I bought a knackered old Pulse Adrenaline 125 from Big_D, at virtual no cost
Why rebuild a Chinese 125 which probably won’t be worth more than about £500 when finished? Why not? I’ve not ridden a 125 road bike for about 20 years, and I’ve never ridden anything Chinese, so it seemed like a reasonable thing to do in preparation for the rebuild of my RD350LC, planned for summer.
Also, the parts for Chinese bikes are dirt cheap, and there’s an opportunity to put some of the frankly naff original items, and also to reverse years of teenage abuse.
Here are the pics as it was picked up on Friday… brace yourselves!
I’ll warn you: I’m aiming at slightly MX looking, but done on a tight budget as the bike is never gonna be worth a lot.
Items on the list:
Battery: Needs replacing. Wrong type. Chain sprockets: Bought Air box: Missing. Replacement bought Air filter: bought Oil filter: Bought Fuel filter: bought Exhaust: Bought a nice one Exhaust gaskets: bought Rider Footrests: Soaking in Deox-C Bodywork: bought cheaply from a sprog on the Facebook group for chinese bikes, and collected from kent Wheel bearings: bought Pads: bought Brake fluid: in spares box Spark plug and cap: bought Tyres 110/70 x 17, 130/70 x 17: Neeed replacing, knackered. Handlebar: Rental gold bought Levers: on bike but knackered, will replace Decals: Something nice in mind… Rear Footrests: Not existing, will replace Headlamp: replacement bought as this one is non-standard and doesn’t fit Tail lamps: bought complete assembly from a bloke in Stevenage Loom: May need replacing, will check this weekend Indicators: ordered Fuel lines: bought
First task:
Check engine runs (this weekend). Will need full service, new exhaust, airbox, etc putting on before starting it up. If this is all ok, I’ll set about tidying up the engine and frame…
Jobs done today before rain stopped play:
Change plug
Change plug cap
Install air box (secondhand)
Install new air filter
Oil and oil filter change
Re-jet carb back to standard
Remove previous owners bypass of the EGR valve
Had intended to get the replacement (secondhand) exhaust on and the new can, and get it started, but seized exhaust bolts are going to need drilling out. Job for next week.
Update! I finally got round to doing and update on the Pulse, and it’s been a long and not yet all that fruitful journey. Done so far:
Replaced Loom (it was so knackered and chopped up I didn't even think about using it)
Replaced starter motor
Replaced starter solenoid
Replaced battery
Reinstated airbox
Reinstated EGR (exhaust valve)
Replaced exhaust with a second hand downpipe and new end can
Then I tried to start it... nothing. Turned out the engine was seized. Solid. So:
Replaced engine
Still no spark. I then set about replacing anything which COULD be a problem:
Replaced ignition switch
Replaced kill switchgear
Replaced side stand switch
Replaced clutch switch
New coil and plug cap
Then it started! But ran terribly. Over the years this poor thing had been utterly abused by a previous owner, so I'm not sure i totally trusted the carb set up. So:
New jets
Cleaned carb and reset air screw to standard
Runs properly now! So that was good. Then I set about the rest of it:
New headlight
New bars (Renthal gold ones, fancy)
New levers
New throttle tube
New throttle cable
New clutch cable
New levers
So now it seemed to mostly work. So:
New wheel bearings
Cleaned up and checked all spokes
New rear mudguard
New rear light
New indicators
New indicator relay
New chain
New sprockets
Cleaned and checked rear shock
Rebuilt forks with new bushes, seals and oil
Check and regressed head bearings and swingarm bearings
Resprayed tank (by hand with rattle cans... looks ok tho)
So left to do:
Replaced brake lines
Rebuild calipers
Bodywork (bought, but not on yet)
Then it SHOULD be ready for MOT. it's been a total pain in the ass to work on, as all Chinese fixings and fasteners are made of low-grade cheese. So I've also replaced them all as I've gone around the bike, which should help in future. i know that's an ENORMOUS list of parts, but actually the parts for these are SO cheap that it's cost me less than the same number of hours in the pub would have! And it's kept me out of the pub, so that's apparently a good thing.
Should be finished soon, I’ll get an update out as I make more progress!
Definitely Jay! But always knew this wasn’t meant to be an exercise in cost saving. More about keeping me occupied and brushing up a few techniques ready for a proper rebuild of my RD350LC.
