Engine CL90

Finished cleaning and finding the missing engine parts like the 2nd gear and oil pump to name a few. Decided to put in the brand new stator too.

Clutch lever too hard when engaged, and there seems to be a grinding noise coming from the clutch basket.  Figured the plates were incorrect and too thick. The problem was gone after replacing with the correct clutch plates.

Need a couple of more of these babies.

Modern Rectifier Upgrade & Electrical Wiring

This is a modern rectifier replacement for the unreliable stock selenium rectifiers of the old Honda's.
Inside the frame of my project CL90  I found what looks like a rectifier and another unknown part
A more detailed tutorial can be found at the honda trail ct90 & ct110 website here. 

 The silicon bridge type rectifier for this mod was cheaply purchased new at a nearby electronics store.

After failing to get fully colored wiring diagrams online for the cl90, I decided to colorize the available black & white diagrams.  I colored two wiring diagrams, one is for the s90.  With this it will be easier to decipher the decades old wiring I pulled from the frame.  

 To anyone who needs it just click on the images to get high res versions.

Refurbishing a Speedometer Part Two

Been a while  since I last posted, here's the finished speedometer face.

The decal printing shop was good quality and cheap too!  Now which of the 4 designs should I go with..

Wasted no time in cutting the one I liked the best, I chose the white as it would be more visible at night given the fact that the stock speedo lamp is dim.

Applying the decal to the metal face plate was easy enough thanks to my spot on measurements doing the vector design (ahem).  Sticking the neutral and signal indicator lens using instant glue was easy too.

I have some left over gold paint and decided to paint the needle.

I also reset the odometer.

Cleaned the glass and painted the inner rim spacer black and 

created a home made gasket around the speedometer assembly using leftover black foam I got from the office.

Not bad right? Oh and for comparison here's a photo of the the speedometer before.  It also shows how dim the 6 volt bulbs are.

Refurbishing a Speedometer

                                     

Yanked out the speedometer today to see if I could clean up that clock face and maybe replace the missing red lens.

Lifted up the edge of the chrome metal bezel  with a flat head screw driver, I  needed to be careful as I'm going to reuse it 

Nifty trick I learned in one of the forums I frequent  for removing the needle.

Hey look there's the missing red lens, Unfortunately the speedometer face plate paint is beyond saving.  Oh well I could design one & have it printed on vinyl.

I used to create things like these from my previous job, so it was a breeze getting the layout right.  It was a fun design exercise all in all

Playing around with the colors and fonts using Illustrator

Test printed one to see if the size is exact, seems okay.  The car decal shop I went to will UV coat it to prevent the ink fading from the harsh Manila sun.  They also have a minimum printing size of 8" x 11", which means I could cram other stuff I want to print on there so there's no wasted space.

Since I have an old Kawasaki speedometer lying around, and I was in the zone, I designed a faceplate for it as well.  

CL90 Engine Teardown

For some time now I have been itching to start restoring the CL90, or at least have it running again.  I wanted to tear into the thing every time I watched diy Youtube videos, Wheeler Dealers, Rick's restorations or reading restoration forum threads.  But I was reluctant opening that can of worms, this went on for 2 years.  Until one day a self proclaimed mechanic appeared at my doorstep. He claimed he owned a CL90 himself  when he was young and kept it for a couple of years before a Japanese tourist offered him a wad of cash for it.  He said when he saw me wheeling it out of my garage, as he passed by (he was a tricycle driver) he immediately recognized it and had to turn back to talk to me and have a better look.  He pointed out a lot of  features unique to the make & model like it was contact point-battery ignition type and had the same engine as S90.  After talking a while he convinced me he has experience with 60's Honda engines and I agreed we start overhauling the engine asap.  

Actual tear down began after a few weeks I met mang Richard.  I just made sure the guy was legit and sure enough some people and businesses were his customers before.  

We made quick progress and in an hour and a half later everything was dismantled, he had some bad news for me as he made a list of a lot of missing internal parts, like the oil pump gear, 2nd and 4th drive gears, new seals etc. The good news is all the parts are available at a shop he frequents at Valenzuela.  I gave him some cash but not before taking a photo of his drivers license and a signed waiver, just to be safe.

While waiting for the missing parts I cleaned up the aluminum crankcase, you cant tell from the photos but they were spotless - I should have taken a photo of the wire brush  I used  or what's left of it.

Next I tackled the 18" rims - the spokes need replacing, while the rusted stainless rims were sprayed with rust converter -Turco then brushed to see if they were salvageable.  The rear rim has some holes and both have pitted surfaces and now I'm thinking of  either repair then powder coat them black or go buy new ones.
The tires although old and cracking, surprisingly could still hold air.

Next post would be my first attempt at Polishing the crankcase covers.