Phman got a "new" bike
 

Hey guys,

After lurking around here for a while I was finally able to find time to make it up to PA and pick up the bike I have been eying for a while. So a little back story this back was actually my great-grandfathers, which he bought new in 1964 I believe, hopefully someone can tell me the year from the serial number. The bike has been sitting in a shed on some family property for all these years and I decided might as well go get it and try to fix her up. I have been reading these forums and researching, but i have never actually done so any advice is welcome. All that I have done so far is give it a good wash and taken off the seat, tank, carb and air filter. I have tried the kick starter and the engine sounds like it turns over. The bike has over 12,000 miles on it, i feel like compared to some other bikes i have seen on here this sounds like a lot of miles. So check out the pics and give me your thoughts.

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The handlebars seem to been pretty rusted as compared to the rest of the bike. Also the exhaust has a big hole in it, do I need to find replacements for these.

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Thanks for sharing the pictures and the story, Phman. My great-grandfather only left me a beer bottle opener, so you've done much better!

The bike appears to be in good shape. Are you planning to leave much of the current "patina" and just replace a few items, or take on a larger restoration project?

Nice to see a Benly that was ridden as intended.

You can probably clean up some of the rust on the handlebars, although some of that chrome is gone. There are replacement mufflers available in other styles, but original style mufflers are rather costly.

Keep us updated as you move forward, and congrats on picking up the family heirloom.

You have a great start there. Bars are available on ebay as are lots of parts that you might require. A lot of the parts on line are reproduction so it might be a good idea to ask on here before you go ahead and buy as some items have been known to be not much good.
Good luck.

Sam.

PhMan, Great story and and a worthy save for sure. I'd agree the serial indicates a 1964 but these bikes, if titled, were titled in the year sold. Sure seems complete and has most of the goodies (chain cover, crash bars Bucos for Spokes). It also seems to have the front fender ducktail in the best shape I've seen. Mufflers are roached, NOS are about $800 when you can find them so you'll need to go ebay to look for other replacements.
Nice start, great history, good bike- all of the ingredients for an heirloom.

PS- Don't worry about the indicated miles- it means you got a good reliable one that wasn't screwed up from the factory and kept together. It's the low miles bikes I worry about- "put away at 2000 miles yada,yada"- because it was broken. Sounds like yours provided many years of good service- a keeper.

You are absolutley correct about low mileage bikes LarzfromArz. Mine was put away at 900 miles. When i got it running last spring the engine sounded like a blender full of rocks. I live close to an old Honda dealer and he told me the crank bearings were pretty weak on the early ones. Honda replaced them at no charge for a while. I had to scour the internet for months to find a good complete crankshaft because the bearings where impossible to find.

I have a red 1964 CA95 that is close in serial number to yours. I have CA95-4019385.

Hey guys,

Thanks for all of the responses, I am glad to see that the mileage is more of a good thing. Right now I am in the process of cleaning out the carb, my plan for this bike is to restore as much as my budget allows, which is not very much at this time. I want to replace air filter, battery, spark plugs, change the oil and see if I can't get it running. As far as replacement mufflers are concerned I have seen several on ebay for about $60 plus shipping from Thailand, would this be a good choice, I have heard of several people on this forum ordering parts from Thailand, but I don't want to spend money on a piece of junk

During my restoration, I placed 27 parts orders to Thailand, and had only one issue where an item was never shipped. eBay refunded the money, and a subsequent order to a different seller went well. The quality of the items was fine.

I opted for the Triumph-style cigar muffler, which fit the aftermarket header pipes (also from Thailand) just fine. The Thailand muffler is in the picture below. Last year I paid $57.90, plus $66.00 shipping, for a total of $123.90 for the muffler pair. It fit well and the chrome is nice - no complaints.

http://www.forths.com/blog/wp-conten...wwDSC03255.jpg

Kev - Perfect Honda there. Are there pictures around showing your engine close up?

PHman - I've ordered a few things from Thailand and haven't had one problem yet. I usually order engine parts as you just can't beat their supply and price. You just have to scrutinize the sellers feedback and make sure and ask them if the picture in the auction description is the actual picture of the product they are selling! Read every single bit of fine print in the auction and use a credit card so you have some recourse at least. Just my 2 bits.

Yup- you really have to watch the language barrier. Also read read read the ads and understand that things like "NOS" (new old stock) are confusing to other cultures and often mean something different. Also per Smithers, ask if the part is genuine or genuine replacement often pic are taken on Honda parts bags that mean nothing. It's buyer beware for sure but I don't think "they " are out to get us.....:cool:

@BTL...did you know you have polar bear stalking you?????

Yeah, that's Enzo, my Maltese puppy. It's funny, we often call him the little polar bear during the winter. He takes walks on the lake, and looks like a little polar bear sometimes.

http://www.forths.com/blog/wp-conten...-12.28.29c.jpg

Viscous I'm sure... He can smell the salmon under the ice....