Author Topic: My Honda S90 * operation vacation bike * Running and Riding WOOOOOOOOOO!  (Read 62471 times)

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Offline FrankenFrankenstuff

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #50 on: August 19, 2011, 07:27:57 PM »







Just a few before and after pics




Offline FrankenFrankenstuff

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #51 on: August 19, 2011, 07:45:29 PM »
How it stands right now.


Just put the engine back in.
New wiring harness and carb going on tonight. All of the wiring in the controls is shot, so maybe that tonight as well.

I feel as though there is a mystery unveiling here though. There is alot of evidence that someone had maybe restored the bike...30 years ago and didnt get it running.

clues  :o

#1) there was a run in the silver paint on the rear fender.
#2)Black paint on wiring harness (I have seen others with paint on them as well though) Did Honda paint these bikes with the harness installed?

#3) When I removed the chain sprocket cover.....it was immaculate. zero grease or grime. (the odometer says 16K) and the PO told me that the bike was used as a dirt bike in the early 70s.
#4) When I dropped the motor I found that the plug on the harness for the ignition was plugged into the engine and the plug that was supposed to be plugged into the engine had the ghetto anti ignition (pictured here earlier)

I think that one of the kids that took it apart 30 years ago restored it then switched those wires by accident and then never got it running again. Not 100% but still a good tale.


Before anyone want to correct me about the harness- there were 2 styles avai for the S90. One had just 2 wires that went to the ignition and the other was a 6 pin plug just like the one that comes out of the engine.

Offline Greggo

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #52 on: August 20, 2011, 10:09:45 AM »
Looks much nicer so far!  Keep up the good work!

Offline jaguar

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #53 on: August 20, 2011, 10:31:45 AM »
looking very good.
fun little bikes

Offline Lostboy Steve

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My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #54 on: August 20, 2011, 10:42:57 AM »
Very nice dude. The guy that does my powder coating just had one identical to yours GIVEN to him with a title and Nj registration / plates. Lucky mothereffer...


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1968 Honda Z50
1977 Honda CB550K
2018 Indian Scout

Offline FrankenFrankenstuff

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #55 on: August 20, 2011, 07:37:34 PM »
wow. yes. I know a guy that was given a 450 Black Bomber from the junkyard. He now has a title and one of the most collectable Hondas of all time. Honestly he is the motivation for me to finish this S90. He is an old bugger with a bunch of vintage Honda restoration under his belt, and I know he would get a huge kick out of seeing the S90 all cleaned up.

Offline FrankenFrankenstuff

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #56 on: August 22, 2011, 05:12:46 AM »
OK, so does the main wiring harness enter the headlight bucket through the top or bottom hole? I know it will work in either hole (that is what she said) but I want to do it the way Honda did in 1965. *stock*

Also any photos of wiring and brake/ clutch orientation around the neck would he HUGE appreciated.

*note- do not buy a shop manual that is the same age as the bike you are working on...#1 they fall apart, #2 the pics are terrible.

Offline FrankenFrankenstuff

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #57 on: August 25, 2011, 02:31:32 PM »
Harness is in.....does anyone know if I can replace the wire to my coil?

Offline vozzy

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #58 on: August 26, 2011, 04:36:03 AM »
Coming together nicely. . I noticed the speedo read 0-80. What was the actual top speed of these? 60ish?

Offline Greggo

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #59 on: August 26, 2011, 04:50:41 AM »
Coming together nicely. . I noticed the speedo read 0-80. What was the actual top speed of these? 60ish?

I think that's about right for a stocker (50-60mph), depending upon rider weight.

Offline Greggo

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #60 on: August 26, 2011, 04:52:31 AM »
Harness is in.....does anyone know if I can replace the wire to my coil?

Do you mean the plug wire from the coil?  If it's anything like my CA95, then most people will tell you no, but it can be done.

