1975 Honda MR175?

[tammyanddaveky]

Yes...again the rescue angles worked me over...

Towards the end of fall Dave and I took the Hondas..my CRF150F and his XR200R..went for a ride on the back country roads....about 45 minutes into it...THERE SHE IS

A WRECK of an Elsinore leaning against a barn...I'm sure she had been there awhile! I hollared out to Dave and pointed.

She was near an insane hillbilly looking go kart...go cart with a street 350 cc engine in it...header pipes open and exactly 2" from your shoulders when you sit in it!

So the bargaining began...wanted $100 for both bike and go kart..I offered that for just the bike...NO DEAL.

Guess his son bump started the go kart 1 year earlier...darn thing roared to life and took him on quite the ride (tires all bald!)...mind you these back roads are almost single lane and twisty...Guess his son finally stalled it, changed his soiled shorts and parked it permanently.

Bike...not bad..frame painted black..all items in place...except for airbox...will just run a pod filter on it...seat in great shape...TANK...YIKES, been pulled and welded...needs sanded and bondo...in fact...ALOT of bondo!

Got a complete clean and running engine off ebay.

From what I have seen, heard and read....FUN BIKES

This will be my frankenstein 2 stroke...do what I want and will be a mud digger!

Anyone with any experience with one?

Of course...see them restored and in good running order for $700.00....

I gotta quit rescueing everything I find! I must be at the height of the disease!

OH yeah...had to take that crazy go kart tooo...Dave and Dad refuse to even fire it up

Tammy

[tammyanddaveky]

Update...she LIVES My Zombie Appacolypse Bike

Soo fast forward here. The fresh barn find Honda MR175 Elsinore. The original tank the unlike Honda Green. Wanted a 2 stroke that was fun and down for the rugged adventure..so not a concourse, my custom rat dirt bike...LOL.

Took her down to bare fram. Blasted and painted Black.

Got a running and fabulous engine off ebay...original weathered..salvageable, other than main crank bearing looks a little rusty.

Got NOS airbox assembly with the goofy snorkle attachment and boot. Also air filter.

Painted tank a silver and fenders to match. Love the wacko little bars, must have come off a little street bike if I had to guess.

Replaced all cables etc. Got all rebuild parts for Kehein carb...can't get needle jet or the slide.

Rear tire, original called for a 3.5...she has a 4.35...kept it, but meant not able to put chain guard back on. Even with wider tire, when you get on it the tire jumps and skids to the right...can't imagine with more narrow tire.

SHE IS CRAZY! Insane powerband that literally throws your head back! But sweet tree winding in and out low end.

The original forks and shocks...OMG..the shafts on both...bent like crazy. Someone way tooo big for this ole gal caught some major air and landed with a painful thud! I had to replace those too.

Issue...shocks insane! I found a pair off a 79 CR250M...great shape and he had them service and nitrogen charged...LMAO in the woods...they are way to stiff...My rear gets completely air borne with an bump and it's all I can do to hang on . After 3 days of calls I found a vintage guy that does the vintage nitrogen shocks...take her into town tomorrow to have them adjusted.

She runs wicked....NO idea why she has a 5th gear...would only be usefull if fleeing from the law or after doing dognuts in your neighbors yard.

Unfortunately the Kehein finally gave in...acted possesed this weekend. Was lean, so I went down to the 118 main from 120, and adjusted the needle...performed excellent, then suddenly lost mid and high end....too lean...soo back to the 120...now still not right..too lean, so to the 128..now all I have is high end and power band...and off and on won't but stall after starting...too rich.

Funny...so finally iritated I put the 120 back in with the 52 slow, this time I pull the carb and the darn new bowl gasket is ethenalized ie..blow up and too big for the groove...so a snip and some oil resistant silicone because....I WANT TO RIDE HER ON THE TRAILS FOR THE FIRST TIME...DOG GONE IT!

So out we go, I on the MR, Dave ahead on the CRF...1st doozy downhill, I am behind Dave aka Grampa Moses...no offense, but 2 stroke as a 2 stroke does....loading up...by the time I get to the bottom...shes revving like no tomorrow and Dave pulls up next to me....we take turns pulling on the throttle cable etc.....some guy in an insane looking dune buggy of some sort pulls up just as Dave lays into me good...

"What in the Sam h e double l are you doing to this bike????"
TO which I reply.

"**ss off, this thing is posessed!!"

The sand dune guy cut his engine off just in time to hear that exchange..and still he asked if we needed help...bless his heart.

I kill her, kick her over and she starts and idles fine...posessed I say!! So, I back track as next is the doozy up hill, get some rpm's behind her to take the hill....boggs down in 2nd so I shift down to 1st...you got it...POSESSED, won't pull the darn hill at all......I pull over, cause guess who's at the top of the hill??? YEAH Sand dune buggy guy...politley waiting....again, Dave lays into me..

"What the h e double ll is wrong with it now?"

"IT wont' pull the hill...lugs and I am in 1st!" With that I reach over and grab the CRF...I am done! I pull the hill with Red, NO Dave, it was about 10 minutes before he appeared with a "I'M Sorry" Look.

