Vintage Honda Switches for the 250-305 models.

 Honda used an array of various types of electrical switches in the 1960s. Let’s look at a selection and see what they have in common among the various models.

Ignition switches:

CB72-77 models basically used the same ignition switch for all models. Key codes might be T-series or some of the harder to source NA/NB types. In the early, early models, the key codes were just 4 numbers and no letter code. When Honda started re-issuing the ignition switches, they used the later series number/letters like a 14H or something similar. The only other switch option was for the CYP77 Police bikes which had a 4 position switch vs. the standard 3 position switch for common street bikes. The three positions are OFF, ON for all systems, and OFF. When the ignition switch is ON, the headlights, instrument lights and tail light are controlled by a separate HEADLIGHT switch on the headlight shell.

CL72-77 models first used an elongated CB72 switch, which had an extended barrel section to allow the plastic latch to secure the side cover to the bike. After that, the redesign was an adapter that bolted to the frame and the switch with 2 small screws. The threads on the adapter held the side cover latch. Because of the difference in diameters of the two types, there are two different latches of different ID/OD dimensions. The three positions are OFF, ON for all systems, and OFF. When the ignition switch is ON, the headlights, instrument lights and tail light are controlled by a separate HEADLIGHT switch on the headlight shell.

C/CA72-77 Dream models had a big plastic 6 pin harness connector, plus some extra wires to operate the Dream ignition and lighting functions. The US switch had 5 positions CRANK, OFF (key comes out), ON for ignition, brake light, horn and neutral light, then Lighting position, and finally the PARK position (key comes out). JDM and EURO models used a 6 position switch, which included one stop for the little position/park light located in the headlight reflector, which was required for numerous countries. The Dreams share the headlight switch with the 125-150-160 Benly models.

Lighting switches:

CB72-77 models generally have a 4 wire headlight switch with a single ON-OFF function. The CB switch has a 268-810 product code for use in the US models.

CL72-77 models used an early 5 wire switch which has 2 ON functions, one of which is for the little position/park light used in non-US models. The CL switch comes with a 270 product code, stemming from the CM72 model. There is no real use for the 3 position switch on US bikes, but many seem to be equipped with them.

C/CA72-77 lighting functions come as part of the Dream ignition switch.

Brake light switches:

CB brake light switches came in two versions. Early models had spring-loaded terminal ends which captured the tinned wire ends for the brake light wiring. Later versions had the switch wiring harness attached to the switch permanently. CB/CL160s use a similar brake switch.

                                                           

CL72-77 brake light switches are a press OFF plunger function. When the rear brake linkage is at rest, the brake pedal pushes up against the end of the switch plunger in an OFF position. When the brake pedal is depressed, the switch plunger extends and closes the contacts inside the switch to illuminate the brake light function. This is the only switch of this type, as all others are a pull-ON type where a spring is attached to the plunger and the contacts are connected when the switch plunger is pulled out of the switch housing.

C/CA72-77 brake light switches are basically the same as the same metal CB switch (also the CB160), but the switch is activated by a complex set of levers and springs which activate the switch when the brake pedal is depressed.

Starter solenoids:

CB72-77 solenoids are bolted to the bottom of the tool box and the terminals and connection wires face the left side of the bike frame. The solenoids are “hot” all the time and the way to activate them is a small yellow/red wire that runs up the wiring harness and through the handlebars to the starter button switch on the throttle housing. When the button is depressed, it connects to ground through the handlebars and forks, to complete the circuit, enabling the solenoid to close the contacts inside which bridge the battery contacts and the starter motor contacts.

CL72-77 NONE

C/CA72-77 Dreams mount the starter solenoid under the distribution box on the right side of the frame under the side cover. It is mounted next to the ignition coil and the rectifier. It is activated in the same manner as the CB solenoid.

Dimmer switches:

All three models share the basically same dimmer switch designs, apart from the length of the switch harness that run through the handlebars on the CB and C/CA models. The CL models have the switch harness running outside of the handlebars, affixed to the bars with a clip to the clutch cable. CB/CL160s also use a similar switch.

Winker switches:

Because turn signals were not permitted in the US until 1968, no US model bikes have a winker/turn signal switch on the throttle side. US wiring harnesses do not have the extra wires for the winker system, as well. Many people have sourced the rare switches from outside of the country and used them in conjunction with the correct harnesses with the winker wiring included. While this makes the bikes legal, as required in some states and everywhere else, the actual function of the turn signal switch is awkward as it requires the use of the throttle hand thumb to release the throttle somewhat to activate the left or right (UP or DOWN) switch contacts and again to turn the switch back to the center neutral position. It is definitely not as smooth as the later model Hondas with the turn signal switch function built into the left side dimmer switch.

Neutral switches:

Thankfully, ALL 250-305 Honda models have the same neutral switch mounted on the end of the shift drum, underneath the kickstarter cover. The problem with the switches is that, over time, the solder joint fails at the switch contact which is the ground connection for the neutral light bulb circuit. If you are very careful, you can re-solder the wire end back to the original location. Too much heat will cause the internal contact to loosen in the plastic case and then it retreats away from the rotating contact piece inside the switch. You can gently pry them apart and clean and re-solder the wire, insuring that the contact piece is still flush with the body, so the rotating contact will touch the wire contact at the correct time.

Horn switch:

Like the starter button function, the horn button is tucked into the dimmer switch and provides the ground connection to complete the horn circuit which is “hot” all the time when the ignition switch is ON. In both cases of the starter and horn wires, if the handlebar switches rotate due to a fall or improper installation, the tiny 22 gauge wires will get pinched and grounded against the handlebar metal. You will know this when the ignition switch is turned to the ON position and the starter or horn instantly are activated. Shut the ignition switch OFF and attend to the wire grounding issue. The wire that comes out of the little plate, which mounts behind the button, can easily become grounded against the button hold-down plate. Soldering the wire back to the contact plate for the button is tricky business, but needs to be insulated from any metal contact when the switch is reattached to the handlebars.

12/2025

Bill Silver aka MrHonda

www.vintagehonda.com

When ONE BIG ADVENTURE is NOT ENOUGH….. 2.0 to N.Cal

 The Devil made me do it! Masquerading as Mr. Bob Kelly, he has tempted me with new primary chains, then revealed the treasures of the Colorado Rockies which then pulled me into a 3 day sift and search for vintage Honda parts, then ended with a 1200 mile return trip in a bouncy U-Haul rental truck, hauling a trailer behind.

Like many of us, Mr. Kelly is always on the hunt for a deal on bikes or parts for his collection. We have both spent the last week or two sorting and putting up our vintage Honda parts treasures for sale to get them back into circulation. I didn’t buy the two CB77s that were in the storage unit, but he found homes for them in just a few days. So… now what?

