Topic: Restored Honda S65

[flyin_]

I though I would share a couple pics of my S65 restoration.  I've been working on this for the last 4 months and I finally got to go for a ride.  This bike was way worse than the before photo shows. 

[nickjtc]

Nice job. Enjoy!

[Johnie]

Beautiful job on this 65!!!  You know, I have a special place for those 65's as I learned to cycle on a 1965 white 65 sport.  I drove all over town on that thing.  I probably put in 25 cents worth of gas then and drove for like a month.  I even took the baffle out so it would sound cool (I was 16).  Again, thanks for sharing your restoration...now what is next???   

[tbpmusic]

Outstanding - I love it!!

bill2

[flyin_]

Beautiful job on this 65!!!  You know, I have a special place for those 65's as I learned to cycle on a 1965 white 65 sport.  I drove all over town on that thing.  I probably put in 25 cents worth of gas then and drove for like a month.  I even took the baffle out so it would sound cool (I was 16).  Again, thanks for sharing your restoration...now what is next???   

Ideally I think I would get a 1965-66 CB77 but with an 9 month old at home I think my wife is done with bike restorations for now
However, I do have an old beat up CB750 that I'll be fixing up over the winter. 

I think this little 65 was the perfect bike for a 1st restoration.  Parts are generally cheap and they are really simple.  I definitely learned a lot of good stuff rebuilding the engine, zinc plating and painting that will come in handy later on. 

[Johnie]

So tell me what you did with that seat?  I mean on the 1st pic it is destroyed.  Were you able to find a brand new seat or what??? 

[flyin_]

So tell me what you did with that seat?  I mean on the 1st pic it is destroyed.  Were you able to find a brand new seat or what??? 

I bought a new seat cover over ebay and found a parts bike cheap that still had a seat with foam.  The foam on these seats has an egg crate type construction and is very durable.  To install the cover I predrilled holes around the edge every 2", installed quilting batt over the foam and riveted the new cover on.  It looks great. 

[flyin_]

Here are a few of the better shots...this bike was real gem.  Someone in the past had buggered almost every screw and bolt on it.  All the bearings inside and out where frozen and the cylinder wall was scored with a large lip at the top. 

[Johnie]

Wow...you really dug into it.  How about a little history on that 65 and a picture from the front.  Thanks for sharing...

[fuzzybutt]

too bad i'd kill one of those if i tried to ride it, thats a cool looking motorcycle

[wilinfla]

Nice job! I learned to ride on one of those, even the same color when I was 10 years old. That was way back in 1967, I remember thinking how big it seemed and how much power it had  I also received my first stitches from a motorcycle accident on it, great memories!

                                Will

[fixahonda]

Wow! Beautiful work.
Looks like it was a real mess before you started. Good job keeping on it.

[flyin_]

Wow...you really dug into it.  How about a little history on that 65 and a picture from the front.  Thanks for sharing...

I really don't know much of the history of the bike since it was bought off of ebay.  However, it doesn't appear to have lived a good life .  It seems both beat up and abused as well as negleted.  The cylinder wear was significant so it had to have been run and abused for a godd amount of time and it also looks like it spent that last 20 years in a snow bank in Iowa. 

How I got it at least has a pretty good story.  I buddy of mine wanted one of these also and found an ebay auction with a red and black s65 being sold together.  He asked me to bid on them for him and eventually talked me into buying one.  Oh yeh, he also didn't have a truck so he needed my truck and trailer to go from Minneapolis, MN to Des Moine IA to pick them up.  Did I mention this was in late January? 

The weather forcast a blizzard for the Saturday we planned to pick them up and still being young and stupid, we went anyhow.   Long story short, a 7.5 hour round trip turned into over 12 hrs of hell.  I35 through IA almost closed down and the road was drifting and covered in ice the whole way.  For 5 hours on the way home we didn't top 30 mph in my 4runner in 4 wheel drive.  During that time I also almost lost control twice at less than 30mph.  We lost count of how many cars were in the ditch at well over 30.   

[Johnie]

Great story and great job!!!

[Uncle Ernie]

Hard to believe it only too your wife 4 months- especially with a kid!

[JDODD]

That good looking restor. I just got a black one that was my uncles. I hope i get it to look like that.

[CharlieT]

Nice job on the S65. Have an unrestored 1965 S65 myself:



Unrestored, but a one owner bike. It was my very first bike. Bought it new in 1965. Virtually everyone in the family that has learned to ride has learned on that little S65.