Brake Light Cover?

What do you think?
My Brake Light Cover is cracked but mostly in decent shape. Don't let the duct tape fool you. I was at Autozone or Advance Auto and saw sheets of pliable red light cover material for repairs.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E4BDQC

What do you think?

Vintage Honda Benly CA95

Back together..

Today was a beautiful day. So much so that I didn't know what to do with it. I spoke with my Wife and she said she'd be OK with me bringing it into the basement as long as I got rid of a few magazines and catalogs. The negotiations went well! Unfortunately I didn't feel like I could bring it down without causing serious damage to the bike or the stairway. So I just stared at it sitting uncovered back in it's parking spot. I decided I would start by putting a few parts back on it and see how far I got. It went well enough to hear the starter motor crank over a few times.

Spark Plugs
Carburetor
Air Cleaner assembly
Battery
OIL change

I started by putting the air cleaner back into it's spot and attatching the tube that connects it to the Carb. I had a problemn getting the carb back together and on. That spring is a real bugger. After that I connected the Carb I then connected the Air Cleaner with the Rubber Tube between the two. The Carb looks pretty decent! I put in the new plugs. I went to change the oil but the drain bold was rounded off. I had to bang on a wrench to be able to get it off. I then used my Impact Screwdriver successfully for the first time. (A thing of beauty). A little less than a quart of oil and it's good for now. The battery went in with little stress. I goofed around with the key and nothing... I continued to play with it and the starter kicked over a few times. Somewhat encouraging but it still needs work. The 5 way key switch is Brilliant and Insane at the same time. I'm glad that I left the battery disconnected when done. I checked the diagram I posted earlier and figured out that if I had left it connected I would have damaged the battery and possibly the electronics.

I was thinking about putting the tank on and working with some gas. But I had been cautioned to make sure the replacement fuel line was actually up to the task of carrying fuel. I checked later and it was all up to snuff.

The neatest thing that I remember was how nice the brass fuel bowl drain nipple looked. Shiny, Brassy and it looked like new. The rubber hose went out smoothly with a little saliva.

My next plans are to test and connect the tank, put on the seat, charge up the battery, clean the connections, and Test it out.

I guess it's time to get my insurance up to snuff.

Battery 6n12-2d

I purchased my battery yesterday. Nobody seems to have the market on the "Correct" battery a Yuasa 6n12-4a. So after calling a great place for batteries PLP Battery Supply in Murphysboro, IL I was able to source one that is very similar. The only difference I can find is that the vent tube is in the rear instead of the side. So we'll give it a shot. I had a bad headache today otherwise I could have got it up and running so I guess it will have to wait until later this week or next weekend. The battery cost $36.52 and it's a 6n12-2d.

Honda Motor LTD 125 150 C92 CB92 C95 CA95

The Beauty of Manuals. This seems to be an original service manual. I'm pretty excited. Not everything that I need to know but pretty close. The manual suffers from poor Japanese to English translations in certain areas but for the most part its very very helpful. The image below is the instructions for the 5 position ignition switch. Makes sense when you see it but seems like complete nonsense when you don't have anything else to go on.

The Coolest thing today!

When I took the carb off the fuel line came off in an odd way. It just pulled out. I went about cleaning it and all went well. Today I went to Cycletech and Jim told me the secret. The metal fuel tap (?) is a pressure fit part. Somehow it had come out so in order to put it back in I had to put the Carb in the Oven and the fuel tap in the freezer. I did this for about 15 minutes. When I took them out I thread locked the outside of the fuel tap and dropped it right in. Very Very Cool!

When I got the bike I went about emptying the tank and decided to take of the petcock. It was a disgusting mess of rotten rubber and rust. Soon afterward I ordered a kit off Ebay for $24 from RetroBikes. Their service was pretty good. I'll do business with them again.

7112 NGK D8HA

Ok, so a few days ago I called a local motorcycle repair place. I was hoping to get pricing on a replacement battery for the Platypus. (That's what I'm calling the thing) Long story short he can't find a supplier who has the batteries. But during the course of the conversation he tells me that this Honda model CA95 is the bike that got him hooked on motorcycling. I plan on swinging by his shop once I get it running. Before he got off the phone he gave me some advice to protect the engine in case it's seized:



1. take out the spark plugs
2. squirt some penetrating oil in the cylinders
3. put in 4th gear
4. move the rear wheel by hand.

The instructions were good and I followed them. The part that was memorable to me was that Jim sounded deeply concerned. He sounded as if I was not working on my bike but the bike of his youth. As if I was operating on his memory. It was truly sweet and I am glad to have such helpful concern directed my way.

Later that night I went looking for spark plugs. Advance Auto Parts has a great staff here in Carbondale. The guys looked up the bike and were able to order a new set of NGK 7112's. The originals were NGK D8HA's but it looks like they were replaced. I double checked online and it seems legit. $2 a plug sounds fair to me. They should be in tomorrow. One more day closer to getting it going.

Bought a Benly

I purchased a 1966 Honda Benly CA 95 from my Father-in-law. I'm in the process of restoring it and getting it up and running. This is a friend of mine Kevin Lucas sitting on it the day we picked it up. It's in good shape but it needs a lot of work to get running e.g rebuild petcock, clean carburetor, new battery, a good once over.