Author Topic: My Honda S90 * operation vacation bike * Running and Riding WOOOOOOOOOO! (Read 63565 times)

FrankenFrankenstuff · « **Reply #75 on:** October 01, 2011, 08:50:07 PM »

Right now I am just trying to get the lights on.
Battery good.
New Ignition switch.
New wiring harness.
Checked grounds and everything seems good. I connect the battery, turn on the ignition..then what? nothing magical happens. I want to see some lights!!

How do you bench test the rectifier, do those frigging things even go bad?
How do you bench test the coil, do those frigging things even go bad?

RAFster122s · « **Reply #76 on:** October 01, 2011, 09:02:16 PM »

If you have the original rectifier, then it's time to drop the motor and pull that puppy. They are notorious for failing and shorting to ground the system to a halt. The $5 R.S. rectifier is a cheaper and better solution...
Yahoo S90 group has a file about the R.S. rectifier fix...

David

FrankenFrankenstuff · « **Reply #77 on:** October 01, 2011, 09:06:24 PM »

Motor is dropped, and all the junk is down and out. I havent been over to the yahoo group in years, will go try to check in.

RAFster122s · « **Reply #78 on:** October 01, 2011, 09:13:28 PM »

Send me a email address (PM or email) and I'll drop you an email with the Word file that is illustrated (Scott Kirn & Bill Silver created the file...)
David

FrankenFrankenstuff · « **Reply #79 on:** October 12, 2011, 07:55:37 PM »

I have been messing with the wires, and making progress. Horn now works. (Thanks for the help Rafster) First thing that threw me off was a busted multimeter, second was a bad fuse off the battery. So I replaced it with a blade style fuse.

Here is my Radio Shack $3 replacement rectifier and my salvaged cooling fins from an old computer. yeah, ghetto. This project is bleeding me dry.

FrankenFrankenstuff · « **Reply #80 on:** October 13, 2011, 09:51:39 AM »

http://hondaclassicracing.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html
WOW- some neat stuff going on there. Does anyone know if any other models engine is a 'bolt it' to the S90?

lucky · « **Reply #81 on:** October 13, 2011, 10:22:49 AM »

Quote from: Greggo on March 23, 2011, 10:27:46 AM

Quote from: Frankenstuff on March 23, 2011, 09:20:51 AM
UG.

your mother

Tell me about it...I just paid ninety bucks for carburetor covers for my CA95. Obscure pieces for these older, little Honda bikes are getting harder and harder to find. I'd been searching for 8 months!

When I worked in a Honda shop back in 1967 they would take a truck load of bikes and parts to the dump every year. It was very heart breaking. Many bikes were abandon by the owners.
There were no motorcycle salvage yards at that time.

phil71 · « **Reply #82 on:** October 13, 2011, 10:52:27 AM »

Lots of honda engines fit that cradle... horiz singles are the most produced motor of all time.
Can put a LIfan mountain motor in that thing and really put that stamped frame thru it's paces

dawdish · « **Reply #83 on:** October 13, 2011, 11:26:43 AM »

I'm hoping to pick one up next week! Its been sitting in the trees for 25 yrs, but its all there. For nothing, just get it gone!

RAFster122s · « **Reply #84 on:** October 14, 2011, 12:35:56 AM »

At close to 8hp in stock form, except the Nevada market ones that were rated at 5hp, the S90 motor was the highest output motor in its class and displacement at the time. The Honda CB175 was rated at 20hp...fwiw.

Glad you are making some progress. So, let me know the answer on a few of the questions I had and the Yahoo group members can help you make further progress troubleshooting the issues.
Sometimes the inexpensive solutions are the best, in the case of the Radio Shack rectifier, that one example. Nice reuse on the heatsink, a "green" solution!
I was wondering if that battery fuse was good but don't think I asked you.
Sometimes broken equipment or dead batteries in test equipment can be puzzling. The digital multimeters are nice but nothing like a good old needle dial face reliable Simpson or similar from the 60s and 70s...
What I wouldn't give for a benchful of the equipment that I had available back in college.

lucky · « **Reply #85 on:** October 14, 2011, 12:55:29 AM »

Quote from: RAFster122S on March 23, 2011, 07:42:52 PM

I've got an S90 I bought a few years ago from a lady in El Paso TX.