In his searching around the internet looking for hot deals, Bob sent me a link to the same auction company that offered some of the pre-sale items from the CO estate sale. This time he posted: This looks like a nice CB77…. Auction in Los Gatos, CA about 450 miles away from me. It is an early 1965 black Super Hawk with 4k miles on it, but not run for many years. I click onto the website and find not only the CB77, but a pile of CB77 parts listed in one batch for a starting bid of $1.00. Also a 2004 Kawasaki 250 Ninja with 31 miles on it, but also not a runner.

So, the bidding is closing on 10/30/2025 around 8:30. NO ONE BID ON THE PARTS! I got the whole truck load for $1!The Ninja ran up to the $2k range and the nice CB77 bumped up past $3500 with the 15% fees so I let it go. I already had a $1500 CB77 on the line, so I now need to trek up to Los Gatos and haul away my truck load of CB77 parts, bought for a dollar. I did also win some used CB77 badges for $3. Total outlay was $7.50.

So, the next challenge is to drive up to Los Gatos, hopefully spend a night with my daughter’s aunt Tammy and return the next day. The unforseen challenge, this time was that the auction was on Thursday and the pickup time was on Saturday ONLY! The auction company told me about some “helper” websites where you can hire people to do work of some kind, but this would involve picking up parts, storing them for a day or so, then me driving up and picking them up from the assistant. I checked a couple of websites and sent out messages, but it was a big “ask” for most of them, so I decided to DRIVE UP on Halloween Friday and rent a trailer to drag it all back down to San Diego again.

Happy Halloween...?

Having just done 1200 miles a couple of weeks ago, I was not totally in the mood to do another 1,000 miles again so quickly, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. So, I threw some gear and tiedowns into the truck and hit the highway at 9:30 am on Friday morning. It’s I-5 for 80 percent of the drive, so off I went, hoping for a break from the usually awful LA traffic. Leaving at a late morning time, allowed me to miss the morning commute and it was clear sailing all the way until the Hwy 101 and I-5 interchange, where it all ground to a halt for about 30 minutes while we managed about 10 mph for the good part of it. Once I cleared that hurdle, it was onwards and upwards to the “Grapevine” climb to 4144 feet, then quickly down into the flatlands of central CA. There are miles and miles of trees and plants of all kinds that help feed much of the US. Water is a big problem for the farmers there and you wonder how they managed to plant and water thousands of trees all year long.

At the top end of the I-5 journey, you have to transfer over on the Hwy 152, which leads over into the San Jose and cities around the S. Bay area. I arrived into the city of Los Gatos, where the parts were being stored at a house at the end of an 8-mile winding road, but was not available until the next morning.

SPOILER ALERT!

A year ago, as I was hauling a load of bikes and parts in my 2015 Tacoma, the low air pressure warning light switched on at 4:30am, just as I was about a half-hour into my 120-mile trip to the El Camino College swapmeet event. I checked all the tire pressures with my battery-powered air compressor that is always kept in the truck and all the tires were fine. It was the tire pressure sensors which have little batteries inside which were failing. I had two of them changed out and was told the other two were about ½ power left.

Fast forward to Oct 31, 2025 and the light came on again, this time in the middle of the uphill grade towards the peak of the Grapevine climb. I figured that if there was a tire going down, I would have felt it as it went flat somewhere along the way. There was no change, so I carried on with the knowledge that the last two sensors had given up, but the tire pressures were all okay. I did recheck the tires when I was at the U-haul place and they were down a few pounds from normal, but all four were doing just fine. Whew!

I tracked down the closest U-Haul in Los Gatos, but they didn’t have any one-way trailers available, so they had to re-direct me to San Jose area for pickup after 9am in the morning. My calls to Aunt Tammy went to VX mail. It turned out that she was at a Halloween party, so I just looked up a local hotel that was on the way towards the trailer location and settled into for the night. It was a Quality-branded Hotel in Santa Clara for $90 for a king-sized bed on the ground floor. The first thing I noted was that the decades old digital clock with the red numbers had a scrambled display, so you had no idea of the correct time. I always pray that the room becomes dark at night when you go to bed, but the bright lights of the parking lot bled around the edges of the curtains and there was another light source coming through the shower window, but the door was out of square and it wouldn’t close all the way unless it was forced closed. The empty mini-fridge was humming loudly, so I pulled it out of the cabinet and unplugged it. I added some ear plugs and finally got settled down after watching the World Series game.

I tend to wake up around 5-6am, so had plenty of time for a shower and grab a few bites of their “free” breakfast offerings, which were Yogurt, a muffin, a banana and some Orange Juice. I left about 8am to give me time to navigate over to the U-Haul location where I arrived at 8:45. Initially, I was surprised to not see the promised trailer on the small corner lot, but finally discovered the lone unit tucked behind a van on the lot. The place was supposed to open at 9am, but the owner didn’t get the door open until 9:05. Then there was the paperwork and photos of the trailer to be taken, credit card charged and finally a full hookup about 9:30.

I plugged in the Los Gatos address and headed back for another half-hour journey across the South Bay Area to the exit for “Black road.” It was several miles of 2-lane, twisty mountain roads with cars suddenly popping up around the middle of some sharp bend. Finally, there was a private road that continued up through the thick forest scenary to the address. I mis-read an address plaque on the side of the road and turned in one driveway too soon! I had to manuever the truck and trailer back out carefully and then drove up a long driveway to where a gathering of other winning auction people were busy hauling out their treasures. The property is on 40 acres and was for sale at some multi-million dollar figure. The house was surrounded by lush green grass and I was told DO NOT DRIVE ON THE GRASS!

The lucky bike winners were there loading up their treasures. The driveway was narrow and I had to wait until most of the first wave of buyers had loaded up and driven off so I could carefully back my truck and trailer up the driveway and off to the right side where the bounty of Honda parts were staged in a 3 car garage. I brought a dolly and some other loading tools, plus a motorcycle ramp that I often use to load up boxes into the back of my truck. 

While I was viewing the large load of engines, a bare frame, boxes of mostly CB77 parts, the owner offered a rolling chassis bike from down in his barn for FREE! That changed the dynamics of my loading plans a bit. I brought a little battery-powered air compressor and aired up the tires. With some help, the bike was loaded off the corner of the tail gate, with the trailer still attached. Without the 115 lb engine and other chassis parts, the bike was tucked into the corner of the truck bed and strapped down for the journey. I actually was given a CA title for either the bike or the bare frame, as I left. I had arrived at the location at 10am, but wasn’t able to leave with the parts packed up until noon. It was another 15 minutes driving back down the hill, partially blocked by a bicyclist coasting down at 20 mph. I hit the freeway at 12:30 pm and was on the way home, loaded with a partial bike and a trailer loaded with precious CB77 parts.

