Has anyone ever tried this? The lifan motors use the same mounts as the cubs, so a CT motor would either need its mounts modified, the frame modified, or an adaptor fabbed to do this. But how would the motor or frame need modifying?
I ask because I have the CT motor which I just rebuilt with the big bore kit, atc110 cam, and 22mm carb is fixing to be replaced with a Lifan 125, and maybe I wouldn't mind throwing the built engine into a cub if I found one. Yeah I know it makes no sense, but hey I'm young what I do isn't supposed to.

Ok so there's even more to this than I initially let on. One of my dreams is to live in Vietnam for a year or two and teach english (if you didn't know teaching English as a foreign language is a HUGE in Southeast Asia and many other places right now). Well motorcycles in 'Nam have always been limited to 125-175cc (depends on who you ask/where you look), though I think that law may have changed but I'm not entirely certain, and the honda cubs are a dime a dozen over there.
Some of you might be starting to see where I'm going with this. But anyways a short while back I was reading a magazine article about tips for when on long, extended trips traveling by motorcycle/adventure riding in/through third world countries, and one of the tips was that:
'You may not always be able to get major parts/components for your bike if it breaks. And often when you can the shipping costs are more than a trip home and back. You should consider having some of these parts at the ready back home to be shipped to you or fly back and pick them up and return with them to your bike when you can'
...or something like that. ANYWAYS it got me thinking (dangerous, I know) and I thought 'HEY, if you can go get a replacement engine and check it at the airport and fly it back with you to tim buk tu, why couldn't I just take my beloved built up, dual range CT motor with me if I decide to go to Vietnam?'
Most of you are thinking at this point "Why in the hell would you bother to do that, when everyone knows cubs are one tier above cockroaches in the indestructible category and the motor on any cub you find will be running still despite being ran all its life on piss water gas and the original oil?!?!"
Short answer, because I think it would be too god damned cool for school.
Long answer, a couple years back I watched the Top Gear Vietnam Special. It was that very TV episode that sparked my interest in going to Vietnam, coincidentally. In that episode James May mounted a Honda Cub, a C50 to exact, and with his colleagues Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson on a Russian Minsk and Vespa Scooter respectively traveled from Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon to Hanoi. I was enthralled by the thought of taking a small scooter and traveling such a long ways on it and doing such a trip myself one day. However, James May was the weakest link of the group and often almost unable to make some of the hills due to his steed of choice. James did make it along with the rest of his colleagues, but not without such hardship that shames the venerable Honda Cub. That wrong needs righting and I think I'm just the ham fisted knucklehead for the job (mostly because I want to be). And my tool of choice for right this wrong, my CT90 motor.
True, if I go to 'Nam I could easily find a bigger bike and not endure the same problems James May did, but what's adventure without adversity? A walk in the park, that's what. And I got a park 2 blocks away if that's what I cared about.
Sure, there are larger cc models of the cub which might be successful in making that trip in stock trim, but that's too simple and sensible for me.
True I could take my lifan motor and swap it in even easier and have a better (in all regards) more powerful motor, but then the communists would win and we can't have that. Ignore the fact I've already bought their motor. Actually you know what, I bought that motor from an American company in an act of complete capitalism, where they got it isn't consequential. So maybe the lifan gets some consideration. But then it would be a Lub or a Cufan, so there's that detractor.
That all said, there's just something appealing to me about bringing my own motor and finding a bike that needs a new heart for less Dong than a good running bike and doing something stupid with it like say take a 2 week trip through Vietnam on it. I guess that goes back to my built not bought philosophy, well its more of a preference really, but regardless I want to do it. PLUS I'd have the dual range trans if my beefed up little motor isn't enough to haul my ass up a hill or if I wanted to do something even more stupid/crazy with it like (I'm still waiting for an example to come to me thats more stupid/crazy than leaving my good job and life in the US behind for a job teaching english in 'Nam and a scooter).
Also, I've always fancied going to Australia on Work Holiday Visa, and with the posties down there this would be an equally tempting idea.
