Never let it be said that YouTube channel Live with Creativity backs down from a challenge. We’ve written up some of their work in the past, including an extremely sad old Vespa that had clearly spent the better part of its life outdoors. (Spoiler alert: After untold hours of careful time and effort, he whipped that sorry excuse for a scooter completely back into beautiful, ridable shape.)  

This time around, though, the guy has embarked on a bit of a different mission. As emissions standards change over time, and different regulations crack down on older vehicles that aren’t up to snuff, what do you do with them? Many are simply left outside to languish, which is clearly the case with the three bikes from which Live with Creativity makes a project choice to start off this video. What if you could turn, say, an old Honda CG125 into a shiny new electric bike, though? That’s exactly what LWC starts doing here. 

For those unfamiliar, the CG125 was in production from the mid-1970s straight through the mid-to-late-2000s. It was essentially made to take a beating, and be the sort of Everybike that commuters would flock to. As enthusiasts, most of us pride ourselves on taking good care of our bikes. However, not everyone feels the same way. I can tell you about some car drivers I’ve met who gave zero ducks about silly things like oil changes, checking tire pressures, or other extremely basic maintenance items. (“Why’d that engine seize? I don’t know, why don’t you tell me?” is a conversation I have sadly had in my life.) Anyway, there are surely some riders who feel the same way about their trusty commuter steeds—and the humble CG125 was built to accommodate that market. 

Although LWC doesn’t specify a year on this bike, we can hazard a guess from the graphics Honda chose to use. They proudly proclaim it to be a Euro 2 bike, which means it was produced sometime in the range of 2005 to 2007. Did it live its entire life outside? Looking at the state it’s in, it’s a distinct possibility. 

Somewhat impressively, the fuel tank may be the least rusty thing on this bike, so it’s the first thing LWC pulls off to tend to. If you’ve cleaned up bikes yourself or watched enough restoration videos, your kneejerk reaction may be to wonder why he’s not doing anything with the inside of the tank. In fact, he doesn’t even bother to block the fuel filler neck in any way as he primes and paints it. Remember, though, that he’s converting it into an electric bike—so the fuel tank restoration is really just for aesthetics and for something to grip with your knees. Thankfully, it cleans up quite nicely on the outside. 

From there, it’s on to the frame—and that’s another story. Some parts need more work than others, but everything that isn’t the fuel tank needs a whole bunch of work. There’s rust absolutely everywhere. Some is surface rust that’s not too difficult to deal with, but some of the rust is bad enough that LWC chooses to source new parts instead—like those extremely past-it chrome fenders. Still, that’s going to happen as you dive deeper into any project bike, whether it’s combustion or electric conversion. 

This is part one of LWC’s conversion of this bike, so there’s more to come that hasn’t been posted just yet. Since LWC’s been doing YouTube videos for some time, though, we’re confident that it will come at some not-too-distant point in the future. This video seems to have covered the majority of the CG125’s restoration and preparation to take the electric powertrain, so presumably that’s what’s coming in part two. We can’t wait to see how the whole thing turns out! 

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