Thank you for inquiring on the Honda Minitrail motor restoration service.

Section 1: My Customers

Please keep in mind that I primarily cater to an individual who is interested in having an original engine restored back to factory specs to use in a very thorough minitrail restoration. What I don’t offer is a quick “freshen-up” consisting of a ring job & engine spruce. I don’t do that type of work and please do not ask me to perform an incomplete job for less money. My work is very thorough and the price reflects the necessary attention to detail and many hours required to get one of these little engines back to they way the ran and looked 30 or so years ago & to run for another 30 years. I perform engine restorations. I have some photos of an engine being tested on a test bike before it is to be shipped back to its owner that I will send along upon request.

Now, a few words about CARBURETORS.

Section 2: Carburetion

In my restoration service, I do not rebuild carburetors. Over time, the original carburetors for these machines have become warped, worn, and clogged. Too often, these old carburetors will simply not work well enough to compliment the restored engine & will only serve to cause grief to anyone operating the bike or trying to get the bike to carburate properly. All customer engines are run on a test bike before being shipped back to the customer to verify ease of starting and shifting, rideability and idle quality. I cannot perform this test with your original carburetor. I test the engines with my own carburetor to ensure that the engine will perform up to my high standards. I do offer genuine Honda replacement carburetors, the same one I use in my test procedure. A new Z50 soft tail carburetor will add $130 to the price of a rebuild, $140 for a hard tail Z50 (which includes air filter adapter). Carburetors for CT70’s are $160.00, which includes a new cable and a few additional parts necessary to facilitate the newer style OEM Honda carburetor I employ. Installation of the kit will require a slight modification to the intake manifold as well. If you are sending a CT70 engine to be restored, be sure to send along your intake manifold, as I will modify it to facilitate a new -style carburetor, free of charge. This modification will not impede the use of your original carburetor should you choose to stay with it. I perform this modification to all CT70 manifolds so that you have the option to switch over to a kit carburetor at a later time without having to send the intake manifold to me for the modification.

Section 3: CT70 replacement carburetors

The CT70 carburetor kits I offer are jetted to run on a stock exhaust with no end baffle. These bikes are not horsepower kings to begin with & the muffler baffle REALLY kills the power. The bike is only slightly quieter with it in. If the end of your CT muffler has a rod about the diameter of a wheel spoke in it, running diagonally across the end of the outlet, the muffler has a baffle in it. Take it out & the bike runs a considerably better.

Section 4: The need for proper carburetion

I don’t make a profit on the carburetors; I only offer to sell them to satisfy the needs of my customers. Many prospective customers are under the impression that their carburetor is fine. When you receive your engine back from me, & you experience some sort of technical difficulty that can be traced to a problem with the original carburetor, I cannot assist in this area & can only recommend a new carburetor. I only stand by this policy because diagnosing & repairing problems related to the original carburetors could easily be a full time job in itself. If your carburetor has been well maintained, you may not need a newer carburetor. I have several 30+- year old classic Honda minis with original carburetor, but it’s not likely that any of my personal bikes were ever left to sit for more than a few weeks at a time without having the fuel being drained. They have also had overhauls on a regular basis and have been very well maintained. If your carburetor is suspect, I will be forced to recommend a replacement carburetor for a Z50 or a replacement carburetor kit for the CT70 as it no longer makes sense financially for the customer or myself to rebuild these carburetors. If your carburetor is in good shape, great. Please consider my advice based on my experience so you do not feel like this customer.

Section 5: Why my carburetor kits work & what doesn’t work

I have performed a great deal of testing with these newer carburetor set-ups and when installed, these bikes run GREAT! The original CT carburetor varies only slightly in appearance since the updated carburetor's bowl is round and it has a new-style plastic choke knob. The choke and petcock are on the correct side, which is more than can be said for the Chinese aftermarket carburetors. These are being marketed to the unsuspecting minitrail enthusiast who thinks he’s getting the genuine article. DON’T buy a carburetor that’s not made by Keihin. Just because it has a “K” logo PRINTED on the side, doesn’t mean that it’s a Keihin. REAL KEIHINS have the ENTIRE name EMBOSSED on the side. DON’T buy a carburetor without asking what brand it is!

Section 6: Z50 Carburetors

Z50 carburetors are all identical in appearance for all models except for the hardtails, which had very different- looking original carburetors to begin with. If you are having a hardtail engine rebuilt, and want a new carburetor, please send your intake manifold. Unlike the CT, I can only modify the manifold if you plan on using the updated carburetor. The modification will complicate the use of the original carburetor, so I will only modify one for someone who wants a new carburetor at the time of restoration.

