Alright, let’s talk about this little 1970 Honda 50cc project I wrapped up recently. Found this thing collecting dust in the back of a shed, hadn’t seen daylight in probably decades. Looked pretty sad, honestly. But these old Hondas are tough little beasts, so I figured I’d drag it home and see what I could do.
Getting Started – The Teardown
First step, like always, was taking the whole thing apart. Every nut, every bolt. Stripped it right down to the bare frame. Man, some of those bolts were really stuck. Lots of penetrating oil, heat, and busted knuckles. You gotta be patient, or you just break stuff, makes more work later. I bagged and tagged everything. Learned my lesson years ago just throwing parts in a box. You’ll never remember where that weird little bracket went.
Cleaning Up the Mess
Once it was in pieces, the real cleaning began. The frame got a serious scrub. Degreaser, soap, water, the works. Had some surface rust, nothing too deep. A wire wheel on the grinder took care of that mostly. Engine parts, carb, wheels – those needed more attention. Soaked the carb parts in cleaner. Just years of gunk built up everywhere.
Dealing with Parts
- Finding bits for a bike this old isn’t always easy. It’s not like you walk into a dealer.
- Spent a good amount of time online, looking through forums, swap meets online, that kind of thing.
- Needed basic stuff: gaskets, seals, new cables were a must. The old ones were stretched or frayed.
- The seat foam was dust, cover torn. Found a replacement that looked pretty close to original.
- Took me a while to track down a decent tail light lens that wasn’t cracked. It’s always some stupid small part that holds you up.
Engine Work – The Heart of It
Pulled the little 50cc engine apart on the bench. It’s simple, which is nice. Cylinder looked surprisingly okay, just needed a light hone. Piston was alright too. Put in new rings, of course. Cleaned the sludge out of the bottom end. Put it all back together with new gaskets. Adjusted the valves. Cleaned the carb AGAIN. Those tiny jets clog if you just look at them wrong.
Putting it Back Together
Decided to just spray paint the frame myself. Went with a simple black. Nothing fancy, it’s a rider, not a show bike. Bolting everything back on takes way longer than taking it off. Routing the wiring harness was a bit of a pain. Old wires get brittle. Had to repair a few connections. Got the cleaned-up wheels back on with new tubes and tires. Engine went back in the frame. New chain and sprockets. Slowly, it started looking like a motorcycle again. Tank on, seat on, fenders lined up.
The Result – Does it Run?
Okay, the moment you wait for. Added some fresh gas, turned the petcock on. Gave it a few kicks. Nothing. Checked for spark – good. Checked fuel flow – good. Kicked some more. Fiddled with the choke. Then, putt-putt-putt… it sputtered alive! Smoked like crazy for a minute, burning off assembly oil I guess. Then it settled into that classic Honda small bike idle. Let it warm up, then took it for a slow ride down the street. Everything worked! Shifts fine, stops okay (well, as okay as old drum brakes get). It’s no speed demon, but it runs great. Super satisfying bringing an old bike like this back to life. Just a fun little machine.
