Hello and any ideas?

I see the down exhaust mount tab on your frame like mine. I just learned that myself from Waynus. The holes in the frame/body where the sticker would go mean there was no sticker.It had a "HONDA" emblem mounted instead.

Also I would stay away from the OEM Selenium rectifiers. Find a good Silicon Bridge to replace it.

You might look on the cylinder to check engine size. Mine said ST70 in the frame number, but the aluminum "Dax" plate says 50. (I had no engine at all on mine)

That bike has a lot of potential. GO FOR IT!! Make it shine!!

'Whilst on the point of replacing parts: What is the general concensus on what I should replace without even looking at the old bits? Bearings, headset bearings, brake shoes, all cables, coil, front suspension repair kits, rear shocks, anything else? or should I just assume everything is OK until proven otherwise? (on the basis of 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'!). I'd prefer to keep it a reasonably low budget renovation but want to do it once and do it right.'

Really depends on what sort of condition you consider these parts to be in when you strip it down.
Personally I bought new brake-shoes even before I looked at the old ones as age and contamination are as important as wear. With bearings I will check them first but unless they are as smooth as new then they will be replaced. Cables are the same, if they look ok (no damage to the outer sleeving, no kinks or frays etc) then I will probably lubricate and re-use them but having said that, after a complete rebuild a couple of old cables can spoil the overall image. Suspension, I will probably replace/rebuild mine as the rear ones look a bit tatty and the front springs may be a soft but if yours works ok then there is no real reason to spend money.

Thanks Guys.

Your advice is much appreciated. I'm fired up to get moving on it again now!

Kumoh. I'm really ignorant about anything electrical, especially on bikes. This is my first 2 wheeled project, although I have restored several old cars. What is a silicone bridge, and where do I get one from?

Litch. Thanks. That confirms my own thoughts. Makes a lot of sense.

If you look under the seat, that big finned orange thing is a Rectifier, a Selinium Rectifier. They used Selenium because it was cheap and was a bit forgiving of voltage spikes from M/C electrics. You don't see them on (good) modern bikes as they now use Silicon and integrate it into the Regulator Module. Selenium Rectifiers (also called Selenium Diodes) are hard to find in electronics shops nowdays even. But all we need here is a Diode, the Battery does all the regulating. Now I use a Bridge Rectifier kinda like this one(pic) it has a nice heatsink with a mounting hole and well handle pretty much anything a M/C electric can throw at it. The old Selenium rectifier has 2 diodes (each fin is a diode) and a Bridge has 4 diodes but will act like 1 diode. I clip off the 2 AC terminals marked with wavy line. Then I take the old wires off the old Rectifier and put spade lugs on them and slip them onto the Plus and Minus terminals.

Or you can go with one of these guys on ebay, Search CT Rectifier. ( I was gonna delete all that but decided not to as it took so long to type. . . . )

Great thanks Kumoh.

It's like having a ST70 wikipedia!

Unfortunately there was no rectifier on the bike when I got it, so I have only seen one as a drawing in the manual!

Brilliant explanation though, and I'll get a silicone bridge off ebay now.

Cheers

Still on the rectifier Kumoh...

Is it a 50amp 1000v I need to get? seems a lot for a 6v bike, but as I said, I know nothing about electrics!!

I have found some on ebay. The only 50amp 1000v I found was a batch of 5 for the princely sum of £14. So if anyone else needs one let me know.

Well, there is no kill like OVERKIll!

The price differance for a rectifier of closer value is negligible. The best thing to me is the aluminum case and hole that allows mounting to the same location as the stock rectifier. The worst thing that can happen is the Stator will burn open before the rectifier does. But that would have happend with the stock rectifier too.

Silicon are also easy to find, I got mine from a junk microwave oven.

As I mentioned in another post, I have now stripped all the bits and have contacted a beadblaster. Just waiting for him to collect and start! Still haven't quite decided which colour but I'm narrowing it down!

As regards the frame number (ST70137586): Does anyone have any info on roughly when this may have been made? Are there any Honda published details of when certain numbers were imported? I have restored a few VWs and was able to trace the actual day some were made. Is this the case with Honda bikes? It doesn't have a real bearing on doing the thing - just helps getting to know it! I also thought I may need to have this info when I eventually get it running and need registration. My brother in law has rebuilt several bikes and had used someone who was able to trace details, unfortunately he has forgotten who it was!

Frame numbers overview.
If you need any help for translation, just let me know.

Also; lots of info (first registered date, original color,...) can be found on the website of the DVLA (or whatever that is called) if the bike has been registered in the U.K before.

Thanks Waynus

Unless I'm reading it incorrectly, this didn't seem to cover my number? The stamping is really clear and it reads ST rather than CT, so not a US import, I wouldn't think. Anyone else got a similar numbered 69 to 71 ish bike?
The DVLA can only provide details based on registration number (which I don't have for the bike) it seems.

Someone thought Monkey Bike UK do a service to provide info, but where do they get this from? (anyone used this and know how much?)

Thanks

Nigel