Honda CL90: Vintage steed with a surprising usefulness

In amongst a huge array of grey's in the importers there was this small Honda single of 1970 vintage. It had somehow survived 27 years in the States, only 14000 miles done. Lots of alloy rot and corroded chrome but a few kicks had the engine running. It looked very similar to the C50/90 series but had a handlebar clutch lever and four speed gearbox. With an upswept exhaust and high bars it had evidently been marketed to the Americans as some kind of mild trailster! I hoped it was going to have all the mechanical virtues of Honda's infamously indestructible step-thru's with the handling of a proper motorcycle. I had to hand over £300 to find out.

Being 62, retired and a lifelong biker I was looking for something easy to ride, cheap to run and simple to maintain. Some modern bikes fit the bill - CG125, GS125, etc., but are much too expensive when bought new or newish. The only cheap old ones I had viewed were in an awful state. The little Honda came as a great relief as the pushbike was becoming a bit much.

That relief only last for a few days. I was just getting used to its mild ways, the need to keep the momentum up, when the starting went difficult. One new spark plug - amazingly easy to fit, by the way - didn't solve it. The points were heavily spotted with carbon. One very good point then emerged - a set of C90 points from the breakers went straight in. I could just imagine approaching the local flash Honda dealer and asking for parts for a 1970 bike they had doubtless never heard of. Interchangeability of parts with C90's makes the bike a very practical proposition.

New spark and points helped the starting but then it would conk out without any warning. My old heart didn't need that fright! I cleaned the fuel tank, pipe and carb out but there was hardly any debris there. Being an old hand, I decided the condenser was to blame. A car item (less than a quid) was wired in and, bingo, all systems go.

Though the SL could never be called fast, the high bars were very irritating to someone used to sensible motorcycles. They were a rather odd diameter, took some sifting through my collection of old British bits to find a flat set of bars. Off a Norman Nippy, or something similarly obscure, I think! That was more like it, the seat still surprisingly plush and the pegs well placed, if like me, you're on the small side.

The next thing I noticed was that the bike would top out at about 55mph - with the engine screaming and vibrating away in fourth gear. Evidently geared to run up near vertical cliffs. Another visit to the breakers secured a newish chain and sprocket set - just as well as the old chain had some tight spots. The larger engine sprocket gave taller gearing, an indicated 65mph coming up on the speedo. 50mph cruising was much more relaxed. Whilst at the breakers I also bought a newish set of tyres to replace the plastic junk that came with the bike - whether they aged badly or were the OE rubbish I know not.

After a good cleaning session, I was pretty pleased with my new purchase. Even more so when I worked out that fuel was an astonishing 115mpg! Small though the Honda was, it was capable of doing 150 miles in one sitting before the discomfort became too great. Then it was into a fuel station, gas up, walk around for five minutes until I was ready for another session. One time I was so engrossed in riding up the east coast that I ended up 400 miles away from home!

The problem was getting back. Most of the generator's power goes to keeping the ignition working, very little left for the lighting. The horn's a particularly pathetic squeak. This meant avoiding riding on unlit roads at night. As the bike wasn't up to motorway work, this meant I had no chance of reaching home before the sun disappeared. As I'm a widower I didn't have to worry about a panicking wife. A bed and breakfast sufficed, though the landlady couldn't believe I'd come so far on such a small bike. She still made me take off my shoes before I could cross the threshold.

The next morning I left with a song in my heart, the little Honda rustling along as if it too was happy to be out and above. I then almost had a heart attack when some clown in a Cavalier tried to cross my path without warning. The small SLS drums didn't inspire, but I managed to twitch around the back of the horror. The car driver then slammed on his brakes, shoved his head out of the window and screamed abuse at me. Couldn't hear much through the lid but the popping eyes and red face indicated he wasn't a happy bunny. You can't help the blind, I always say.

I did notice that after a 100 miles of hard riding the Honda ran very hot. Clutch drag set in if this coincided with entering a town centre. Doing the kangaroo hop at my age isn't quite the done thing, is it? Some adjustment of the clutch cable sufficed but I had to remember to readjust it when the motor had cooled down. These kind of minor irritants seem par for the course on old motorcycles. Pay your money and take your choice.

During the summer the bike was used every day, though many times for just hopping around town. Certain things emerged. The oil needing changing every 700 miles to stop the engine and gearbox going temperamental. Given fresh oil it ran with a very nice rustle indeed! The spark plug didn't want to last for more than 2500 miles. Couldn't find any reason for this, it wasn't oiling up or anything. The exhaust valve started tapping if not adjusted every 1000 miles (easy enough) whilst the inlet valve never needed any attention. Odd, I can only assume that the former was becoming a bit hot. One area that lacked the step-thru's practicality was the absence of full chain enclosure - adjustment needed every 200 miles, or so. Other than these things, the bike just whirred away in a typical Oriental manner.

At the end of the summer there was some heavy rain and I skidded off the bike on the polished road surface. Landed on my knee with a lot of skin scraped away. The CL could be kicked straight without too much effort and I rode to the local hospital, expecting tea and sympathy. Received three different lectures about someone of my great age riding motorcycles. Cheek!

The next day I decided to sort my mind out by going for a long ride. Togged up in several layers of waterproofs I didn't really mind the thunder and lightning show. Towards the end of the seventy mile journey, the Honda started to stutter but we made it back home and the next day it ran fine.

I managed to ride most of the time in the Autumn but the heavy winter months were a bit too much - just short trips when there was a weak sun in the sky. The Honda didn't like being neglected, needing many kicks if it hadn't been started for a week - rather like me, going all stiff if I don't have a good walk every day. February 1998 was thankfully mild and sunny, beating all the record books!

I had spent some time getting the alloy and chrome up to a mirror shine, T-cutting the paint back to its former glory and going over a myriad of minor items. Many people thought it must be some new retro model aimed at the sub-125cc sector and were amazed to learn it was 28 years old! Some hardcore bikers went away muttering darkly when I revealed how cheap were fuel, consumables and insurance. Don't know how long it will last but I shall try to keep it going for as long as I am able to ride it.

George Newyn