Some of you have seen my previous build, a Jincheng Panda (exact clone of a Honda Monkey).

http://bayarearidersforum.com/...44408


I recently came upon a plated '88 Honda ZB50. I've decided to part with the Panda build and start the ZB since it's a bit more rare - only 3000 were sold in the US and more than half of them are in mini bike heaven. The ZB's hold their value way better if I do decide to sell it down the road (not that I'm planning to).

The bike looked good from afar but up close, you can tell it needed some tlc. There was surface rust on parts of the frame and inside the tank, the tank needs some body work, the seat needs to be recovered, motor could use a cleaning and maybe rebuild, and just about everything else needed to be cleaned up.






However, the bike did have some good parts: NSR50 forks/swingarm/wheels, shock relocator bracket, and the wiring harness is in pretty good condition from the subframe forward (I think it's missing some plugs for the rear signals).




I picked the bike up in the middle of last week and started to tear it down this past weekend.


* don't mind the front of the house. The beam, stucco, and doors will be replaced






I wanted to paint the frame since I did it on my past YSR's and it held up pretty good (not to mention I'm trying to keep a budget lol). Figure I'd give it a try and if it doesn't come out good, I can take the bike apart again and powdercoat it. So on Saturday I took some time to sand and paint the swingarm to see how it would come out. The paint came out great (just like powder coating) and I let it cure for 2 days.

Got home Monday and checked to see how hard the paint was. Pressed my nail into the paint and it sank in a little. I was able to scratch off some of the paint with my nail. Since it failed my nail test pretty easy, I decided it'd be best to do it right the first time and powder coat the frame. So I called around and found a place by my work and they have pretty good prices. The owner also said it would be a 2-3 day turnaround . So I dropped the frame, swingarm, triple clamp, and clip-ons off at the powdercoater's on Tuesday. I plan to pick up the frame on Friday so I can start putting it back together this weekend.

 

So yesterday I got around to working on the cosmetically challenged fork legs. I spent about 3hrs polishing one of the fork legs. I'm pretty happy with how it came out (its more shiny in person). Now I just have to finish the other one




I sold the 3-spoke NSR wheels since I picked these up:



They were brand new in the box. Got them for a killer price through some guy I know on another forum (the wheels go for $950+ tax at the dealer).

 

Everytime I see a post of you, it makes me want to pick up one of those mini bikes to toy around with.

Good luck and keep us informed

 

where can I get more information on these bikes? They would be perfect for Maui!!!
What kind of MPH do they get?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by delux247 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">where can I get more information on these bikes? They would be perfect for Maui!!!
What kind of MPH do they get?</TD></TR></TABLE>

planetminis.com and honda50.com. With my 125cc China motor, I should hit about 60mph. Once I build the stock Honda motor to 117cc, it should do 75+. So far including the mods I bought, the total comes out to a little over $3000. Tack on another $1000 for some other mods I'm planning on ordering.

 

Country Crock butter spread FTW!

'grats on the new project. I've got something in the works too - just trying to emulate your style.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by marmaladedad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Country Crock butter spread FTW!

'grats on the new project. I've got something in the works too - just trying to emulate your style. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Wow...good eyes. You play "Where's Waldo" a lot?

Spill the beans already!

 

Dammit!! Just got off the phone with the powder coat place and the guy said the frame won't be ready until Monday/Tuesday . There goes my plan to have most of it back together this weekend.

 

PC'ers march to there own drummer, nothings ever on time

 

Finally some more updates on the ZB. Got the frame back from the powdercoater on Monday. The frame came out pretty good. Picked a black semi-gloss finish.





On Wednesday, I dropped the seat off to get it rewrapped (in blue vinyl) and the new NSR wheels to get the tires mounted. Picked both of them back up on yesterday and got to work reassembling the bike. So here's how it sits as of today.







Got lucky on the oil cooler position. It's bolted to the electronics bracket and has about 1mm of clearance from the bottom triple clamp and the steering lock. I'll probably work on mounting the exhaust and wire up the motor later on tonight.


Things still left on the 'to do' list: POR-15 the tank, body work, and mounting the controls/tach.

 

Anymore updates? I was browsing around for NSR50/80 stuffs and I found a page some guy made with info about the ZB's. Check it out.

http://www.geocities.com/minih....html

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Quiks66 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Anymore updates? I was browsing around for NSR50/80 stuffs and I found a page some guy made with info about the ZB's. Check it out.

http://www.geocities.com/minih....html

</TD></TR></TABLE>
I think that guy is on Planetminis.com. There was a brand new, 0 mile ZB50 on ebay recently and it sold for $3750


No real big updates. I've been working on coating the tank with POR15 and mounting the exhaust. I still need to fab up a battery tray, mount the Trail Tech Vapor, shorten the throttle cable, bleed the brakes, and finish up the wiring. Once I get those done, it'll be time for some shakedown runs. I'll try to get some new pictures up this weekend.


Hopefully I've have it up and running by the middle of next week. In the meanwhile, I'm waiting for my new headlight, G-Craft triple clamps, and Over Racing handle bar to come in ...

 

I have a 1988 Honda ZB50 50cc bike listed on ebay. I found this forum after I listed the bike, then put a link to this on the ebay listing.

Check it out:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=220503699310

 

that bike is bad....i got a brand new zb in 5th grade '88' for x-mas. it was stolen in '95' and found a year later banged up..i recently took it to a soo called custom bike shop...needless to say it came back a year later in a box with parts missing... shop closed now due to numerous lawsuits....i'd love to build it back up...dosen't have to be stock.....any help useful...mine was the only one i ever saw in the city..

 

Man...back from the dead. The ZB is long gone now (and I think mostly parted out). I ended up getting back into the Monkeys

 

Wow pete, that Monkey looks awesome! It looks just fun to ride!

 

Hey Pete,
So long storey short my dad bought me a Honda 50 zb back in 88 and I recently found it buried under a pile of junk in his backyard, you would be ashamed to see the condition of this bike!! However I have it and have really never worked on bikes before but really want to restore this thing of beauty. Any advice on what to do? Or should I just go to town and learn through trial and error? Help thanks bird.

 

I'm guessing the two sites quoted above will be your best bet.

 

nice to see a finished project like this... big big props.

 

Thanks old wise one. I might be selling my Monkey soon (have a potential buyer). If I do, I'll be picking up a CT70 to start restomod #4


If anyone was interested, here's the link to my Monkey build
http://planetminis.com/f14/big-petes...-a-131002.html

 

Do want!