I've found holes in the brass floats by putting them in the freezer, taking them out and holding them under extremely hot water. The cold, sucks air inside and the heat will cause a bubble to form where the hole is. Always had to think out of the box with these things. Something you're an expert at. Glad to see another old bike running again :)
This brings back a lot of memories. I had the 1978 xl 125 when I was a kid. I do remember the bottom of my foot being bruised from kicking it over but had a lot of good times on it.
Hondas of that era had a centrifugal oil separator which was the part you couldn`t identify on the crankshaft end, it just needs cleaning out each oil change and works in place of an oil filter.
All Hondas of this era didn't need the battery to run. They had separate coils in their generator. One set for ignition and another one for lights, blinkers, horn. So the battery could easily be removed and the only "problrm" was that you didn't have indicators and brake lights in low RPM, and the horn sounded like... cicada without it.😂
Best place to ride a dirt bike when it snows is in the sand; either a sandpit or on the beach. We used to run ours from Salisbury, MA to Seabrooke, NH. on the beach with the Atlantic Ocean right there. Great workout for the forearms!
I fixed my buddies Kawasaki Mule with a welder and a grinder because the parts are Not available. It had several broken teeth on gears and a broke case. That was 4 years ago and still going strong. One of the gears was a hypoid bevel pinion gear,,the teeth were really hard to form but it came out nice when done.
You'll have to take that gear to a machine shop and get someone to re-machine it. The bike is really in too good a shape to get rid of it on account of that kick start gear. You could call it mint if it had the air box boot and the dent were pulled out of the tank. As far as that weird part connected to the oil pump... that was called the centrifugal oil filter. Instead of using a filter media to trap oil deposits, it would use centrifugal spinning to trap solid deposits to the edges of the centrifugal oil filter housing. When you did your oil change, you would pull that cover off and wipe away any solids trapped to the edge with a rag. I have a vintage Honda CB350. Wiping out the centrifugal oil filter housing it part of the oil change maintenance. I don't know why they did it that way because they had cannister filters already. I guess they thought that cannister filter on the engine would be ugly.
I would love to see you do a video on what you do with all the machines you repair. Maybe just a pic or clip of the machine, what you did to repair and then what you did with it. You might even add what you paid and then what you sold it for. I love your approach and what you do.
Check for the kick starter shaft for other early Honda models like the CL 125 or SL 125 most of the parts are interchangeable. I believe mid 70’s they changed the top ends but the bottom ends should be the same.
damm Joe, nice score , i have a 72 tc 125 ,and a 75 ts 100 suzuki,s i got 150. each (works in progress) ,neither was as complete as this honda well done
FYI - 18:30 For future reference, the use of a carpenter's claw hammer vs. ball peen when working on machinery is a very potent comment generation tool to increase audience enragement.
I'm 65 and remember these bikes well. This is what I think of when someone says "dirtbike". That bike is in excellent condition. I would put it in storage till I found a doner engine. I was shocked it started. Nice work Joe.
Joe, for those discontinued parts just find a good machine shop that fabricates gears and such. They can also harden the finshed product. I have had shafts made that were discontinued with other equipment. R
Those cross head case bolts get chewed up because they are JIS Japanese crosshead and not Philips or posidrive. People aren't aware of the JIS Japanese crosshead type. JIS=Japanese Industrial Standard.
The thing on the end of the crank is a centrifugal oil slinger which is supposed to function as an oil filter. Not too effective, but better than nothing. Many Honda's had them late 60's early 70's. Cheers.
If your good at brazing you can heat the heat and braze new teeth on then file the profile them or that the gear to a machine shop and have a new one made
I had the Honda TL125 when I was 13, similar parts to yours, road it most nights after school and every weekend, never had a kick start issue but did have cam chain issue once, regular oil changes etc, I thought it was just me but I struggled with the Philip screws on the clutch cover, my uncle got them off with a larger screw driver,
I bet Sean from Bikes and Beards could hook you up with an NOS part since he buys container loads of old stock. Your channel helps me understand my Zuma 125 and my CTX700DCT ND much better and has inspired me to fix my own power tools and machines.,
I had one bought used and it was stripped for off-road only. No battery so I used 6 volt drycell lantern battery and it would last for several days. Had fun on that bike.
Make a mechanic friend in Japan. Most parts can be had there. He can help you negotiate the language for the purchase (by buying it for you and shipping.) Or you can build a starter that rotates the rear wheel. 🤣
Now that I think about it a bit, I'm not sure it's the gear, what disconnects the Kickstarter from the clutch? Is it a one way bearing or is it spring loaded to move out of the way? It seems like something else is wrong and you won't know until you split the case
Agreed on that, the symptom of sudden loud snap and the jolt on the kickstarter is too weird and inconsistent to be gear related directly. One would expect constant rattle and banging on such. Just bite the bullet and tear it open, it might be just a broken spring.
