The Moriarty MKII, a new project bike for a friend

[Serpentza]

Okay, so firstly, let's tackle that top engine mount:

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As you can see it's rather simple, just extend the top two bolt holes on both sides of these mounting brackets (easier said than done... it took me a good half an hour or more messing about with a shit drill...

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Next, the manifold, carb and airbox (note the annoying pikey trying to show me how to fasten a bolt ) This was a serious chore because A) the airbox is for a smaller carb (it takes some serious manhandling to get the two to mate) B) Since you have to manhandle the carb into the airbox off of the bike (impossible when it's attached).. that means you have to put both carb and box in at the same time.. and the only way to do this is take off the rear wheel... anyway it's also really close to the frame so there are all sorts of contortions you have to do to get that damn carb to fit right (and never mind attaching the throttle cable... that's a bloody mission too)....

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Okay.. carb finally on and airbox in place, time for the new wiring harness! I plugged in the coil and a few other bits and bobs, but I'll do the wiring tomorrow properly... I got my new rear wheel rim, whacked off the tyre and put it on the new rim (I'll paint the rim properly tomorrow too)... at least the rear wheel is true now and doesn't wobble :P

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Threaded all the wiring through to the correct place... then it was time to pack up, have to go to work in Bao'an this evening...

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I also put on the kickstarter, put the tank and covers back on... and well I'm leaving it at the shop till tomorrow... let's see how many scratches and pikey prints it can pick up in one day :)

Tomorrow it will run!

- SerpentZA (youtube.com/serpentza)

[Wittrup Sport]

"pikey prints"

LOL

[zhu]

Please sir what is the correct torque setting for the engine mounts? "tighten the shit out of them son" lol

[Serpentza]

Bloody pikeys scratched my new front forks last night!!! Pikey prints all over the place!!! ....

Well I was going to respray the forks anyway.... and I guess I can redo the tank and side panels too (I actually did want to add some custom design... but wait for that :) )

Okay so as promised... it ran today!!! And it's a fantastic ride!!

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First the wiring... this was a bloody pain in the arse! None of the switches or the instrument cluster were compatible with the new standard GN125 wiring harness... that meant a lot of messing around, splicing, cutting, crimping etc etc... However the main wiring harness was un-modified! Only the connectors from the switches, headlight, etc etc were changed....

End result = Working lights, indicators, indicator indicator (that thing that flashes when your indicator is on), high beams indicator, gear position indicator (0,1,2,3,4,5), the hooter (horn) and of course the charging circuit through the regulator, the diode, the backlight for the speedo the coil and finally the CDI... what a piece of shit.... why is it that they always send me a CDI with these engines that doesn't work? I'm not a moron when it comes to electrics... but I've never been able to get one of their CDIs to work.... so I just bought a new pikey CDI and it worked 100% (CDI stands for Capacitor Discharge Ignition boys and girls) And does that bugger discharge... I was holding the exposed end of the coil wire (the part that usually goes to the spark plug) when a pikey decided to "check what that button on the handlebars does" ... bloody hell does that shock hit you!

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Next was the exhaust pipe... My nice black powder coated exhaust came pre-scratched from the factory! (how nice)... I'm going to be doing a lot of touch-up on this bike when it's done.... installed the exhaust... but forgot the copper gasket... why? Because I was suffering from the effects of dehydration, or perhaps because I was just being stupid... either way... wrestled the exhaust off and re-installed it correctly...

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Don't forget to install one of these puppies!

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Next up, new gear lever and new foot pegs all round (rider and passenger)...

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Time for an oil change before I take it for a test run... This is the best stuff they have at the shop.. 40RMB.. so it must be good (most of the pikey stuff it 15~25)....

She fired up easy and ran solidly as I've come to expect from these engines!

- Continued shortly

[Serpentza]

Once I was happy that all the brakes and suspension were all properly in place, I took it for a spin down the road to ensure it was safe... and it was awesome, I dislike choppers personally, but this sort of chopper stance that you take riding this thing is really comfortable and confidence inspiring... the brakes all worked beautifully, the handling was nimble and it had loads of torque (it vibrates a bit though... but I'm sure once there's a seat and I'm not sitting directly on the frame that this will get better)! Gear changes are smooth and solid too

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No, that's not me! That's my friend "Big Pete" I enlisted his help to ride the bike back to my place whilst I drove my car (also he's an electrical engineer so it was nice to have him help out with the wiring, two hands made light work in this situation)..

