Honda S90 / CL90 Questions

[Guest]

I bought three partial bikes this week, they are not complete by any means, and I wanted to know if anyone here knows something about them. Or knows someone who does. My intention with these are to put one together for a trail bike for the grandsons. Let them learn how to ride on something like this and not a two stroke screamer.

I can use the Super 90 or a CL90 frame but it depends on the availability of parts for the two. I will not be getting the bike ready for the street, with lights and stuff like that, but I will make it pretty, safe and reliable. The two models are virtually the same and a lot of parts are interchangeable.

[dorkburger]

I have no personal knowledge, but rescued this manual from my father's garage...It appears to be ptinted in 1971.

[steve murdoch]

If you are going to be bombing around in the back forty i would concentrate on the CL.
It makes sense with the high pipe.
Like everything, parts are available, it just depends on how much you want to spend. There is a ton of repro stuff out of The east which is fairly cheap but the shipping can be ugly.
There is a Yahoo group website which can be difficult to navigate but at least it will have contacts.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Honda-S90/info

[koolaid_kid]

What exactly do you want to know?
I grew up with them, had a similar model.

[wedoo2]

Wow, I really appreciate the responses. As Steve says my plan is exactly that, tearing around the back 40. the CL is the more complete bike, but I'm not really sure if that matters since the models are so close to each other. The scramble muffler would probably hang better on the CL since that is how they were designed.

I signed up for the Yahoo group and am waiting to get the approval email to see what is in there. The whole thing would be a ground up restoration and the list of parts will be a mile long. Needs tires, brake parts, shock rebuilds, motor work, a carburetor, tank, seat, ignition, bars, and more.

Jeez, maybe I ought to part them out and buy a cheap dirt bike????

One question for now Koolaid Kid is do you think that the rear shocks could be rebuilt easily?

[koolaid_kid]

No, I don't think the shocks are rebuildable at all. Honda's intent with those bikes was to get lots of Americans on inexpensive bikes fast, and things like rebuildable shocks were the furthest from their minds.
Personally, I would part those out, they are in high demand and you should get good prices for the parts.
Then I would get a KDX200; it is an excellent bike for your purposes.

[steve murdoch]

No, I don't think the shocks are rebuildable at all. Honda's intent with those bikes was to get lots of Americans on inexpensive bikes fast, and things like rebuildable shocks were the furthest from their minds.
Personally, I would part those out, they are in high demand and you should get good prices for the parts.
Then I would get a KDX200; it is an excellent bike for your purposes.

Hate to rain on anybody's parade but i agree with Koolaid Kid.
I own a '66 CB160 and '66 S90 and wouldn't think of using them for anything other than a very occasional Sunday ride or swap meet cruiser. Spending time, energy and maybe $400-500 on something for the kids to play with would be better served with something like a KDX.
Have a look at E-Bay for the prices that even beat-up parts are getting.

[harley10]

A KDX would be ideal and restore one of them and part out the rest would be a neat project for sure!

[wedoo2]

I have been thinking about this for a couple of days. I did look at a lot of the prices parts would cost me, and what I might be able to get for what I have. If I part it out it could actually get me on towards getting a small dirt/ trail bike. I am estimating around $500-$700 to completely restore it, less for a dirt runner. That does not make sense.

I think that what I will do is take all three apart and get each piece resto ready and maybe they will be worth more. I have seen a lot of crap for sale that looks like it was sitting out in a yard in Haiti for a few years. And getting good money for it. That makes more sense. I appreciate the input here. Always good.