I can't find this kind of deal around Indy where I live. I was looking for a winter project and even an old wore out 185 Suzuki with missing parts people want a thousand dollars. So no winter project.
Hey Joe,a Chinese copy mm ay have the same part,I took apart one off a pioneer 125 and looked very similar,worth a look ,know there isca few copy's out there,you may get lucky,good buy for 200😎
You mentioned machineing a new kick start that's what I was going to suggest. Maybe you could find someone that has a CNC machine. Try your local vocational school.
Nice find Joe looks clean an engine sounds really nice, the engine looks alot like a Honda cg125 we had here in Europe a road bike, i put in search year 1974 cg125 shows diagram same as yours a split case job available at £30 on ebay, hope that helps you
I’d trade my 89 quadzilla for that foreman and a decent CR125. In Maine, if there’s any interest. I just don’t run it ever and have mentally transitioned to liking the 4x4 quads. Still got a deep love for the 2000’s-ish cr125’s too. Would love to get my early teen girls on it
I've found holes in the brass floats by putting them in the freezer, taking them out and holding them under extremely hot water. The cold, sucks air inside and the heat will cause a bubble to form where the hole is. Always had to think out of the box with these things. Something you're an expert at. Glad to see another old bike running again :)
I Will give that a try!
I love comments like these. Positive and informative.
Great work! Not many people can get a comment from this man.
There are several XL 125 Kick Start gears on the UK eBay ranging from around $30 to $90 !
Your channel is nailing it. You love what you do and have fun doing it. Props to you.
This brings back a lot of memories. I had the 1978 xl 125 when I was a kid. I do remember the bottom of my foot being bruised from kicking it over but had a lot of good times on it.
Hell, I push started mine for 3 years.
Me too for 4 years 😂
I had bikes that only started that way 😆
Lol, I think this is true just about any guy over the age of 50 who rode in their youth
200 dollars? You really live in wonderland
Joe, A CNC Machinist can remake you a gear. God Bless
Hondas of that era had a centrifugal oil separator which was the part you couldn`t identify on the crankshaft end, it just needs cleaning out each oil change and works in place of an oil filter.
All Hondas of this era didn't need the battery to run. They had separate coils in their generator. One set for ignition and another one for lights, blinkers, horn. So the battery could easily be removed and the only "problrm" was that you didn't have indicators and brake lights in low RPM, and the horn sounded like... cicada without it.😂
Battery needed for horn and blinkers; headlight, taillight, brake light, and ignition will run off of magneto/generator.
@@jameshampton3969 brake light usually runs from the battery as well
Always liked the shape of those fuel tanks. Same shape used on Honda's old Elsinores.
Joe, the 74 XLs had a 6 volt system. Be careful. It's easy to burn the ignition system out with 12 volts. Didn't know if you knew.
Yeaaa....idk. I just watch things like this guy, mustie1, and all but even I know a lot of 70s and earlier bikes had 6v.
@@Zerstoror I'm pretty sure Joe knows, but having seen others find out the hard way, I thought I'd give him the heads up, just in case.
It's a Honda, It will run!!
Best place to ride a dirt bike when it snows is in the sand; either a sandpit or on the beach. We used to run ours from Salisbury, MA to Seabrooke, NH. on the beach with the Atlantic Ocean right there. Great workout for the forearms!
You can weld the gear and regrind it for a fix. It is not easy but it can be done.
I fixed my buddies Kawasaki Mule with a welder and a grinder because the parts are Not available. It had several broken teeth on gears and a broke case. That was 4 years ago and still going strong. One of the gears was a hypoid bevel pinion gear,,the teeth were really hard to form but it came out nice when done.
That thing still looks mint for 1975 200bucks crazy
You'll have to take that gear to a machine shop and get someone to re-machine it. The bike is really in too good a shape to get rid of it on account of that kick start gear. You could call it mint if it had the air box boot and the dent were pulled out of the tank. As far as that weird part connected to the oil pump... that was called the centrifugal oil filter. Instead of using a filter media to trap oil deposits, it would use centrifugal spinning to trap solid deposits to the edges of the centrifugal oil filter housing. When you did your oil change, you would pull that cover off and wipe away any solids trapped to the edge with a rag. I have a vintage Honda CB350. Wiping out the centrifugal oil filter housing it part of the oil change maintenance. I don't know why they did it that way because they had cannister filters already. I guess they thought that cannister filter on the engine would be ugly.
You may find a RUclips machinists like "this old tony" that can make a gear
I was going to mention a machine shop for making parts. Might be the only viable option.
