New purchase questions -2006 Roketa 200cc DB-06

[Weldangrind]

I think your best bet would be to start with some plate and fabricate a new flange to suit.


Is your old Suzuki a TS185?

[Landsvw]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

I think your best bet would be to start with some plate and fabricate a new flange to suit.


Is your old Suzuki a TS185?

I actually did that yesterday, created a flange. It looks homemade so that kinda matches Chinese bike building. pictures will follow.

Also, I believe my Suzuki is/was a 1972 TS90 Honcho. I used to have a tc125 back when I was in high school. That was a great bike. High low range gear box and really pretty bulletproof. I bought a second one in college used, and rode it a lot too. So, probably the 90's-185's are the same frame and tanks etc. seem close anyway.

Roketa is pretty much ready except for the exhaust gasket and welding the pipe back together. I figure I'd do that once the gasket was installed for proper pipe pieces alignment.

[Landsvw]

Originally Posted by Landsvw

Here's my 'Frankenbike'. It's a 1973 Suzuki with a 2001 xr100 engine installed. I got both for free. Suzuki had been laying in weeds for about 20 years. I loved the ugliness of it, but the engine was a gonner. Some judicious plate cutting and welding made me some motor mounts. A few other items, like giant headlight I found and whatnot, completed it with a nice rat bike look. I've ridden it a lot but no title, so not really too interested in wiring it or anything like that. I took it on a 100 mile trails only journey across Fairbanks and it held up well. Chain broke 3 miles from finish, but my sister towed me in. It currently resides at my moms home in Alaska. Never too old!

Probably originally something like this:

[Landsvw]

Here's my flange



And



Here's another shot of the destroyed catalytic material as I pull it out of the pipe

[Landsvw]

I have the right side tank plastics if anyone needs it. Other side is broken and I won't be putting it back on

[hertz9753]

An early 70's Suzuki with oil injection and a rotary valve. I remember when I had a Yamaha GT80 and my friend had a Kawasaki KM100. I had to paddle over the top of some hills and he didn't.

[Landsvw]

Originally Posted by hertz9753

An early 70's Suzuki with oil injection and a rotary valve. I remember when I had a Yamaha GT80 and my friend had a Kawasaki KM100. I had to paddle over the top of some hills and he didn't.

I had the dual range transmission shifting down. It was a lever just above the front sprocket. I could kick it with my heel. Effectively giving me 8 forward gears. Ahhhh the good old days. Although the suspension on those bikes were 10x worse than this Chinese roketa... Spine breaker.

[Weldangrind]

The 90 was a little smaller than the 125. The 125 and the 185 shared the same frame, as did the 250 and 400. The 185 actually had a superior power to weight ratio to the 250, since the 250 frame was so heavy. I still have a '79 TS250 in the shop, and I sold a '77 TS185 two years ago. I admit to a love for '70's TS Suzukis.


I'd love to hear more about how you shoehorned the XR125 into the TS90 frame. how did you figure out the mounts? Did the kicker and shifter end up in good spots?


Nice work on the flange; I'm sure that will do nicely. What type of welder are you using?

[Landsvw]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

The 90 was a little smaller than the 125. The 125 and the 185 shared the same frame, as did the 250 and 400. The 185 actually had a superior power to weight ratio to the 250, since the 250 frame was so heavy. I still have a '79 TS250 in the shop, and I sold a '77 TS185 two years ago. I admit to a love for '70's TS Suzukis.


I'd love to hear more about how you shoehorned the XR125 into the TS90 frame. how did you figure out the mounts? Did the kicker and shifter end up in good spots?


Nice work on the flange; I'm sure that will do nicely. What type of welder are you using?

The engine install wasn't too bad. I'll post a few pictures. The right side frame under the engine I had to cut out a piece. I could bend and weld in a new piece at some point, but the xr100 has engine as part of frame so figured it wasn't critical. I aligned the sprockets as that was critical. They also have to be aligned vertically with suspension flex or the suspension compression binds the chain. I kind of messed up on that but put a spring loaded tensioner to compensate. That's why my chain broke on the long ride. I was stressing the chain constantly before I noticed that issue. Let's see, carb and air intake is obvious as its coming out the other side. And then the exhaust is coming out the left side, so I used the 2 stroke pipe with some welding and modification. If I'd had a XR pipe I would have probably gone to the right. Made some simple measurements, made motor mounts, and there ya have it! Shifter and starter are fine. And the XR engine is about the sweetest engine you could ask for. Love that engine.

