Last Sunday was "fire up" day for the S90.... but no-go. It has no spark and, after some testing, I found out that the coil is bad. It tested good on the bench but seems to have given up the ghost after I put the juice to it for the first time since 1974.
It's surprisingly hard to find the correct coil for a '65 S90. Specs are hard to come by, and there are literally dozens of 6V coil options out there. Some of the Honda singles ran DC voltage to the coil, some AC. Then there's getting one in the right Ohm range. I found one that I think will work and have it ordered.
I dropped off the Mikuni carb with Rick at Old Skool Carbs. I cleaned it, and you'd think it couldn't get much simpler, but apparently the Keihin carb that was also available is a better carb with better parts availability. I'm having trouble getting the replacement bowl gasket to seat and the only genuine Honda gasket I can find is in Denmark. The float has been soldered on and the needle valve could probably use some work. Rick will get it right and I don't have the patience to mess with it.
Speaking of patience...
I tried to swap out the points on the CT90 this morning with some genuine Honda points. But the Honda points I was sent aren't even close to fitting the plate. That means I undid all the tiny bolts and washers and set the points gap and timing over and over again this morning only to put the old points back in. I hate messing with tiny stuff. I can't see, my fingers get clumsy and shake, and I drop stuff. Over and over.
But I got it back together and it's running fine again.
I did straighten out the wiring and got the turn signals and lights working properly. It even seems to run better with the good ground and soldered connections.
I'm also waiting on the last box of parts for the CT70 and I can start bolting it back together. I change my mind daily, but I think I'm just going to clear coat over the old paint, patina and faded decals. That keeps me from getting new chrome fenders, tail light, etc. Parts are cheap for this thing, but it's gotta stop somewhere.
And the last box of parts will show up right when I have to go back to work. Overtime is brutal around the holiday and football season.
So....lots of stuff done, nothing really accomplished, more waiting. Put 'em together, take 'em back apart again.
