cb125t project what will fit?

[speedy gonzalais]

hi ive got this old 125 twin slowly rusting away, when i got the bike there was no head on the engine so im gona put a different  motor in it, im thinking the 400t seems like a good idea but does anyone no if it fits? was also looking at a 250rs engine but im sure thats gona be too tall, 400 would be nice though 

[Bryanj]

Frame and brakes ain't strong enough for that one

[matthewmosse]

Parts for that 125 twin are common enough and the engine itself is solid and a cracker. As it happens I use a similar engined honda 125 twin for commuting, it's actually faster than the 250 version we have (not sure why) I'd stick with the 125 twin even if from a different year / model. Rebel 125 is similar if not the same so chances are any of the Jin lun/ hong dou/ wiyan,chineese made clones of the honda 125 twin will fit. I think Dave Silvers might even offer parts for those. Apparently the engines are built under licence by wiyan(sp?) and having dismantled a friends bike made by 'hong dou' I can say the engine gave no cause for concern and ran sweet as a nut, but the electrics, wheels / bearings and chasis were total rubbish. I still have the engine (250cc and under 5000km genuine milage) in the shed. Think the cdi died courtersy of a friend trying to install it in a Yamaha xs250 (I also have lots of bits for that bike).

[speedy gonzalais]

i would upgrade the brakes and the frame is pretty light so i could strenthen it, and ive seen a few chinese copies but i prefer a honda engine as they can take a beating, i had a 125t about 6 years ago, i cut the cans down to try an drown out the knocking from the crank, didnt work 600 miles later i sold the bike still running! anyway i would like it to cruise at 70-80 not be redlining. an old cd200 engine would be nice but cant seem to find them these days.

[matthewmosse]

Same engine in basic terms right thru to the 250 nighthawk which are common enough to find in the newer bikes see ebay. It's not very similar to the 250 superdream though.

[andy120t]

CBX1000 might be worth a look

[speedy gonzalais]

if only I could get my hands on a gem like that

[Bryanj]

Now if we are going to be silly how about a Meteor

[speedy gonzalais]

150cc lincon pitbike engine sounds a bit more realistic, gunna strip it, change all the cheap Chinese guts for oem parts, when I find out what this engine is based on.

[matthewmosse]

Things like the camshaft will be matched to the head plus it's been said that chineese clone engines whilst very similar to jap bikes are not totally interchangable parts wise - swap complete engines would be better than engine parts. I've no expirience or knowledge of the pit bike maker you mention, so no idea if the maker used decent engines or not. Power and size wise it should be a good match. I'd be wary of investing much in such a project though, until insurance has been looked at. Also be carefull of choping or modifying the frame as that could bring msva territory close and the engine change may be enough to give them a heads up in dvla etc (ccs and manufacturer changing for the engine might have various beurocrats poping up wanting to complicate life)

[speedy gonzalais]

Its a loncin must have looked at it and thought lincon! its an upright and ment to be quick, cant find much info on these and ive decided im not gonna put it in the honda, im watching a couple of cd 200 engines on ebay for it now, might stick this engine in the Ae frame.

[Yoshi823]

I've had a CD200 in the past



Similar engine to my present CB125T2



...except you'd need to take into account that the 200 engine has the electric starter fitted to the front of the engine crankcase & you'd need to retrofit the components for a 12vdc system.