It was bought in 2000 when I was 17, thrashed, crashed, and crashed again. A Honda clr125. It was based on the xlr125 trail bike, and produced for about 5 years. mine is the first one a 1998 S reg.
I loved this thing, was good for 85, flat on the tank downhill
once I'd bashed the restrictor out of the exhaust header and had the carb rejetted.I put norton style flat bars on it, thrashed about on a Saturday and commuted the 25 miles to work 5 days a week on a fivers worth of fuel.
I crashed it 8 days after I bought it, slid on a load of mud and oil fetched out of a site entrance by lorries building a place I would later work at. Kicked it straight and rode a little slower until 2002 when I got taken out by a woman in a Zafira who was half way across the white line into my side of the road on a blind bend that went over the crest of a hill.
It was stripped of all the broken bits (of which there were many,) and put at the bottom of mi dads garden as a rolling chassis. The frame was straight, the forks were borderline so were binned along with all the other smashed bits. There were plenty of bits that were stripped off that were ok, but these have since gone so I have a frame and engine, plus the wheels left.
i have entertained rebuilding it before but never done anything about it until a few weeks ago when my mam dug it out. Literally dug it out as it had disappeared under ivy and she had forgotten it was there.
So I was told to get rid of it
This is what I have left
DSC_0611 by anthony cresswell, on FlickrI have to say that The frame is in remarkably good condition having been sat there in bits for 15 years, The old shower curtain that was thrown over it and the ivy must have protected it from the elements. There isn't any extra rust that I can see over what it had when I binned it.
DSC_0612 by anthony cresswell, on FlickrThere are all manner of garden beasties infesting the airbox, and it is filthy, but I think it is salvageable. Ive certainly seem projects in alot worse a state than this.
DSC_0610 by anthony cresswell, on FlickrEven the exhaust seems solid.
Plan is to pull the motor out first, and strip that. The engine is still sealed as there was still a plug in it, and I never dropped the oil. Depends which valve was open when it stopped as corrosion may have got into the bore that way, but the gear selector oil seal is still in place and seems not to have gone, and the clutch arm still moves so I'd say these were good signs. And parts are pretty cheap. 80 quid for a set of forks ain't bad. The head bearings are notchy, and the swingarm linkages are seized but shouldnt be a problem with the right sized twatter.
Once Iv'e pulled the motor I'll be able to have a good look at the frame and see if its ok. I think it is, and even if it isn't I can get a frame for 170 quid.
I'm looking forward to doing this, I haven't got oily working on a bike in years
Onwards!
