Topic: The Lost Socket Garage

[Scott S]

 I found out that there are about four different types of mufflers/exhausts for the S90 and, of course, I have one of the rarest. It's actually pretty solid but beat all to hell. There are a couple of holes, some that are "repaired" with screws.




 It actually cleaned up OK, and I was going to use it, but a VJMC member came through with a nice muffler, so I'm going to grab that. The hole in the header will be welded up.

[Scott S]

 Found a rare S90 specific luggage rack. Wire brushed it an painted it with some silver hammer-tone paint.

[Scott S]

 FINALLY...after about 16 hours...got the cases split. There were so many stuck screws and bolts, rounded off heads, bolts where screws should have been, etc., it literally took us several days in the garage just to get the cases apart.
 Some of the case screws were replaced with bolts and I seriously have no idea how they even tightened them. We couldn't get a socket or wrench on some of the bolt heads. We had to turn them with a chisel until a sock would fit, or cut a groove in the head so we could use a screw driver. Gotta love backyard "mechanics".

 Got the new kickstart shaft installed only to find out that there were at least two variations on the cases/gaskets and, yup, you guessed it....I have the wrong gasket. The one that came with my kit can be purchased individually for about $11 shipped. The one I NEED cost me $20 and I have to wait for it to get here.
 We also found the shift shaft slightly bent. I probably could have used it and been OK, but some of the splines had seen better days too. NOS shift shaft ordered....what's another $30 at this point? Might as well fix it while we're in there.


 

[RAFster122s]

You have the early motor with the one piece muffler and what they call the 45 degree header pipe.  They are NLA but there was a Yahoo S90 member who had a bunch made  from mandrel bent steel of good quality.  Most would ceramic coat but, a few had them chromed and some just painted.  The original pipes are double walled as you probably realize.  This allowed the chrome to not see quite as much heat I believe was the reasoning.  That allowed the chrome to not blue from the heat of operation.  Plus, it would look kinda whimpy with the sized pipe it used...choked down one might think.

Your kickstarter shaft was only $30?  The late/last model is commonly being sold new when the come up, for $60 and used they are asking $40-45...  pretty nuts. 
Where did you buy yours?  FYI, If dealer available then South Sound Honda has the best prices I have found...shipping is very very reasonable as well.  Ohio Cycle has some NOS parts for older models in case you were not aware of them...prices are not awful either And it is not CMSL with high global shipping costs.

BTW, I think it is the S90 ( or was it the C70... I think the S90) that most build or use a factory case splitter.  Notoriously difficult to split, WithOut having rusty and teleporting those fasteners into place...Beam me up Scotty!

Congrats on that hard job completed!

Email me your city...might have to road trip to meet you sometime if you are open to such a visit.

I enjoy following your thread.

David

[Scott S]

 Mine is the two piece, 45 degree exhaust. The header will be repaired and I think I have a nice muffler sourced.

 Got the kick start shaft frome eBay (good used) and the shift shaft from eBay (NOS).
 Yes, the cases WERE hard to split even after we got all the bolts and screws out. One locating dowel on the top was rather tight. Once it gave way, no problem.

 Now, I'm chasing an issue on the VT500 Ascot:

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php/topic,168095.0.html

 Oh, and I'm in Rock Hill, SC....very near Charlotte, NC.

[RAFster122s]

Scott, asked on S90 Yahoo list and fellow who does them has them in still available...
I will EMAIL you his email address...I think I can get his address from the individual message Yahoo Groups strip it off on public postings and on digests to prevent/lessen spammers from easily mining the list for email addresses. You may only see it if you subscribe to individual emails...but I maybe wrong and it is also on digest email.   You can email me using the EMAIL envelope icon and then I see your email address, but the talking bubble like on cartoons is for PMs, You have the Email & PM bubble.
There is a couple header pipes on ebay right now, one is the 90 degree the other does not say...
Ask seller for more photos showing pipe on its side so you can see the inlet and angle of the pipe.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1964-67-Honda-S90-Super-90-Exhaust-Header-Pipe-/322628048903

James is the fellow the S90 list and here is his post reply:

JAMES THOMPSON
Message 3 of 4 , Sep 1 11:49 PM
View Source
Yes, I'm still around. I have them in chrome or stainless steel. They do not have the narrowing sleeve inside which I believe we're there to stop the pipe from blueing.  I am in the UK so would have to package before I could give an idea of postage.

