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Went to see a former colleague's wife last week. He passed away a couple of years ago and she has been selling his bike collection. The temptation was to go and value a "1970s" Yamaha of indeterminate model. Hoping that this might be an early RD250 or 400 I tottered along. Hidden behind what turned out to be a pretty common Yam was a 1984 Honda C90 Step thru...this is now mine and awaits collection...my mid life crisis dream bike ! (and an appreciating classic )
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>> Honda C90
Blimey, that is a blast from the past. I had a C70, but it wasn't roadworthy and only used it as a track bike. When it got too ropey and beat up, I donated the cylinder head, barrel, and piston to a friend who had a 50cc Honda Monkey bike which used the same engine, but had a manual clutch instead of the centrifugal one on the C series. Basically we upgraded it from 50cc to 70cc. It went like stink afterwards.
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They're getting very collectable now...
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I quite understand the urge, I'd buy an FS1E in a moment.
But I fear that, for me anyway, the nostalgia would pass pretty quickly and then I'd just have a not very good bike that wasn't very useful and I didn't really like riding getting in the way all the time.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Thu 21 Mar 19 at 12:50
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>> I quite understand the urge, I'd buy an FS1E in a moment.
Go on, you know you want it.
www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201902064672689
One of the few motorbikes that had a completely different gear change to the rest. i.e. press the gear selector down each time for the next gear. Whereas 99.9% of other motorbikes were one down, and four up. It confused the hell out of people trying to get into 2nd gear who'd never ridden a Fizzy before.
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I had, at the same time, an FS1E and a 1959 Matchless G12 650.
Periodically I slid up the tank having stamped on the brake lever rather than the gear lever.
Strangely a few years later with a KH250 and a Norton Dominator 99SS I never had an issue.
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My parents wouldn't let me get a FS1E, and to be fair a number of my mates hurt themselves on theirs.
Instead we had a Honda C50 step-through which had been abandoned in a house Dad looked after. The strange thing was that it was on Australian number plates - I assume it was shipped and not driven to the UK! It was great fun driving round in circles in the garden, until that was 'banned' and we headed off to the local woods. Tip. Honda C50s are not very good as trials bikes!
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>> Tip. Honda C50s are not very good as trials bikes!
But strangely a surprising amount were used just that way!
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>> >> Tip. Honda C50s are not very good as trials bikes!
>> But strangely a surprising amount were used just that way!
They still are. The trials season's coming to an end, but look up MCC trials and you'll see a few.
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>> >> >> Tip. Honda C50s are not very good as trials bikes!
>> >> But strangely a surprising amount were used just that way!
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>> They still are. The trials season's coming to an end, but look up MCC trials
>> and you'll see a few.
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Well I didn’t know that! The chain always used to fly off ours if the terrain got too testing.
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>>Go on, you know you want it.
>>
>>www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201902064672689
Pah, rubbish.
Firstly mine was yellow and secondly it was the DX (front disc brake, donchya know)
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Also, those side panels look weird. I'm sure mine were considerably larger than that. Maybe not though, it was a depressingly long time ago.
(now I think about it, I'm sure because the tools were stored in one of them.)
Last edited by: No FM2R on Thu 21 Mar 19 at 13:47
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A C90 will only go one way in value. I'd call it a good investment, whether you use it or not.
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That was part of the thinking. Talking to our mechanic and some locals in Vietnam - the former had a Honda moped (not a C series) - he got eveyrwhere ( and better) than we did on our pukka off roaders - he was the only one in the group that didn't fall off (and we had two very experienced off roaders) - locals love the Cub (as they are now called there) and loads of us rode very easily off road. Plan is to get the C90 going - get it on the road and keep it going until I need the space then sell it. Even Mrs RP fancies it to ride the four miles to her place of work...we'll see.
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That looks to be in good order, but I don’t recall that colour. Mine was in yellow on an ‘M’ reg. I had it for a year from new then went straight to an RD350B in maroon. Now that was sh off a shovel. Honda CB750’s just couldn’t cut it up to about 85mph.
