1980 NC50 Express "noped"

[Cerberus73]

will get pics soon as i get her here. turns out it aint 1980, its a 79, i just checked on dvla as he don't have a V5. also the indicators are after market items, so not original fitment to the bike so will either be redone as the wiring is iffy, or i will remove them. the most important bits are working, like the weird clockwork starter, she aint seized, and chrome is decent, ok sure spokes could be better on rear. and seat cover has a split, and ignition barrel is crap, not missing just sticky and rusty inside, so easier just to get a new pattern one. overall paint has chips, and plastics are faded, but i planned on a respray and refresh at very least. other than that she is not bad. once i get her running won't take much to MOT.

[Cerberus73]

Well here are the pics of the kitschtastic beast in all its orangey glory... smell the brown vinyl... and the 2 stroke oil... so 1970s. and with me on top a source of hilarity for half the town.









and the bad bits....





Needs a plastic cover for the carb/oil injection pump area, air filter box is there but has a split, and the internal rectangular section the filter sponge goes in... so will need to hunt these down.

Also seat pan is a bit crap, and cover has split. so will need to see if i can also acquire one of these, indicators fitted are not OEM as they weren't fitted as standard until 1980 in UK, its a 1979 Express NC50 K1 i have, so practical as they are, they will be coming off. chrome is in fair fettle, wheels are pretty damn good, still has the gold passivate on the nipples, only rear spokes are looking a little surface rusted, so wish i can find a way to get them back as good as front. brakes plates also great. tyres need new, as they are cracked in sidewalls and past there best before date... even though tread is good.

I can't seem to find paint code for the orange paint anywhere, and i do love the colour, so she will be getting redone in it. the motor will be coming out, all refurbed and put back in there. the plastics, well I'm thinking vinyl dye, or will have to paint em, but think the dye is more in keeping with the moped. exhaust is also in good nick, not rotted out so she will be getting rub down and repaint in heatproof black.

overall i can't moan at the money i payed, i looked on ebay and DK motorcycles have a green un in worse nick, not even uk registered, and asking starting bid of £499 with same mileage (theres is 2049, mines 2051) and then theres that mint one at other dealers £950... both seem extortionate in my opinion, but might mean its worth doing this thing properly. after all not much to it.

If anybody on the forum has any parts for one of these kicking around, especially a seat, the plastic carb cover and air filter. Maybe a wiring loom as think might be spliced for those add on indicators. will require further investigations.

[cruncherkid]

A top tip regarding the express....have owned 3 of them, and 2 have had the same problem......top up the petrol and the 2 stroke and within a few miles, sooty wet plug, smoke and the bike grinds to a halt and is a no-go......first time i encountered this was absolutely flummoxed! Solution....the petrol tank and 2 stroke tank are a combined unit, and the dividing wall can corrode allowing the 2 stroke to leech directly into the petrol, as the mixture gets stronger..... See where this is going? One to watch out for!

[Cerberus73]

Cheers cruncher, aye i have owned one in past, the tank of this one is great, shiny steel inside. overall the wee ped is in decent nick for a 32yo machine.

[Dumelang]

I love it! I want one. Nearly bought one a while back, but it had to many parts missing and it was blue

Orange is the way to go

[SamYamT80]

get some Autosol polish on the chrome it protects the chrome but also removes the rust,

hope this helps.

[Cerberus73]

Well managed to track down the 2 hardest parts to find, the air box and the carb cover. both new old stock. still need to find a seat base in decent nick. and front basket. yeah i know its gay as hell but it was original fitment, so it will be staying on the bike. other hard to find things will be tyres i guess 2.25 x 14 aint the easiest size to get! decals i will get reprinted, i will lay them out myself in illustrator and get them printed out via a mate at printshop. think he can do the silver and black ones as well, just need to figure out what font honda used in there 70,s warning / info labels.

[Boo]

get some Autosol polish on the chrome it protects the chrome but also removes the rust,

That's an expensive way of removing rust from chrome, and Austosol is quite abrasive to the chrome itself and will wear through eventually.

Wire wool and WD40 will see the rust off, and the wire wool is softer than chrome plate, so it doesn't scratch.

[crammy69]

get some Autosol polish on the chrome it protects the chrome but also removes the rust,

That's an expensive way of removing rust from chrome, and Austosol is quite abrasive to the chrome itself and will wear through eventually.

Wire wool and WD40 will see the rust off, and the wire wool is softer than chrome plate, so it doesn't scratch.

I like that idea, I was gonna make a post asking how for advice to get some marks off the crakcases on my triumph ( the previous owner left it wet in his barn so the laquer peeled and its gone manky) and that sounds like a good start. I did try using my sons dremel and WD40 but I somewhat made a mess ( par for the course with me )

- Sorry to hijack the thread - Love the Noped! proppa Bo!

[Norm]

Orange is the way to go

The future is most definitely orange