The battery door at DrATV is a bite the bullet and just do it thing...

The S90 is fun and can do 50-55 with a light rider. That's plenty for it's drum brakes and it's a fun bike that is a real attention getter...
Taking it for a ride and people will come up to you and tell you about old Honda S90s or C70s or CT70s or CT90s or even old Suzuki mosquito foggers (2 stroker) they had when they were young.
The S90 is very nimble but doesn't have the HP/torque to give a squirt of power out of the way of some cager who starts to cut you off.

Insure it so it doesn't disappear on you...

The bike on the Independence Day Winnebago was a Honda CL90 I believe...but it looked like they stuck a Hawk tank on it...

That CL90 on that motor home had the stock gas tank.
That is the correct gas tank.
I was a mechanic at a Honda dealership at that time.

lucky · « **Reply #86 on:** October 14, 2011, 12:59:08 AM »

Quote from: RAFster122S on October 14, 2011, 12:35:56 AM

At close to 8hp in stock form, except the Nevada market ones that were rated at 5hp, the S90 motor was the highest output motor in its class and displacement at the time. The Honda CB175 was rated at 20hp...fwiw.

Glad you are making some progress. So, let me know the answer on a few of the questions I had and the Yahoo group members can help you make further progress troubleshooting the issues.
Sometimes the inexpensive solutions are the best, in the case of the Radio Shack rectifier, that one example. Nice reuse on the heatsink, a "green" solution!
I was wondering if that battery fuse was good but don't think I asked you.
Sometimes broken equipment or dead batteries in test equipment can be puzzling. The digital multimeters are nice but nothing like a good old needle dial face reliable Simpson or similar from the 60s and 70s...
What I wouldn't give for a benchful of the equipment that I had available back in college.

I agree that the non digital multimeters are best. I still use one.

FrankenFrankenstuff · « **Reply #87 on:** October 14, 2011, 07:06:12 AM »

lol. yeah I was off to a bad start with a blown fuse on the battery. No WONDER there was no juice @ the ignition. UG. I am mechanically inclined but not a mechanic. savvy?

FrankenFrankenstuff · « **Reply #88 on:** October 15, 2011, 09:49:00 PM »

Tested the coil. = good

then put motor back in.

Bench test the coil/wire for spark...
I dis connected the green wire from points to coil and put an alligator clip jumper on it (green @ coil)
Hung the spark plug just off the jug.
Hooked up the battery and turned the key.
Then I used the alligator as the switch and tap tap tap on the case = SPARK! @ end of coil wire.

RAFster122s · « **Reply #89 on:** October 15, 2011, 11:10:18 PM »

Great news that it's coming together!
It will be running before too long.

Lucky, thanks for letting me know about the tank. Looked off in that picture to me. You must have some good memories of working on the bikes back then.

David

FrankenFrankenstuff · « **Reply #90 on:** October 17, 2011, 07:30:19 PM »

So about a year ago I bought this exhaust off ebay from one of the Thai vintage Honda suppliers. It was only about $60 total. Brand new single piece with really nice chrome. Looked great. So tonight I got to fit on my 99% complete rebuild....and the sh!t dont fit. Not even close. The elbow is more of a 90 deg while the stock had more of a sweep to it. I am not going to bother heating and bending. Just going to cut it off at the muffler and then use the original downtube.

Be aware of the issue, but dont whine about it just keep wrenching. If you want everything to bolt on you need to use stock.

Stock has been the moral of this built. Just pay up.