My thoughts exactly.
little cross channel promotion, while solving the problem.
How about "Cutting Edge Engineering" in Australia? That is actually a part that could be mailed easily.
@@cenccenc946 Absolutely. Curtis is an excellent machinist.
The weird round thing on the crank is the centrifugal oil filter
I want one of these so bad. Excited to see you tear it down!
You could maybe build an awning on the side if your garage to park some of your toys under. Great fix video.
Cross head screws with the dot on the head are special Japanese assembly line ones which is why they get mashed up trying to use a normal driver.
I had a 1976 Honda TL125 back in the day. Pretty similar to this XL. Was a pretty bulletproof engine.
Now that's a bike I've been around in my youth for sure, I think that my brother in-law still has one stashed away somewhere.❤
Joe, you really could do with a roller starter to get these old bikes running at first
couldnt get a broken pit bike for $200 in the UK lo
Haha know that to well people want 300 pluss for a blown up pitbike im in Kent Faversham prices are stupid nowadays
The battery is designed to sit on the side of the actual air box that should take up that space behind the carb under the seat area.
Plenty of very talented machinists available. Abom, Topper, who lives in the northern states, Keith Rucker, to name a few.
You seem to get the best deals on motorcycles that I've ever seen in my life
Don't you just love it when it snows enough to get the guys toys out lol. Looks like you are having fun with it 👍❤️
I would love to see you do a video on what you do with all the machines you repair. Maybe just a pic or clip of the machine, what you did to repair and then what you did with it. You might even add what you paid and then what you sold it for. I love your approach and what you do.
Your an awesome mechanic you always manage to get these old bikes running i really enjoy the videos im hooked lol
Check for the kick starter shaft for other early Honda models like the CL 125 or SL 125 most of the parts are interchangeable. I believe mid 70’s they changed the top ends but the bottom ends should be the same.
Some of the Chinese bikes use copies of this engine, might be able to find a suitable gear from one of those
damm Joe, nice score , i have a 72 tc 125 ,and a 75 ts 100 suzuki,s i got 150. each (works in progress) ,neither was as complete as this honda well done
FYI - 18:30 For future reference, the use of a carpenter's claw hammer vs. ball peen when working on machinery is a very potent comment generation tool to increase audience enragement.
Nice find
...Hard to believe that bike was only 200 most guys out here would ask 4500
Something worth sharing might be that screws with the little dot are JIS screws and a JIS bit works better than a Phillips.
You picked up a motorbike because it was snowing. I like the logic 😀 Would a leaf blower work for the snow on the vehicle?
I'm 65 and remember these bikes well. This is what I think of when someone says "dirtbike". That bike is in excellent condition. I would put it in storage till I found a doner engine. I was shocked it started. Nice work Joe.
Brother, it's like you entered a time machine.. Great video
I would love this bike year I was born great video again😊😊 have a lovely Christmas you and your family
Great content as usual!
RZR's are a blast in the snow. Can't wait until it snows here in WV so I can get out RZR XP 1000
Joe, Maybe a machine shop could make the part{s} for the kick starter. Can't be too expensive.
I had one of these. And the xl250 too. Those 2 bikes were the standard that all bikes since then are judged.
My love for these old Hondas will never die. Just like the Hondas themselves
2 bills? What a deal!!!!
Joe, for those discontinued parts just find a good machine shop that fabricates gears and such. They can also harden the finshed product. I have had shafts made that were discontinued with other equipment.
R
C'est une très bonne petite machine Joe ! 💯👌👍😉
Those cross head case bolts get chewed up because they are JIS Japanese crosshead and not Philips or posidrive. People aren't aware of the JIS Japanese crosshead type.
JIS=Japanese Industrial Standard.
£159.10 in pounds sterling , that is unbelievable, sweet ride.
you need a small quonset hut shed/garage brother, can build one fairly cheap, and they last forever.
The thing on the end of the crank is a centrifugal oil slinger which is supposed to function as an oil filter. Not too effective, but better than nothing. Many Honda's had them late 60's early 70's. Cheers.
57:42 nice one for sorting out your nabaur 👍👍
If your good at brazing you can heat the heat and braze new teeth on then file the profile them or that the gear to a machine shop and have a new one made
Yeah old school snowmobiles are easy to repair or rebuild. I could get into watching some sled repair vids. 👍
I had the Honda TL125 when I was 13, similar parts to yours, road it most nights after school and every weekend, never had a kick start issue but did have cam chain issue once, regular oil changes etc, I thought it was just me but I struggled with the Philip screws on the clutch cover, my uncle got them off with a larger screw driver,
I am glad I will be playing golf this morning !
