1965 Honda question

[made2care]

I'm restoring a 1965 Honda s65. I removed the original 65cc engine and am going with a piranha 125cc. This bike is kickstart only. The original battery was a 6v, do i need to upgrade to a 12v for the bigger engine. Could this be an issue on bikes oem wiring?

Thanks

[djh3]

I would bet the starter/charging system on the "new" motor is 12v. I know when I was a kid my brother had a 62 bug I think it was. It was a 6v car. We had to change a couple things like bulbs. Actually I think the wiring is larger on the 6v stuff. Puc probably knows best.

[Patch]

There would have to be a strong reason to keep the old wiring harness, for me.

 

You still need a new fuse box so the point of the existing harness is?

 

And when its damp and doesn't want to fire up, where do you begin to look?

 

Kicking a bike to start calls for a solid crushing spark! Ask any one of us that start with the British ones

[made2care]

I'm just going to get a new wiring harness that goes with the engine.

[Patch]

I had some time to look up the engine you mentioned... https://tboltusa.com/store/piranha-125-engine-p-940.html

 

I would encourage you concider the cdi TRC-9745

 

Here's a study link I hope you find interesting? Many of us old timers had to learn.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_discharge_ignition

 

There is much info I see on the carb if you have any to share please do..

[made2care]

I had some time to look up the engine you mentioned... https://tboltusa.com/store/piranha-125-engine-p-940.html

 

I would encourage you concider the cdi TRC-9745

 

Here's a study link I hope you find interesting? Many of us old timers had to learn.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_discharge_ignition

 

There is much info I see on the carb if you have any to share please do..

 

Thanks for info. i will have to check the cdi that it came with.

Another question. I have a new little 6v battery that is oem to the bike. Will i need to upgrade my battery to a 12v?

[Patch]

Thanks for info. i will have to check the cdi that it came with.

Another question. I have a new little 6v battery that is oem to the bike. Will i need to upgrade my battery to a 12v?

 

 

It can be hard to understand without understanding capacity and current but, that doesn't mean it is hard to get the basics.

Many members here can explain it better than I as combustion is my trip, so I'll blame others for me not having the crush of spark I need when I most want it.... Politely they may explain the errors of my ways or let me dangle a bit;)

 

So think of it this way, if demand require you curl 100lbs your bicep must deliver the energy to overcome the resistance, so if it is really pessary you may use both arms to do the curl 6+6 and the resistance drops.

 

Now for myself when I project somethin I set budgets... if I need a battery for example that isn't included in my budget I'll look to recoup the cost thru other decisions I make during the project till I'm complete... Part of the sport is maintaining a budget, not just throwing money at it!!

[Patch]

https://deepcyclebatterystore.com/the-battery-blog/how-to-charge-12-volt-6-volt-batteries/

[cowpuc]

I've done several of the Honda CT/CL/minitrail conversions over to chinese "kits".. Back when the chinese first bought the Honda patent, at a dealer show in Indianapolis = could by complete chinese "pit bikes" and scooters @85 bucks a piece as a dealer but had to buy by the container full (about 40 units).. Shortly thereafter, companies like Lifan started selling the conversion kits - personally I prefered their kits as they seemed the most worthy.. Maddy,, I have no idea what you got with your pirana? but the kits I used (use to get em complete with all periphials for just under a hundred bucks = that was for the 140cc, smaller = cheaper) all came with: wiring harness needed to get me to a regulator = had to buy regulator (cheap = under 5 dollars at the time), carb, intake manifold, cdi box, coil/plug wire.. does this sound familar or are you starting with engine only? Original Hondas like you are toying with were battery to points ignition and were 6 volts.. The new engine will probably not reguire a battery to run, it will probably have the typical trigger coil working together with an ignition coil at the stator = typical modern stuff. The lighting coil at the stator will be producing high voltage AC current.. That AC current does not care what voltage you convert to at the Regulator so you should be able to wire up to the original 6 volt rectifier if you want.. I never did that,, I just went with a cheapy 12 volt reg and swapped everything (batt/light bulbs) over to 12 volts = a lot more durable.. I know "Trail Buddy" used to make complete swap out new harnesses but its been a while = no idea if they are even still in business.. I never had to use them as I just used OEM harnesses on the bikes. Also,, if your going with a larger engine conversion you will probably have to redesign the pipe,, I converted stock pipes by Tigging on new flanges that would fit the larger ported 140's head to flange mount on several occasions... Something else to may be consider.. Dropping in a chinese conversion greatly reduces the "value" of the scoot - at least this proved to be true in my case.. I sold numerous restored Z-50 hardtails for over 7 grand back in the day.. CT70's of the era went for 5 grand and CT90's around 3500.. If you are thinking resale, you might want to rebuild OEM as those numbers drop greatly with conversions in the them = still wayyyy cool scoots though!! Just some xtra thoughts to think about...