Will a old school CT70H style Manual Clutch Cover Fit on a Lifan Style 125 with Manual clutch??

[Carlo C.]

Guys,
I am very curios if anyone will know the answer. Will a old school Honda 70 (CT70H Style) right side manual clutch cover work on a newer Lifan 125 style engine?

Thanks In advance.

Carlo

 

[OLD CT]

No, it will not. The Lifan's clutch pack is not ''crank mounted'' like a CT70H. Inside the cover is way different on both.

 

[Carlo C.]

No, it will not. The Lifan's clutch pack is not ''crank mounted'' like a CT70H. Inside the cover is way different on both.

OLD CT,
Thanks for the answer. I was hoping I could put the old school cover on it to give it more of the Honda look.

Carlo C.

 

[kirrbby]

I don't know the answer to your question...but the picture of the engine that you posted looks like it DOES have the crank mounted clutch.

 

[OLD CT]

Yes, I do see the clutch arm in the correct spot that I didn't see before. I still think it's different inside. We would have seen a lot more people changing them over by now. I know the 140 clutch cover gasket does not interchange with the ct70 gasket. I had to buy the correct lifan gasket kit.

 

[Carlo C.]

Guys,
I just thought it would make the engine look more correct in my CT70 if I could do the swap. I already ordered a flywheel cover for a Honda XR70 that seems to be the same for the other side of the engine.

Carlo C.

 

[Carlo C.]

Guys,
I don't know how many people are actually interested or not, but I can now tell you from 1st hand experience that if you have a Lifan style 125 with manual crank mount clutch you can swap it out for an older style Honda manual clutch cover. dirtbkr188 helped me out with some information and actually had a old style cover for me to try and I was so happy to find out it works. I am not building an all original bike, but I want it to look as much like a Honda as possible so this was a great surprise to find out it would work.

I am not finished with the cover yet as I just received it tonight and checked to see if it would work. I plan on stripping it and water sanding it to give it that nice satin look like I did to the flywheel cover.


I have attached some pictures of my engine with the Lifan covers and the Honda style covers.



Carlo C.

 

[kirrbby]

Good stuff Carlo.
I'm guessing that if you had a lifan with the trans mounted clutch, a Honda TRX90 clutch cover would work on that too.

I'm hoping that your engine is going to PERFORM for you...after you get it all dolled up. I just don't know if a Lifan 125, is going to perform as well as a Honda based 125. What is your expectations for top speed? And maybe someone with experience will be able to tell you if your target is achievable.
I'm thinkin you're going to top out at about 60...all out. And that's after you tweak your exhaust and gearing. You'll need to open up that exhaust a bit...if you have the one I think you have.

I have a feeling that you're a guy who might be hard to impress. I'm just not sure that this engine is the ticket.

 

[OLD CT]

This is actually one thread that hasn't been covered a million times already. I didn't think it was possible. Glad it worked out. Great job dirtbkr188.

 

[MountainMini]

Agreed very good stuff! I’ve patiently been awaiting the results of your experiment. Thanks for doing this. I may want to do this for future builds👍. I have five Lifan/Chinese manual transmission engines.

Were there any special “Tweeks” you had to do? Have you had it running Yet?

I have a couple of lifan shell crankcases that I put a Honda 3 speed semi auto RH cover on and it dropped on there like a good fitting glove. But it was just a shell.

 

[Carlo C.]

Good stuff Carlo.
I'm guessing that if you had a lifan with the trans mounted clutch, a Honda TRX90 clutch cover would work on that too.

I'm hoping that your engine is going to PERFORM for you...after you get it all dolled up. I just don't know if a Lifan 125, is going to perform as well as a Honda based 125. What is your expectations for top speed? And maybe someone with experience will be able to tell you if your target is achievable.
I'm thinkin you're going to top out at about 60...all out. And that's after you tweak your exhaust and gearing. You'll need to open up that exhaust a bit...if you have the one I think you have.

I have a feeling that you're a guy who might be hard to impress. I'm just not sure that this engine is the ticket.

kirrbby,
I think you may be correct about the TRX90 clutch cover. The very first bike I built was a 1980 model Z50 years back with a Piranha 140 and it still to this day runs great. I am 220lbs and have been over 70 mph with it wide open and it still is a really fun bike to ride. I did change the cam, port the head and put a VM26 carb on it which helped out a bunch. (I will add some pictures.)
I knew when I decided on the 125 that it was not gonna be a rocket, but I also did not wanna give up the engine guard on the bike. I promised myself I would keep the bike looking as much like an original as possible with just some small added touches that I like. For instance I hate the factory bolts and always change them out to stainless on all my builds. I think that having both the Honda style covers will help me put up with the Lifan engine on the bike. LOL As for gearing I put a 17 front sprocket on the engine and a 35 on the rear wheel and hopefully I can at least cruise around 45 to 50. I plan on once it is done to port the head, add a good performance cam and a piston with a little more compression to the mix, but it needs to be complete and running before I worry about all of that. I keep hearing about modifying the exhaust. What is needed to do that? I seen some guys drilling holes in the back to free up some back pressure??

When I 1st built it: How it looks today:

It may also be getting some new engine side covers in the future.

This is actually one thread that hasn't been covered a million times already. I didn't think it was possible. Glad it worked out. Great job dirtbkr188.

OLD CT,
I was going to make this happen even if I had to swap cranks out. dirtbkr188 had a cover and took some measurements for me. He has been a great help.

Agreed very good stuff! I’ve patiently been awaiting the results of your experiment. Thanks for doing this. I may want to do this for future builds👍. I have five Lifan/Chinese manual transmission engines.

Were there any special “Tweeks” you had to do? Have you had it running Yet?

I have a couple of lifan shell crankcases that I put a Honda 3 speed semi auto RH cover on and it dropped on there like a good fitting glove. But it was just a shell.

MountainMini,
So when I received the cover from dirtbkr188 I put a straight edge across the gasket surface and measured the depth to the little Top Hat that actually moves and releases the clutch. It was like .065 difference between the two of them, so then I measured the little top hat itself and they were like .035 difference in thickness. From what I can tell that little bit of difference will not effect the way it works at all. I have not run it yet with the changes, but I am very confident that it will work fine.

Thanks for all the comments.
Carlo C.

 

[Carlo C.]

Guys,
Just wanted to report in that I finally took the old girl for its first ride and the clutch worked perfect. The new carb needs a little work, but the bike ran and shifted perfect.

Carlo C.