1965. The sixteenth year of my life when I'd somehow put the cash together to buy a six month old Honda C200. This was a 87cc OHV single, looking vaguely similar to the later C50. The chassis was similar to a late sixties Honda CD175 with leading link forks similar to the C50. This mixture weighed in at only 125lbs and developed eight horses.
This is all ancient history but what makes this particular C200 interesting is that I am still riding it. It has been used by various family members over the years but ended up back in my hands in desperate need of a rebore. Mileage has now reached 62000!
The early days were great fun. The first bike and all that. Top speed was only 60mph, after thrashing through the four speed gearbox. Such speed, on what was intended as a mild commuter, was accompanied by a chassis that had no damping and would often turn into a giant pogo-stick. Its minimal mass meant it could be thrown back on to its line.
The SLS brakes didn't help, the front could fade away to nothing. It was okay for town riding but youthful exuberance meant I ran the Honda off the road a couple of times. Bent footrests and scarred handlebars were the usual result. The Honda proved itself very tough in both these and later encounters with the tarmac.
The first rain showed up the tyres as diabolical. They slid all over the road, the 2.5 inch width on 17 inch wheels not in the least bit reassuring. They were junked the next day. Tyre wear is so minimal I've never really worked it out, probably over 20,000 miles.
Despite its low top speed it'd buzz along tirelessly at 50mph, with the ability to hold that speed in fourth even up slight inclines. At the time I didn't take much notice of economy, but the ability to return over 100mpg when thrashed is, these days, impressive. More than 150mpg is possible when riding mildly around town, which puts into question the way modern motorcycles have developed. These days I usually get 125 to 130mpg, with a tank that takes nearly two gallons that equates to a range of over 200 miles!
The seat is quite comfortable enough for that kind of the mileage in a day but the lack of speed becomes a bit mind-numbing. The seat was recovered some time in the late seventies as it started falling apart and soaking up water. The riding position is a bit upright and someone on the tall side so completely dominates the C200 that it looks like a toy-bike. The upright stance doesn't matter because of the lack of speed.
I tried a few mods to the engine, such as dumping the airfilter and exhaust baffle but they just made more noise and lost the smooth delivery of power. The OHV unit could be revved to about 9000rpm but would tick over reliably at 1200rpm. Starting was by kickstart rather than electric boot, but it was pretty reliable. The only time I had any trouble was when the electrics played up or when the spark plug needed replacing.
The electrics have rotted somewhere along the line, most of it isn't original. It's a pretty basic alternator and coil ignition set-up with lights that don't give much illumination, a Lucas rectifier (it was in the garage looking forlorn) and various bits of wiring that have replaced the rotted originals.
After two and a half years of relentless abuse the Honda was handed down to my younger brother. He seemed even more reluctant than myself to do any regular maintenance. His courtship with the horrible Honda ended after only seven months when he thought it'd be fun to see what happens when a C200 is ridden into the side of a car. Back then, cars were rather more solid than they are today - the front wheel collapsed and my brother was thrown on top of the car, helmetless. He hasn't ridden a bike since.
I was enjoying myself on a CB77 by then, so the C200 was slung in the garage until a used wheel turned up. For the next couple of years its use was minimal but it always surprised me when it came to life first kick. It wasn't until the mid seventies that the bike was put to good use commuting to work. By then my taste for speed was much diminished so the way the Honda reliably plodded back and forth to work each day was fine by me. I couldn't conceive of a cheaper or quicker way of travelling in heavy traffic. The C200 was so light and easy running that it could scamper ahead of bigger bikes.
By the end of the seventies, with over 50,000 miles on the clock rust had attacked the back of the pressed steel frame and the massive front mudguard. The shock studs looked like they were about to pull out of the frame. My brother attacked the frame with his welding torch and an evil grin but he did a reasonable job of reinforcing it which is still there to this very day. I patched the guard with GRP and put some new bushes in the very sloppy trailing link front forks. The frame and guard were hand painted black to reasonable effect.
I'd acquired a C90 as my main commuter tool but was not too impressed with this OHC engine, fuel was only 90mpg and it wasn't any faster. The centrifugal clutch was a horrible affair, I much preferred the hand clutch on the C200, even if the gearbox was a bit nebulous by then. Still, I used the C90 in deference to the older bike's age. It wasn't until 1985 that the C200 was used in fury again, by my son who was then seventeen.
It didn't have much street cred but he seemed happy enough using it for going back and forth to work for a year until he bought a car. I did the maintenance myself but by the time he'd finished with it the exhaust was smoking heavily. Ordering a piston from the local Honda dealer was an interesting experience but it came after about a month. The rest of the motor was in good condition, which I thought pretty remarkable.
For the next seven years I've used the bike for commuting in the summer and even for the occasional weekend ride. For one year it was loaned to a cousin who was desperate for some commuting tackle. She had a lot of trouble with the gearbox but surprised everyone by passing the test first time and then buying a Honda CBR600! She even let me have a go, bloody fantastic machine but I reckon I'd kill myself if I was allowed by the wife to acquire such a motorcycle.
The C200 felt like a Raliegh Wisp when I went back to riding it for the first couple of days but I soon reverted to my sane and sensible style. It was rather like riding a bicycle, planning the path ahead so as not to lose too much momentum. Acceleration had become rather stately.
It's still a tremendously cheap bike to ride, the chain (fully enclosed), brake shoes and tyres all last over 20,000 miles. The oil's changed every 1000 miles, the points and valves done every 2000 to 3000 miles. Its build quality is tremendous, better than the C90 which seemed to be falling apart under me after 40,000 miles and expired with knocking main bearings at 44000 miles. There were a lot of bits that were salvageable for future use on the C200. The engines do look similar despite their different top ends but the engine mountings are different, so there's no chance of slipping in a modern engine.
The C200 obviously isn't the kind of bike that inspires highway madness. But it's a very worthy machine that shows how Honda managed to take over the motorcycle world. I knew loads of friends who were turned off motorcycling by their experiences with British bikes that fell apart under them. The C200 was - indeed, still is - as tough as they come.
Martin Crane