My New old dirt bike project. Converting a beat up 2002 Hong Du GY 150 for fun...

Well after lusting after a dirtbike to add to my growing China collection of motorcycles I finally had given up when too many difficulties arose getting plate (remember I live in Shanghai....) I gave up, but while on trip to Nanchang China a freind introduced me to this old lady:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4027/...aea3759e_m.jpg
She is a 2002 Hong Du GY 150cc, she had 18,000 km and on a second engine(a Jia Ling 150cc) but she was running (barely)
So for a 2,000 RMB I got the bike, plates, insurance and registration... for another 250 rmb I got it shipped to my house in Shanghai from Nanchang. 150 rmb just for the bike to be delivered to the house form the Shanghai depot :eekers::eek2:

Once home the inspection began:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2688/...e3193f06_m.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4018/...d7ccaed2_m.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4032/...d8997cd8_m.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2743/...8061f9cd_m.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2796/...6318dec7_m.jpg

If its not obvious I will tell you she was pretty ratted out, not much left but the frame and engine were in good shape... I love project bikes. So I began to buy what I thought would fit this bike both mechanically and appearance wise... All parts where bought on TAOBAO.com. Mind you Hong Du brand dirt bikes are not rare (not collectable in anyway) except maybe Nanchang but since most older China made dirtbike are simply clones of Japanese bike there is a lot parts that will work for most and the other I just fudged....

New parts included:

wiring harness for JaiLing 150, 40 rmb
plug wire, 10 rmb
spark plug NGK(yeah right) 15rmb each
Piston set( rings, crown, and cylinder)+ full set of gaskets and seals
350 rmb
Valve set from JiaLing 70 rmb
six plate clutch 300 rmb
Control cables 50rmb
exhuast set including can 150 rmb
3.75x21 Kenda front tire 56 rmb
rear brake hydrolic unit 120 rmb
throttle assembly with veiwing window
40 rmb
electric handle bar switches for a Zhong Shen 150cc
30 rmb set of two
horn 10 rmb
front fender 80 rmb
Acerbis hand guard(fake) 60 rmb
Acerbis headlight (fake) 150 rmb
rear fender 35 rmb
LED rear light 15 rmb
LED turnsignals 40 rmb for set of 4
dash light bulbs 15 rmb for 3
reapolster set 60 rmb
Chain tensioner 26 rmb

TOTAL 1722 rmb

So with these part now arriving my garage in Shanghai I set out to begin tearing down the bike:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2743/...8061f9cd_m.jpg
First thing those stickers have to go, they're all over the bike!:eek2:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4048/...4ec76ebf_m.jpg
some loose plastic parts and lights

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2799/...e0cb25e0_m.jpg
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2758/...1c1646db_m.jpg
Bike in Box....YEAH!!!!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2799/...ffc4681c_m.jpg
Old piston rings and cylinder say bye bye

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4035/...b82ea105_m.jpg
More engine work, includign polishing the vale seats for the new valves..

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4045/...374ced2c_m.jpg
fresh coat of paint for the frame, a little rewelding and reworking of the rear subframe

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4043/...8b1e7642_m.jpg
Wow that old tired seat has to go...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2693/...b11d4970_m.jpg
Oh much better!

So after 3 days of working on the bike, replacing the clutch assembly and the piston set as well as redoing the wiring and hand controls and rebuilding the rear mono shock which at first would rebound slower then molassis on a december morning, the plastic arrives and we begin to see what she will look like in the near future:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4007/...54b94521_m.jpg
nice ass:naughty:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2781/...aae03492_m.jpg
Looks nice but will they light up anything?( sadly no the lights are brite but are pink in color do to the refelectors, so they don't illuminate anything at all. the LEDs above on the side are nice touch. I wire the LED's for the low beam and the High Beam in the two front main lights...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2697/...8f60848e_m.jpg
Again the Fake Acerbis head light, here you can see the LEDs as well as the twin mains(again this is no good for real driving) Nice turn signals though, really cheap and really bright:thumbsup:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/...56a0670b_m.jpg
old guages still work so I just changed the bulbs for LED ones and bam! feels totally different

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4031/...619fd868_m.jpg
knock off Acerbis hand guards, look the part and have a metal bar stock down the middle sooo, good enough!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2774/...a2016853_m.jpg
quick look at the new electric controls and the trick throttle assembly with the view window. sorry not a great photo.

http://img01.taobaocdn.com/bao/uploa...1840.jpg_b.jpg
exhaust kit

Along with some other missing parts that bike seemed to have lost over the year the original chain guide and safety cover were lost and even after much effort to find replacements I ended up using a universal chain tensioner and still looking for a chain guard.....Here is the cheap universal chain tensioner for square swing arms:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4072/...132a798a_m.jpg
seems to work well afer 300+km easy to install and line up, so far no signs of wear and tear, still not sure how many Km's its good for....All in all not bad, especially not for this price 26 rmb ($3.81 USD at 6.82)...:riding:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/...b858875a_m.jpg
from other side
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2757/...222c48b8_m.jpg
from top

The one outstanding major issue is the brake disk or more importantly the REAR brake disk.... It general thought that you shopuld not let you disks wear down past 3mm of in some cases 3.5-4mm my rear currently is at 2.78mm and while the bike stops fine it does consern me for the future... The disks are just nolonger available anywhere not even the HongDu factory(whats left of it)
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4033/...c0fc00fd_m.jpg
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4067/...11828320_m.jpg
one of the replacement problems is the fact that the rear wheel which is original with inner mounted spokes... is fitted for a disk with a 3 bolt configuration (now a days its usually 4-6 bolts)
So other then using a replacement rear wheel hub the brake are still a major issue.... Any ideas are welcome

Aside from that here she is in here rebuilt second life form:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4035/...c68b2d2b_m.jpg

Total cost for project
2000 rmb for Bike, Plates, Regisrtation, Ownership book, Insurance for one year
250 rmb for Shipping
1722 rmb in part
400 rmb in misc, and labor for the mechanic to help paint and for the paint itself(we painted everything)... I follow my old Army saying;
IF ITS BROKEN, PAINT IT, IF IT AIN'T BROKEN PAINT IT ANYWAY
so grand total of 4,372 rmb and 6 days of work.... a new 150 would cost 4,000-8,000 rmb+ delivery and then the hassle of plating... so while not a huge savings it was certainly more fun this way... I was bored anyway....

Wow and I thought my project was gonna be done cheaply! Nicely done

Damn fine work you did there, I always enjoy a good restoration thread :clap:.

Thanks for sharing.... what's next?

Cheers!
ChinaV

Great job and nice report :clap: !!!

This is exactly the opposite of what I am doing, spending money and upgrading a new and well working bike. But at least one thing is in common - we like working on bikes. I enjoyed reading your post - hope to see some more pictures of the bike.

Safe ride :riding: and greetings, AW.

Nice restro, Shanghafingers.

Anybody know where I can get a chain guide like the one above in the U.S.? I know Forchetto had a post on how to convert a pitbike one but I would like something that I can just bolt on and go. The one on Shanghafingers is just what I need for my Qlink.

Its a Universal style chain tensioner with a spring hinge.... I bought it on a chinese website TaoBao.com.... but that does you no good for the US. The closest thing I could find with a quick google search was this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chain...31171007r25335

Hope it helps....

Thanks. I saw that one too, fingers, but $99 is too steep. I think I might be able to find something at a wood working site. I know that they sell finger boards that have tensioned wheels to put pressure on the wood to hold it against the fence. I'll keep looking.

I could ship you one.... PM me your address and I will check the cost to ship it....

PM sent, thanks.