1969 Suzuki TC120 repair/rebuild/restoration
- Thread starter awptickes
- Start date
- Replies 23
- Views 5K
We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms
I got the carburetor's choke free, lubricated the slide, and now it works. Choke is right on the left handlebar, which is pretty cool.
The 6v battery has 1.2V, which is interesting, but not critical, it just runs the lights. It currently doesn't have any spark, but when I get that going, I suspect it'll run on some pre-mix. I glanced at the points, and that's almost certainly the issue with the spark, it doesn't look very good, lol.
The 6v battery has 1.2V, which is interesting, but not critical, it just runs the lights. It currently doesn't have any spark, but when I get that going, I suspect it'll run on some pre-mix. I glanced at the points, and that's almost certainly the issue with the spark, it doesn't look very good, lol.
I'm beginning to think you have a problem.
will that moped fit in my veloster? lol
So... tubes hold air, tires are original from 1969, but they'll do for now.
I cleaned the carb, put new m5-0.8 bolts to hold the spark coil, and put some premix in it...
It runs. Pretty well too. Turns out I don't have a master link for the chain, so it can't move yet.
I'll research and figure out how the auto-oilling system works, fix it, and then maybe I'll get to ride it around a bit.
It needs a petcock rebuild, but that's it so far.
Oh... Any guesses how much I paid for it?
I cleaned the carb, put new m5-0.8 bolts to hold the spark coil, and put some premix in it...
It runs. Pretty well too. Turns out I don't have a master link for the chain, so it can't move yet.
I'll research and figure out how the auto-oilling system works, fix it, and then maybe I'll get to ride it around a bit.
It needs a petcock rebuild, but that's it so far.
Oh... Any guesses how much I paid for it?
Nah.
Nah. Nothing I have is that valuable.
Maybe? Dunno. But it's a 118cc 2-stroke, so not really a moped. It should make something like 15-20hp based on displacement.
i have my motorcycle endorsement lol and the buell blast i've been eyeing for months hasn't panned out. its $500... needs tires and a tune up. haven't been able to setup a date to get it. the owner is a 22 year old and his dad bought it for him when he didnt have a car lol
and there it is! sounds decent too.
The oil pump works, so I ordered some 5/32 fuel line to repair the oil pump feed, should be here tomorrow.
Amazon product ASIN B082H2YD25
Amazon product ASIN B082H2YD25
I cleaned up the chain, got that moving freely with some penetrating oil spray, and stole a masterlink out of the old CT90 chain. It's soaking in used motoer oil right now, maybe I'll get the chain installed tonight.
The battery may hold a charge, I've got it on the repair-charger right now, it seems to be holding a bit of charge right now. Then I'll figure out the light bulb situation, probably needs a headlight bulb, those always burn out, and maybe a regulator. A new silicon regulator is $20, so that may be a preventative measure I take. Luckily, this bike only needs a battery for lights, unlike the CT90 that requires a battery for spark.
I don't have a pod air filter that fits the bike, the one I have is slightly too big even when tighened down all the way. I may use it for a bit until the one I had to get from amazon arrives. To fix the tear in the seat as easily as possible, I ordered some "seat repair vinyl" tape stuff.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045CQELI
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U7BMFQY
The battery may hold a charge, I've got it on the repair-charger right now, it seems to be holding a bit of charge right now. Then I'll figure out the light bulb situation, probably needs a headlight bulb, those always burn out, and maybe a regulator. A new silicon regulator is $20, so that may be a preventative measure I take. Luckily, this bike only needs a battery for lights, unlike the CT90 that requires a battery for spark.
I don't have a pod air filter that fits the bike, the one I have is slightly too big even when tighened down all the way. I may use it for a bit until the one I had to get from amazon arrives. To fix the tear in the seat as easily as possible, I ordered some "seat repair vinyl" tape stuff.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045CQELI
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U7BMFQY
Last edited:
Still haven't gotten the tubing, Amazon has been slacking lately.
But, on another platform, someone asked what I meant by "bottle fed" and I realized that normal people probably don't have squeeze bottles of mix gas and oil...
Here are mine, they're cheap food bottles for condiments, just make sure they're PP or gas will eat them:
And I here's how I know the oil pump works:
So, just waiting on petcock parts and fuel line, and it'll be brapping around.
But, on another platform, someone asked what I meant by "bottle fed" and I realized that normal people probably don't have squeeze bottles of mix gas and oil...