                                                   

Now, it is Saturday and traffic is building and busy. I am keeping the truck about 60-65 mph in the truck lanes which are often all chopped up or poorly patched. I am now dodging slower moving semi-trucks in the truck lanes for another 500 miles. You can see how the trucking industry is the lifeline for the country, given the unending lines of big diesel trucks going in both directions down the I-5 and all the way home. Small wonder that the roadways are so damaged from the huge weights of the trucks and their loads.

Apart from WAZE steering me around and through the evening LA traffic, the rest of the journey went smoothly. Gas stops were about $40+ each time and the truck handled the task with amazing ease. There were times when I had to hold it in 2^nd gear at 60mph on long uphill sections, but it never overheated or seemed to be fazed by hauling an extra ton or two behind it.

I walked into the house at 9pm, after 1014 miles of driving up to SJ and back. There was so many parts and bins that I have to rent a storage unit for a month or so, while I sift and sort out all the parts and fine homes for them all. In the end, it cost me about $400 for my $1 purchase, but I was happy to be able to get them back into circulation again.

Bill Silver

aka MrHonda

www.vintagehonda.com

11-2025

MrHonda’s REALLY BIG adventure…

 Having been in the “game” for over 50 years, I have bought and sold a lot of bikes and parts, done a lot of repair work and answered thousands of tech questions. This all gets your name out in front of a lot of people world-wide. Your name also circulates around a wide group of vintage Honda enthusiasts and friends that are made through the years of doing deals, helping others find bikes and parts and just the greater group of “Nicest People” Honda friends.

At 77, I am trying to wind down a lot of work and parts/bikes wrangling, but often a friend or two will refer a friend of theirs to you for an opportunity to possibly cash in on an old parts stash left behind by retired dealers and collectors. Recently, my long-time buddy, Ed Moore, down in TX suggested to a friend of ours. that I would be a good home for some NLA vintage Honda primary chains. Ed has stopped rebuilding engines after more than 30 years, so some of the spare parts are not needed into the future. Our mutual friend Bob Kelly, contacted me on Ed’s suggestion and offered a batch of NOS primary chains for a REALLY good price. It’s been quite a while since I was able to offer a new chain to my 250-305 Honda engine customers, so it will be a real treat to do that for a few more customers.

The stash of primary chains came from an old Honda Dealer in CO who passed away recently and left his estate to his 80 year old sister, who lives in the Mid-West somewhere. The estate went into probate and there were a lot of approvals to be completed before she could sell the house and empty out the place, the garage and then 2 storage units that she didn’t know existed until Bob stepped up and hunted them down for her.

Looking back at some old messages, I noticed that Bob had asked me about any spare CB77 engines being available because he had a line on a new, unsold CB77 which had its engine removed and installed in the son’s Go-Kart! The mostly mint rolling chassis deal fell through, but it was expected that it might well be in the inventory of the storage units, which haven’t been opened for many years and the contents are unknown. It was thought that there was a supply of NOS Honda parts buried in the boxes and bins in storage, but there was no inventory sheet or list of what was in either unit.

Bob gave me a heads-up about some auction items that the sister had dug out of the house and put up for sale on an online auction site. It was not widely publicized and few people, apart from the locals knew about it or were interested in the listings. They all had generic descriptions placed by the auction people who had no idea of what any of them were for and any values. I bid on about 8 items and won 4 of them, including a used $22 CB77 seat, a NOS CYB72 racing seat, a used, bare, steel CB92 early fuel tank with the screw-on cap and a batch of fenders, which included an early CB77 front fender, and one for perhaps a C200/CM91 in black. With an 18% buyer fee, the whole batch came to $500. The auction site offered shipping from some unnamed third party, so I opted to have Bob pick them up, along with his auction successes and then I had to make a decision about how to A. Transport the auction items back to San Diego or B. Drive 2400 miles out to Denver and pick them up, along with some unknown other bikes and parts from the storage units or C. Fly in and stay with Bob, while we both sifted through the storage units and divvied up any good parts and bikes, then rent a U-Haul truck and drive them back 1200 miles to San Diego again. Option C became the prime option.

If the haul is big, I will have to rent a storage unit of my own to hold them temporarily until they are sorted and determinations made about where they might all go in the future. So, as of 9/29/25, the jury is out as to just what is in the units and what if any of it I might want to purchase out of the collection. Yes, I am faced with a big, expensive adventure ahead of me, hopefully before winter sets in the middle of Colorado.

Next step

Oct. 13^th was the day of the “auction” and it turns out that Bob outbid one other party and wound up owning them both. I had already tried to make a reservation on SW airlines at $169, but the day before it was $199 for a 7am basic flight. When I called their agency, I was told if I waited until after midnight, I could call in and get the 8:45 am flight if seats were open at an extra $28. Going early meant I had to be at the airport at 5:30 am. My brother, Jim, volunteered to take me down to the airport, but he had to leave his house at an hour before the time I needed to leave my house, which put him out at 4am to leave his house. The 8:45 flight gave him more time to get down to me and for us to get to the new airport terminal at 6:30-7am. Fortunately, it all worked out successfully.

My midnight call to SW airlines paid off with a seat at 8:45am, as we hoped. Jim came down by 6:15 and we were down to the airport by about 7am, in plenty of time to get the luggage tagged and checked in to the flight. Unfortunately for a guy with a fused ankle, extended walking is not pleasant and SW airlines located ALL of their terminal gates at the FAR END of the building. I would guess that it was more than a ¼ mile away from the entrance. I dragged my little roller carry-on bag slowly down the concourse until I reached the 102 gate. I sat and waited and waited, I was given a ticket that said C46, which I thought was the seat number. I haven’t flown on SWA before, so I didn’t know that they were still doing open seating. I was one of the last people boarded and was trying to get back to the back of the plane, only to have a few people say that there were no more seats available at the back. So, it turned out that there was a middle seat open in row 6, which I grabbed and settled in for a flight that is about 1 hour and 45 minutes. They served little Graham Crackers and drinks in cups made of bamboo! The flight went smoothly but then I had to walk the length of the terminal again, just to get out to where the luggage carousels were located. The bag got there about the time I did, then I had to find Bob who was just arriving at the airport. We finally met up and he drove me back to his house in his black Chevy pickup.

Bob had already taken a quick look inside the units and his long-held myth about the “new” CB77 with the engine removed for a go-cart was dispelled, when he found a black CB77 less the engine in a chassis that showed 14k miles on the odometer. There was a red CB77 that was intact, but needed a lot of TLC, plus a CB550 race bike, another CB550 street bike and a chopper looking bike. Surrounding the bikes in the middle were dozens of cardboard boxes containing hundreds of NOS Honda parts that the owner had purchased from the first Honda dealership in Co in 1990 and packed away in the storage units, paying rent regularly for 35 years.