Bought that is aftermarket crap and not used on the bike.
1. fork boots - aftermarket too soft and wont stay on the chrome rings. No I wont use a frigging zip tie.
2. headlight bucket - aftermarket is thinner than stock and the tabs dont hold the headlight. at. all.
3. rear tail light and bracket- aftermarket is stamped steel sharpness and 12V bulb. The lens was worth it though.
4. T.B.A

Stev-o · « **Reply #91 on:** October 17, 2011, 07:39:06 PM »

That's why I hate CCC (cheap Chinese crap!)

FrankenFrankenstuff · « **Reply #92 on:** October 17, 2011, 07:45:13 PM »

You got that right. Pretty sure our grandfathers said the same thing about everything from Japan back in the day.

Stev-o · « **Reply #93 on:** October 17, 2011, 08:07:17 PM »

Quote from: FrankenFrankenstuff on October 17, 2011, 07:45:13 PM

You got that right. Pretty sure our grandfathers said the same thing about everything from Japan back in the day.

My father still hates imports and didn't like us parking them in his driveway! (he worked at Ford for 30 years).

phil71 · « **Reply #94 on:** October 17, 2011, 08:17:47 PM »

If American manufacturers weren't so afraid of change , the Japanese would never have gotten a foothold. We've built garbage for so long it's ridiculous.

FrankenFrankenstuff · « **Reply #95 on:** October 17, 2011, 08:20:35 PM »

Designed and made in the USA baby!

RAFster122s · « **Reply #96 on:** October 18, 2011, 10:39:07 PM »

FrankenStuff, Sorry you ran up against the 45 vs 90 degree pipe problem. Common issue between early and late bikes.

You'll want to make sure you have a good ground from the right perch/controls to the headlight bucket. That is a ground problem area on these bikes as well. A good ground between engine and rest of the wiring as well.
Frustrating part about owning the S90 is they changed SO many things in the few short years they made it. They built variants of the bike in other markets and that's where a bunch of the problems with parts come in...
There are no fewer than 3 different case center gasket designs and two or three clutch side case designs.

Have you gotten it to fire up yet?

Does it have the early offset carb or the later inline carb?
Hopefully yhou have the airbox pieces if it is early as lots of guys search for those (especially one side that is often lost...)
Might be a piece you could do repo on and sell on ebay as well as to DRATV. They later carries quite a few pieces for these bikes, comparatively speaking.

David

FrankenFrankenstuff · « **Reply #97 on:** October 20, 2011, 06:29:55 PM »

So here is my latest stuff for the S90. It is 90% finished. Strong spark. This weekend there will be fuel in the carb for the first time in 30 years.

My latest box of unobtanium. Duckbill mudguard, the little rubber carb/airfilter tube and another (#3) set of levers. Which are still NOT correct. I am going to stick with my busted ones until I can track down an actual set of OEM S90 levers.

Correct Stock

Aftermarket POS take 3 (yes I really have 3 sets of levers, all bought very very cheap)

A battery cover (first attempt, and not final) I just vac formed it.

what the hell is this tab for?

?

A K&N airfilter for the S90!! I did this because I am so tired of spending money on aftermarket garbage, cant find any quality NOS, and...why would I buy a USED 40+ year old airfilter!

This is a frame job that I am doing for above the CA160 tank (another thread) "tank as art"

detail of the acrylic box for the S90 paint can.

FrankenFrankenstuff · « **Reply #98 on:** October 20, 2011, 07:18:24 PM »

The gas tank display case thread.
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=96300.0;topicseen

FrankenFrankenstuff · « **Reply #99 on:** October 21, 2011, 09:57:51 AM »

Just bought a frigging correct airfilter. $25 from Apex cycle. I just didnt trust that K&N project of mine to hold up.

News:

Author Topic: My Honda S90 * operation vacation bike * Running and Riding WOOOOOOOOOO! (Read 63565 times)