The FS1E may be an import? However the price isn’t to outrageous is it?
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>>RD350B in maroon
Nice, but I just very much preferred the RD400 with the coffin tank.
www.bike-urious.com/1976-yamaha-rd400/
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>> Also, those side panels look weird. I'm sure mine were considerably larger than that. Maybe not though, it was a depressingly long time ago.
Wasn't the DX model a later version, with the restricted engine?
I had 2 Fizzy's. One was an unrestricted beast that had been breathed on by a mechanic who tuned it and subsequently it could rev faster than a chainsaw engine. It also had the DX conversion as it needed uprated brakes to slow the thing down. I kid you not, it would go over 80 mph. No idea of the actual speed as the speedo only went up to 80 mph.
The other was a later model, no pedals, larger side panels, bigger fuel tank, but had the restricted engine. A previous owner had changed the gearing on it though, so at least it could do 40 mph.
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>>Wasn't the DX model a later version, with the restricted engine?
No, just a disc brake.
>> it would go over 80 mph
No it didn't, silly boy, not with the 49cc engine. You could only make it go noticeably faster by making the engine a lot more than 49cc, and the stroke and crank limited the max revs in the standard engine.
Probably not gearing changes. AFAIK the only way to change the gearing on the new one was to change sprockets, and that way what the Lord gave in top speed he took away in acceleration. However, the restricted FS1E could become the unrestricted FS1E pretty easily, since it was the same engine and all you needed to do was swap the bits over.
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>> No it didn't, silly boy, not with the 49cc engine.
I forgot to mention it had a 65cc barrel and piston conversion, along with a racing rotary disc valve, rejetted carb, and one or two other tweaks here and there. It was the most unreliable POS going though, and although it had plenty of speed, it had no torque. Put a hill in front of it and it was down to 2nd gear and 25 mph if you were lucky. Changing into 3rd just bogged down the engine. It also only did approx. 30 mpg. As you can imagine with a small fuel tank, it was totally impractical other than to have short journeyed fun on it.
>> Probably not gearing changes. AFAIK the only way to change the gearing on the new
>> one was to change sprockets,
That's what the previous owner had done with the restricted one I had. He changed the front sprocket from a 12 tooth cog to 16. It was slightly down on acceleration, but had more torque than the unrestricted Fizzy so seemed to cope quite well. It also did approx. 100 mpg.
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Memories. I had a 1963 Honda C50 in the early 70's. Ran it for a couple of problem-free years and sold it for a tenner when you could buy a new one for not much over £100.
i even went up some fairly steep hills with two aboard and a good run-up. It had a chassis tube running across the "frame" that I believe was to fit a sidecar? I think this was aimed at far east and other markets where loading as many passengers as possible was a local necessity.
Abiding memories include riding it at dawn along the hard sand on a deserted beach and then turning into the soft sand with hilarious results for my watching mates.......
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>> It had a chassis tube running across the "frame" that I believe was to fit a sidecar?
IIRC they a stupidly low first gear, probably for this purpose and also allows them to 'trickle' up trials hills. Didn't everyone pull away in second?
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>>IIRC they a stupidly low first gear
Did they? I thought they had only 3 gears. But you're probably correct.
We had a Puch Maxi which we used to take "up the woods". We thought we were so cool.
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Mate fell off his Puch Maxi up the shale bings in West Lothian when he was in primary 7, breaking his leg.
I had a Honda enduro bike - only time I fell off was doing a huge rear-wheel skid across a football field - lack of skill meant the rear wheel started to overtake the front and I was catapulted landing on my back.
Winded but otherwise unhurt.
*insert comments about skid marks here*
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I graduated from the Puch Maxi and the C50 when I was 14 having done myself little or no harm over the preceeding few years.
I graduated to a Bultaco Sherpa which I think as a 350. I then beat crap out of myself and broke a variety of limbs and digits over the next two years.
