A visit to MotoEnzo.
Hi, I'm Frank. I'm the parts manager at a Honda dealer & owner/abuser of several hopped up Honda minitrails.
 The MotoEnzo headquarters are near me, so I'm fortunate enough to get to stop by & see Enzo in person when I need work done.  A few years ago, I found out that Enzo specialized in minitrail engine work. I brought my first engine to him in 1997. That was about 12 motors ago. Yes, I work at a Honda dealer with a more than competent service dept where I could probably get the job done for nearly nothing if I throw a few bucks & a case of beer at the service guys after hours, but my dealings with Enzo have made me realize that he's a true specialist & knows these motors so well that it would be silly to have anyone but him carry out the job. Besides  the food is real good too (we'll get to that later).


Frank with his XR70 that Enzo will be doing a Polroll big bore lit & clutch upgrade on.
For what Enzo charges to do his work, it's a small price to pay to know you're getting it done as right as it can be done.  This particular kit that he's installing today happens to be from Powroll & is of very high quality. Enzo has installed every high performance kit imaginable for me. I like little bikes & I'm always hopping up a CRF50/70/100/150 in some way.  I've bought every performance kit on the market. Some of these kits come from companies that make it seem as if it's a piece of cake to carry out the install. The kits come with manuals that leave a lot to be desired. There are a few companies that will even give you a DVD with the kit that is supposed to outline how to do this job.
Believe me, if you're a guy like me, they don't work. There are so many things that they leave out that you wind up having to bring it to someone who doesn't need a video or a manual to do the job. Someone like Enzo. Prior to today, I used to just drop my bike off & pick it up when I was done. I figured this time & would make a bit of a documentary of the visit & send it in to Kenny so you guys can see the man working his magic.  As I observed & photographed him doing this job, it seemed effortless & second nature to him. Afterward he tuned the carb in a matter of minutes & as you can see, the results were positive.
 

 


This little mini now has enough juice to wheelie with a big guy like me on it.
 
 
People,  I've seen him work. His attention to detail is unreal. Those of you that have MotoEnzo motors obviously already know this. He had a row of motors on his bench when I got there.
 
 
                                                 I thought they were factory new engines from Honda. Turns out that they were ALL 30 plus year old customer Z50 & CT70 engines for a gentleman who collects them in North Dakota.  The engines were recently completed & were ready to be re-boxed & shipped. There were a few things in the shop that I wasn't allowed to photograph. It became evident after an explanation that Enzo has some very unique items that assist him in doing his work. These items obviously had a lot of thought into them & Enzo holds his trade secrets very close. I know him well enough that I can go in to the shop, but let me tell you, he's got some REAL cool stuff in there that makes his job a lot easier, which in turn allows him to have an increased focus on the critical items. It all seems to work as the completed units look & run great. (there was customer engine being tested, but the apparatus was one of the items I wasn't allowed to photograph, sorry)
I personally haven't had a classic minitrail done by Enzo, but I know of many who have & by the looks of it, you guys must be pretty happy. These motors looked better than the one in my nearly-new, modern XR. Enzo did have 1 engine there that a gentleman from Iowa sent to him to have work done on. This was the only motor there that was clearly not a Honda. It was one of those Chinese knock-off engines that look just like a Honda. The customer figured they "were all the same" & sent it to Enzo to get some transmission repairs. Enzo informed the owner that he doesn't work on that stuff & while I was there, I was able to see why. Enzo showed me the engines internals (that were now engine EXTERNALS, if you will, thanks to the horrible quality) & compared them to a genuine Honda engine that he was building for a customer. Let me tell you, I was always tempted to get one of those cheap engines to see if the stories were true. I'm glad I never got one.` I'm sure I'd break it in short order. Enzo showed me how it was that these companies were able to sell the engines so cheaply. By comparing parts, it's easy to see that the Chinese stuff was just JUNK JUNK JUNK compared to a genuine Honda. A note to all you minitrail guys, STAY AWAY FROM THOSE KNOCK OFFS!