Section 7: What an engine rebuild entails

Cylinder bore specification & option:

During the rebuild process, the cylinder is measured to assure it is well within the wear specification. Often the cylinder bores are very well within specification, and are only in need of a de-glaze, which I perform. If by chance the cylinder is in need of a next size over bore, it is an additional charge of $70.

The remainder of the rebuild process entails the following: The cylinder is media blasted of all of its original paint & is repainted with a high gloss, high temprature black paint & baked in an oven which makes the finish resistant to fuel. The valve seats are cut & valves and lapped in. The right and left side engine covers are media blasted & the engine covers are painted with an laquer based paint that is a dead match for the original Honda “cloud” silver. The paint resists fuel so you don’t have to go nuts trying to keep raw fuel from touching the fresh paint during your installation. All internal engine components go through a rigorous cleaning process. Keep in mind that if your external left or right engine covers are scratched, they will be smoothed out during the process. If they require filling, please let me know & I will do the best I can without spending days on them. If you’re doing a 100 point restoration, but you have a badly gouged cover, it may not come out to your liking & you may want to purchase a new cover. This is a very rare instance & I have only experienced this once or twice in the several hundred restorations that I have done. Also during the rebuild, the cylinder head & engine case halves are bead-blasted & left bare as they were delivered from the factory. The spark plug threads are chased as well as every single hole on the engine (As depicted here). All of the visible hardware is replaced except for the 2 underside 14mm & 17mm bolts & the exhaust studs. The exhaust studs are media blasted along with the cylinder head, but not replaced. The studs are barely visible with the exhaust in place & removing them usually results in them breaking. At that point they require special machining to remove them which can cost up to $50 per stud. I don’t remove or replace the studs unless there is a need to. Keep this in mind if you’re sending an engine with one or both of the engine studs broken or damaged. All internal engine parts (transmission is included in the engine) are inspected for wear & checked to assure they are within specification. The transmission shift fork guide pins are replaced to assure positive shifting qualities, which is a key element of my work. Transmission shift fork wear is evaluated at this point & noted. About 1 in every 15 engines is in need of a transmission shift fork & 1 in every 30 is in need of both. I'm just trying to educate a persepctive customer as to the liklihood of an additional charge for a possibly worn shift fork. Also, if your engine shifts fine, it's not likely that there is any need for a shift fork replacment at all. All transmission gears, shift drum & related parts are checked to assure that a fresh engine will last for generations if maintained correctly.

Section 8: What parts are included in an engine restoration?

The cost includes the replacement of the parts and the labor listed below.

• Piston

• Rings

• Piston circlips

• All new gaskets, seals and O rings

• All new external engine hardware (except oil drain bolt & exhaust studs. See section 7)

• Clutch friction plates

• Cam chain (also known as timing chain)

• Both cylinder head tappet inspection covers (17mm covers)

• Cam sprocket cover (big round cover on the left side of the head)

• Spark plug wire guide (On the right side of CT70 cylinders)

• Carburetor overflow line guide (on the left side of the engine, forward of the engine cover)

• Ignition breaker points

• Oil dipstick

• Spark plug

• Crankcase breather hose

• Re-sheathing of stator wires to harness connector

Section 9: Supplemental needs not included in rebuild

Here’s a short list of items that sometimes require replacement, but are not included in an engine restoration & require an addition fee.

• Kickstart shaft ($40.00)

• Shift shaft ($30.00)

• Shift forks ($35.00 each)

• Intake valve ($20.00)

• Exhaust valve ($20.00)

• Machining of valve seats for above valve replacement ($10.00/each seat + cost of valve as above)

-e.g., Replacement of intake valve = $20.00 for intake valve, $10 for machining of seat = $30.00

• Helicoil thread repair - 8mm underside step bar mount holes (upon inspection) - ($12.00/each hole)

• Helicoil thread repair - any 6mm hole - ($8.00)

These items are replaced on an as-needed basis. The need to replace these items varies from engine to engine & is usually dependant on how the engine has been cared for throughout its lifetime.

• If the kickstarter was never tightened during routine maintenance & the splines have become significantly damaged, this would require the replacement of that shaft.

• The same applies for the shift shaft. As well, if the bike has had more than it’s fair share of being dropped on it’s left side, the shift shaft may be badly bent. I do charge $15 to straighten them when straightening is possible.

NOTE: You can check the splines on both shafts when you are trying to determine if you would like to have your motor restored. If they seem worn or are obviously bent, you should figure that into your overall cost.

• Shift forks can wear depending on the level of abuse the bike has experienced & if the engine was ever run out of oil. If your bike shifts OK, it's not likely that it requires a shift fork. (there are 2 shift forks)

• Engine valves are sometimes worn beyond specs & cannot be cut to suit.