My welder is a Campbell Hausfield 115 mig with 030 wire in it. I really like it and uses house hold current which is good since my shop doesn't have 220.

[Landsvw]

[Landsvw]

Success! No leaks, no weird restrictions, no springs, and a little black paint for posterity. Now I need a heat shield to complete the project.

[Landsvw]

Took her for a 10 mile maiden voyage tonight. Runs like a top, I was actually impressed. 55-60 no problem, and scoots right down the road. Unclogging that pipe was a big improvement. Well, I'll keep tinkering. I think the front tire is full of that green goop so maybe I better check into it... Also, a headlight bulb. And hopefully a gas cap, Exhaust shield and a new headlight assembly for looks. Need to change the title over and register then ready for action. I'll keep posting as things continue.

[Weldangrind]

Nice work on your Roketa! Do you plan to fabricate a heat shield? I haven't had to make on yet, but if I did I would start with a piece of tube that is only slightly larger than the cat bubble. I'd cut some slots or drill some holes in it and mount it to the existing nuts on the header. If you really wanted to get fancy, you could make it out of stainless tube.


Thanks for the additional pics of the XR/TS combo. I forgot about how the TS is a cradle frame vs. the stressed member Honda motor. Now I'm wondering if a 200cc Honda clone would drop in there.

[Landsvw]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

Nice work on your Roketa! Do you plan to fabricate a heat shield? I haven't had to make on yet, but if I did I would start with a piece of tube that is only slightly larger than the cat bubble. I'd cut some slots or drill some holes in it and mount it to the existing nuts on the header. If you really wanted to get fancy, you could make it out of stainless tube.


Thanks for the additional pics of the XR/TS combo. I forgot about how the TS is a cradle frame vs. the stressed member Honda motor. Now I'm wondering if a 200cc Honda clone would drop in there.

Let's see, heat shield - I think I could do that... Or, possibly that metal that comes pre holed... Like a grate - and then bend and cut to shape. This is a budget build and so far I have less than 375$ into it, total, including the bike. Registration is 77$ here in Oregon so that's gonna be the big item.

Again, I can't believe this poor bike was so disabled; the PO was really fighting against a lot of issues... Between bad CDI, cracked intake, choke always closed and the plugged cat., wow... But man, it fires immediately when I hit the button now.

As far as re-engined TS Suzuki, there is a lot of room above the xr100 valve cover, and, seems like a person could cut that smaller bar out of there too, giving even more room. Also, the front mount could be easily modified. Since the Honda has the engine as part of the frame, can't see why the Suzuki couldn't be that too. Try it! The size of the Suzuki is really good. I like how they feel. The engines were good too, but a 4-stroke, in my opinion, is a better all around engine. Heck, if worst comes to worse, cut the whole front mount off, install the engine from the back where it needs to be and then redesign the front mount.

Piece of cake! Chinese bikes are the same thing going on! Who knows what frame my Roteka is modified from, but we know the engine is the Honda CG200.


I see you're in Abbotsford BC. I've been through there a lot. I lived in Alaska for 28 years (until I moved to Oregon to thaw) and usually turned south at Abbotsford to hit the custom station when I drove down the Alcan highway. Nice area. If I could move to anywhere in the world it would be BC. Love that pretty province. I'd move to somewhere probably out along the coast, or up between Smithers and Prince Rupert.

[Landsvw]

Aha! I think I maybe found the cap that fits this specific bike. It's not a twist in at all. Only straight down to click on the inner ledge. It's a Honda Rebel type cap... Here's some pictures, see if you think I'm on to something. Nothing Chinese seems to be right. All of them are either 1/4 twist or plastic tank. This must have been an earlier metal version to meet street legal requirements or something. Not sure. With the catalytic converter in the pipe I'm assuming something like that. Roketa websites show nothing similar, and after a long combination of search words through eBay came up with these pictures:







And then, mine again...