Tonight's motorcycle purchase

SLO-BOB · 12-06-2008, 06:36 PM

I scored this for my wife tonight. 1967 Honda CA95 Benley (looks like a Honda Dream but smaller) 160. Original for the most part. (tank badges are repros)

It's going to replace the white one, which is okay, but has an iffy paint job. The black one is a much nicer bike. The red one is an all original Dream.

Evans, Marv · 12-06-2008, 06:45 PM

I have to quit looking at these "vintage" bikes. I'm beginning to get the itch to get one just for the fun of it. Nice score.

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

My uncle has a honda trail 90 that looks sort of like those, he sold the CB 400(or maybe CB350), was a little too fast for his wife's taste

He has some neat stuff, corvair convertible with about 50,000 miles on it that he got from a buddy's widow, model A, model T, a cool old John Deer tractor

SLO-BOB · 12-06-2008, 07:24 PM

CT (trail) 90s are pretty popular with Honda collectors. I got this one for my wife last year around this time.

In the scheme of things, it's a fairly cheap hobby. It's become a family thing too. My wife enjoys the old bikes, and I also have my 17 year old son help me work on them. They are a great way to learn the basics. I have a nice red CB160 that he and I will restore for him.

crustychief · crustychief's Garage

Those are some pretty neat bikes. My dad used to have a 305 dream? 1965? I was kind of thinking about getting him one and restoring it for a living room piece. My mom made him sell it when I was born so he wouldn't get hurt, hell, maybe I owe him one!

SLO-BOB · 12-07-2008, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crustychief

Those are some pretty neat bikes. My dad used to have a 305 dream? 1965? I was kind of thinking about getting him one and restoring it for a living room piece. My mom made him sell it when I was born so he wouldn't get hurt, hell, maybe I owe him one!

That's a nice thought. The red dream above was a showroom window display for decades in a Schwinn dealership. You can get a decent one for about $2500, but make sure that the exhaust pipes are excellent and at least oem, if not original. The mufflers are as rare as hen's teeth and replacements can exceed the cost of the bike if you can even find them. Airfilters are totally nla so make sure the bike has one of those too. Even if your dad doesn't ride it, you want a complete bike for investment purposes.

Tim Hancock · 12-07-2008, 10:41 AM

Nice looking bikes!

Chocaholic · 12-07-2008, 10:45 AM

Where the heck do you find this stuff???

SLO-BOB · 12-07-2008, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Where the heck do you find this stuff???

Every one of them from Ebay except the CT90 which was craigslist. Normaly something I wouldn't do, but it seems to be the venue of choice for owners of these bikes, other than swap meets and shows which tend to be a little pricey. This is a good time of year to buy for obvious reasons. Naturally, I ask a lot of questions ahead of time and check the bike over thoroughly before handing over the cash.

SLO-BOB · 12-08-2008, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peteremsley

Very nice!

I've always wanted a CT90 and I've been thinking of picking one up for light commuting. Can they keep up in traffic at 40-50 mph?

Great bikes for city commutes. They have a very large rack on back - much bigger than anything you see these days even on touring bikes. You could mount a rear carrier (like a Givi) to that or just strap down a briefcase to the rack. The carriers are nice if you want to do light errands and grocery shopping.

As far as speed - 45 mph is about tops. It's most comfortable around 35 mph.

Expect to pay 12-15 hundred for a decent one. I think that's not bad considering a new version (Ruckus) is quite a bit more, not nearly as cool, and drops value quickly.

Dutchie · 12-08-2008, 01:32 PM

Nice Bike ! are those side valves engines ? they just started using them on the 4 stroke Trial bikes a few years ago.

Cheers,

Ed

Shaun @ Tru6 · 12-08-2008, 01:38 PM

very cool! yeah, where do you find this stuff?

daepp · 12-08-2008, 02:07 PM

Great looking bikes.

It looks like their may be just a little less travel on that front suspension than bikes of the current era!

holtjv · 12-08-2008, 03:41 PM

My first bike was an old S90--got it when I was 13, I think, for $200.00. Sold it for $200.00 after I had completely stripped it, if you can imagine a more naked bike. Straight pipes, the works. Loved it.

SLO-BOB · 12-08-2008, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dutchie

Nice Bike ! are those side valves engines ? they just started using them on the 4 stroke Trial bikes a few years ago.

Cheers,

Ed

No, just the garden variety OHC, 2 valves per cylinder.