honda305.com Forum

Very nice job on the wheel, Steve.

Thanks Guys:
After I put the wheel together I spent way too much time sitting back and looking at it sparkle.

John Taylor got me started working on old Hondas. I took my ailing CA95 to his shop a couple years ago and after listening to my noisy motor and calling a couple of the other old guys over for a second opinion he told me I had bad crank bearings and the cost would far outweigh the value of the motorcycle, but he convinced me I was entirely capable of fixing it myself. Now I'm on my 5th one.
G Man, are you saying the CB160 came after the bigger Hawks? I am curious about the design improvements you mentioned. Can you direct me to something to read about that?

Steve

It's my own opinion really just from looking at the motors and the parts books.

One piece camshaft with advance / retard on the outside of the head where you can get to it. Arguably running the cam in plain bearings is not so good but with regular oil changes, Honda has proved that it works.

Gear primary drive. Oil filter slinger directly on crank end. Two chains eliminated......
Gearbox eliminates the nasty cross-over design where the layshaft is supported on the kickstart shaft.....

The CB160 / CB450 / CB350 were all showing that Honda were developing simpler designs that were easier and quicker to produce. The lessons learned gave us the CB750 and beyond.

G

Steverino wrote:Thanks Guys:

John Taylor got me started working on old Hondas. I took my ailing CA95 to his shop a couple years ago and after listening to my noisy motor and calling a couple of the other old guys over for a second opinion he told me I had bad crank bearings and the cost would far outweigh the value of the motorcycle, but he convinced me I was entirely capable of fixing it myself. Now I'm on my 5th one.

CA95 bad crank bearings? Those never went bad.....................lol. I remember talking with Larry Henderson the Hood River dealer about CA95's, he hated them, "worst M/C Honda ever built" as he was constantly rebuilding crankshafts. I recently had a nice low miler (3800) I bought from the original owner. It was purchased from the original Portland dealer, Allied Mtrs in 1962. It's gone now but I did keep the Wheelsport Helmets that were purchased with the bike.

That bike is what Dreams are made of... Tire pump, chrome trim seat, bags, early mufflers,... those helmets are so shiny. I wonder if motorcycles are like boats in that the majority are only used two or three days a year. Did someone make you an offer you couldn't refuse?
Here are my first two helmets, I wish I had kept the motorcycles that went with them.
I got this one from my grandpa when I was ten back in 69
CAM01767 by stevesteverinomeister, on Flickr
and I got this one when I was 14 back in 1973. It was the same color as my brand new SL100 and the scrollwork spelled out my initials.
CAM01762 by stevesteverinomeister, on Flickr

Steverino wrote:That bike is what Dreams are made of... Tire pump, chrome trim seat, bags, early mufflers,... those helmets are so shiny. I wonder if motorcycles are like boats in that the majority are only used two or three days a year. Did someone make you an offer you couldn't refuse?

That was the third CA95 I've had, the PO bought that as soon as his parents couldn't stop him. They kept telling him no. Turned out it was the only bike he ever bought. His wife told me the mileage wasn't actual, it had more miles than it showed from being in the back of the truck! Original keys, owners manual, and tool kit w/tire patches intact. I kept it about a year then found it a new home. Probably one I should have kept...................................

The front rim from Thailand finally showed up one month to the day after I ordered it.
CAM01801 by stevesteverinomeister, on Flickr
CAM01804 by stevesteverinomeister, on Flickr
CAM01822 by stevesteverinomeister, on Flickr

UPDATE, THERE IS A CONCERN ABOUT PROPER RIM APPLICATION
A forum member sees some bowing of my spokes and has a concern that I might have a CB160 rim.
As soon as I got the new rim I set it next to the old one for a visual comparison. I threaded two spokes into seated nipples to see if my eye could catch any difference in the pitch between the two rims. The pitch of the spokes, untethered by a hub, looked to have the same orientation. Next, I installed the inner spokes on the hub. They appeared to line up properly with the nipples. I was able to thread them with my fingers, without any deflection or binding. After I had the spokes snugged up I checked them against a straight edge and they were straight from the threaded end up to the point where they are bent when manufactured. After the inner spokes passed these checks I repeated the process with the outer set. I am just an enthusiastic amatuer and don't take my endorsements of products too seriously.
Steve
CAM01877 by stevesteverinomeister, on Flickr