Picked up this a couple of days ago from our neighbour in return for doing a service on their car.
They've had it in storage for 8 or 9 years with the intention to restore it but life etc did its thing to that plan. So now its ours (Hannah's already smitten with it)
Last rego in 2009. Pretty low mileage for its age?
This is the first motorbike Ive ever had in NZ. When I was doing the UK living thing we both got our CBT licences and I bought a classic 1976 Honda SL125 while Hannah bought a 1978 XL125. Then I bought a CL125 and used that for commuting.
Once back in NZ we'd both had ideas about getting bikes but just never happened. Then this turned up and it'll do for a bit of fun.
I have looked on the nets and not found much info on these. Not sure what the difference is between this F50 and a FR50? I'd love to know more about the history of them. Wiki has nothing really.
We both thought it best to crack into it and see if it runs. First off Hannah gave it a bit of a clean and removed the cracked fairing. Then I modified the lock barrel to accept a Bedford truck key which happened to be sooooo close to working already. Neighbours will no doubt find the original key now.
Then put some two stroke mix in. Just some chainsaw mix and I think 50:1 so probably a bit lean? I'm not sure but its probably like the 'which oil weight to use' question. It has a oil tank on the side but for testing purposes I left that empty. I don't even know what oil goes in there- just 2 stroke stuff yeah?
2 stoke m/bikes are a whole new thing to me! Lots to learn.
Gave it a kick over and on the 5th kick it started! Wow. Neat. Sounded great. But learnt that the carb was leaking...
Took the cover off- weird place for a carb :-)
Looks clean in there but a sticking float needle needed sorting. I first removed and cleaned the fuel tap. It has a vacuum operated diaphram valve on the side that is meant to close off the tap unless the engine is running. Is this common?
Tap was ok but could do with a new rubber sealing washer between it and the tank outlet stub.
Then the carb. A little bit tricky to get out as I didn't want any split hoses but all seemed fine. removed the bowl and cleaned out the valve. Works good now. Bowl had a bit of gunk in it but not much considering the time the bike has sat...
Put it all back together and started it up then took it for a hoon up the drive and back along the road. curse word its cool. Much more of a giggle than I was expecting. Its like a tiny engine with a big turbo. Nothing nothing nothing and then powerband. Gear lever is bent and curse word if I can downshift with my heal.
Checked the plug and its not a bad colour..
Took the cover off above the carb and adjusted out the slack in the cable. Odd size - needs a 7mm spanner.
Lubed the twist throttle end and its much nicer to use. Brakes seem fine and tyres are holding air plus have good tread and not perished.
Then went out for more hoons up and down the road. Goes well. Quite fun.
I best check/change the fuel mix before I fark it though. 40:1?
So I'll sort the gear lever out, fix the fairing cracks, sort out the broken indicator lenses (any ideas on where I might find them ? They look like trailer lights but are the originals) and get a new spark plug.
Then it needs new rego and plate so I'll pop in and do that bit of paperwork.
Keen on a workshop manual but cant find anywhere to download one that suits this model ?
They've had it in storage for 8 or 9 years with the intention to restore it but life etc did its thing to that plan. So now its ours (Hannah's already smitten with it)
Last rego in 2009. Pretty low mileage for its age?
This is the first motorbike Ive ever had in NZ. When I was doing the UK living thing we both got our CBT licences and I bought a classic 1976 Honda SL125 while Hannah bought a 1978 XL125. Then I bought a CL125 and used that for commuting.
Once back in NZ we'd both had ideas about getting bikes but just never happened. Then this turned up and it'll do for a bit of fun.
I have looked on the nets and not found much info on these. Not sure what the difference is between this F50 and a FR50? I'd love to know more about the history of them. Wiki has nothing really.
We both thought it best to crack into it and see if it runs. First off Hannah gave it a bit of a clean and removed the cracked fairing. Then I modified the lock barrel to accept a Bedford truck key which happened to be sooooo close to working already. Neighbours will no doubt find the original key now.
Then put some two stroke mix in. Just some chainsaw mix and I think 50:1 so probably a bit lean? I'm not sure but its probably like the 'which oil weight to use' question. It has a oil tank on the side but for testing purposes I left that empty. I don't even know what oil goes in there- just 2 stroke stuff yeah?
2 stoke m/bikes are a whole new thing to me! Lots to learn.
Gave it a kick over and on the 5th kick it started! Wow. Neat. Sounded great. But learnt that the carb was leaking...
Took the cover off- weird place for a carb :-)
Looks clean in there but a sticking float needle needed sorting. I first removed and cleaned the fuel tap. It has a vacuum operated diaphram valve on the side that is meant to close off the tap unless the engine is running. Is this common?
Tap was ok but could do with a new rubber sealing washer between it and the tank outlet stub.
Then the carb. A little bit tricky to get out as I didn't want any split hoses but all seemed fine. removed the bowl and cleaned out the valve. Works good now. Bowl had a bit of gunk in it but not much considering the time the bike has sat...
Put it all back together and started it up then took it for a hoon up the drive and back along the road. curse word its cool. Much more of a giggle than I was expecting. Its like a tiny engine with a big turbo. Nothing nothing nothing and then powerband. Gear lever is bent and curse word if I can downshift with my heal.
Checked the plug and its not a bad colour..
Took the cover off above the carb and adjusted out the slack in the cable. Odd size - needs a 7mm spanner.
Lubed the twist throttle end and its much nicer to use. Brakes seem fine and tyres are holding air plus have good tread and not perished.
Then went out for more hoons up and down the road. Goes well. Quite fun.
I best check/change the fuel mix before I fark it though. 40:1?
So I'll sort the gear lever out, fix the fairing cracks, sort out the broken indicator lenses (any ideas on where I might find them ? They look like trailer lights but are the originals) and get a new spark plug.
Then it needs new rego and plate so I'll pop in and do that bit of paperwork.
Keen on a workshop manual but cant find anywhere to download one that suits this model ?
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