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The Honda CA95 / Benly 150 Restoration The little brother to the CA160 in our family of Hondas

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  #1  
Unread 02-02-2015, 09:50 PM
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frappy frappy is offline
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Default 1964 CA95: sympathetic resto

I joined this wonderful Benly 150 Restoration forum after I purchased my first Benly - a 1960 Tokyo Rose basket case which sits dormant while I continue to locate parts for it. I've haven't posted much about my Benlys, but figured I should let y'all know one of the Benly-related projects I've completed while being a Forum member.

In the process of acquiring parts for the '60, I ended up purchasing a 1964 Benly (see attached before & after pics), because it came with a set of NOS early flat-side mufflers. Actually, it was the mufflers I wanted, the bike I had to take as well if I wanted to seal the deal. It came with a box of nice NOS parts and some used spares as well. Overall it was a good deal, but this '64 needed a motor, a complete exhaust system, a handful of missing parts, and a bunch of cleaning.

This '64 CA95 I've since nicknamed Whitey to help me easily identify my two white '64 Benly's. Whitey has been a distraction from the restoration of my '60, but the location of the engine for this bike also secured me some more spare parts and a NOS front fender, which I also needed for my '60. All in all, this '64 has been a fun project and I have learned a lot about restoring the Benly motorcycle.

Whitey sports an original not rebuilt '63 motor with used early exhaust pipes and mufflers sourced from 3 separate local swap meets. In addition to the above-mentioned missing drivetrain parts, I needed to locate a used horn, coil, side cover, air cleaner cover/tool tray, battery box, carburetor and lower chain guard.

I started the sympathetic restoration of this '64 by stripping off with lacquer thinner all of the PO-applied rattle can paint; bringing it down to the original Honda white paint. I then used chrome cleaner to remove any rust stains created by nicks or bare spots in the original white paint. I rebuilt the tail light, starter switch, horn and petcock, coated the tank with POR-15, and restored a sourced lower chain guard which I gave "patina" to match the rest of the bike.

I also installed a new battery, headlight, and drive chain, along with a set of new 3.25-16 Coker whitewalls to replace the original 1964 Inoue whitewalls. Of course, I also checked the brakes and repacked the wheel bearings. Lastly, the vintage white seat showed up on eBay and I couldn't resist adding it to complete all-white theme that could have been ordered from Honda "back in the day".

This little '64 handles great with the oversize new tires. It starts immediately when warm with the electric starter and runs well too; although the bottom end seems a bit noisy. I've put a couple hundred fairly rigorous miles on it over the past year since I finished assembly, and it hasn't failed, started smoking or got any noisier, so fingers crossed, I hope she keeps ticking. (The most strenuous trip was up Mt. Hamilton to Lick Observatory, back down the other side to San Antonio Valley, and then back again; in some areas over a 10% grade).

My little Benly is by no means powerful, and certainly has patina, but is a smooth running and good handling bike. People love seeing it on the road almost as much as I enjoy riding it. Thanks for being being here and helping me to keep my Benly projects moving along!
Attached Images
File Type: jpg May 2012 189.jpg (260.7 KB, 29 views)
File Type: jpg 1964-CA95-LRa.jpg (339.8 KB, 28 views)
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Unread 02-14-2015, 05:47 AM
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ByTheLake ByTheLake is offline
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Default

White has always been my favorite color for the stamped-frame early Hondas. It just looks classy to me. Thanks for posting the pictures.
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