Kiwi Canuck's 1981 Honda CT 110 Restore

[Kiwi Canuck]

Polishing Parts

Today I got to cleaning up a few aluminum parts, I was unsure as to how much I wanted to clean these parts up and still stay somewhat true to stock.
I had previously polished one of the cam adjuster caps and it looked out of place with a dirty engine, I have since cleaned the engine and it's starting to come together.
I went ahead and sanded out a large gouge in the top triple tree yoke with 280/320 grit W&D, I did it in the garage sink as I wanted to use the wet option as aluminum really plugs up the sand paper quickly, I then polished it up on the buffing machine.





You can just see the remains of the gouge just below the lower left handle bar bolt, I did not remove the gouge completely as I would have needed to remove a lot more material and it would reshape the part too much, I did enough to make it a minor scratch and much less obvious.
I buffed the handle bar retainer bolts as they were very tarnished, just a quick buff and the chrome base shows up, I'm not usually into the shiny look but this looks OK to me and I don't have a plating kit to replate all the hardware(yet).
Casswells carries plating kits and they're fairly inexpensive but just one more thing to take care of, I know a few guys on this forum with them and their restorations are usually stunning.
I also did the points cover and a few other minor parts.



I made my own castle nut tool to tighten the steering stem nut, used a piece of 1 1/4 iron pipe and 20 minutes with a hacksaw and a file and it was done, a bit crude but it works.
I fitted a 32MM socket by grinding down the threaded area to accept the socket so I could tighten it to the correct torque of 45-50ftlbs

[Kiwi Canuck]

I picked up my new tires today and installed them both in about an hour or so, just used my motorcycle boots to press them on, it works great and no chance of pinching a tube with a tire iron.
I had already cleaned up the front wheel and had the old tire off already, but the rear was really messy and the axel was a bit corroded so it needed a bit of persuasion to come out.
Both rims had a few minor rust spots on the inside so I used a stainless steel wire brush to clean up the rust and then used a chrome polish to protect the area.
The tires look great installed and really suit the bike, I had been offered everything including the Shinko SR244's and some other brand, Duro I believe, but I really wanted these so I was willing to wait until they ordred them in.



I will need to do a bit of cleanup around the rear wheel and the sprocket area as it looks like it was stored while it was still wet and the brakes need a little attention before I reassemble it all back together.

Also got the carb finished and reinstalled.

[Kiwi Canuck]

I got the rear license plate and turn signals all setup as well and when I took a picture I noticed it was not very straight.



I pulled it apart and gave it a twist before tightening it and it seemed to help.



That's better, yes I can be a little fussy when it comes to certain things and things being straight and aligned is one of them.

I think I find something else to clean as I'm taking a break from body work and paint until the rain clears up around here.

[Mark1]

Funny seeing this thread just as my friend is looking to sell his father's. How much do these low km one's sell for??

[BigD_83]

You've been working quickly. Did you already get the bike approved for the collector plate (and I think I know the answer to that )?

[jbird7262]

nvr2old, what I noticed in a previous picture, what u are using as filler (bondo) is actually just a thick lacquer primer in a tube, "nitro stan, red eye, glazing putty. They are not made to fill dents, just tiny imperfections, finger nail thickness, to fill and build up you need a filler that has a hardener, usually "Bondo" brand available at Walmart or any auto parts store. Those tube fillers are usually lacquer based and are usually used on top of sanded primer or filler just to fill pin holes or deep scratch marks. Then primer goes on top. That is one reason that your having a problem with sanding it all away, it has no fill capacity and it also shrinks as it drys, even under your paint, because the solvent in the primer and paint soften the "filler" and it produces a halo around the product sometimes on lighter colors it will bleed through, also that is why "we" in the business use 2K primer and paints. Chemically or cross linked cured. Still have fun and learn as you go. Answered questions are always free!

[Kiwi Canuck]

nvr2old, what I noticed in a previous picture, what u are using as filler (bondo) is actually just a thick lacquer primer in a tube, "nitro stan, red eye, glazing putty. They are not made to fill dents, just tiny imperfections, finger nail thickness, to fill and build up you need a filler that has a hardener, usually "Bondo" brand available at Walmart or any auto parts store. Those tube fillers are usually lacquer based and are usually used on top of sanded primer or filler just to fill pin holes or deep scratch marks. Then primer goes on top. That is one reason that your having a problem with sanding it all away, it has no fill capacity and it also shrinks as it drys, even under your paint, because the solvent in the primer and paint soften the "filler" and it produces a halo around the product sometimes on lighter colors it will bleed through, also that is why "we" in the business use 2K primer and paints. Chemically or cross linked cured. Still have fun and learn as you go. Answered questions are always free!

Thanks for the input jbird, I have since purchased some proper "Bondo" and have been learning with that, hopefully it will yield better results.

It's been very wet here lately so I'm in no hurry with the prep as I can't paint yet anyway, but I still need to get this figured out as I always seem to struggle to get a result I'm happy with.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Funny seeing this thread just as my friend is looking to sell his father's. How much do these low km one's sell for??

Depends what year and the condition, is it a CT 90 or CT 110?

For the CT 110's the 1980 model is the least collectable as it only has the standard 4 speed box and not the hi/lo ratio, also after 1983 I believe they went to electronic ignition and better electrics and those models bring in slightly better $$ than an 81 or 82.

I have seen a few low mileage models for sale on Kijiji and the asking price is between $1,800 and $2,800.

Give me some details and I'll give you a ball park price from what I've seen.

[Kiwi Canuck]

You've been working quickly. Did you already get the bike approved for the collector plate (and I think I know the answer to that )?