But the main advantage is that we can get scale on the bike now.. I always wanted to see what a well fed foreigner on this bike would look like, since I'd want to be happy that this bike was large enough for the general foreigner population.

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There's no seat, but you can see that the bike is substantial enough that he doesn't look like a blimp on stilts (I have a friend that when he rides his CG125... he really does look like a blimp on stilts...)

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Pete had no issues riding the bike back to my place, it was solid, torquey and the suspension was great according to him.

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Okay... now I'm just waiting for the seat, then I can do the rear end of the bike (lights etc), I'll probably do touch-ups etc this weekend and have it 100% complete next week!

More updates as they happen!

- SerpentZA (youtube.com/serpentza)

[Serpentza]

Okay.. today she comes together!

The seat arrived last night... 500RMB later... but it's worth it (I'll eventually find a way to make these cheaper... but the seat really makes the bike).

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It's not a simple bolt on procedure... this is what the bike looks like if you just plonk the seat on top, anyway let's get to work!

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Let's cut down that pesky frame, cut it directly in line with the rear indicator bolt holes (it works out well as you'll see later).

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I bought a new GN125 rear mud guard... this ghastly chrome monster... it actually serves an important purpose, it holds that plastic inner mud guard in place (there are plastic clips that latch onto the chrome monstrosity), and it also provides a little structural integrity too.

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See how stupid this mud guard makes the bike look? ... This mudguard however is going to serve another purpose altogether! It's going to be the mount point for my rear light/license plate holder!

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Some happy grinding later and as you can see we have a crude looking setup (Don't worry, I cleaned it up and painted it black later, I just needed to work out the dimensions more or less before whipping it off the bike to drill the mounting holes in it for the rear light cluster).

Next... it all comes together!

- continued shortly

[Serpentza]

Once I was happy that all the holes were properly drilled etc, I next had to drill two custom holes in the cross member of the frame for the two studs on the new custom seat (that's how it attaches)... and then it was time to do the wiring (don't judge me.. this was just to get it running, I'll do the wiring up properly once everything's working)....

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Connected up the two rear bullet indicators and the rear light, all tested and working (took some messing around since the light worked in a different way to the harness)..

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Success, all lights working!

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And that ladies and gentlemen is what I am talking about! It's looking great in my opinion! (the rear end anyway)

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I took it for a 10km test ride with the wife on the back, and it was comfortable carrying two people (she is skinny though, so if your wife/gf is of the large variety, you may want to ask her to take the bus)...

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I'm not happy with the front end, that chrome headlight looks crap and the silver forks need to be seen to... next I make the front look as good as the back!!! Stay tuned!

- SerpentZA (youtube.com/serpentza)

[Serpentza]

I really hoped to get more done today, but I had a subscriber over for a beer and I helped him fix up a bike he'll be taking on a trip, I did manage to get a few things done however:

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First off I whipped off the front wheel, masked off the forks and painted them matt black (I'll be finding a place to help me do professional painting later, this is just a mockup).

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Next I did the headlight which required me completely stripping it off the bike and of course messing around with all the wiring again :P

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I'm starting to really like the front end of the bike now!

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Before and after, what a huge difference a little paint makes!

Next I'm going to see if it's at all possible to attach some sort of mud guards without ruining the look of the bike!

Stay tuned!

- SerpentZA (youtube.com/serpentza)

[Serpentza]

Okay, got some morning pics of the bike so we can get a proper look! As it stands I'm very happy with the outcome! Other than mud guards (which I'm trying to sort out so they don't spoil the look), she's perfect! And she rides fantastic too!

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Any suggestions on changes?

[futianshenzhen]

Great job mate! Best looking "taxi bike" I've seen by far! Looking forward to seeing your solution to the tricky mudguard problem.

Will you also offer a touring version/kit with rack for panniers etc?