MOPED ARMY

I like it! I've always liked the looks of these types of early sports bikes. Nice!!

Those pushrod honda clones are bulletproof but all the crappy china ones I've seen stateside shake like an unbalanced washing machine, are those any better?

I’m guessing these things run like tanks to take the abuse out here. This one is probably well worn but it’s not actually in my possession yet and I can’t ride it right away anyhow.

I am going to spend the next few months tearing it down and rebuilding the important parts. Then box up the pieces and ship it home. Then, it will stay in boxes until I move back to the US. Depending on what state we end up in, I might be able to register it and ride it or just play with it around the yard.

It is, first and foremost, a souvenir of my time in Africa. So, it never has to do anymore than sit stationary for me to enjoy it. I might try to acquire some parts here too. Believe me, I saw those wheels and thought: “I wouldn’t mind having a pile of those.”

Not trying to work my connection to death on this stuff though. But if I find out there’s a tiny motorcycle boneyard somewhere, I’ll definitely try to do some scavenging.

Nick I appreciate that. I don’t expect there to be any paperwork involved. They don’t title or register anything here. It will probably end up as an off-road only thing.

Sorry I jumped the gun on starting the thread. I was excited and now there’s delays in my actually acquiring it. I will follow up with photos and info when I do start taking it apart.

It runs. It rides. It’s a marvel of clone endurance. Looks like I could get away with a carb rebuild and new seals/gaskets and call it a day. Only real “problem” is that the frame has been welded back together at the rear shocks. PrObAbly from carrying too many people on rutted dirt roads. And the rear wheel looks like it ran around “barefoot” in a stone quarry. But hey, I wanted a piece of the local history and I got it.

Anyone know if real Honda parts reasearch would produce clone aftermarket parts that fit these things? I’m having no luck searching for Kasea or Royal brand parts.

Yeah that's pretty darn cool. The clone GC motors are a total crap shoot, from the China ones I've seen stateside almost all the engine parts are interchangeable but a lot of the ancillary parts are sourced from wherever, you might have a starter solenoid from a scooter, or a throttle control from a C70.

They are dumb simple inside, they are basically lawnmower engines. I would say try to source the parts you need before you leave because the frame and body stuff might be impossible to get stateside, but you can probably get the engine stuff easy enough to hold off on a full rebuilt until you a better place to work on it.

The last CG motor I came across was in an atv, which was really terrible because going slow resulted in slipping the clutch. I did notice the engine ran great so you should be in good shape powertrain wise.

I wish I could remember the name of the ATV. I think I ended up getting a PZ carb, and intake for it, the CDI box seemed to not be the greatest quality so maybe keep an eye out for electrical gremlins.

I see no reason that this bike won't outlast us all.

It is a very cool souvenir!!

You'd be surprised how well a block of wood and a hammer will straighten that rim out.

You can probably replace the head, cam, followers, piston and cylinder for about 200 bucks. But where's the fun in that...

I asked my interpreter friend if he could find some parts in town. i was looking to just get this thing back on its feet and running right before tearing it down to send home. He’s getting me a brand new rear tire, rear brake pedal, CDI box, coil-plug wire, piston kit, full engine seals, and spark plug for $44. Considering you can buy an entire, brand new bike for $400, thats not a steal. But, its cheaper than the bill I’m used to for this sort of thing.

ha, well seems legit, i'd be excited to play with that

The last package finally arrived.

The Arican Queen is all here.

First thing will be to tear down, clean, and reassemble the engine with new seals and fresh piston.

Then, put the whole bike back together with as little amendment as possible to the original “straight outa Africa” look.

Seeing it makes me miss that place so much. I enjoyed everything about Niger. This is my favorite souvenir from one of my favorite places on Earth.

Got some strange looks carrying this package to my car. Wonder why?

Haha looks like a dead body. You should have wrapped it in an old carpet

Keep an eye out for sis Sachs goodies like the clutches with the magic doughnut I heard a lot ended there from an oldman who emigrated a decade or so ago

When stripping this thing down for shipping, I found that the inner tubes had been wrapped in some heavy duty inner tube rubber. Probably from a truck tire.

Made for a real difficult time getting the tire off because the cavity was crammed full.