I've been writing in another section about a problem I had with the front forks, but now I see that this particular section is a more appropriate one for what I'm doing. Once again sorry that I write in English, I'm in Bulgaria and don't speak German, my wife does but she is busy with other stuff
Ok, about my project...
It started out as a regular two seat 125 Rt, that I bought 350km away from where I live and transported in my car's trunk. The thing was moving and it all seem to work, but from the many years of road use and disrepair here in Bulgaria it was struggling. In the picture below you can see one really sad 125Rt.
Since the acquisition of the bike I had the idea to modify and change its appearance and make it more modern and unique. I also wanted to test my abilities as an Industrial/Automotive designer with a degree from Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA, where I graduated top of class some time ago
My first step was to disassemble the bike of course and de-chrome all that was plated on the bike. My idea was to create a clean, lightweight and lightweight looking bike that would be way different than the restored or preserved 125 Rt that you can see at the retro/classic/oldtimer parades here in BG. So I set up to build a cafe racer MZ that would incorporate restored original vintage components, aftermarket quality components purchased from USA, and modified or manufactured components that I build or modify.
Let me just say that I've always been fascinated by the lightweight feel of the British cafe racers, and even when I lived in the USA I had a modified Honda CX500 cafe racer that I modified into a cafe racer myself.
So, de-chroming was done via reverse electroplating, which proved to not be as effective as I hoped in removing 45years old chrome and most of the chrome had to be mechanically removed with abrasives- that is both time consuming and boring. Also one has to be careful not to damage the underlying metal and go through the material. Here you can see the grimy, and sadly looking rear shock towers-
After the de-chroming process I set up to modify the frame of the bike by grinding and removing all unnecessary attachments and brackets and such that were not imperative to the integrity of the bike. By doing that the overall weight savings were somewhere in the vicinity of 1-1.2kg, counting the hardware that will not be installed because of this action.
Then the frame was carefully cleaned up and prepared for the best available powder coating, which was done in mat-black finish. The powder coating preparation and application was really important as it will later provide the base for all the rest of the components and any imperfections would potentially cause problems later on. In this next pic you can see the frame and the rear shock towers as well as a mock-up of the rear fender which was to be modified to improve looks and weight, but keep the feel of the original MZ 125 Rt in case it had to go to a classic/oldtimer show.
Other than the rear fender I wanted to build a new battery box, strip and cut down to the basic shape the gas tank, make new more aggressive exhaust and some other changes that I'll be writing later on about.
The bike was restored to its original mechanical condition and all faulty components like chains and ball bearings were replaced where necessary.
My concept has always been to keep the originality of the bike as much as possible and replace components only when totally necessary. In this way the originality of the bike and its spirit are preserved, which is really important for a classic bike. To give you an example: the front handlebars are new custom handlebars which I imported from the USA, but the handlebars clamps are genuine, never restored or altered in any way MZ 125 Rt clamps. I bought them at a moto forum here in BG, and what a find they are:
Its late here in BG, I'll continue tomorrow
BTW, I'll post tomorrow the latest shots of the bike done from a photographer, a friend of mine that came today for a photo shoot.
The original handlebars of 125-4 Rt were welded to the triple three, which made it look a bit cheaper, so they were grinded off and replaced with the new handlebars. Also the ball bearings had to be changed with new SKF ball bearings, and now the steering is smooth and firm.
The gas tank has a cool teardrop shape and I really liked the fact that it is stainless, however the rubber knee protectors and MZ badges were removed both to improve the looks of the tank and for the weight savings. By the way I had to use water based paints for all the metal pieces which proved hard and tedious to apply. The fact that I was painting in the BG winter season with temperatures of -15 degrees did not help in the drying process and it took about a week to get everything dry and clear coated. Naturally I used Lazurit's or in BG Glazurit's paints, primers and fillers, which are the best in the market here and the finish now looks really amazing. The yellow paint is in great contrast to the mat black frame and wheels, and it was specifically chosen to underline the important body panels and distinguish the bike from the rest of the MZ's which were typically painted shiny black with white stripes. There is nothing wrong with the black color scheme of the original bike except that it is very common and is also a typical paint of the post war bikes and the era in which they were manufactured. I designed this bike to be different and unique, but at the same time to keep the feel of the original MZ and the looks of the cafe racers I wanted.
The engine is painted flat black with a ceramic hi-temp paint so that it will not take away from the beauty of the frame and body parts. The transmission has 4 speeds and was overhauled, now it shifts smooth and clean.
Below are pics from the photo shoot, please enjoy:
And here is the bike with a model:
As this is a proper cafe racer only the bare minimum of electrics is kept and the on/off switch is the only control other than the throttle, the brakes, the clutch and the gear shifter.
As we speak I'm working on the custom seat, the exhaust which is also a custom made piece and the bike stand which is a mono left mounted stand.
If you are interested in my other design work, projects and awards, please visit my web site http://www.industrialwalnut.com