New Project CD90Z

[kneewall49]

Hi, my name is Neil, live in Australia and are about to begin the restoration of a '65 CD90Z bought recently off ebay for $A315.

I have number of bikes (too many says one!) of which a number are in let's say not in a running state. I have a 70's SL125 that I intend to turn into a bucket racer, (the SL was the first bike I raced back in the early 70's; a GT380 that's in original condition that actually came from Flint, Michigan! I intend to clean up the GT and use it, probably with vintage plates; also I have my '74 Cooper 250 Enduro that I raced with some success. It was pulled down for a clean up in the late 70's and I have only just repainted the frame, pulled the engine down, etc. I hope to make it into a road race bike for my Post Classic racing.

Then I have a Moriwaki 80, my 1st road racing bike that I now have for sale; my Honda rs125 '91 race bike that I came 2nd with in last year's club championship and, last but not least, my k1200r BM ride to work bike. Opps, forgot the '95 Suzuki RGV250. I use that to ride to work for the week before a club race to get us to the 2 stroke and race position.

Now back to the CD.

These bikes were the go when I was in the last 2 years of High School. It was a toss up between the Honda 90 and the Bridgetstone 90. Oddly enough I never did get one, buying instead a Cooper S when I left school, couldn't take a surfboard to the beach on a bike. It wasn't till a few years later that I first bought a Suzuki 80, then the SL 'when I got serious".

So...

Over the last 2 weeks I have dismantled the CD and have all the pieces in (named) plastic bags and all the wiring (more than the Space Shuttle I think) maked up so I can get them back together.

I'm in a couple of minds what to do: A. do a complete 'as new' resto using only the original parts refurbished; B. do a resto with replacement parts; or C. do a resto plus minor mods to make it more rideable, and a bit more fun.

At this stage I'm going with C, so I'll start with painting the frame and other parts, tank, fork stanchions, etc. I also wish to have black rims so I'll get them blasted and powder coated. Get some new spokes and try to re-lace the wheels myself.

I'm of to Vietnam for a motorcycle ride with mates in April and have contacted an eBay Honda parts supplier and hope to pick up a few bits while there, eBay member "hondaclassic31" So I'll keep you posted.

Here it is in one piece before I started:

[jdbenly]

Must be a lazy weekend, nobody is commenting.

[kneewall49]

Yes I noted, maybe stories about C90's is for another forum? I've only become aware of this line of Honda's and thougt the 90 may be a good starting point to try a resto on a 4 stroke.

Not sure either if the 250/350/450's were available in Australia?

[jdbenly]

Should be no problem, this is a restoration forum. Go for it, there is a ton of info here.

[Greggie-e]

I actually almost bid against you for this CD90, I think they are a great little bike.

I was going to restore the body and put a Zengshen racing motor in it.

I think, and I may have made this up in my head, that the CD90 takes the same motor as the CT90 (postie bike to us Ozzies). I also beleive that the CT90 has the smae mounting points as the CT110.
If this is true you can fit a CT110 engine to the 90 and make it a more powerful bike.
Zongshen also make a copy of the CT110 engine, and I think they have it as a 125.

I may be wrong about all this. But it was what I was thinking when looking at that bike.
Here is a link to the zongshen racing motor.
http://zongshenaustralia.com/view.php?product=es125eng

I have a feeling the Lifan 140cc engine may also fit.
https://www.elstars.com.au/products/lif ... d89c19d606

again check dimensions before buying.

Using a new ready made engine can take a lot of the cost and hassle out of the rebuild.
Especially when it has CDI ignition etc....

If you see another one let me know!

Greg

[kneewall49]

Thanks Greg. Sorry to hear that I beat you. There was another only last week in SA I think but it's gone now. It was all there but in worse condition than mine, plus a really crook one in Newcastle that went for a good deal more.

Those Chinese engines sure look similiar. I was considering looking for a postie engine but those bikes are going for ridicilious money! I'm off to Vietnam in April so I'll keep a lookout over there, as it would be cheaper getting a whole engine than the sum of the missing parts.

Startered the resto already. Have completely pulled it down and already have had the frame blasted and primed, along with the center stand and the swingarm. Only $99 for the lot. Will be sparying them black this weekend.

Also have despoked the wheels. Had to take them down to the local to get the tyres off. 1984 tyres are tought and I have a very sore finger and black nail to verify that.

Have stripped the tank for priming but I'll try to clean it out before I start the paint job. I have seen some cleaning suggestions on ozvmx.

So I've startered with effectively a ground up restoration:

[Spargett]

Smart of you to just tear the whole thing down. My mistake was thinking I'd only do a few things here and there, before essentially tearing the whole thing down. That photo of the center stand all alone reminds me of the "invisible LOLcats". Look forward to seeing the updates.