Here are mine, they're cheap food bottles for condiments, just make sure they're PP or gas will eat them:
And I here's how I know the oil pump works:
So, just waiting on petcock parts and fuel line, and it'll be brapping around.
Last edited:
Great time to give it a cleaning.
Yeah, I wiped it all down with cleaner and then fluidfilm before dinner.
I also got the oil tank and oil supply line connected, and now it actually works as intended. I also cleaned up the fuel tank, and tested it to 5psi with alcohol with no leaks! So, the fuel tank got a nice bath and covered in fluidfilm and looks a little bit better. I may lightly buff/sand and put some clear coat on it to bring out the shine again.
Lots of things are slightly rusty, so I may have to invest in a good brass wheel and a pedestal polisher/wire-wheel setup. But, all in all, it's coming along nicely.
The battery may take and hold a charge, I don't have a lot of faith it will though, lol. I need to make some new connectors for the main harness, the current ones are what's dangling there.
The petcock rebuild parts will arrive some time next week, and then I'll take it out in the yard.
I filled the fuel tube up a few times, put a couple miles on it just around the yard. The battery is totally dead, it's showing 3.9v even after a full day of charging/recovering. Looks like it's getting a security system 6v AGM battery like the Trail 90.
I fed it again, from a bottle, using a 1m length of hose to the carb. I could make approximately 5 laps around the gravel track in the yard, or .5 miles without having to refuel, so I didn't get a whole lot of seat time, but I did get some.
This transmission is easily the worst motorcycle transmission I've ever used. It's "all-down" meaning neutral is at the top, and to shift up, you push down. However, every "half-gear" has a neutral in there. So, yeah, this is going to be interesting riding around.
I fed it again, from a bottle, using a 1m length of hose to the carb. I could make approximately 5 laps around the gravel track in the yard, or .5 miles without having to refuel, so I didn't get a whole lot of seat time, but I did get some.
This transmission is easily the worst motorcycle transmission I've ever used. It's "all-down" meaning neutral is at the top, and to shift up, you push down. However, every "half-gear" has a neutral in there. So, yeah, this is going to be interesting riding around.
Le battery is installed, but still need to fix all the light switches and replace bulbs. The battery is a 6v SLA/AGM battery, so it's a little more robust than a typical FLA battery which would be correct for this bike. The trade off is no acid spewing everywhere, lower internal resistance, and better overcharge tolerance.
I may 3d print a block to put in there to fill up that extra space, so make it usable for a screwdriver.
I'll get to making the lights light this week.
I may 3d print a block to put in there to fill up that extra space, so make it usable for a screwdriver.
I'll get to making the lights light this week.
Cleaned and rebuilt the petcock. Got that installed and a fuel line run. This petcock has a filter integrated so no need to run an external fuel filter.
Also popped a brake light bulb in, and that works now too.
I think I'm gonna send off the Vermont registration stuff next week.
Also popped a brake light bulb in, and that works now too.
I think I'm gonna send off the Vermont registration stuff next week.
This bike is pretty cool. It's quick and light. However, it needs new tires.
My daughter is warming up to the idea of 2-stroke engine sounds. She noticed that the header pipe nut was loosening, and told me about it. So, I tried tightening it, but that didn't work, so... I took it off and found a gasket for it in my garage, lol.
It's an exhaust gasket for a ct90 that I didn't use, but it's cool that it fits. So, now the bike is a lot quieter, but the muffler needs to be repacked because there's no packing material in it.
My daughter is warming up to the idea of 2-stroke engine sounds. She noticed that the header pipe nut was loosening, and told me about it. So, I tried tightening it, but that didn't work, so... I took it off and found a gasket for it in my garage, lol.
It's an exhaust gasket for a ct90 that I didn't use, but it's cool that it fits. So, now the bike is a lot quieter, but the muffler needs to be repacked because there's no packing material in it.
Yesterday I had to fix the exhaust silencer... It needed some help. Years of repacking the muffler appear to have stripped the threads of the welded nut out. So, drilled to 6.2mm, threaded with a helicoil, and fixed. The first three times I packed it, I over stuffed it with the fiberglass mat, so it was super quiet, but it wasn't very fast afterwards...
So, it uses a comically tiny amount of packing, probably less than a single piece of steel wool worth, which is what I should have bought, because the sheet of mat I have will last me for decades.
So, it uses a comically tiny amount of packing, probably less than a single piece of steel wool worth, which is what I should have bought, because the sheet of mat I have will last me for decades.