Just opening the door, a tattered cardboard box fell to the floor, spilling the contents of obviously brand new genuine Honda parts. It was a mind-boggling experience. I already had a taste of the ancient treasures that came from the estate when a NIB CE71 racing tachometer turned up in the house, before it was sold. That dated to 1959, so confirms that the dealership was the first in Colorado. I saw that Bob had listed it on FB forums, just a few minutes previously to it being posted. It was definitely not cheap, but I had never had a chance to buy even a used one. The tachometer fits into the headlight shell, similar to how the CB92 racing tach fits the headlight shell in place of the speedometer. The tachometer read to a maximum of 18k rpms! Apparently, Honda had brief thoughts of taking the CE71 road racing, but apart from some designated exhaust pipes in a catalog, there were no other “racing” parts offered for a street bike with a probable rev limit of about 8,500 rpms. It is just so BEAUTIFUL that I had to have it. Bob set it on the pile of parts that I already purchased at the previous auction and I was excited to see it in person, when I arrive at his house in Erie, Co shared with his wife, Mary.

We dropped off my bags at the house and headed into the mysterious Honda treasure trove that awaited our inspection. I brought a little air compressor to help air up some bike tires, as the bikes were all in the center of the room, blocking access to the boxes of parts. Once a few bikes were backed out, we could start opening some boxes along the left corner, sorting them into “Bill boxes” and “Bob boxes” that we had brought along. A majority of the parts were in those little slender bin boxes with part numbers marked on the ends. My knowledge of parts and applications for the part numbers helped me sort out the 250-277 code items, which I was interested in purchasing. We worked until dark and then returned home for a rest. The next day was a visit to a favorite breakfast place, not far from the storage units, for a recharging meal before we went to work again. It was a good 6+ hours on the next day of wading through countless parts with product codes from 001 (Honda Cub 50) all the way to some 422 CBX parts, in limited quantities. Each new cardboard box revealed new bins full of both exciting and other parts that didn’t hold much interest, but you could tell that much of it was ordered in the early 1960s for 250-305 twins, CB92s, CB350s, CB450K0-K1 bikes, and a fair amount of 300-code CB750 parts which were all melded together in the seemingly unending supply of surprises.

A third day of long hours of work, yielded more goodies and odd surprises of unusual quantities of some parts that you would never use in a lifetime, like brake pedal return springs for a CA95 Benly… 8 of them. We found NOS CB450K1 carburetors, but not a lot of other carburetors. Very few pistons and ring sets, as well, apart from the awesome CY110 racing piston, which was alone in the bin. There were some 250-305 transmission parts, including gears that never usually wear out and a couple of output shafts. The CL72s were represented with a gathering of model-specific items, but again when would you wear out the rear sprocket bolts in a 250 Scrambler enough to warrant ordering two sets? There was a good selection of 268 code CB72-77 parts, including the front fender that I had purchased earlier. A lot of parts with 250-259 code parts are Dream-based, but used on the other models. I was disappointed to find only ONE of the clutch retainer wires, where they are used in sets of 3 or 4 on various models.

Along with the CB92 bits, there were other generic 200-207 code Benly parts, which fit the CA95 Benly 150 models. Again, there were really no pistons or ring sets for the Benly bikes, as was the case for the 250-305 models. Not a lot of hard parts for CB750s, either. The owner had an interest in the 500-550 Fours, so a lot of those parts came to rise in the boxes of all sizes and shapes. I was pleased to see some new lower fork housings for the Type 2 alloy forks, but they were both for the same side instead of being a pair. There was a lot of single-sided parts for many models. After three days of sifting through the myriad of parts, three large bins of “Bills parts” were transported back to Bob’s house for evaluation of prices and applications for various models.

After we sifted back through the “Bill box” and made a determination of value, they were all sorted into six 12x12” U-Haul boxes and made ready for the return trip to San Diego. Bob arranged a nice dinner meet-up with Roger Burns and his wife, along with Lyle Penner, who is wrangling something over 100 motorcycles in his collection. After dinner, we all parted ways and returned back to Bob’s home for the last night of rest before the send-off on Friday morning.

We had our third breakfast meal at the nice cafe and then headed for the U-haul in Bolder to pick up the 10’x10’ truck. I initially wanted the truck as I was somewhat expecting to buy the two CB77s that were stashed away, but the quantity of parts put a dent in the budget and I had other projects in the works at home. My attempts to just rent a car/van from Avis and Budget were foiled as they claimed that they had no cars to rent out on a one-way rental back to CA. After I confirmed the U-haul truck, I received a text message from U-haul asking if I wanted to be part of their load-sharing program. In this case I would have to drive to Aurora, CO and pickup a small trailer and storage unit box for a return to CA. One of the three CA return options was National City, CA about 8 miles from home. The reward for hauling the trailer was $500! I opted in and picked up the trailer in Aurora, then headed west on the I-70 looking for the I-15 South to San Diego.

I left Aurora at 9:30am my CA time and just put my foot down and drove, drove, drove all the way out of Colorado, then across Utah and a corner of AZ before diving into Nevada, passing through Las Vegas at 2am. I had cat-napped once in St. George, UT for a half hour but was running low on energy about half way between Baker and Barstow, CA. I pulled into a Truck rest stop and planned on another power nap for a half hour or so, but it turned into a couple of hours, as I woke up a 5am! From there, WAZE had me arriving in National City at 8:30. Cal-Trans had other ideas, as the ramp from the 215 to 60 to 215 was closed with no alternate route offered. I pulled off the freeway and reset the GPS to Corona, where the I-15 was accessible after a lateral move across the 91. Once on the I-15 again, the drive was mostly uneventful, but WAZE was trying to take me off route to the National City exit in ways that were not helpful. I knew exactly where I was headed and arrived in time to drop off the trailer at 9:30am… 24 hours of driving a bouncy, noisy U-haul trailer covering just under 1200 miles.

I came home, unloaded the truck and took a shower and a rest. My neighbor Smitty, followed me down to the local U-haul depot to drop off the truck and bring me home, once again. I finally got a good night’s sleep on Saturday night, but then woke up with a sore throat and stuffy nose. It got progressively worse and I finally went to the VA ER for evaluation and treatment. The diagnosis was Bronchitis, which I have never had before. Causes could have been from the airplane trip, the lack of sleep coupled with 3 days of sifting through dusty bin boxes that sat in storage for some 35 years or some combination of the three. I was tested for Covid, flu and RSV, but none of those swabs showed positive results. The VA sent me home with 4 different meds and my recovery continues.

