60's Honda CL 160 Rebuild as Racer

[Sidewalk]

Hopefully I will be there with you next year Carlo, but don't count out the big guys as witnessed in this video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJz6B6k1-GE

After watching that video and looking at the HP numbers, you guys need to try the kart tracks instead of the big track. Very similar performance to my RS65, but much more fun on a kart track then Buttonwillow :ride

I know the owner of M1GP has invited Group W to come out before.

 

[firstbuell]

hey Carlo,

then I stand corrected - & frankly surprised -

I owned since-new a '67 CB160 & put 20k miles on it;
raced a production 125 Yamaha with OMRRA @ PIR;

I realize now that I actually don't know how many HP it takes
to run one of these kinda-streamlined liteweights to 75mph or 85mph,
let alone 95mph.....

Salt guys might know - anyone?

 

[Sidewalk]

I realize now that I actually don't know how many HP it takes
to run one of these kinda-streamlined liteweights to 75mph

My 65 makes about 12 HP and was running 75 MPH through most of Buttonwillow with the gearing I had on. With taller gearing it should go faster.

 

[firstbuell]

OK, we're making progress......

the pre-Miller Vintage Tace track yak was that slopers [160/175] pump 16-18hp & verticals [175/200] mebbe 18-20hp -
if that's true, then 95mph surely seems to be within reach

 

[Carlo]

hey Carlo,

then I stand corrected - & frankly surprised -

I owned since-new a '67 CB160 & put 20k miles on it;
raced a production 125 Yamaha with OMRRA @ PIR;

I realize now that I actually don't know how many HP it takes
to run one of these kinda-streamlined liteweights to 75mph or 85mph,
let alone 95mph.....

Salt guys might know - anyone?

When were you with OMRRA? I have a good friend who used to race a Honda 125 production racer. Personally, I've never raced, but I used to attend "vintage day" every September there, and participated in the "parade lap" with whatever bike I happened to bring.

The most recent event is AHRMA sponsored, and looks like it's going to revive the vintage race scene at PIR. My club, Oregon Vintage Motorcyclists, put on the vintage bike display, and we're planning on doing it again next year.

Oh, and I'm not surprised you were sceptical at first. My little CL125 twin is really suffering at an 60 indicated mph. I've never ridden my 160 (rolling basket case that was given to me), but I imagine that a stock 160 isn't going to be much faster than the 125.

 

[firstbuell]

when? - the Rainier Beer-sponsored trophy[!] says 9/2/73

 

[Cereal KLR]

From the AMA Hall of Fame site,

For a list price of $530, a young rider who may have started on a step-through Honda 50 or 90 got something that looked like a true motorcycle. And the 161cc single-overhead cam, four-stroke twin delivered on that promise, spinning up to 10,000 rpm and generating 16.5 horsepower—enough, the company claimed, for a top end of 75 mph. In a road test, Cycle World even dubbed the new bike a "baby Super Hawk."


As I recall, a couple guys went between 55 to low/mid eighties last year but this is on salt, and at altitude conditions that insists on a black arts degree.

 

[akathisia]

Congrats Dave on getting your bike running! Wish I could have been there personally to hear and see it. Love that sound!!!

 

[firstbuell]

hey guys, more learnin' -

http://www.broadlandleisure.com/

 

[sliverstorm]

What is the significance of salt?

 

[Stormdragon]

What is the significance of salt?

Salt implies a little time spent in Utah.

 

[firstbuell]

"salt" also implies:

drive of 16 hrs from BA
elevation of about 1 mile
unknown, changeable wind & weather [& salt surface!] conditions


once there, you'll hear the following a LOT,
".....I dunno, it pulled top gear all the way up to redline back home....."

this, often followed by gearing changes [to 'keep it in the powerband']
which lower top speed

finally, aimless wanderings out on the great white, looking aloft while screaming.......

 

[bellisan]

Finished the velocity stacks - machined them instead of spun or composite. I just don't feel like messing about right now. Got the new triple clamp roughed out, now just another 5 hours of grueling filing and sanding and it'll be done. :rolleyes

Oh, and I went on a big trip this weekend to failing Honda shops and a motorcycle salvage yard. Here are some of the goodies I got (for free!) from the salvage yard. I guess I'm a fastener dork. Oh, the dog hair wasn't included.

I got other cool stuff too - only some of it free: shouldered aluminum WM2 rim, CB175 wheel, box of CA95 tank knee pads, CB175 high compression pistons, a pair of headlights for my 175 project, a bunch of cam chains, engine knock pins, seat pan, CB175 foot pegs....

Hey Dave,
Just got into this thread. Nice job!
I have a CB400F I'm restoring. Which moto salvage yard did you go to, and what's their setup?

Cheers

Lou

 

[twitchmonitor]

Salvage yard? I went to one way up in Northern Ca, but I barely got anything there.

Thinking about making a build thread? We love that shit around here. :teeth

 

[bellisan]

Yah, I'm organizing my pics. Can't seem to find the ones of the bare frame . Hope to get the major functional things done this weekend.

Cheers

Lou

 

[firstbuell]

oooh!! oooh!!

http://world.honda.com/MotoGP/history

 

[firstbuell]

not GP, but a gen-u-ine HMC proddy racer - never seen this model before.....

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CJMC/...ode=tn&order=ordinal&start=1&count=20&dir=asc

 

[Stormdragon]

Post pics. I refuse to get a Yahoo log in.

 

[Craig Haggart]

After watching that video and looking at the HP numbers, you guys need to try the kart tracks ...

This is an excellent idea! Gabe from CityBike suggested the same thing and tipped me off to the track in Stockton. I contacted them and found out you can ride until your teeth fall out every Monday for 25 bucks. They told me the fill and drain plugs need to be safety wired (no prob, mine is a legal racer so EVERYTHING is safety wired) and the bike must have sliders. I asked for clarification on that point because a CB160 doesn't actually have any frame in the area where a modern bike has frame sliders -- just the engine. Still waiting to hear back from Chris at the track.

Anyway, assuming that all can be worked out, anyone with a track-ready 160/175 wanna play in Stockton some Monday? I'm wondering if I might be able to swing it this coming Monday (July 26, 2010) to try working out the issues with my new PE-22 carbs before the AFM race on the 31st.

 

[akathisia]

Hey Craig, great idea. It would be a lot of fun, and the bikes HP and wt are a good fit for the track.

Unfortunately I work on Mondays, so I have never been able to go out there except for when they have saturday practices.