I'm back. The Ducati will be entertaining, if it's in good health, it will top 30mph, and there are tales of 40+.
Hi from the UK - INDIAN Board Tracker tribute, my first build
- Thread starter PeteMcP
- Start date
Hey Lud, You finally came up for air!
Sad to say I passed on the little Ducati. Scrutinising the eBay listing showed its little Cucciolo motor was minus too many crucial elements - no carb or magneto for starters. Engines like this on their own fetch silly money and tracking down vital parts for such a project was never going to be budget friendly.
I'm presently making some enquiries about tracking down one of Honda's more obscure machines - the rare Solo 50cc they made exclusively for the Japanese domestic market. Aimed primarily at students, they were only ever made in small quantities and were never considered a sales success (whoever thought student's budgets could stretch that far...). Presently chasing-up a lead on an imported one here in the UK. A Solo would make for a dependable daily driver.
Help.........Good?bad?Lean?perfect?Spark plug reading?what does this reading mean?jet number #75 just installed? Plug and jet just installed took it for a ride down the road gave it some small revs riding Low and mid good,Smooth but at top end it acts little weird..ima say like poping but not really loud its from exhaust,Like she want to go but it's getting held back..Runtong Carb,upstate Ny 505 elavation..and baffle is removed...B7HS SparkE..gaped at 25
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Yep....that's the one. Same colour as the one I'm on the trail of too.Nope, it's this one.
Managed to seal the deal today on the Honda Solo 50cc I've been chasing down.
Owner is in France. Bike is in Bristol. 2003 4-stroke semi-auto with a mere 3200km on the clock. Bike is as new. Couriering it up to Alnwick in Northumberland next week.
Owner is in France. Bike is in Bristol. 2003 4-stroke semi-auto with a mere 3200km on the clock. Bike is as new. Couriering it up to Alnwick in Northumberland next week.
Thanks Curt. These Solos are indeed nice bikes. I remember when they came out in Japan - but because they weren't ever sold in the UK I never thought I'd end up getting my hands on one, short of splashing out big bucks to import one direct. Always lusted after one, but never seen one in the flesh before. There's one offered now at a London bike dealers but he's asking twice what I just paid and it has 9K on the clock - three times the mileage on mine. Reckon this will become the nearest thing to my daily driver but, unsurprisingly, I have plans to put my own stamp on it and change it up to suit my requirements.
That's the one I was hoping you were after!
Rick C.
Rick C.
You saw this on UK eBay, right, Rick? Unbelievable find. Seller was highly motivated - agreed to my low ball 'best offer' without any argument. Reason was he just bought a vintage bike to restore in his retirement and needed the space. Right place - right time. One more of my bucket list items ticked off....!
Just out of curiosity, you haven't considered a pit bike engine have you?
Yes Pete and a right beautiful find for you. I hope that vintage rebuild is worth the seller's sacrifice...
Rick C.
Rick C.
In a word, yes Lud. Plan is to basically use the Solo as found for what's left of the riding season, then carry out some mods over winter - which will probably include up-sizing the motor. While there are an abundance of different capacity Honda C-type clone motors on eBay from makers like Lifan, I'm thinking maybe a 110cc semi-auto pit bike engine/carb will suit me fine. To get the ball rolling for the time being, my plans definitely include up-sizing the tyres to give the bike a chunkier (and probably fenderless) vibe and fitting an aftermarket exhaust so the motor sounds more like a motorcycle and less like a sewing machine. No offence Honda.
Thanks for sharing that Guzzi pic. What a stunner. Weren't ever many duds in Guzzi's back catalogue.
I think it's a pity there appear to be no engines with cylinder heads like the old Motobi/Benelli egg motors, you could end up with a 4 stroke Imme lookalike. For them as don't know it, the post WW2 Riedel Imme:
Motobi 250
Motobi 250
Love learning about these obscurities Ludwig. With innovative engines like that AND mono girder forks, what's not to like?! Bet these provided cheap transport back in the day. Not so much now, methinks....
The Imme was sadly too clever for it's own good. It was unreliable, and the fancy combination swing arm and exhaust tended to rot. The styling though, it's still a show stopper.