Well, the Great Garage Reorganisation has got further. And I have started the top end stripdown of the spare Honda SL125 lump I've got knocking around. In my boxes of bits, I had a spare camchain, tensioner (two, in fact), piston kit and (surprise, surprise) a gasket set, so why not? The lump is a piece of piss to pull apart, even given the inevitable mullered fasteners. I must take a pic of the gearbox sprocket - the worst I've ever, but ever, seen. Shane McGowan has more teeth. Camchain was shot, tensioner blade well worn, cam itself looks wholesome, and ditto the piston crown. Some sign of oil burning, but not much, which is good news, so I'll just stick the new piston and rings in it and leave the valve gear alone. Dunno what then Keep it as a spare? Nige it out on Ebay? The SL, incidentally, is now bloody, bloody nice. Even Timo raised an appreciative eyebrow and said: "That's a keeper, isn't it?" New parts fitted include forks, seat, and a pair of completely rebuilt wheels. It does about 60-65mph flat out, and handles surprisingly well despite the knackered rear shocks. Fuel consumption I haven't monitored yet - I filled it up a while back, have done 80 miles since the re-commissioning, and I reckon the tank is stil half-full. My old CB125S did 100+ to the gallon, so it should be around the same.
