1966 Honda 50 CA100 - Photos

  Here are a couple of photos taken of the Honda 50 Step-Through CA100 purchased at Mid-Ohio.  Again, I will take a series of photos detailing the motorcycle from all angles so anyone with an interest - restoring, riding or just curious will have one more resource available.

  Here's a couple taken with my Blackberry while at Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid-Ohio 2012.  More to follow!  Enjoy.....

A 2012 Mid-Ohio Score! - 1966 Honda 50 CA100

  For the past few years, one summer weekend I look forward to is Vintage Motorcycle Days at the Mid-Ohio race course near Mansfield, Ohio.  This great event is held the last weekend in July each year.  You can read more about it and start your research for next year at midohio.com .  Another link through the AMA can be found at ://www.americanmotorcyclist.com/events/amavintagemotorcycledays

  I usually plan to arrive early Friday morning so I can get camp set up, hop on the pit bike and head straight for the swap meet. The swap meet contains row after row and booth after booth of vintage parts.  Part of the fun for me is looking for that rare part that no one else can identify and hundreds of people have walked by.

  The weekend started with rain most of the way from Chicago.  With the drought this year, the rain was welcome.  Most years at Mid-Ohio, you can expect a few thunderstorms to interupt the heat and humidity.  This year I rode and walked around all day Friday not finding anything that I couldn't live without.   I am always looking for an interesting vintage bike that is willing to follow me home or a few parts that I can pay $5 for and sell for $200.  Few and far between, but the search is always exciting.  No rare parts or bikes at giveaway prices.  Guess everyone still had high expectations about the value of their treasures.

  So, after running around the facilities a bit on Saturday morning, I was heading back to the swap meet to take another swing through on my 1972 Honda CT70 (purchased last year at Mid-Ohio).  Just inside the gate was a line of motorcycles parked along the fence whose owners were out wandering the  acreage.  There along the fence was a white Honda 50 that caught my attention.  I am not that familiar with the model, but what attracted me was the condition.  It appeared to be a good original bike.   A For Sale sign was hung on the handlebars with a cell phone number and a price - $550. 

  One thing I've learned over the years is that when you find a deal that you think is good, make a quick decision and move on.  I don't know how many deals I've missed just because I waited.  So, I took a few minutes to look it over.....  3500 miles, original white paint and plastic in good condition.  no rust through on the paint, nothing cut, nothing wrecked.  Even original grips.  A few tears in the original white seat, but overall, a very nice example.  I took the liberty of removing the plastic sidecovers and what should be inside but the original owner's manual on one side and the tool kit on the other. 

  So, on the phone I go and call the owner.  As it turned out, they had just left the bike and were just a short few booths away.  Five minutes later I was starting the bike and taking a short test ride.  10 minutes after that we were negotiating and a deal was struck.  $475 was the final price.  I thought that was a fine deal.  It always amazes me that some motorcycles can survive for 46 years and still look and run so sweet.  I had to have this one!

  So, the rest of the weekend was a treat riding around on the CA100.  It's a 3 speed automatic so you slam the back of the rocker pedal down to shift into first, give it some throttle and hit the road.  Wind it up hard, throttle back and hit the front of the pedal to hit the positive neutral then tap again to second, wind it up and into third.  Riveting acceleration, especially if you're going downhill!  I spent some time talking to folks at different booths trying to learn more about the bike.  Especially helpful was Mark Troxell, from Emmaus, Pa, who sells NOS vintage cycle keys and other parts for many of these smaller vintage Hondas.  His website is hondakeys.com .  He was recommended as an expert on the CA100 and told me all about the bike, including the part about winding it up before shifting.  Although the frame number begins with C100, Mark thinks this bike is actually a CA100 Super Cub and he believes it is a 1966.   After getting home, this was confirmed by the tag on the wiring harness (see photo).

