alchemysa
Veteran Member
On and off over the last 6 months I've been restoring this 1984 Honda Farm bike that I picked up for about $250. Well perhaps calling it a 'restoration' is a bit grand. Total cost for paint, a few parts, decals and sundries was about $100. I stripped it down to the frame and painted everything. It had been left outside for most of its life so it was covered in rust. Most of the chrome was very badly pitted. I cleaned that as best as I could then coated it with a 2-part clear coat. The spokes were so bad all I could do was clean them then spray them with chrome paint. It looks OK if you don't look too close.
These bikes were made strictly for farms and were the the big thing before quad bikes arrived. They were not road registrable. They were available for about 10 years in Australia but only for 1 year in the US. Standard features included the front and rear racks, foot guard in front of the pedals, and a fully enclosed chain guard that looks a bit strange but would have been useful in dirty, muddy conditions. These were full time work bikes remember, not toys for weekend warriors. They also have a comfy wide seat for long days in the saddle. (There was nothing left of the seat except the pan when I got it. I re-covered it but I need to do a bit more work on it.) A full width handle bar guard is also part of the kit but I didn't refit it.
The bike wasn't running when i got it so I took a bit of a gamble on it. Fortunately the only major mechanical repair required was to put in a new intake valve. The old valve had 'stuck out' and got bent, probably after someone tried to crank it over after it had been sitting around unused for about 15 years. The outside of the muffler was completely burnt off. All that was left was the baffle so I recovered it with some tinplate, ceiling insulation and plenty of heat proof black silicone. (I was really please with the muffler repair because bike mufflers are ridiculously expensive).
From now on 95% of its life will be spent on the beach, so unfortunately the rust will probably be back.
Info from Wikipedia...
Honda built a series of Australia-only CT bikes for agricultural work. As a general description these are variants of Honda dirt bikes, equipped with larger saddles, a fully enclosed chainguard, and front and rear racks.
The 1976-1985 Honda CT125 is a 125cc fourstroke motorbike which was designed for farm use. The bike is actually an XL125 with a more 'comfortable' seat. These bikes are very reliable because of the small fourstroke engine. The CT125, which takes its engine from the TL125 with different gear ratios, also has lower gearing than the XL125. The first two gears are spaced very close together for low speed operation. The CT also came with a chrome rear rack, a steel handlebar/lever protector, engine guard, sidestand guard, a smaller 19" front wheel (XL125 had a 21"), and a unique enclosed chainguard that completely covers the drive chain. The seat is also shorter and the bike is only designed to carry one person, not two. Also specific to the CT125 are the large mudflaps front and rear. The frame is painted Shiny Orange as is the tank and sidecovers. The XL had a black frame. The CT125 also has a welded on bash plate on the bottom of the frame.
The CT125 was also exported to the USA for 1977 only.
These bikes were made strictly for farms and were the the big thing before quad bikes arrived. They were not road registrable. They were available for about 10 years in Australia but only for 1 year in the US. Standard features included the front and rear racks, foot guard in front of the pedals, and a fully enclosed chain guard that looks a bit strange but would have been useful in dirty, muddy conditions. These were full time work bikes remember, not toys for weekend warriors. They also have a comfy wide seat for long days in the saddle. (There was nothing left of the seat except the pan when I got it. I re-covered it but I need to do a bit more work on it.) A full width handle bar guard is also part of the kit but I didn't refit it.
The bike wasn't running when i got it so I took a bit of a gamble on it. Fortunately the only major mechanical repair required was to put in a new intake valve. The old valve had 'stuck out' and got bent, probably after someone tried to crank it over after it had been sitting around unused for about 15 years. The outside of the muffler was completely burnt off. All that was left was the baffle so I recovered it with some tinplate, ceiling insulation and plenty of heat proof black silicone. (I was really please with the muffler repair because bike mufflers are ridiculously expensive).
From now on 95% of its life will be spent on the beach, so unfortunately the rust will probably be back.
Info from Wikipedia...
Honda built a series of Australia-only CT bikes for agricultural work. As a general description these are variants of Honda dirt bikes, equipped with larger saddles, a fully enclosed chainguard, and front and rear racks.
The 1976-1985 Honda CT125 is a 125cc fourstroke motorbike which was designed for farm use. The bike is actually an XL125 with a more 'comfortable' seat. These bikes are very reliable because of the small fourstroke engine. The CT125, which takes its engine from the TL125 with different gear ratios, also has lower gearing than the XL125. The first two gears are spaced very close together for low speed operation. The CT also came with a chrome rear rack, a steel handlebar/lever protector, engine guard, sidestand guard, a smaller 19" front wheel (XL125 had a 21"), and a unique enclosed chainguard that completely covers the drive chain. The seat is also shorter and the bike is only designed to carry one person, not two. Also specific to the CT125 are the large mudflaps front and rear. The frame is painted Shiny Orange as is the tank and sidecovers. The XL had a black frame. The CT125 also has a welded on bash plate on the bottom of the frame.
The CT125 was also exported to the USA for 1977 only.
