Melody Delux Restoration

[Fara]

I'm new here on the forums! Hello!

I bought an ND50 in running but horribly abused condition (bless them, they never quit) and I'm in way over my head. I've got a history of mechanics, but only with big stuff that has four wheels, rollcages, and a turbocharger crammed into every available space. A little scooter is a totally new thing for me.

The idea is that I'm going to strip it all back, de-rust, fix everything that's broken, upgrade what I can, put it all back together, and then give it away to someone who needs it more than I do. So far, I've done one of those things. Then I took a step back, saw the extent of my spanner-happy idiocy, and decided I needed some help.

Here it is the day I brought it back, alongside my current daily.

7311.jpg (71.34 KiB) Viewed 5614 times

It doesn't look like that any more...

[e-Pirate]

Hai ju :>

Cool bike

[Breezy]

cool, you dont see them down my ways, so what have you done in this spanner happy expedition?
any more pics?

this here may help http://hondaspree.net/wiki/index.php5?title=Main_Page

[noiseguy]

Get over to wikispreedia and read my article on barn find scooters... how to bring them back.

http://hondaspree.net/wiki/index.php5?t ... n_the_Road

I don't know the details of what you've done, but the biggest problem that I see others (myself included) is digging in too deep into areas that should be "skipped" up front. At the beginning, you just want the basics to go... leave the rest for later when you've established that the machine can be made to run economically. Most can, and for little to no investment.

[Fara]

Cheers!

I've put the Honda on hold for the minute, as I'm doing a full engine rebuild on the Yamaha.

[Fara]

The stupid Scumaha is finished, after two rebuilds. The engine rebuild went well, and I doubled the original top speed of the bike. The full strip-back-to-frame rebuild went well too, and I now have a badly-resprayed but mechanically-sound and totally rust-free bike to make dirty and wreck now.

But that means I can make a start with the Melody again! I'm going to try resisting the urge to put a seven-speed race engine I have, from another bike, into it. My uneducated guess is that with the standard wheel diameter, the top speed with that engine would be in the region of 80 to 85 miles per hour. There's a devilish part of me that reeeeally wants to, but it would turn it into a wheelie weapon of instantaneous suicide, so maybe I wont. But I'm sure I could.

ANYWAY,

First question: the front suspension "forks" are funked. Do I need to get a whole new set that runs up through the steering to the handlebars, or is there a way to remove, refurb, and refit them without buying the whole assembly? Or is there an easy/cheap/worthwhile upgrade? I've seen the fork upgrade page on Wikispreedia, but I'm undecided about which way to actually go as yet.

Thanks!

[noiseguy]

Depends on what's broken with the forks. Frankly, in US I've usually found it easier to run down a used assembly when they are bent and replace the whole thing.

In terms of interchange... no idea, but there are lots of swaps out there... you can probably make something else Honda fit.

[uk-visionsa50]

i know theres a kit on uk ebay for the melody cant remember how much it is though, but id do the headset bearings at the same time anyway.ill see if i can find a link to it for you.