Totally road illegal and the subject of a regular cat and mouse game between me and the village constabulary. Eventually they won.
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Hi Mark. I had a Montesa Cota 247. An excellent piece of kit and a perfect homing device after a shandy.
A Bultaco Sherpa came in many guises. I had an immaculate 250, bought second hand with money I’d purloined from our mortgage deposit! It came with a spare brand new rear tyre as well. I ran it for quite a while and sold it (and the tyre separately) for an overall profit of £4.00 (four) pounds. Despite the profit the miserable cow still brings it up when the wind is in the wrong direction. Doncha just love ‘em?
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It looked like this one, but it was a long time ago so it might have not been identical. That front mud guard looks different, for example. And I did think mine was all red, but perhaps not..
www.bonhams.com/auctions/23804/lot/236/?category=results
Last edited by: No FM2R on Fri 22 Mar 19 at 15:31
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That’s pretty. It brings back many happy memories.
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Puch Maxi. NSU Quickly and a few others who’s names currently elude me after a splendid lunch in the sun.
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NSI Quickly! I had one of those I bought from some other kid for £2.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Fri 22 Mar 19 at 15:32
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>> We had a Puch Maxi
Wow, another bike from my teenage days. Trying to recall what the 50cc Suzuki was at the time of Fizzy's and C50's.
IRC the C50 and C70 were good at pulling wheelies, but there was a knack to it. You had to hold your foot in a certain position on the gear change lever to disengage the centrifugal clutch, and then give it some revs and let go of the lever. Wheeeee!!!
The fairing was quite good at taking knocks too. Had plenty of give in it and never managed to break one while chasing rabbits on the ridgeway.
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AP50, slightly faster than the FS1E.
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For my sins, I occasionally ride a Corgi - single gear model. It's ridiculously high geared and requires an amount of punting to avoid stalling. I've seen a picture of one with a sidecar and wondered how on earth they moved off, but then found out there were two-gear models.
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And the Honda was the SS50 and slightly faster than both on top speed but totally uncool.
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One or two locally had the C50, but one poor lad was forced to get an Ariel Pixie. And another clunker was the BSA Beagle of 75cc.
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>> AP50, slightly faster than the FS1E.
Ah yes, that was it, and can now remember the arguments which inevitably led to another race ;)
Not much could keep up with that tuned Fizzy of mine though, apart from my mate's SS50, which as mentioned earlier wasn't quite "standard spec" either. EDIT It wasn't a monkey bike as I had mentioned earlier. Mark's post just reminded me that is was an SS50.
Although that Fizzy was fun, I got fed up with the unreliability. It kept shearing woodruff keys, I guess because the engine span to many 1000's of revs. It also melted a few pistons along the way, and I had to uprate the spark plug because it kept melting the tip.
Last edited by: VxFan on Sat 23 Mar 19 at 20:31
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I can’t remember any issues with mine.
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Well done RP. Hope it gives you as much pleasure as my C50 gave me pain.
Aged 18 I suddenly needed transport to do a 30-mile commute in an area with no bus service. I sold my massive Hornby 3-rail train set and bought a '64 C50. At the back-street dealers in Harrogate I found I couldn't afford one with indicators or a screen. With the frame hand-painted in battleship grey and burning oil from the moment I handed over the cash, it must have been the least reliable machine Honda ever put a badge on. I probably pushed it as many miles as I rode it. Happy days I don't think.
:)
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Waiting for the owner to come back off her hols before I can get it.
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What was the Yam that you first mentioned?
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XS400 - not my cup of tea
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I’m not familiar with that model..
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Finally picked it up yesterday morning, now nestling in my little garage. Picked it up in a hire van en-route to Sheffield to collect a Honda 250n Superdream my friend had bought from e-bay. Learnt a lot about logistics and securing loads whilst working for the NHS !
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Accidentally bought a bike... - VxFan