Nope, just using that plate off one of my GS1000S's for alignment purposes, it should be done in a few weeks ready for plates, not sure if I'll go for the single plate for multiple collector bikes or plate each one seperately.

The Multi plate permit requires the full year coverage, were as with individual plates I can insure for a partial year apparently.

[Kiwi Canuck]

I have got way behind posting to this thread so here a few posts to catch up with the progress, they are cut and paste so the reference to days and weekends are not relative anymore.



I cleaned up a few aluminum parts, I was unsure as to how much I wanted to clean these parts up and still stay somewhat true to stock.

I had previously polished one of the cam adjuster caps and it looked out of place with a dirty engine, I have since cleaned the engine and it's starting to come together.

I went ahead and sanded out a large gouge in the top triple tree yoke with 280/320 grit W&D, I did it in the garage sink as I wanted to use the wet option as aluminum really plugs up the sand paper quickly, I then polished it up on the buffing machine.





You can just see the remains of the gouge just below the lower left handle bar bolt, I did not remove the gouge completely as I would have needed to remove a lot more material and it would reshape the part too much, I did enough to make it a minor scratch and much less obvious.

I buffed the handle bar retainer bolts as they were very tarnished, just a quick buff and the chrome base shows up, I'm not usually into the shiny look but this looks OK to me and I don't have a plating kit to replate all the hardware(yet).
Casswells carries plating kits and they're fairly inexpensive but just one more thing to take care of, I know a few guys with them and their restorations are usually stunning.

I also did the points cover and a few other minor parts.



I made my own castle nut tool to tighten the steering stem nut, used a piece of 1 1/4 iron pipe and 20 minutes with a hacksaw and a file and it was done, a bit crude but it works.

I fitted a 32MM socket by grinding down the threaded area to accept the socket so I could tighten it to the correct torque of 45-50ftlbs

[Kiwi Canuck]

Not a lot to report from the weekend but I did get the carb back together, but not fitted yet, will hopefully get that done in the next few days.

Also just remembered after bolting the exhaust system back together and about to reinstall the bash plate that I forgot to change the exhaust gasket, so I'll get that done as well.

I cleaned up a lot of the electrical connectors and the wiring harness as well, just hot soapy water and a rag for the clear insulators and the harness and I used a contact cleaner on the brass connections.

I don't want to sound like a broken record on the body work, but this restore has been very challenging in that department, not sure what's going on but the very expensive colour factory matched paint is not even close, I tested an area to see how it looked and it looks more like the Monza Red rather than Tahitian Red. I double checked the can and the label shows the correct Honda Colour for the 1981 CT110, but the paint is very different from the paint on the new fork ear just purchased in Tahitian Red.

Check out the right fork ear (left one in the picture) painted with the new paint from DrATV and the factory colour from the newly purchased fork ear on the left, (right one in the picture)



Here's the newly polished up intake manifold reinstalled awaiting the carb to be installed.



All new gaskets and rubber parts installed, so hopefully that will help me get this bike running a lot better than when I purchased it.

[Kiwi Canuck]

I picked up my new tires today and installed them both in about an hour or so, just used my motorcycle boots to press them on, it works great and no chance of pinching a tube with a tire iron.

I had already cleaned up the front wheel and had the old tire off already, but the rear was really messy and the axel was a bit corroded so it needed a bit of persuasion to come out.

Both rims had a few minor rust spots on the inside so I used a stainless steel wire brush to clean up the rust and then used a chrome polish to protect the area.

The tires look great installed and really suit the bike, I had been offered everything including the Shinko SR244's and some other brand, Duro I believe, but I really wanted these so I was willing to wait until they ordered them in.



I will need to do a bit of cleanup around the rear wheel and the sprocket area as it looks like it was stored while it was still wet and the brakes need a little attention before I reassemble it all back together.

I have about 1/4" of free play in the sprocket, when I rotate it back and forth, I know this is not normal but not sure if it's too much.

The rubber dampers look in good shape are not hard but at $35 for a set I might try to get a bit more mileage out of these.



Also got the carb finished and reinstalled.

[Kiwi Canuck]

While I was at my local Suzuki Dealer in Vancouver, Modern Motorcycles, they offered me some NOS brake shoes made by Vesrah for Honda.

There were 2 sets per box for $10.00, looks like they will fit the front only of my CT 110.

They have about 50 boxes of them in stock, If anyone wants a volume buy I'm sure they would be open to some sort of a deal.

I'm not sure if they're all the same as these or if they have sets that will fit the rear of the CT 110, I will check on that next time I'm in there.

A few pictures if anyone interested.

[Kiwi Canuck]

I decided to deal with the issue of the rear sprocket rubber dampers like a good bush mechanic would, so I cut up some inner tube and glued a piece to each side of the square opening.

It appears to be exactly the right thickness to make the sprocket fit tightly.

Just want to get the back end of the bike together without waiting for parts in the mail, which seems to be a reoccurring theme on most of my rebuilds.




Should have the rear wheel back together and all cleaned up shortly ready for reinstalling which should be interesting by myself.

[Kiwi Canuck]

Well I got the rear wheel reinstalled which was actually easier than expected, I keep forgetting how light these bikes are to man handle by myself.

The only drama came when I couldn't get the circlip that retains the sprocket back on, my circlip pliers were not able to spread the clip wide enough.

They are strong little beggers but I got creative and used 2 small punches to put in the holes and used needle nose pliers in reverse and pressed out against the punches just enough to slip the circlip on.

Must get me some larger circlip pliers if I'm going to be servicing the sprocket on this bike in the future.

The sprocket is nice and firm now, so it seems my temporary fix has worked.