I was able to post some of the interesting parts on Facebook Forums and sold 5 items quickly. It looks like I will be spending a lot of time photographing and listing NOS Honda parts for sale for the next few weeks. It was a crazy, wild and expensive week from San Diego to Denver to Aurora and back home again. Thanks to Bob Kelly and his wife for their hospitality and the adventure of a lifetime, especially now. These opportunities are few and far between in the 21^st century.

Bill Silver aka MrHonda

10/2025

www.vintagehonda.com

Mystery parts for the mysterious CE71

 For those of you who have never even heard of the 1959 250cc Honda CE71, I’ll give you a quick overview here.

Before there was a CB72-CB77 Hawk/Super Hawk, Honda was still making dry-sump Dream models and attempting to make them competitive in competition. Honda was just making its move into the US market starting June 4, 1959. Their first shipments included Honda C100 Cubs, a 1959 CA92, CB92 some 250-305 Dreams and then they tossed in the 1959 CE71 Dream Sport, just for the US market.

                                                                       AHMC Factory photo

Honda parts books show only 390 model serial numbers, although a few odd ones have popped up in Australia with higher numbers. Honda had been building bikes to race in Asama cinder tracks and other events in Japan, so racing was already in their long-range plans for world domination.

When the CE71 showed up, it appeared to be a grown-up version of the CB92 in overall styling. It featured the same arrowhead shaped fuel tank, big 18” wheels with magnesium brakes, an improved 250cc engine with a larger 24mm carburetor and dual points and coils despite the fact that it was still a 360 degree firing crankshaft design. The engine ignition had a bolt-on spark advancer on the end of the camshaft, which was unfortunately replaced by the integrated camsprocket/spark advancer unit on the later wet-sump models. Looking at the NPS parts listings, there were numerous parts replacements for the mufflers, fuel tank and other bits, which seems odd for such a low-production machine.

Honda did produce a small handful of CR71 factory race bikes, fit for both road racing and off-road competition. Those models had gear-driven camshafts twin port heads and amazingly high redlines given the 1957 basic design architecture. Soichiro Honda had been to Europe and attended races where exotic Italian and German hi-rev machinery was already in use. He actually bought a bike and disassembled it, bringing it back as luggage so he could study the design features. The desire was stated that he would have Honda motorcycles competing in the IOM races as soon as they could be designed and produced. The competitive urge ran through his veins and he was driven to make things happen to put HONDA on the world map of racing events.

Backing up to the CE71 model, Honda offered a few “racing parts” for the new model, including a racing tachometer with a crazy 18k rpm range, and some racing high pipes. This distinctive tachometer has been seen and collected by a handful of my friends over the years. The seldom ever come to market and if/when they do the asking prices rival the original price of the whole CE71 bike.

I have an extensive list of early Honda part numbers in a NPS conversion file that had some 400 pages and covers all the bikes up to the CB450K0 Bombers. Looking up the 257 codes for the CE71, a number of which were used on the first CA77 Dreams, I was unable to find any reference to the -810 style Y racing part numbers. The list only showed the part numbers for the standard street bike. Digging back into my archives I had a memory of a reference to the Y71 part numbers for the tachometer. In the 1961 AHMC special parts catalog, there is a reference to a set of split high pipes for the model, plus it shows a completely different R71 (as in CR71) round racing tach, with a 20k rpm face that was designed to work on the CE71. So far, the NPS part number for the known examples of the 18k tachometer that fits in place of the speedometer has eluded me.

I can’t remember if there was a Honda ad reference to the bike racing at Daytona, but I do recall either talking to someone who raced the CE71 there or perhaps a third hand story, but I am pretty sure that the CE71 did race there once. A stock CA77 Dream has a top speed of something in the 80 mph range, so a CE71 probably didn’t go much faster than 90 mph. Still for a 250cc street bike, back in 1959, it was probably relatively competitive at the time.

The Genesis of this story is that I FINALLY was able to buy a pricey, but perfectly new CE71 tachometer from a collector in Colorado. There is a whole story about this man and the treasures that he has been able to acquire recently. Watch for the full story coming soon.

In the meantime, here is the fantastic 18k CE71 racing tachometer in all of its glory.

Bill Silver

aka MrHonda

www.vintagehonda.com

Honda twin Engines: 1960-67 top to bottom

 Honda forums and my inboxes are full of questions about various aspects of these engines, so I will attempt to answer the bulk of them here.

                                                          Illustrations from AHMC manuals.

                                         Top cylinder head covers: Dreams, Super Hawk and Scrambler top covers are all different as to where the motor mounts bolt through. CL72s have solid mounting, but CL77s have a rubber insert to help lessen the vibration transmitted into the frame. 1960-61 engines with the rear crankcase breathers use a non-vented top cover and lack the breather plate, thus the bolt holes dimensions are different than later models.

Cylinder head castings for 250-305s are different in the combustion chambers are chamfer for the larger bore pistons. The fin pattern between the exhaust ports changed from a U-shape to a V-shape in 1965. Early engines have 10mm spark plugs (1960-61). CB/CL engines all use the same-sized valves.

CB tach drives are slightly different from 1961 to 1962 where the angle of the cable was modified.

Cam sprockets and camshafts have different spline patterns and the very early ones are massive flywheel-sized units. Cam sprockets for Dreams have different spark advance return weight sizes and springs than CB/CLs. From 1960-62, the locking nuts were RH thread, then switched to LH threads.

The camshafts, particularly the right side ones, were changed along with a dimension change to the point cam shoulder. There are a couple of different spline patterns on cams and cam sprockets, which do not interchange.

The rocker arms are all interchangeable, but there are two styles with different oil feed patterns. The intake and exhaust rocker pins have a different tip diameter so they do not interchange between the two types. Intakes have an 11.5mm OD and exhaust rocker pins are just 11 mm. DO NOT MIX THEM UP!

1961-62 cylinder blocks have 8 holes for studs and oiling, whereas the later ones have 9 holes, as the additional oil feed was introduced between the studs on the left cylinder. In 1966, the cylinders were die-cast vs sand cast and the tensioner pattern width was reduced from 41mm to 32mm widths across the mounting bolts.

Early crankshafts have slotted rod ends for oiling vs drilled holes for the later types. Later crankshafts have shallow splines, as do the transmission output shafts. Crankshafts vary between the 250 and 305 models due to the size of the balancing holes to offset the difference between the two different weight pistons. All Dreams have 360 degree firing crankshafts. The majority of CB/CLs have 180 degree firing, however there are Type 2 CB/CYP and some CL72 models with 360 crankshafts.

Speaking of pistons: Wow… first the CB72s had 10:1 compression, then 9.5:1, finally 8.5:1 in 1965.