Brilliant condition for its year 👍🏻👍🏻🇬🇧
Oi oi bro 👀👌
I bet Sean from Bikes and Beards could hook you up with an NOS part since he buys container loads of old stock. Your channel helps me understand my Zuma 125 and my CTX700DCT ND much better and has inspired me to fix my own power tools and machines.,
It will run in a little cause this guy's the best .
I had one bought used and it was stripped for off-road only. No battery so I used 6 volt drycell lantern battery and it would last for several days. Had fun on that bike.
My first bike with clutch and gears was a 1974 XL 100 😊🍻
Crazy that every seller says the same thing lol every seller is a terrible mechanic I guess 😂
Obviously they are
And if you ask the same questions to them the answers become similar too
My favorite part of Joe. Always calling sellers dummies or liars.😂
It ran when I parked it.
😊 just go to a neighborhood machine shop and see what they charge to make one it may be cheaper than you think just a thought
Really easy bike to run start in second gear. Well done cuz appreciate your efforts. Thanks kv Durban south Africa
dont use a rain cover, it holds in moisture, I left my motorbike outside in british weather for 2 years, and it had less rust than I bought it with
Be careful on the ice, we always have people going through near where I live.
I've been riding a bike with no kick starter for 5 years. Just push start it. So much for a master mechanic.
The broken ones cost over 1000 euro's in Belgium, you're pretty lucky there...
The xl100 ct125 cb125 cg125 kick start gears might fit yours have a look in to it i think they do good luck
cool bike joe i know you are having a good time in the snow with that guy. its a 200cc honda it will out live you and your grandchildren
I have a 1975 and 1976 Honda tl 125 both look new love them bikes.
She's a beautiful piece of Machinery! That is getting ready to be 51yr old!
Make a mechanic friend in Japan. Most parts can be had there. He can help you negotiate the language for the purchase (by buying it for you and shipping.) Or you can build a starter that rotates the rear wheel. 🤣
That's a sweet shovel. Never saw one with a dust mop swivel on it. 👍
I just looked on EBay they have used gears for $20. I typed in 74 honda XL125 kick start gear
I found them too
Joe there's one on eBay for a 1977 XL 125 not sure if it's the same but it might be
I have 2 82s an XL and XR 500 and both of them were missing the shifter rods. I had to have my machine shop make me a couple of them.
Now that I think about it a bit, I'm not sure it's the gear, what disconnects the Kickstarter from the clutch? Is it a one way bearing or is it spring loaded to move out of the way? It seems like something else is wrong and you won't know until you split the case
Agreed on that, the symptom of sudden loud snap and the jolt on the kickstarter is too weird and inconsistent to be gear related directly. One would expect constant rattle and banging on such. Just bite the bullet and tear it open, it might be just a broken spring.
Nice job. I could rustle up a set of mirrors for it if you would ever do any horsetrading
dropping at 5am ✅
Only 25 degrees 😮 it's 46 in Houston Texas and I'm freezing to death🥶
Another great video Joe what to do about the Kick-start
Those bikes were a pain in the way that if you even had to change the kick start spring, you had to split the cases.
It's such a great looking bike, it also sounds amazing.👍
I can't find this kind of deal around Indy where I live. I was looking for a winter project and even an old wore out 185 Suzuki with missing parts people want a thousand dollars. So no winter project.
You need extra garage buddy for the toys outside
Whatever content you make, I'll watch. Bring on the snow machines, too.
Hey Joe,a Chinese copy mm ay have the same part,I took apart one off a pioneer 125 and looked very similar,worth a look ,know there isca few copy's out there,you may get lucky,good buy for 200😎
yeah do some snow machines man, ive never rode one. we dont get enough snow but always wanted too!
Sick find !
There's a constant beeping sound on a lot of the shots, sounds like its coming from the camera itself. Just thought you should know!
You're a good neighbor bud. That bike is a beauty!
You mentioned machineing a new kick start that's what I was going to suggest. Maybe you could find someone that has a CNC machine. Try your local vocational school.
I had a 1976 XL 100. It was an awesome bike.
1:02:13 bring on the snowmobiling 😁😁😁😁
Nice find Joe looks clean an engine sounds really nice, the engine looks alot like a Honda cg125 we had here in Europe a road bike, i put in search year 1974 cg125 shows diagram same as yours a split case job available at £30 on ebay, hope that helps you
I’d trade my 89 quadzilla for that foreman and a decent CR125. In Maine, if there’s any interest. I just don’t run it ever and have mentally transitioned to liking the 4x4 quads. Still got a deep love for the 2000’s-ish cr125’s too. Would love to get my early teen girls on it
I think this '74 was first model year and the only year with the silly SL type low pipe.