Had to replace petcock with one for a lager bike and tank (all Honda had, got that from WI)...soo at 3/4 tank a gass.....YOU GUESSED it, was running out, had to go to Reserve

When I got to the top of the hill...Sand dune buggy guy asked if I was gonna wait for "grouchy" or ride on. Isn't love grande lol...we had a great laugh about it later on...folks after 13 yrs of marriage and vintage and classic bikes...well lets just say...if your marriage can survive that...its good for life

Needless to say...got a Mikuni for her today! Swore I would never fight another flapped out ole carb....yet I did.

I have hand grenade decals on sides of the tank, top of tank and the oval alluminum number plate, also my ground gremlin bell and valve caps are hand grenades.

People at the riding area loved her...she is my Zombie Appacolypse bike, if only I could run her off diesel.

Another gal destined for the junk heap...saved

Happy riding!
Rambeling Tammy

[Brian Thompson]

The Grenade!

Great story Tammy, funniest thing I've read in ages!

Well done you! It sounds as though your skills and knowledge have come a heck of a long way since we started on here.

Go girl! The 'Ladies of Greeves' would be very proud of you I'm sure.

Brian (one of the several!)

PS Need to see a pic of the Gremlin!!!!

[tammyanddaveky]

Thanks Brian,
I have missed everyone!

Thanks, between Dave and Dad, and a retired national ranked at one time friend...days in the shop are usually 1 of 2 experiences...

1. Friendly and insighful...loaded with knowledge....or

2. Confusing at best with 3 differnent ways..usually none that make any sense to me...and, whats the word oh yeah...lots of "exasperating girl" type of sighs and eye rolling my way. LOL.

I try...I can actually have a level conversation when ordering vintage bike parts now...in ordering the Mikuni carb today the gentleman even complimented me on my terminology...no more "doo hickey" or "thing a ma jig"....I love it all of it.

You must remember, until Eleanor a few years ago...never even looked twice at a motorcycle engine..did some work on my first car a 1977 Firebird Pontiac...ya know, when they still had carbs and no computer codwallop!

I am welcome to work solo now, and have actually gotten a few carbs worked out on my own....only lost one needle clip, and I had a spare.

Rome wasn't built in a day...and hey, it was more simple than some of the old 4 strokes...Must say, give me a good ole points system to investigate any day over an early CDI Just IMO though.

Have a good one Brian and thanks again.

More pictures coming up!
Tammy

[Colin Sparrow]

Hi Tammy, nice to see you back - and all over the place all of a sudden!

Your latest bikes sound a real lot of fun - I think I'll go back and read your posts again just for a good laugh.

Carburettors? Points ignition? Mechanical fuel pumps? Vacuum windscreen wipers? 6V electrics? Starting handles? Those were the days...NOT!

I know where you're coming from tho'

[tammyanddaveky]

Hi Collin,
Thanks and good to be back!
I know, Dave preferrs good ole CDI's etc...with the continuity tester etc simpler to pin down the issue.

However, then you take into account valves etc...and, imo, soo many more issues.

A 2 stroke is so much more tempermental, but also more forgiving if you ask me and imo...heck if you run one lean...you get poor performance and must be lean for a long time before any horrible damage occurs.

We redid that ole XR...Sweet trail rider. Rebuilt several kehiens before going with the Mikuni. Well, I realized she needed a richer main...only rode her lean about 2 times....on the way in from the trails the 2nd time, she started popping and dragging down....YIKES, the head was shipped off to TN at BJ Racing...getting valve seat redone, valves and seals....running it lean just that little bit of time burned the valve, put the valve stem out of compliance, wich ovaled out the valve seat.

Her CDI was a mess when I got her, so many little parts....it was obvious though, lucky for me...heck one of the springs that moves the timing plate...free and wrapped around the spring on the other side...also the pick up was a mess. Not always as obvious as that...still not sure how that darn thing ran at all

Once running well though, other than frequent oil changes r/t the XR200R and small oil capacity...very low maintence when compared to the Greeves though.

Thanks Collin!
Tammy

[Brian Thompson]

Where's the Gremlin!!!

I still wanna see the Gremlin!!!!!

[Brian Thompson]

The Gremlin Bell.

Hey Tammy, I get it now!

Mind you, I had to look it up as I'd never heard of them before. If anyone else is curious have a look at this link and all will be revealed! http://mtfr-blog.motorcycle-touring-...-and-evil.html By the way, I didn't write that peice, honest. It was another Brian. There are lots of us 'out there'...!

Boo hoo...! I was hoping you'd got a real Gremlin! I'd love to have one myself but I can't be trusted without the supervision of an adult. Remember though, you have to be very careful not to feed them after midnight, and never ever get them wet....!

And most important of all, never ever ever let them anywhere near your Villiers electrical system!!!

(see attached pic....how cute is that!!!!!.....and everyone say aaahhhhh!)

Brian.

[tammyanddaveky]

I love it!

NOW...what we need is some device to scare off the Carb gremlins! I have not found anything for those little devils!