Thoughts, comments, actual advice regarding the initial question(s) at the start of this post?
I ask because I have the CT motor which I just rebuilt with the big bore kit, atc110 cam, and 22mm carb is fixing to be replaced with a Lifan 125, and maybe I wouldn't mind throwing the built engine into a cub if I found one. Yeah I know it makes no sense, but hey I'm young what I do isn't supposed to.


Ok so there's even more to this than I initially let on. One of my dreams is to live in Vietnam for a year or two and teach english (if you didn't know teaching English as a foreign language is a HUGE in Southeast Asia and many other places right now). Well motorcycles in 'Nam have always been limited to 125-175cc (depends on who you ask/where you look), though I think that law may have changed but I'm not entirely certain, and the honda cubs are a dime a dozen over there.
Some of you might be starting to see where I'm going with this. But anyways a short while back I was reading a magazine article about tips for when on long, extended trips traveling by motorcycle/adventure riding in/through third world countries, and one of the tips was that:
'You may not always be able to get major parts/components for your bike if it breaks. And often when you can the shipping costs are more than a trip home and back. You should consider having some of these parts at the ready back home to be shipped to you or fly back and pick them up and return with them to your bike when you can'
...or something like that. ANYWAYS it got me thinking (dangerous, I know) and I thought 'HEY, if you can go get a replacement engine and check it at the airport and fly it back with you to tim buk tu, why couldn't I just take my beloved built up, dual range CT motor with me if I decide to go to Vietnam?'
Most of you are thinking at this point "Why in the hell would you bother to do that, when everyone knows cubs are one tier above cockroaches in the indestructible category and the motor on any cub you find will be running still despite being ran all its life on piss water gas and the original oil?!?!"
Short answer, because I think it would be too god damned cool for school.
Long answer, a couple years back I watched the Top Gear Vietnam Special. It was that very TV episode that sparked my interest in going to Vietnam, coincidentally. In that episode James May mounted a Honda Cub, a C50 to exact, and with his colleagues Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson on a Russian Minsk and Vespa Scooter respectively traveled from Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon to Hanoi. I was enthralled by the thought of taking a small scooter and traveling such a long ways on it and doing such a trip myself one day. However, James May was the weakest link of the group and often almost unable to make some of the hills due to his steed of choice. James did make it along with the rest of his colleagues, but not without such hardship that shames the venerable Honda Cub. That wrong needs righting and I think I'm just the ham fisted knucklehead for the job (mostly because I want to be). And my tool of choice for right this wrong, my CT90 motor.
True, if I go to 'Nam I could easily find a bigger bike and not endure the same problems James May did, but what's adventure without adversity? A walk in the park, that's what. And I got a park 2 blocks away if that's what I cared about.
Sure, there are larger cc models of the cub which might be successful in making that trip in stock trim, but that's too simple and sensible for me.
True I could take my lifan motor and swap it in even easier and have a better (in all regards) more powerful motor, but then the communists would win and we can't have that. Ignore the fact I've already bought their motor. Actually you know what, I bought that motor from an American company in an act of complete capitalism, where they got it isn't consequential. So maybe the lifan gets some consideration. But then it would be a Lub or a Cufan, so there's that detractor.
That all said, there's just something appealing to me about bringing my own motor and finding a bike that needs a new heart for less Dong than a good running bike and doing something stupid with it like say take a 2 week trip through Vietnam on it. I guess that goes back to my built not bought philosophy, well its more of a preference really, but regardless I want to do it. PLUS I'd have the dual range trans if my beefed up little motor isn't enough to haul my ass up a hill or if I wanted to do something even more stupid/crazy with it like (I'm still waiting for an example to come to me thats more stupid/crazy than leaving my good job and life in the US behind for a job teaching english in 'Nam and a scooter).
Also, I've always fancied going to Australia on Work Holiday Visa, and with the posties down there this would be an equally tempting idea.
Thoughts, comments, actual advice regarding the initial question(s) at the start of this post?