  Anyway, here are just a couple of photos as a teaser.  Come on back at a later dates and I will write another article and include a ton of detailed photos.  If you are restoring a C100 Cub of CA100 Super Cub, I hope these photos will help provide some detail to assist in making your restoration successful.  Because I seem to have a hard time finding good photos of bikes I've restored, I plan to include as many detailed photos as possible.
 

I encourage you to tell me whether  or not I'm doing a good job with this blog.  Was this information helpful to you?  Is there something else about this bike you'd like to hear about or see?  I'll leave you in suspense for a bit until I can post some photos.   I'm sure you'll enjoy them.  

 

A Tale of Two Scramblers

A Tale of Two Scramblers

A Tale of Two Scramblers

 Okay, I confess!  I’m one of those VJMC guys that hands over the subscription money every year, but just reads the magazine with sincere intentions of going to and arranging events and otherwise contributing to this great organization, but rarely gets around to it.  I do wear the T-shirt though!.  But when I saw Roger Smith’s beautiful CL72 in the latest issue, I knew that I had to contribute.  The guilt finally got the better of me.  Plus, I owe debts of gratitude to a variety of VJMC’ers around the country for their help and support and wanted to find a way to pay that forward.

  So, for this first time, I thought I would add a little to the wealth of Honda CL-72 Scrambler information out there.  As most of you can relate to, I owned a CL-72 in high school (sold my horse to finance the purchase) and even took it on a ride up to Lake Tahoe one summer in the late 1960’s.  I find these old VJM’s fascinating and a couple years ago had the opportunity to have own two CL72’s of different years and admire them side by side.  Those of you who attend the Martinsville, Indiana Walneck’s Swap Meet may have seen them both two years ago.  I had them both there, running side by side, one all original, one restored, one with original baffles, the other with snuff-or-nots.

  Anyway, as far as I know - and I’m pretty sure I’m correct - both have almost of their original parts.  The engine numbers are also consistent with the frame numbers.  One was a 1964, one a 1965.  Now, how cool is that, just to sit down with a cup of hot coffee on a fine Indiana Summer morning, birds chirping, a light breeze, the woods just beyond the edge of the driveway, as I sat on my Craftsman rolling mechanics chair sandwiched between not one, but two red CL-72’s and just admired the marvel of design and engineering that is the CL-72 Scrambler.  It doesn’t get much better.
 

  Let me share with you some of the differences a year can make.  If you’ve read any of Bill Silver’s restorations guides, as I have - many, many, many times, (yes, that many!), you know that he does a superb job of describing the various running changes made to these models over the years. However, being the visual learner I am, I need to see it in person.  So, since you may not have the luxury, here’s the visual evidence of just a few of these subtle changes, along with photos.  Hope the visuals help you as they did me! 




1) The rear brake forward cable end mount . The 1964 had the cable end mounted at the end of the swing arm pivot bolt. The 1965 had the more commonly seen mount welded directly on to the frame tube.

1) The lower shock mount. You’ll note that the forged end fitting for the swing arms are completely different. The 1964 has a double eye shock that was sandwiched between two ears of that forged bracket, while the 1965 had a clevis end on the lower shock that slid over the end fitting lug that contained a shock mount.

 

4) The handlebar mount. The 1964 had the cap nuts, the 1965 had the bolts.

5) The ’64 had the permanently riveted folding drivers pegs, the ’65 had the cotter keyed removable pins.

  For those who are interested, a few more particulars.  The 1965 was obtained free of charge from Mr. Bill Chifos of Indianapolis, Indiana, who contacted Jim Townsend several years ago with a free Honda “Dream” to anyone interested.  It belonged to his son, also named Bill, who went to Vietnam and was killed in combat on April 22^nd, 1968.  You can learn more at http://www.virtualwall.org/dc/ChifosWL01a.htm.

  His father gave the bike away or sold it several times over the years with the proviso that the owner give him first right of refusal if they were done with it.  It always came back and this last time he was ready to part with it. I believe that was about 2002.

