CG125 idling issues, and other teething problems

[Baryonyx]

Evening all,


As discussed elsewhere, I've recently bought a CG125 for getting to work on. The brief background on this was that my 106 Rallye was fked, and wouldn't be taking me to work again. I decided to make use of my CBT and buy a Honda CG125, spurred on by various biking friends who thought it sounded like a great idea.

For the most part, I've enjoyed riding it and getting to work for next nothing, cost wise, is a boon. A few issues have reared their heads though, rapidly developing from little niggles into real issues.


The first thing to address is probably the idling issue. For the past three journeys, the bike has been a real pain to start. Ever since I put a fiver's worth of fuel in at a BP garage the other day. The tank is now full again. Idling the bike when it's cold is a fking nightmare. Tonight, I couldn't get it start at all when I left work. After plenty of kick-starting, it finally fired. I should note though that, no matter where I left the choke lever, I couldn't take my hand off the throttle, if I closed the throttle the engine would promptly cut out. Shortly after putting it on full choke, I heard the revs rise and I moved the lever to half choke, thinking the bike was ready to come off full choke. It cut out.

I managed to ride out of the office car park, onto the main road and reached a set of traffic lights. The bike cut out just as I passed the traffic lights, and took another few moments standing at the roadside trying to kick start it, and then get it to idle without assistance. Eventually, I just rode off as it was, stopping down the road and taking all the choke off. The engine was generally fine after that, for the most part. I should note that when the bike is having trouble idling, the throttle occasionally feels extremely lazy, like opening it wide gives very little response, typically before the bike cuts out. I've also had more luck starting and running on the reserve position on the fuel tap rather than the main position, though I don't know if this is genuine or if it's just something else I'm doing when I'm fiddling with the bike trying to get it to go.


It's been cooler this week than it was last week, but I thought last week the bike warmed through pretty quickly, even when it needed some choke to start. This week, I don't know if it's just not warming through quickly, or if there is a deeper issue at play. After a few miles riding the bike, it generally feels okay. That is, except for the other issue I'm having.





Twice tonight, the bike cut out just as I passed through a junction, leaving me stranded on the wrong side of a now-red traffic light. As if this wasn't bad enough, I've had issues pulling away this week, primarily related to finding first gear. Now, trying to shift a 15 stone bloke with 11hp would challenge any bike, but I've categorically discovered that this bike just won't hill start in second gear. The issue being that often, I'm kicking down the 'box as far as it will go. Sometimes, I'm able to gently let the clutch out and press the gear lever down and find first, but a lot of the time it just won't happen. I've got away with this a few times in the flat, piling on the revs and feathering out the clutch until I can get the bike to pull away, but first is so often elusive. A few times over the past few journeys, I've stalled trying to pull away. Sometimes, I'm stuck at traffic lights on a hill, feeling that I haven't got the bike in first and can't pull away in second, so I have to paddle the bike to road side, let the traffic past and stall the bike to get back to first gear. I've been lucky so far, to find drivers behind me who are patient or happy to drive round me as I stand trying to kick the bike into life, but I am wondering if this is a phase that will pass.




So, to consolidate these issues:


1) The idling problem, does the bike just need ages to warm up? Like, a good ten minutes of holding it on a steady throttle? Would adjusting the idle screw to speed the idle up be worth a go?

2) How can I get round this issue of finding first gear? I know the CG 'box is renowned for being a slop-fest, but being locked out of first has put me in a few dangerous situations this week. Is there some technique to getting from second to first, when the box is effectively locking you out, without stalling the bike, letting the clutch out and putting it in first gear?

3) Can an electric start button be retrofitted to these bikes? Mine is a 2001 model with a kick start lever. It's easy to use in the dry, but with wet boots, on a hill, it can be tricky. Certainly, the most dangerous situations I've found myself in this week have involved stalling, whereas on my CBT I found the CG125 with the push button start was useful for quickly tidying up any fk-ups I made with the bike.


NB: The problems I've experienced above tend to occur in the first half of my ride home, through urban and suburban areas. Once I'm out in the country and riding down B roads, the bike feels fine. It'll even (usually) find first quite easily when approaching a slow corner.


In general, I've enjoyed riding the bike. This week's rides should have been the best so far, finishing work at midnight and getting a quiet ride home. I don't do short journeys on the bike, my commute is 24 miles a day and I never just jump on to go to the shops. The bike only has 5000 miles on it and has a good service record, and is stunningly cheap to run and easier than cycling. When I've had a good day, I feel like my riding is really coming together and I'm looking forward to getting back on when I put the bike away. These past couple of nights, the bike has felt like it's fighting against me, I've felt like paying attention to the problems the bike was suffering, or worrying about what was going to happen at the next traffic light, was putting me off really concentrating on the minutiae of my ride, which was worse off as a consequence. I've been happy just to get home these past couple of nights and put the bike in the garage, satisfied that I am at least home if not content with the way things have went.



I am hoping these teething problems can be resolved, as I mainly just want to get on and enjoy riding the fking thing.

[Baryonyx]

It's a doddle to kickstart when it's warm. You could turn the engine off and consistently kick start it once it's warmed through. The issue being, that for the first part of my ride home from work it's all gently uphill towards the city and the interchanges I need to get home. So the bike is going through lots of periods of idling at traffic lights and on hills, perfect time for it to cut out and then it's a bugger to restart, more than likely linked to whatever problems the bike is already suffering. Pressing a button over and over until it fired would be easier than jumping on a greasy kick start lever though!


I've been out and had a fiddle with the idle speed screw just now, albeit not for long as I'm just about to go out. It didn't seem to make much of a difference, indeed just before putting the bike away it held an idle for about 30 seconds before slowly spluttering and dying out. The missus was furious as all the exhaust fumes blew back into the garage and made the kitchen stink.

I think the suggestion that the choke is malfunctioning could be bang on the money, as the issues are mainly experienced when the bike is cold and get better as the ride goes on. Looking at the outside of the assembly, it appears to be working though I can't say what is going on inside the bike. Looks like it could be a couple of hours work to strip down and rebuild. I'll have another fiddle tomorrow, with the exhaust pointing away from the house...

[Baryonyx]

The problems I've had with the gearbox have certainly been resolved to some degree by counting my way down through the gears, letting the clutch in and out as I go. When I first got on the bike, I was giving too much concentration to other things, but now I'm more familiar with the gears, and their respective speed/noise/throttle response relationship, so I normally know where I am. Coming down to junctions, I've largely solved the issue of not being able to find first by slowly trailing to a stop in second and clicking down to first just as I come to stop, or go. I've learned not to be timid with the throttle when pulling away, especially on hills, as it really needs some!


It's still stalled at junctions, usually just as I come to stop or pull away. I suspect this is still due to the running issue. It was marginally better on Saturday monring, in that it only cut out twice, both close to home and when the roads were deserted. Coming home from work on Monday afternoon, I was expecting a tough ride. Mechanical issues mixed with rush hour traffic weren't an appealing mix, so I wasn't especially thrilled to be heading home on it after a long day at work. That was a surprise, as it started and idled fine first time, and gave no trouble on the way home. Despite heavy traffic on the way out of the city, the ride was good fun. I did have an issue with the N/S mirror blowing down to point at my knee in any sort of wind, a probably that first only appeared on NSL roads with a headwind, was now happening at 30mph. I went for a replacement mirror today, but the Honda garage was shut. I've pulled the gaiter down and glued the edge of the ball joint, which should hopefully hold out.