The TLR...

May be it is a good idea to begin the TLR before the TY is done, may be not. What I am trying to do is complete both bikes before the first week of September when my son is coming down for a few days. It seems doable if I can stay focused. If I can not keep up, neither bike will be done. So, let's see what happens.

The TLR 200 is more than just a TLR. It is a  Reflex which was originally imported into the United States. As you Honda guys know, this means that the engine was virtually unusable because of the strangled carburation and the chassis was burdened with a battery which was actually carried like a saddlebag on the right hand side of the bike. Excess weight was everywhere. After I bought the bike I did the basics to turn it into a useful trail bike. The very first thing that I did was to re-wire the thing to eliminate the lighting system, turn signals, battery, and instruments. Secondly, I mounted a seat/tank unit from B & J Racing a supplier in the United States. Next, I got some new shocks and handlebars and a WES exhaust from the same supplier. These changes helped, but the bike was not really transformed until  I mounted a Chinese copy Keihin carburetor. The Chinese Keihin made all the difference...actually the carburetor made more difference than anything else that I did to the bike.

This time the TLR is just going to get a cosmetic overhaul. All of the mechanical bits are working as well as can be expected for a trail bike. But being used constantly in the salty environment of the beaches here in La Paz has taken its toll. There is an unacceptable amount of rust around the lower frame and the swing arm, and the paint is disappearing at an alarming rate. As you can see in the photo above, the seat/tank unit has never been painted, and it has a nice crack on the rearmost edge from me sitting there when I got too tired to keep up the trials posture. I hope to mount alloy fenders front and rear, but mounting a rear alloy fender has its challenges. We will see.

As of this moment, the seat/tank unit is on the work bench being cleaned-up after the repairs to the rear lip. Later today, I expect to apply the first coat of primer.