CB77s had two versions: 9.5:1 and 8.5:1 in 1965. Dreams used two types of pistons, with the early 1960-62 versions having thicker rings. These were superseded to use of the thinner CB72-77 piston ring. There were some odd 4-ring pistons for early C72 models. Despite the difference between the crown shapes on CB and CA pistons, you can install CA pistons in CB/CL models with an increase in compression. The current aftermarket IMD piston kits for CB/CL models are modeled after the CA piston crowns. Expect to see compression readings in the 180+ psi range with these pistons.

Early transmissions have straight-cut gear engagement dogs vs back-cut types on later models. The transmission covers for CB models come in three versions: Early versions that wrap around the rear breather tower on the 1961-62 models. Then they were made rectangular;y with straight edges all around. The final model has a little cutaway on the left front edge which allows the engine vent tube to drop down into the transmission valley. Previously, the vent tube was routed along the back bone and dumped down towards the swing arm and front edge of the rear tire!

Interchange: Unless you have a domestic rotary gearbox transmission, all the shift selection parts are interchangeable between Dream, Super Hawks and Scramblers. Shift drums, shift forks, shift fork rollers and locking washers, plus the shift shafts (except for 1960-62 versions) will interchange. Kick-starter shafts and pawls are all the same for all models.

After 1962, all engines had primary chain tensioners and all of those tensioner parts are the same.

Engine cases are interchangeable, except the early 1960-62 rear breather cases and the ones without a primary chain tensioner mounting bosses.

Oil pumps are basically all the same, except the CL models which have an extended boss which fits between the frame spacers. You can use a CL pump on the CB/CA models.

Kick-starter covers changed locations of the clutch cable joints around 1965. While any kick starter cover will bolt up to any engine, the CB kick starter arms kick forward vs rear kicking for CA/CL models. CA/CL kick starter arms and knuckles are the same part.

The alternator stators are mostly interchangeable except the length of the harness leads are shorter on a Dream. Honda lessened the level of magnetism on rotors in 1965 so they are marked with a (L) after the model. All CB/Cls use CB72 marked rotors, while Dreams use C72 markings.

The clutches are a whole story all in their own. Early Dreams had a 4 plate clutch, then 5 plate. CBs had a 5 plate, then 6 plate then 5 plate again. CLs followed the CBs for the most part. Check your parts books for the correct usage. Use 22401-275-000 or 22401-323-003 clutch springs for all models. Dreams can use a 22401-425-003 spring. The preferred clutch assembly is for the 1966-67 CL77 and CB77 models. Note that early clutch baskets have solid-mounted sprockets, whereas the later ones have a rubber cush-drive sprocket. The rubber can shrink over time, so check the sprocket for a firm fit.

There are a number of inner clutch hubs which are machined to take the little retainer wires, but the clutch plate thickness are different as are the steel plates. The total stack height for any clutch pack is the same for all models. If you get it right, then the clutch adjuster index mark on the kickstarter cover will closely alight with the mark on the cover opening.

Carburetors had two different bowl shapes: Round and Square. The carburetors are interchangeable as long as the metering parts are the same. CB models have different needles and jetting than the CL models. 250 Dreams have smaller main jets than the 305 Dreams, but are otherwise the same part.

250-305 Dreams used either ND or Kokusan ignition points. They do NOT interchange. Most aftermarket versions of the Dream points are poorly made and don’t really work.

                                A few pointers from my Engine Repair manual....

NOT ENGINE RELATED: FYI

Ignition switches vary from year to year. CB models have 3 position switches, except for the CYP77 models which have 4 positions. CL models used a CB style ignition switch in the beginning, except the barrel of of the key switch is longer than the CB models. Then, they made a totally new switch which mounts to the frame with an adapter. Dreams and Benly models, for the US, are 5 position units, but Euro and JDM switch have a 6-position switch, which includes a stop for the little park light inside the headlight reflector.

9/2025 Bill Silver aka MrHonda

www.vintagehonda.com

www.mrhonda.guru

MrHonda is the X-man

 Well, this was round two for this 1967 CL77 Scrambler with a 68+thousand serial number. We don’t know what the last CL77 serial number was, but I seldom see them very high into the sixty-eight thousand numbers. Earlier this year, the bike was in for a slow-return idle problem that was caused by a missing camsprocket return spring. I did a sprocket-ectomy with the engine still in the chassis, which can only be done on a Scrambler. That went well, but the owner was complaining about the big jump to 2^nd gear and also some intermittent shifting problems. Plus, he wanted to do the X job on the transmission gears, so the 1-2 shift gap was closer together than it is in the stock configuration. I can’t think of any other transmission that allows you to do this kind of reset of the gear ratios. You get a closer 1-2 and 2-3 gear step, then a larger jump to top gear. For general street driving, this is a preferable update.

1st gear 2nd gear 3rd gear 4th gear

Stock

17.52 10.46 7.32 6.26

"X"d

17.52 11.70 8.26 6.26

Gears number 7 and 9 get swapped for  8 and 10.  Note #15 low gear bushing and #16 gear cotters.

I worked on the clutch when it belonged to the previous owner and I was the one who put the two gentlemen together to seal the deal and bring the bike down to San Diego from the previous location in Central California. The late model clutches are the best version to use on these engines, in that they have the cushioned clutch basket, the later 5-plate clutch pack and the outer pressure plate with the angled drain holes to help facilitate the expelling of excess oil trapped inside the clutch assembly.

One of my least favorite tasks is to R&R the engines out of Scrambler chassis for service work. With all the brackets and bolts and misc bits, it generally takes me about an hour to extract the engine and about the same to re-install one. I had the bike up on my bike repair rack to do all the removal steps, then lower it down so I can ease the 100 lb lump out of the frame and onto my little rolling cart. Fortunately, I have had an occasional helper who comes to learn about my work and he was strong enough to just grab it off the dolly and hoist up onto the work bench.

I had drained the oil previously, but more than a little gets trapped inside the bottom case which oozes out when you turn the engine upside down to remove the bottom case half. Starting with the two nuts on the top case, which hold the transmission cover bracket in place, the rest of the fasteners are all on the bottom. But to get to that point, you have to remove the clutch cover, oil filter, crankshaft locking washer and nut, then remove the clutch pack. The primary chain and front sprocket come off as a set and then you are down to removing the shift shaft and gear selection hardware. The primary tensioner and mounting hardware are then removed and you are ready to roll it back on its head, face-down to access the nuts and bolts that hold the cases together.

The engine had just over 10k miles and was in generally good condition internally. There was the usual layer of gunk on the bottom of the case as well as an 1/8” of collected crud inside the centrifugal filter. The gear dog engagement was minimal in the 1-2 gearshift steps and the shift forks had some scarring from being jammed into gear repeatedly. Pretty normal stuff, I find, these days.