I have to say, I may be visiting the MotoEnzo headquarters more often. Not necessarily to get work done, but I may try to catch him during dinner, like I did on this particular visit (I think it was around 6:30, I HAVE to remember that!).  Enzo assured me that it was OK & just brought his bowl of pasta out to the shop & starting working as he ate. Talk about dedicated. I don't even look up when I'm eating. Enzo must've caught me oogling his half eaten pasta dish one too many times & abruptly disappeared momentarily into the house. When he came out, he had a fresh steaming bowl of pasta FOR ME!!!.  Not just any pasta either. One taste revealed that this was HAND ROLLED homemade pasta topped with marinara sauce, a few hand rolled meatballs & Pecorino Romano HAND GRATED cheese! Damn, I was in heaven! When I was done, he brought the dishes inside & came back out with the left over appetiesers for us to finish off: fresh Mozzarella slices & some fresh sliced Proscutto. I was speechless as that point. You may notice that some of the photos are missing from the job, like the clutch install. Unfortunately, I was eating & there was no way I was going to stop, as all of my focus turned to the wonderful stuff on my plate. For this, the completeness of my photo essay suffered a bit during that time. (I wanted to be a photographer for a NYC based magazine in my younger years, but I knew with all the Italian delicatessens around, I'd probably get fired & short order)
So, my apologies for caving under pressure & missing some photo ops.  As you may notice, I don't miss many meals & I have to say, that was one of the best meals I've anywhere.
On the ride home, I was torn between the anticipation of riding my hot rod XR & thinking of a reason to turn around, go back & get more pasta. I kept my focus & made it home. I took the bike out & ripped around the yard for a while until it got dark. (Maybe I can have Enzo install a headlight next week. Gotta remember...... 6:30!)
 
I've been racing around with my buddies, mercilessly beating the little XR into submission thanks to the new power curve. As usual, no problems.
 
Stay tuned for the next dinner vis....uh.....next visit to MotoEnzo.
Frank.
 

 
 
I have just had two Mini Trail 50 engines overhauled by Enzo. The experience was great. Not only did he do a great job for the price he quoted he responded via email to all my questions. It was great working with someone who does what he said he would do but also does it on time. For all of you out there looking for someone to overhaul your old engine I recommend Enzo very highly.
 
Tom Tucker
 

 

Email Enzo:
 enzo@motoenzo.com
Enzo starts the job.

 


Removing the aftermarket skid plate.
   


Removing the carb.


Removing the head nuts.
   


Removing the cam sprocket bolts.


Removing the head.
   


Removing the OEM head gasket.


Removing the standard size cylinder.
   


Stock piston waiting to be removed.


Removing stock piston circlips.

Email Enzo:
 enzo@motoenzo.com
 


13 Removing stock piston.


Installing a circlip into Powroll big bore piston.
   


Installing Powroll wrist pin.

Installing piston pin for Powroll piston.
   


Installing piston block to assist in installing cylinder.


Installing cylinder.

Email Enzo:
 enzo@motoenzo.com
 


Installing cam chain roller.


Cylinder installed.
   


Cylinder & head gasket installed.


Removing right cylinder head finned cover.
   


Removing rocker arms.


Removing stock cam.

Email Enzo:
 enzo@motoenzo.com
 


Installing bearing on Powroll cam.


Reinstalling head after cam swap.
   


Torquing head to spec with click type torque wrench.


Setting cam timing.
   


Re-installing right cylinder head finned cover.


Adjusting valve lash.
   


Installing the re-jetted carb.


Removing clutch side springs
 

 

I spent a lot of time and effort trying to locate an experienced mechanic for my 1972 Honda refurbishment project.  I was absolutely impressed and pleased with Enzo’s engine rebuild work.   Meticulous and Extremely Professional.  He provided a detailed list and explanation of work performed, so I never once questioned what I was paying for.   I demand quality and pay for competence and I’ll never go anywhere else.” 

