoration and get it back on the road for the summer.

First thing to do was to strip the fairing off to see what I have got. There are signs of gravel rash to both fairing lowers and although the paint and fairing is original there is a fair bit of pink going on and it looks like a 90’s shell suit so I am thinking of a respray in the original UK NC30 colour scheme (think mini RC30). The bike is filthy below the fairing and all the alloy is corroded as are the fork bottoms and the upper and lower yokes. The frame looks good with no obvious dents, twists or gravel rash. The wheels look ok from 50ft but are full of chips to the rims.

I’m going to attempt to start the engine but will first check the bores with my bore scope and I’ll whip the cam covers off and add some oil to the cams etc. I’ve had to buy a new battery, I think the reg/rec had cooked the old one, it looked like a waffle.

I don’t know how true the mileage is at 18,000 as the speedo is mainly in MPH with KPH as a secondary scale. Considering this is a 1992 model, I’m thinking the speedo was maybe changed when it arrived in the UK? If there are any experts out there on these bikes please let me know.

I am thinking of draining the coolant and replacing it with a litre of central heating cleaner, running the engine up and leaving it for a couple of days to clean the water jackets etc before draining it out and maybe repeating the process. I know these engines fur up if the coolant isn’t replaced with the correct type. Is what I am proposing wise or will it end in disaster, has anyone ever tried it? I know RRC on YouTube restored a NC and he used this method but it was on a stripped motor, my idea is to use it as a cleaning/flushing agent on a complete motor?

I’ll update the thread when I get it started.

Is anyone else unable to post with attachments or is it just me?
I keep getting an error code 500 internal server error?

I'm trying to determine exactly what size of wiring connectors are used on the 1976 TL125s I am currently restoring.
Something I thought would be easy to determine is turning out to be a brain teaser!
So far I've come across 2.2, 2.8 and 3.6mm connectors on the internet used for Honda bikes. I thought I should be using 3.6mm and life would be a box of chocolates but the Kojat (not sure if I've spelt that correctly) state 2.8mm are used on older Honda's although it doesn't define what is an old Honda? I consider myself to be 'old' but I'm young compared to some people I know!
How do I measure an existing connector to determine the actual size because they are different diameters at the tip and the crimp?
In addition, I would like to use thinner gauge cable to make new parts of the existing loom but I've read as the system is 6v I should use 1.0mm gauge (same as existing) due to the higher resistance in a 6v circuit?
As you can probably guess electrickary when it comes to automotive applications is not my strongest asset!
Any help/guidance would be helpful in order to avoid the finished bike becoming a mobile bonfire!

Posted this advert from CBG especially for Ted as I know he loves an old German Scooter 👍

Hi All.
Does anyone have any contact details for Solent VIN Plates? They only have a Facebook page which is of absolutely no use if you are not on FB like me!
They don't appear to have a website, email address or phone number either!
Has anyone here used them (I know Nurse Julie has) and do they stamp the VIN plate if provided with the numbers. Honda used a unique size of font to stamp them originally (probably to stop fraud and cloning etc).
The TL VIN is missing just like everything else on this bike!

Anyone going to the Kempton Park Autojumble and Classic Bike show tomorrow? Tickets are £9 in advance (you get an e-ticket on your phone and you just sail past the long queue to get in).
I'll be there on my RE Interceptor looking for more elusive TL125s parts and buying stainless nuts, bolts & washers💷💰.

Thought I’d share a trick I learnt to do with bread and its power to act as a bearing removal tool where all else has failed!

I had to remove the blind gear shaft bearing from the TL125S to enable the cases to be vapour blasted. Nothing would shift the bearing and then I remembered the slice of bread trick. Basically you stuff bread into the blind bearing and tamp it down with the head of a suitable sized bolt. Keep stuffing bread into the bearing recess and eventually it will push the bearing out AND you have a handy snack when the job is done