New Member w/Maxfine MXF 150 4n

[Wisemanimal]

Hi all! New member here, thought a quick intro was in order. I'm in my 6th decade with 5 of them riding. I've lived in Spokane WA for the last 35+ years.

Okay, intro aside, I recently bought this Maxfine for $150 off of fb Marketplace for $150. Seller had purchased it at a garage sale 2 years ago in its current condition, w/no title. He said it would fire up if gas were introduced into the carb. Gas cap is locked and of course there were no keys. Ignition switch is still there, but the lock cylinder is missing. I was originally going to strip the front wheel, forks & controls for a Honda CB 400T dual sport project.

After closer inspection, I decided to resurrect it, since the motor was clean without the usual seepage between the cyl. head & cylinder or accumulated grime usually found on thrashed out trail bikes. Also, the Odometer only shows 79.4 miles and is functional. I checked the oil and it appears new, still viscous and honey colored. To ensure it's not stolen, I ran the vin# through the NICB database and another db as well and it's never been reported stolen or had an insurance claim filed on it.

THE GOOD:Appears to be very low mileage with excellent compression. All electronics appear functional. I was able to test this by hooking up a 12v Li-ion jump start battery to it and testing the starter, blinkers, headlight (taillight assy. broken, needs to be replaced) volt meter, horn & gear position indicator). Frame & forks are straight & brakes are functional.

THE BAD:Gas cap is locked. A screwdriver will turn the lock cylinder from 12 o'clock position to about the 4 o'clock position, but cap won't release. Any ideas on how to unlock short of drilling out the cylinder, which I'll do as a last resort. Next, due to the length of time this bike sat, I pulled the carb to clean out the inevitable varnish. It appears to be a poorly made copy of a fairly common KeiHin carb found on any number of small displacement Jap bikes. The casting is rough, the needle doesn't appear to be adjustable and the choke linkage on mine is damaged, but can still be operated by hand without the cable. I saw on VMC parts catalog a Mikuni upgrade carb for about $50. Does any one have experience with this carb and is it worth the $$$?

The rest is all cosmetic and maintenance stuff, new rear tube, rim strip and a new rim strip for the front wheel (If you look closely at the left side pic, you can see an end of the old rim strip sicking out from the bead on the front tire),and plastic body panels, which I won't replace, since I can fab up a pair of triangular panels for the sides.

Any input & tips, as well as experiences with this machine or its other branded siblings will be appreciated. This one does have the SOHC Honda CB125 engine clone made by the Loncin factory.

Thanx in advance. I'll upload pics shortly. Must resize as they're currently too large.