 The bike was in pieces and rattle can blue when I lugged it home, but almost all of it was there.  The frame number is CL72-1001828 and it had about 5,600 miles showing on the odometer.  I spent several years and many hours restoring it.  The frame is powder-coated  an Eastwood Medium Red color.  A little different, but nice nonetheless.  I thought of Bill and his family often as I worked on this bike over the years.  I still do.

  By the way, Staff Sargent William Lewis Chifos was awarded two Silver Stars and a Bronze Star for his actions in Vietnam while a member of  B C0, 5th BN, 60^th INFANTRY, 9 INF DIV, U.S. Army.  A true American hero.

  The 1964 was purchased locally and appeared to have been “adult-owned”.  After a little clean-up, it ran like a top.  An absolutely amazing bike.  3,700 original miles, original paint, tires, and chrome and I’m not sure the valves had ever been adjusted.  It was that pristine.  It looked like very few nuts and bolts had never been apart and had only a couple of very small dings, one in the tank, and one in the front fender.  For those of you who rode these scramblers back in the day, they didn’t get treated this nicely. Of course, the surface rust showed through the paint in places, but that only added to the patina!

 The only mod I could find (I originally thought it to be original), was a hole through the chain guard through which the vent tube from the head cover was routed – for chain lubrication, I assume.  Always started first kick, ran like a top, even better than my ’ 65 with the rebuilt engine. Some of you may have seen me riding it around Mid-Ohio Vintage Motorcycle Days a couple of years ago.  I no longer have this bike.  I won’t tell you what took its’ place in the garage.  I’m saving that story for the VBMC magazine.

  Anyway, I have too many VJMC members to say thanks to, and since some may wish to remain anonymous, and I’d forget a few I’m sure, I’ll leave it there.  Anyway, a sincere thanks to all.  My way to repay all that generous advice is to offer that I will try to send a CD of detailed photos of both bikes to any CL restorers who are interested.  I wish I had had a nice set of detailed photos during the restore, so I’ll offer it up here.  I’ll try to get to everyone who asks, but if demand is too great, I may have to resort to Plan “B” and it may take a while.  Either way, I’ll get back to you.  Just send me an email.  And best of luck with your restoration.

Bill Voetsch
VJMC # 3364
Avon, Indiana
Oldbikebill@yahoo.com
Oldbikebill@gmail.com

(Published in Vol. 30, No. 4 edition of the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club (VJMC) Magazine).

Please note that this article was formatted slightly differently than you'll see if you read the published article.   The article can be found in the archives at www.vjmc.org.

  Please support the VJMC - Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club.  The organization continues to be run in a professional manner by a fine group of volunteers totally dedicated to, as their mission statement reads, to "promote the preservation, restoration and enjoyment of vintage japanese motorcycles".  I continue to be impressed that it is run as well as it is over many years.

Still Under Construction - No Hardhat Required!

I see that a few folks have looked at my blog or was that just me?  Anyway, I have been working on adding an article on a 1965 Honda CL72 that I restored.  This article was published in the August 2009 VJMC Magazine and I think it would be interesting to all those folks like me who like to research and explore all information related to their vintage motorcycles.  Stay tuned!  I hope to get it published soon......  If you have any questions in the meantime, I have a fair amount of knowledge and many photos that I'd be happy to share. 

The beginning......

 For the past dozen years or so, I have pursued my love of vintage motorcycles, particularly Japanese, but with at least one other country thrown in.   My plan with this blog is to share my experiences with other like minded people, perhaps inspiring others or at least providing some helpful tips gleaned from my experiences.  Some items may be around specific motorcycles, some may be about places, people or process.  
  This is my first experience with blogging, and I encourage anyone with a question or information to reach out and share with me.  I'll do my best to research and respond or post or link to your information.   Hope this blog is helpful to you as time goes on.