THE BENLY 150 RUNS!!

[Smithers]

Woohoo! I knew she would start right up.
Here is the MACintosh compatible style AVI video, click below:
AVI Video of Starting up the Honda CA95 (http://www.fourwheelperformance.com/honda/ca95_firemac.avi)

And here is the Windows Media type file that you might want to watch as well.
Firing up the Benly 150 for the first time. (http://www.fourwheelperformance.com/honda/ca95_fire01.wmv)

After the carb work was done I knew it was ready to fire right up. I needed to lube the new throttle cable a little bit as the grip action is a little sticky. Then I made sure the rear axle was right and adjusted. The tires haven't leaked a bit of air and all the lights work... Time for a ride!

I simply hooked up the fuel line, turned the key clockwise one click and you know it's ready to kick start when the neutral light is on right in front of you on the headlamp housing. I gave it full choke and 2 kicks later it started up just fine. It sputtered for 20 seconds and instantly smoothed out. I coated the cylinders and pistons good with a film of grease to make sure that it wouldn't be damaged before any oil could reach them upon ignition. After a little oil and grease burned off the little bike runs totally perfect. I went for a ride around the block and left the helmet back on the shelf =] Isn't that how they rode Hondas back in the day?

[Smithers]

I probably rode around on the back roads for about 6 miles tonight in the dark. The 6V headlight works as good as it ever did, which is about half as bright as a modern bike headlight. When the battery started charging up a little more the horn actually worked! It has a classic sounding honk but the volume is about half as I would like. My CA160 horn is MUCH louder. Maybe in time the little Benly horn will come to life. After all, the bike hasn't run in a long, long time!

The seat is nice and comfortable. The handlebars are a little out of true adjustment but it just adds to the character of the bike. The engine sounds very quiet and it just glides down the street with just a little throttle. It has very good power actually but of course I'm taking it easy while breaking it in. The clutch needs some adjustment to fully engage consistently and the transmission is very cranky. They were famous for having unfriendly transmissions so I expect the worst. The trans just demands more time for shifts and needs a little encouragement with a nice easy click of the toe. If it doesn't want to shift to the next gear just slide the clutch lever and it will do it the second time. Just don't be in a hurry with this one. That's how all the old Honda transmissions feel though. Did I mention that it was really quiet? It's more quiet than my 160 even and it doesn't even have the restrictor plugs in the mufflers or even any packing to insulate the mufflers where they join with the front pipes. When throttle is applied you can hear the carburettor just sucking at the air with a PHHHhFFT PHFFFFFT sound which is fun to listen to. You can say the mufflers make a puttputt putt sound down the street and the engine internals make clicking noises just like they should be making.

Runs great - Mission Accomplished.