Sent from my iPad

Show message history
Know a guy, Scott in SC, is looking for a 45 degree header pipe. (45 degree only comes as 2 piece design, right?)
A PO or PPO plugged some holes in the header pipe with screws!!
He was able to source a good used muffler but has welded a couple holes closed but it is really rough looking, serious detractor.
I remember several years ago a member had a bunch of these 45 degree header pipes.  Is he still around and is he still doing batches to meet the need the early bike owners have??

Or anyone wanting to part with a good condition 45 degree header for a reasonable price?

Thanks!!

David  in TN

[Scott S]

 I appreciate the info. Since this isn't going to be a full restoration, my repaired head pipe and either muffler I get will be fine, I'm sure. It's odd that Honda made so many running changes on this model.

 Pulled out the stator for a little repair. So that connector is hard to un-hook? Yeah....let's just clip the wires and re-connect them up in the tunnel on the body later!



 At least it looks like they soldered the wires. I'll probably clean this up well, touch up the solder and wrap it better.



 The stator appears to be in good shape. I'll test it soon. It's very oily, though. What's a good way to clean it up? Kerosene? Electrical contact cleaner?

[Scott S]

 Worked on the Ascot again today. Trying to get the rear cylinder to fire at idle.

 Pulled the carbs today.. Pulled the main jet, emulsion tube, pilot jet and mixture screw and cleaned all of them and all associated passages. Did a bench sync. Didn't really find anything, to be honest.
  Still having the same problem. Checked choke operation. Checked fuel level in bowls using the clear tube method...both the same. Ran the bike with air box off and diaphragms/slides are working. If I put my hand over the rear carb, it wants to pick up and I get fuel on my hand. It just acts like it's not getting fuel to the slow circuit on that carb. Checked compression on that cylinder and got over 175 PSI. Fat purple/white spark. I'm stumped. Guess the carbs are coming off again.

[seanbarney41]

Scott, guessing it may be the tiny vacuum passage to the top of the cv diaphragm that is still plugged.  If that is what it is, carb body will require a good soaking in the strong stuff i.e. real carb cleaner.

[Scott S]

 I cleaned the S90 stator assembly gently with some electrical contact cleaner, checked the solder on the "repairs", carefully re-wrapped them and then wrapped the whole assembly. Also cleaned up the coil, trimmed it back a couple of mm's to fresh copper, installed a new plug cap and condenser.
 Cleaned up the points plate and filed the points while I was at it. The other day, I cleaned up the advance mechanism and lightly lubed it. All of this, of course, has to wait for final assembly.

[Scott S]

[MoMo]

    Nice hood you live in ...Larry

[Scott S]

 I put 600 miles on the Tiger over the last few days. My Dad and I went to Bryson City, Deals Gap, Tail of the Dragon, Cherahola Highway, Fontana Dam, etc, etc.
 I found out just how poor my riding skills really are! BUT...I kept the shiny side up and stayed in my lane the whole time.
 This was probably my Dad's last trip. He's 78 years old and is most likely hanging up the riding boots next year.  Still....he made a fool of me on his $50 VN750 "Ugly Bike". That man can ride. Goes back to his days of racing Hare Scrambles and such. And to think, he didn't even throw a leg over a motorcycle for more than 30 years, until about 5 or 6 years ago.







 "Tree of Shame" at Deals Gap. Thank goodness we didn't add any parts to it.