Anyone else's shop suffer from the carb gremlins? Kooky and mischevious devils those are!

Sorry, didn't even think to explain myself there...YIKES.

I promise...will get pics this weekend of the gremlin bells...and our "shop gremlin"

[Brian Thompson]

Traditions.

Nice one Tammy, good fun!

Yes, the gremlin bell was a new one to me, and an interesting little 'snippet' of motorcycling culture I'd never heard of before. It seems quite popular in the USA, especially among the road riders. I can see why though...!

You might have heard of this one Tammy, but there has long been a similar kind of tradition on the Isle of Man, where the TT races are held; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_Bridge_(Isle_of_Man) (Click on the top link when you get there and the right page will come up.)

Good luck with those pesky carb gremlins, and look forward to seeing some more pics!

Brian.

[tammyanddaveky]

Nice

I usually am not prone to such "wives tales"...but this one is dear to me. Maybe it was that first painful year learning (well, we are always learning part of what I love about trail and off road riding)..too many broken bones...then finally, after a friend gave me a gremlin bell....no more broken bones anyway...or maybe I just learned to tuck and roll or something.

Continuing to work on gremlin bell picture...can't get it to upload.

Have a good night all!

Thanks again!
Tammy


Oh a fun story...this little MR's back tire was a mess...serious dry rot and probably 20 yrs old. So I got the rear wheel off...record time for me, 15 minutes and ran into our local Honda shop on Wed am, new tire and tube in on Tuesday.

LOL, poor guys....it is now Thursday and at 4pm they still were fighting getting the ironized old tire off...has 3 bead stops. It then dawned on me the old tire had a flat spot on the bottom from the ole gal sitting in one place for sooo long. I had fortgotten it, we just pumped air into it last year and kinda forgot about it.

I suggested they use an air grinder and cut it...thats what I had to do to Grizzy the Wessex....interesting smell it was.

I am sure my photo is up in the service bay with "DO NOT, UNDER any circumstances offer to remove another tire that is over 10 yrs old off a rim over 30 yrs old for this woman!!!"

Poor guys, gonna take them a pile of pizzas for lunch tomorrow.

I am thinking the shocks won't seem so stiff...was most likely the darn tire.

Turns out shocks have no nitrogen...felt about an inch tall with that one

Good night,
Tammy

[Colin Sparrow]

Tammy, you should be able to load Jpeg photo files ok. Possibly your file sizes are too big. Super-duper camera or something?

Resize them to 200dpi resolution and then reduce the picture size to 6 inches x 4 inches (or so). That makes a small enough file for the forum to cope but still large enough to look at.

And no, I don't know how others download full screen shots from Photobucket or wherever!

Mind you, I wish they wouldn't because with my slow rural broadband I have to wait while the ruddy things buffer. If it happened a lot I'd start deleting the posts...

Anyway, good luck.

[tammyanddaveky]

Thanks
I love this Elsinore!
Got mikuni on her and fine tuned, new tires..took her out Sun....amazing! She dug in and hauled right up and over or through anything I threw at her! Sweetest! Strong steady power, power band right on when and where needed! She did the creek bed with water and limestone steps brilliantly, I could not get her to shimmy, buck, slide, shake or misbehave at all.,,I swear the rougher it got the more she liked it and the better she handled!
A few sections were steep and I had to give her a good amount of throttle and hit power band the last 20 feet of the hill, I dug in and she did too and we hauled right up. Honestly, a few times I stopped once back on flat ground with my heart pounding, in disbelief that we made it up without a hitch!
Definitely gonna get her going in some vintage hare scrambles!
She was more predictable and handled better than my modern 4 stoke..rides softer too, wasn't sore considering we rode for 5 hrs with a half hr lunch break

[tammyanddaveky]

Mad Maxine I love this bike! She is spot on with power and torque, climbs anything and chews anything up too, I can't get this bike to handle crazy, hesitate, or slip...not on nasty, mucky, clay soil covered trails, even when knobbies disappeared into the gunk and tires slick...doesn't phase her.

Original road test boasts the same thing, for time was unique, Honda didn't worry about street legal or mx, saved money with no street legal...put that money into making a dirtbike...actual trail rider, not heavy enduro that you got home and had to ditch a bunch of the parts or MX that needed suspension change...you got the MR, filled it with gas and that was that.

Great 2 stroke regular rider. Gentle with a decent power band and instant acceleration, but sweet low end I notice 3rd gear his her sweet gear, can lug a bit and then pull right out, nice long gear

Notice my white shirt...hmm, Daves white shirt...saying.."Ying, Ting, Ting, Ting,Ting, Ying, Ting, Ting, Ting, Ting...God I love my 2 stroke"

Oh yes, the rack...Got that at the Good Will Fit like a dream, only needed a spacer added on the shock mounts Meant to be, and think I paid $5 for it

Everytime I take her out I get questions and compliments, she has that throating ole 2 stroke sound...not the sewing machine sound of the modern 2 strokes

Thanks guys!
Rambeling Tammy