The shift drum tracks were in good condition. I replaced the low gear bushing and reused the original kickstarter pawl/spring/cap. I have only a few remaining offset gear cotters, which are the “fix” for transmissions that jump out of gear due to a lack of gear dog engagement. I used 4 of the .020” first step cotters to move the engagement of the gear dogs closer together. Doing the X swap of the middle four gears also gives the corners of the gear dogs a better chance of a clean grab to the adjacent gear.

In the end, the gear dog engagement was probably 75% on both shafts, ensuring that the gears will stay engaged when selected. There is a certain amount of slack and float of the gears on the shafts, but this setup seemed to be a best-case scenario.

We had new reproduction low gear bushings made a year or so ago, which is always a requirement on most engines that need transmission repairs. Unfortunately, the offset gear cotters which were especially made by Honda to address the engagement problems were made from a hardened stamped steel and are not easily reproduced. I’m not sure what will become of all of the future engine and transmission repair jobs when the supply is permanently exhausted.

I replaced the shaft seals, cleaned the case halves and resealed the cases with MotoSeal. All the nuts and bolts were cleaned on the wire brush and installed where they belonged, torqued to specs. The oil pump was checked for flow and reinstalled on the bottom case. The engine doesn’t sit on the bench very well because of the cast-in boss on the bottom of the Scrambler oil pumps. I block it up with wooden blocks and reassemble the shift selection parts, the shift shaft, the primary chain tensioner and the whole clutch pack. The clutch cover gasket was a special extra thickness part from an eBay gasket company, called Emerald Gaskets, who is willing to make gaskets of over-OEM thickness material. So far, the gasket has held up okay after two removals. Leaking clutch cover gaskets are the biggest challenge to keep dry on these engines, so I am glad to find a product that works.

The engine was fitted with a Pro-Trigger electronic ignition system, which needed a bit of adjustment to get both sides to time up to the F marks. The carburetors were rechecked and float levels adjusted slightly to 22.5mm. The stock idle and main jets were kept in place. OEM needles, thankfully, were retained in earlier service work. The Keyster kit needles seem to be out of spec for these engines.

I was able to wrangle the engine down off the bench, stopping at the edges of the open drawers and then onto the little dolly cart. I wheeled it back to the waiting chassis and was able to lift it up about 6 inches to start it into the frame. I had already removed the left side exhaust studs which always seem to make thing difficult if left in place. Lifting and twisting, the engine finally found a home in the frame, but had sunk down below the engine mounting holes.

The bike was rolled back onto the work table and then a small floor jack again used to raise the engine just a little bit at a time, high enough to start some mounting bolts in place. The long bottom bolt and spacers have to be aligned just so, in order for the bolt to be inserted all the way across the frame, ducking into the oil pump boss and out the other side.

Once the engine mounting bolts are inserted and tightened down, the rest of the assembly continues, installing the carburetors, air filters and tubes, the exhaust system and stator wiring, etc.

1.5 liters of Honda GN4 10-40 oil was funneled down the oil dipstick tube and the footpegs installed as one of the last steps.

I had drained the gas tank in order to inspect the condition of the petcock. There was some leftover scale and deposits inside, so it was given an acid bath to dissolve the deposits and then flushed with clean water. Rolling the bike back off the rack, it was time for a start-up try. It came to life in a couple of kicks and sounded as normal as a CL77 can be. It still has the full weld-on muffler exhaust system, but they still have that distinctive Scrambler sound.

The customer lives here in San Diego and rode the bike in and then back home again. His bus pass gives him some other transportation options, rather than having to borrow a truck or trailer to bring the bike to me. His final wish was to have the tank and side covers re-painted Cloud Silver instead of the Candy Orange that was supplied at the factory. He rode the bike back home without incident and then hauled the bodywork off to my painter friend for a refinish.

This transmission repair took an easy 9 hours of labor, but it certainly was not “easy” work. I much prefer to work on Super Hawks and Dreams for engine repairs. But, this year has mostly brought CL77s to my garage, so you just have to do what you have to do…

Bill Silver

aka MrHonda

www.mrhonda.guru, www.vintagehonda.com

Unlikely Winner gets the win… Part 2

 Tearing down the engine to install the crankshaft gave a chance to look at all of the parts that I had lovingly fitted together the first time. All of the parts were looking pretty good, but the camshaft was working loose in the minuscule cam bearings of the early 1-piece head design. I consulted with my cam-grinding friend and we decided to have the cam journals turned down, hard chromed and finished back to size again. I was assuming that the wear was more on the camshaft than in the cylinder head. For the most part, this modification worked well, but an installation of needle bearings on both ends of the cam would have been even better. Wobbling camshafts cause erratic ignition timing because the point cam is on the end of the camshaft. Any play will change the point gap, which changes the ignition timing. I just had to keep an eye on the wear and tear during and after the races to see if the problem would worsen or not. Ultimately, I was able to race the whole season with that combination without failure.

I was so buoyed up after the first AFM race, that I joined the CMC (formerly the ACA) and thus had two or more chances to race each month. Other than a disastrous piston seizure at Orange County, when I forgot to re-jet the carb after I removed the air filter (I was riding the bike on the street between races!) the little orange bomb just ran and ran…. and won and won again! When the two Yamaha brothers showed up, running their 100cc bikes in the 125cc class, I showed them the door rather convincingly. One decided to join me in the ranks of the 4 strokes, and bought his own CB 125 Honda. He decided to have noted engine specialist Jerry Branch port the cylinder head to get an edge on me, but the valve springs collapsed through the enlarged intake port and he was back to square one again. Despite my home-built engine (I ported the cylinder head myself), he was never able to head me at any of the tracks.

All kinds of bikes made appearances during the year. I recall someone showing up on a Suzuki 125 Stinger, a Bultaco Streaker (very trick bike!), Sears 125 street bikes and one particular guy who kept showing up with a flyweight Kawasaki 90, that was getting faster every race. He always had problems when he got into each race, however… he generally crashed on the first lap. Either his over-enthusiasm and/or lack of brakes on the tiny converted, enduro machine caused him to crash on the first or second lap. I always figured that if we were ever to stay on the bike, I would probably be in trouble by the end of the race. He never did defeat me, but came close at the last race of the season, back at Riverside Raceway. Even in practice, I noted that he would pull slightly away from me on the back straight, as both of us exceeded 80 mph. By the middle of the race, we were passing and 15 re-passing each other, repeatedly, as my bike would out-brake him and out accelerate his peaky two-stroke in the slow corners, only to have him run me down on the straightaway. The harder he pushed the little Kawi, the more it developed a “speed wobble” going through Turn 9, at full throttle. I tucked in behind him, coming out of the turn, watching the machine shake its head more and more. Finally, I cut the corner sharper than usual to get out of his draft and watched him as he wrestled the bike at speed.

