Roy’s 125 chop

A bit of a one-off this time, because I didn’t build the loom – or even see the bike. Instead I drew the diagram and encouraged my work colleague Ben to build it.

Ben’s in a bike club, and the Keyway 125 was for the son of another club member. Everyone had mucked in to help with the fabrication and paint, but the wiring had proved more problematic.

Ben volunteered to help. After all, when you work in the same shop as a rewiring specialist, how hard can it be? He brought in the existing loom, a Haynes manual, and a few pics of the engine connectors. The aftermarket clock was a bit trickier as it came without instructions, but we figured out what the wires did in the end.

Chinese 125s are strange things, but in my limited experience they tend to copy 1980s Honda 125s in the charging and ignition bit, with a bit of 21st century electronics in the clocks. Otherwise they are entirely ordinary.

Ben spent a few evenings on the job and experienced mild stress, but the bike fired up and everything worked. Then again, he is a really thoughtful, meticulous mechanic who builds E Type Jags for a living, and who has created all sorts of custom cars in the past.

The bike was ready for Roy’s 17th birthday, and shortly afterwards won the best engineering award at a local custom show. A happy result.