 Dad, circa 1970

[1978CB750SS]

That's a good story. Bless you and your Dad. I could never get my Dad to ride a bike. I rode a lot (for me) yesterday,took my wife for an evening ride also and was feeling stiff by nightfall, and I'm only 53! lol My speedo is broke so I don't know how far I went.Maybe 50 miles.On the upside, my 1978 750F bike finally hauls a**! lol

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

What an awesome experience to share with your dad.  My dad hung up his riding boots before I was born, but I could tell he still wanted to ride whenever a friend would come by the house on a bike.

[jgger]

That last pic shows a very large man for that little Hodaka!

My dad would only clean the garage when I had a bike torn down and parts on the floor. I don't remember how many trash cans I have to dump over to find my parts.

[Scott S]

 Obligatory Tail of the Dragon pics from our recent ride.








 In other news: I think we should be able to get the S90 buttoned up tomorrow. That is, if we don't find any more surprises.
 The Royal Enfield is gone. I took the cash offer. I had one guy offering to trade me a '99 Ducati Monster 900, a Kawasaki Eliminator 250 AND $500 cash for the R.E.! Man....that was tempting. But both of them had been sitting for a couple of years and would need the normal battery, carb clean, etc. I have no doubt that I could have made more money on that deal, but I'm seriously full in the garage and the LAST thing I needed was two more projects. Especially and Italian project. Plus, I would have wanted to keep the Duc, and that would have meant selling something else.
 So....I resisted all temptation and sold the Bullet out right. Now.....to find a CT90....

[Scott S]

That last pic shows a very large man for that little Hodaka!

My dad would only clean the garage when I had a bike torn down and parts on the floor. I don't remember how many trash cans I have to dump over to find my parts.

 Dad is a little over 6'4".

 And the tables are turned when we work together in the garage now. He used to fuss at me about being neat and organized, and now it's ME that's stopping him to put away tools and clean up before the next step!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

That's a sweet Tiger, Scott.  Looks like you can carry plenty for a long touring trip and sufficient wind protection too -- not to mention the generous clearance.

[Scott S]

 It's a lot of bike, though. Honestly, I would have felt more comfortable in the mountains on one of the middle-weights. Now...the trip up there and back? Oh, yeah. Comfy.
 It goes, stops and handles like no bike that size has any right to. The Triumph triples are amazing. It's the fastest thing in the garage by miles. And that's with all the farkles on it. I can't imagine what a Speed Triple would be like.

[Scott S]

 Got the Ascot street legal a couple of days ago. Been getting in a few shake down runs. Some observations:

-It's not a big bike. The seat/peg ratio is low for someone as tall as me. And it's very narrow waisted.
-Very quiet. I can pull this one into the garage and the GF never hears me.
-Smoot power delivery, but it's not very fast. Buttery smooth power, though.
-Fun. It's really fun. But it has two wheels and an engine, so why wouldn't it?
-Probably the PERFECT bike for the GF to graduate to after the S90. Light, low and narrow and more than enough power for city and highway use. Easy power delivery.

[CBJoe]

Ascot looks great!  I wasn't sure how I felt about it when you first dragged it home, but that black paint job and those tires really make it.

I feel you on the pipes...I'm working on a 1966 ('69 titled) CM91 that was a weird transition year between before they settled on the C90. The exhaust is impossible to find. The one piece pipe rusted at the muffler and the header pipe broke off.  I sourced a system with a solid muffler but the header pipe is all mangled.  Going to use my current pipe with the solid muffler.  Trying to decide if I'm going to weld it back to a once piece system or make it a 2 piece.

Joe

[MoMo]

Good luck finding a CT90.  I recently resurrected one, customer had me get it running for his father-in-law.   Nice gesture...Larry

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Nice job, Scott!

[RAFster122s]

CTs are out there, just costly if they are in good shape.  If you can bring them back to great shape mechanically and cosmetically you can make a little money on them...but, bike prices are way down across the board.

Nice work on the Ascot and cool pics.  Going to have to share some pics on the S90