           

Jack O’Rourke, P.E.  Panama City FL

 
 
Just wanted to thank you for your recommendation of Enzo at www.motoenzo.com for my CT70 engine rebuild.  I have included a couple of pictures of the completed bike which would not have been possible without the restoring input from your website and the absolute fantastic motor work done by Enzo.  You could not have been more "right on" in describing the skill and professionalism of Enzo and his knowledge of these motors.  I had Enzo rebuild an old "tired and dirty" CT70 motor for me and I would swear I got back a new engine from Honda!  Not only does the engine start right up on the first kick and idle like it should, everything on the outside of the motor was painted the correct Honda colors and is absolutely a beautiful piece of work.  It is quite obvious he takes great pride in his work.  I also had him put a new carb on it for me so that he could tune it to the motor and I am glad I did.  It was truly a bolt up and go when I got it back.  I also had him do my wheel restoration for me and they look as good as the motor.  He was truly a professional and very attentive to detail and kept in contact with me throughout the process so there were no surprises.  Everything was exactly like he stated and the turn around was super quick (two weeks).  But most important is that my kids love it and I don't have to worry about constantly trying to tinker with the motor to keep it going.  My kids and I had such a good time with this "first" restoration project that we are now building another one.  You can rest assured that Enzo will be getting that motor also.  Thanks again for the recommendation of Enzo and your great website.  Keep up the good work!
 
S. Templeton
 

 
 
"I wouldn't trust anyone with my motor except Enzo."
 
As you can see, I do all my own work rebuilding the Minitrails. One thing I don't delve into is the motor restoration as it's just too complicated & time consuming. I've tried a lot of engine guys, but for several years now, I've entrusted all my motor restorations to Enzo @ www.motoenzo.com .
Enzo gets the motor back to me in a fraction of the time it would take me to rebuild it & for a fraction of the cost. Not to mention that the engine runs & looks brand new when he's done. Enzo tests the motor in a bike to assure it starts by hand before he ships it. When the motor goes back into one of my restored bikes, it rides like it's new off the showroom floor. I wouldn't trust anyone with my motor except Enzo.



www.hondatrail70.com


 

 

 

Enzo had out his Honda ZB 50 & I was able to take a few photos. This bike started life as a regular Z50 which looks like this.
Enzo completely re-did the bike & it's unreal.
He was talking fast, so this is the gist of what was done to it:
The engine is from a Honda "Nice" scooter, a Thailand only import, it starts off as a 4 speed with a lot of torque, but not much power. Enzo got a Takegawa race head with a touring cam, big valves & big ports. Enzo did a lot of research on how to get this head to fit this bike, as the Takegawa stuff is made for the 50cc bikes that are imported into the U.S.
The Nice engine has a different valve train altogether & it was quite a trick to get it all to work. Enzo had some fancy machine work done to get the cam sprocket to fit in the head & then degreed the cam in with a cam sprocket he slotted himself. The engine was completely disassembled to allow the engine cases to be bored to facilitate the 52mm Takegawa racing piston. The cylinder had to be re-sleeved to accommodate the big piston. Now the bike is 118cc of 12:1 compression. Enzo also installed a 28mm flat slide carb. There are a host of other mods that they bike has that are impossible to get unless you know someone in Japan. The entire front end of the bike was sourced from Japan. The parts are from a Honda 'Monkey R' which is what this bike has turned into, albeit with 400% more power.
The handlebars,forks,front hub,brake rotor & caliper, front & rear fenders are all from a Monkey R.
The custom undertail exhaust started life as an XR70 1.25" stainless high flow exhaust. Enzo & his machinist friend Bill Anthony from Tolin design in Emerson, N.J. cut, welded &  modified the pipe in several ways to make it look as if the bike came from the factory with the undertail style exhaust. It's the focal point of the bike for me. Enzo tells me that the bike pegs the oem 50mph speedometer in second gear & that with the correct gearing, the bike will do 65mph which he says is pretty hairy with those little wheels.

 
I don't doubt this at all. This bike sounds beyond mean. It sounds outright ANGRY when you turn the throttle. You can feel the power pulses coming through the little Deltabox style frame so popular in the 80's.
The footpegs are from a full size streetbike that Enzo races. He & Bill integrated them into the swingarm pivot bolt for a clean look. They look factory as does everything else on this bike.
The frame,swingarm & wheel paint were all done my Mike @ Madison Coachworks in Dumont, NJ.
One thing I wasn't able to extract from Enzo was the cost of all this work. When I asked him, he quipped 'I don't want to talk about it. I don't even like to think about it".
I'm guessing there's a few bucks tied up in this little bike. :) 

 

enzo@motoenzo.com
 
   

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