Section 10: What a restoration does not include

It does not include any crankshaft or transmission parts or labor. It does not include kick-start shaft/shift shaft replacement, intake/exhaust valve replacement, thread repair, engine case repair or stator repair. All parts are inspected, but there is an additional charge for any necessary parts or labor associated with the items described here. It’s nearly unheard of that any of the above items are ever damaged, but I need to mention it so that someone doesn’t pull a motor from a pond & expect to incur the minimum cost .

Section 11: Test Process

A key aspect of my restorations is that upon completion, you’re engine is installed in a test chassis & ridden for at least 15 minutes. During the test I personally assure ease of starting, shift quality, idle quality in neutral as well as in gear (automatic models), proper acceleration and deceleration aspects & steady cruise quality. Any and all adjustments necessary are made & rechecked before the motor is returned to you. This assures that the installation will go silky smooth for you & removes any question as to if the motor will work for you as it would for me. My test process assures me that I can test the running condition of your engine before it is returned to you. There are only 3 possible items on your bike that could cause your engine to run poorly for you, but not for me.

Those 3 items are:

1) Exhaust

2) Ignition coil

3) Carburetor

• The only way your exhaust could cause a problem is that if it were so dented or clogged so as to completely block flow. This would have to be a deliberate act & I have never heard of it happening.

• I have yet to see a Honda ignition coil go bad in my 20 years working on Honda motorcycles. They simply do not fail but it is possible and must be considered.

• The most probable cause for a poorly running restored engine IS the carburetor. Please be sure to that you have read the extensive information on this page with regards to how having a good carburetor is central to a good running engine.

The reason I am going through the possible scenarios is that you need to feel secure that your engine will be returned to you running like new. The best way for me to make you feel at ease is to describe all possible scenarios and assure you that they have been worked through. I stand behind my work & should you have some sort of issue with your engine, I will work through it with you to the point of resolution. I don’t mind if you want to use your old carburetor as it may work fine. I am only making you aware of what I deal with every day.

Section 12: What can be expected

The engine will be returned to you looking like a factory original engine or better. Engines do not get shipped unless they work as they were designed. I do not ship an engine back to its owner unless pushing the kick-starter by hand will result in the engine starting. This is so even the smallest of riders can start the bike and learn to ride just like you did all those years ago. When your engine is returned to you it will look very close or identical to the way it was assembled at the factory. YOUR ENGINE IS RETURNED WITHOUT OIL IN IT FOR SHIPPING REASONS!

Section 13: Z50/Ct70 Engine Rebuild General Info

• The standard charge for restoring a Honda Z50/CT70 engine is $625.

• If your engine requires the next size over cylinder bore there is an addition $70 charge. (see section 7)

• The current UPS shipping/handling rates are between $40 and $60 inside the continental U.S.

• The overall restoration cost is a direct correlation to the quality of work you will receive, which is second to none. I do not run a “core shop”. That is, I don’t send you someone else’s motor back to you. What you receive back is YOUR motor, completely rebuilt utilizing all my 20 years of Honda knowledge and experience. This will maintain your matching number authenticity. I use all Genuine Honda parts where available in my standard engine restorations. Tested, tried-and-true aftermarket parts are utilized only in the very rare instance when & where Genuine Honda is not, available or when upgrading to power-up components.

Section 14: Is your engine a worthy candidate?

It is advisable to send an engine that hasn’t had any makeshift repairs or has been disassembled & is being shipped to me in pieces. Most of the work I do is on tired old engines. Consequently, the cost rarely rises above the standard charge. An engine that has had obvious makeshift repairs performed upon is not a good candidate for a restoration, as the cost will be prohibitive. Upon my disassembling the engine you will be advised of any additional parts or labor necessary before any work commences.

Section 15: Is your engine already disassembled?

Engines that have been disassembled can be a problem for you. The reason is that as you may imagine, there are a lot of very small parts, some of which are simply not available anymore. If I receive an engine in pieces, I personally catalog every single part. Sometimes however, there have been a few instances where a customer loses a part that is not available & the job cannot be completed until I source one, usually after the customer winds up buying a whole junk motor. This is not the end of the world as junk engines can be had for cheap. It is something to think about though. When I disassemble your engine, the parts go through a detailed cataloging process that that allows identification of the condition as well as usability of everything as it is disassembled. This process is less effective if I receive a pile of parts & not an engine.

Section 16: Deposit & Payment

I ask for a deposit of roughly 50% with the engine shipment (personal check is OK) and the balance upon completion of the job. Money Order, Cashiers check, Personal check or Paypal must used to pay balance.

Section 17: Completion time

All work is performed on a first come-first serve basis. Workload determines turn-around time, which is currently between 2 and 4 weeks. If you have any other questions, please e-mail me. If you are interested in sending an engine, please let me know and I will reply with the shipping address and to whom payment should be made.

Section 18: Checklist

Please refer to this checklist to properly carry out the shipping of the engine.