Offline FrankenFrankenstuff

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #61 on: August 26, 2011, 04:57:35 AM »
I just found a piece written by an admin. He did a great job by grinding the old wire out and soldering in a new one then just encapsulating it with epoxy. I might try that route rather than throwing another $30 into the wind.

Offline Greggo

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #62 on: August 26, 2011, 09:42:16 AM »
Do you have a pic of the coil?

Offline phil71

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #63 on: August 26, 2011, 05:18:52 PM »
So, I too have been working on a CL90. Been riding it a bunch and tuning. It easily now goes over 60 on level ground with me (170lbs). However the back shocks are clearly not damping anything because a pothole at that speed set a terrifying sine wave of bouncing into motion. Were these oil damped, or nitrogen? Anyone know if they can be rebuilt?

Offline FrankenFrankenstuff

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #64 on: August 27, 2011, 03:55:06 AM »
I am more like 200lbs with an unrunning bike. I will be happy if it goes 50 with me on it.

Offline lucky

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #65 on: August 27, 2011, 08:30:24 AM »
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 WAS the stock gas tank on the CL90.
I know because I was a Honda motorcycle dealership mechanic at that time.

Offline FrankenFrankenstuff

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #66 on: August 27, 2011, 10:56:11 AM »
LUCKY - I am glad to have you on board with this thread. I am sure that your years of service will be called upon for advise in this thread....and my others.

Offline FrankenFrankenstuff

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #67 on: September 12, 2011, 06:36:42 PM »
Does anyone reading this have a battery door cover that can shoot me some dimensions?

Offline phil71

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #68 on: September 12, 2011, 06:58:12 PM »
i replaced mine with the lid from this> http://3mcollision.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/0/0/00404_Bondo_Fiberglass_Resin.jpg

it fits great. I painted it to match... Looks great. I was using a top from a tupperware butter dish, which also worked pretty good too.

Offline Stev-o

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #69 on: September 12, 2011, 06:59:45 PM »
Make one with fins!
'74 "Big Bang" Honda 750K [836].....'76 Honda 550F.....K3 Park Racer!......and a Bomber!............plus plus plus.........

Offline Free Booter

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #70 on: September 12, 2011, 09:10:07 PM »
nice....

Offline FrankenFrankenstuff

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #71 on: September 27, 2011, 09:31:44 AM »
I just got a new old stock ignition with keys. WOW what a good feeling. I thought that I would then have to track down a steering lock that would work..but I guess that any ignition key will unlock any steering lock. suspect.

Also got a bracket for the airfilter minus the element. I am going to modify a K&N to fit into the airbox, or air can as it were.

I am going to make a battery cover, or 3.

Offline FrankenFrankenstuff

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #72 on: September 29, 2011, 08:17:16 PM »
Fresh charged battery. New wiring harness. New ignition...............................and not a light nor spark. UG I missed somthing. (YES the key was in the correct position)



Offline RAFster122s

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #73 on: September 30, 2011, 09:20:32 PM »
The S90 ignition switch served as a ground point on some of the switches. Check that and your rectifier and your engine ground to be sure they are getting a good ground. On some models the ground in the headlight bucket plays a large role.
Dropping the motor on the S90 is fairly easy...but check that the neutral light switch is functioning properly, as that can cause a problem.

With no lights it sounds like you might have a short putting the system down.
Fuse blowing?
You can disconnect pieces of the harness checking for voltage as you go to see when you discover the "problem-child" section of wiring.

Good luck sorting it out. A blown up copy of the wiring diagram helps at times like these.  Making a color coded version, if you have enough colored markers crayons, makes things quicker in tracing and troubleshooting later.

David
David- back in the desert SW!

Offline lucky

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Re: My 1969 Honda S90 * operation vacation bike *
« Reply #74 on: October 01, 2011, 12:44:54 PM »
I used to race S90's on a dirt track when i was 16.
You can lighten the rocker arms from 4 ounces down to 2.5 ounces and use aluminum retainers.
Helps a lot.  You can even get titanium tappet nuts now.