Old Blue's 50th Birthday Party

rhodemon · #1 05-07-2012, 05:32 PM

After 15 years of ownership and 8,000 miles of riding my 1962 CA95 Benly, I've decided to celebrate my old bike's 50th with a major cleanup. I'm even going to go overboard and use some of the NOS parts I've been collecting during over the years.

We CA95 owners are lucky because a lot of these bikes were parked because they went out of style before they wore out. Good affordable low mileage examples are still out there, and although parts are becoming harder to find, with some patience and perseverance one can still find them. Not many motorcycles of that era can boast of a overhead cam high revving engine with electric start and a roller bearing crank and connecting rods combined with superb reliability!

Mine has 24,500 miles on the odometer, but was fitted with a newer engine when I bought it. I drive it almost daily in the warm weather months and I never cease to admire the quality and high level of engineering that went into producing these motorcycles.

I'm planning to clean everything, buff out and wax the paint, polish the aluminum, replace some of the chrome pieces (I've already been to the plater with replacement items), and do a major tuneup.

rhodemon · #2 05-07-2012, 06:09 PM

Here's an in progress picture.

Sam Green · #3 05-08-2012, 01:22 AM

It looks in reasonable nick for the miles, good luck.

Sam.

ByTheLake · #4 05-08-2012, 01:27 AM

Beautiful motorcycle, certainly worthy of celebration and appreciation. It's nice to hear that a CA95 can still be ridden reliably today, no doubt a well-engineered bike.

Happy 50th to your bike, and nice post.

rhodemon · #5 05-08-2012, 06:41 PM

I started the party by rubbing out the paint with Strada rubbing compound followed by Maguires Machine Glaze and Mirror Glaze Wax. These bikes were painted with a very durable enamel (and no primer!) and it polishes easily. Try it and you will be pleasantly surprised with the results.

I used my trusty old 1/4" variable speed drill driving a cheap 3" Harbor Freight Mini Buffing Kit ($12) to bring back the paint. The kit has easily interchanged velcro backed cloth and foam pads and is just the right size for motorcycle use.

I had to touch up the paint in a few places and I used a Prevail Sprayer or a brush for the small places. That blue is Future Farmers of America Blue (no joke) and I used acrylic enamel with a hardener for a quicker cure. Preheating the metal prior to application helps achieve a smoother finish and faster cure.

The pictures show my homemade teeter tooter motorcycle stand which elevates the bike to a workable level and later stows easily in a crowed garage. A word of warning - if you build such a stand, be careful pushing the bike up the ramp and getting it on the stand! And don't use it for a heavy bike. A helper is useful cause you don't want to get crushed by your own motorcycle.

rhodemon · #6 05-13-2012, 03:12 PM

Shown below are pictures of the buffing and aluminum polishing compounds and tools I used to help bring the old bike back.

I chose to polish rather than paint the engine cases just because they look so good polished! The same goes for the front and rear drums which were originally coated with a clear lacquer.

I used a old hockey skate lace that was about 8' long and coated with aluminum cleaner to get at the grooves inside of the spokes. I wrapped it 3/4 of the way around and pulled the ends back and forth for a few minutes.

The horn wasn't reliable, so I cleaned the points, fiddled with the adjustments, sprayed it with electrical contact cleaner, and it worked! I gather they have to be mounted on their brackets to properly vibrate because it didn't work well on the bench.

rhodemon · #7 05-13-2012, 03:32 PM

I was missing a decent left side ext header, so I ordered a set from Thailand. Nice quality, decent chrome, but now I know why Honda has a R and L. These were both the same, and only the L side fit! No worries, I used an R that I already had and saved the left over one for the ongoing Pink Project.

I also did my annual carb cleaning and paid special attention to the slow speed jet. It has very small passages and requires a tiny wire such as a wire brush bristle to clean them. Don't forget the jet's centerline bore, I'll bet that most of them out there are plugged, and your bike will never start on the first kick unless it's clear!

Next it was off the lightly file and set the points, check the timing, replace the plugs, and go for a ride!

ByTheLake · #8 05-13-2012, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rhodemon

I also did my annual carb cleaning and paid special attention to the slow speed jet. It has very small passages and requires a tiny wire such as a wire brush bristle to clean them. Don't forget the jet's centerline bore, I'll bet that most of them out there are plugged, and your bike will never start on the first kick unless it's clear!

I've found that my old electric guitar strings, particularly the high e and b strings, are perfect for that purpose. Quite stiff and thin. Gotta be careful not to scratch the passages, though.