Just as I was moving past him, headed for the White Flag, I caught a wild motion in the corner of my eye and took a quick peek. Rather than back off, to settle the bike down, he persisted in trying to keep ahead and finally the machine had decided that that was enough and pitched him off at 80+mph. I finished my last lap in 1st again, which clinched my 125cc Production championship and watched nervously as the rescue crew attended to the fallen rider and machine. After the race, I went to check on him and assisted his father in getting the battered Kawasaki into his truck. I heard, a week later, that the rider had suffered multiple fractures of one ankle. It took over a year to rehabilitate his injured foot and leg. A couple of years later, I received a wedding invitation from him and I decided showed up to relive the moment again as well as to bid him a happy married life. He never raced again, after the crash, but did build and maintain a race bike for a friend. I had not had any crashes for the entire season, luckily, but my turn was coming up a few years later.

Honda CB125 Production Racer in a nutshell:

Starting with a brand new, stock machine, I replaced the rear 17” rim with an 18” hoop and installed a set of Yokohama Road race tires in the 2.50x18” sizes. I added a set of S&W shocks on the back and replaced the handlebars with some clubman bars, routing the excess front brake cable so it continued to function correctly. Off came the turn signals, passenger pegs, side stand, centerstand and any other excess chassis items, not related to racing. In its final form, the engine had these modifications: CB100 head (no chamfer on the combustion chamber = higher compression) lightened valves, S& W valve springs, Yoshimura Road Race camshaft, point cam, slipper skirt piston (The XL125 had a similar piston crown configuration), lightened crankshaft (MUCH smoother at 11k rpm!). Cranking compression was 225 psi! I found that the carburetor from the XL125 was 24mm vs the stock 22mm mixer, so installed one, with some improvement in top speeds. I discovered that there were different transmission ratios for the various CB/CL/SL100-125 versions, so installed 2nd and 3rd gear sets from a CL100, I think. I used the stock ignition coil and points, but added an additional spring leaf to increase the pressure on the points at high speed. On some occasions, I removed the rotor after I had checked the ignition timing prior to the race.

The muffler was stock in the beginning. I ground off the edge welds once and split the muffler open, removing the baffles and added some length to the exhaust pipe, but the weld broke the first time we raced it, after we had welded it back up and re-chromed it again. I had to grind it apart again and remove the loose pipe extension. We just welded it back up, almost empty inside. I added a little accessory fiberglass racing seat to save some weight and lower my riding position. CB125s came with solid foot pegs, so we cut them off and welded on some fold-up pegs, in the same location. The rules at that time for Production Racing were that it had to have a stock frame, gas tank, muffler, front forks and that the engine must use parts that were offered in that series of machines (no 32mm carburetors from a 350cc machine, for instance!). You could overbore to .040” and you had to use the stock crankshaft stroke length. Engine modifications for four strokes included pistons, camshafts, valves, racing transmissions (same number of speeds as the street version, though).

The Honda was pretty happy with the 5-speed gearbox, due to the torque of the engine, pulling out of corners. 1973-74 was when the RD125 Yamahas started to appear and once they were ported for power, the low-end torque was gone. It was necessary to “slip the clutch” in slow corners for the Yamaha riders who were carrying those TA125 racing transmissions in their crankcases. One particular machine, ridden by a lady officer of the racing club, was my constant nemesis and I never did defeat her and her heavily-modified RD125. The other bike that only showed up a couple of times was John Ulrich‟s “Killer Deek” 125 DKW Enduro machine. When it was first brought out, it was on par with my bike, but once he had some Sachs engine guru massage it, there was no contest. The bike came with a 6-speed transmission, 30-32mm carburetor and went about 90 mph. Despite the “leading link” front fork suspension, the combination of John‟s riding and the horsepower of the bike overwhelmed to everything else in the class, winning the championship easily in 1975. Because of the number of races I attended and mostly won (including my win at a “one-time” event at Laguna Seca), I scored sufficient points in the class to be the 1974 125cc Production Champion in both the AFM and CMC racing clubs.

I was quite thrilled to have accomplished this feat, using a new $549 street bike, $600 worth of racing parts, a pair of hand me-down leathers and USAF service boots to put a 4-stroke Honda single in the winner‟s circle. For me, my first year of road racing was exciting, rewarding, challenging, scary and weary. Being owner, builder, financier, transporter and racer was more than I had ever done before and the end result was success. I attended the awards dinner in No. California to receive my championship trophy, surprising the group by making the 500-mile trip just for dinner and a cup! It was a pretty wild group and I was glad to have a designated driver, my cousin Suzy, who lived nearby, in my corner.

                                               The results of the 1974 125cc Production class wins.

Tow Vehicles: I had a number of different cars during the year, all of which had to serve as a transportation vehicle for the little Honda. I bought some sturdy bumper mounted racks, designed for motorcycles and strapped them onto an early-70s Toyota Corolla station wagon and a 1949 Cadillac 2-dr fastback, at varying times of the year.

Over the years of moving and getting married, the stash of trophies were all disposed of, but I kept one plaque and my award for being the 125cc Production Championship. It’s been 51 years since my first year of road-racing adventures and most of the people and details have faded away, but I have to say that my uncharted efforts, just to see what it was like, left me with a bit of pride in knowing that you can often achieve your goals if you just keep trying, despite the challenges and obstacles on the path. I saw the potential in the little bike and learned a lot about engine building, tuning and riding at various tracks that are mostly all gone now.

I won races at Carlsbad, Orange County, Riverside, Ontario, Willow Springs and even at Laguna Seca racetracks and only two of those venues are left, now in 2025. I hadn’t planned on continuing to race after the 1974 season, but once the racing bug bites you, it is hard to go back to your pre-racing life, even at this low level. I upgraded the racing experience to 350-400F bikes for a few years, but eventually tragedy struck one of my 6 hr endurance race teammates and in the following year, 1980, I had a BIG get-off that ended my racing efforts completely.

I think everyone has had moments of triumph and a sense of accomplishment in some area of life that should be recognized and held onto deep in your soul as a moment of glory and self-worth. It doesn’t have to be a Championship effort, recognized by your peers and family. Only you know when you have done the right thing and felt the sense of accomplishment and achievement. Carry that memory forward, towards more experiences like that which make life worth living.

Thanks for indulging me, reading my story of the past. I appreciate your feedback and comments. No one really remembers those moments, other than me. Sometimes little snippets come to me in my dreams at night and when I awaken the little voice inside my mind says “Share your story now”! If you are sitting on your own success story, then share it now, before it is too late.

Bill Silver

aka MrHonda

www.vintagehonda.com