School me on 1982 Honda CT110

[bob91yj]

I just took delivery of a near mint 1982 Honda CT 110. I know just enough about it to be dangerous. I'm not a moto guy at all.

I'll try to get some pics of it tomorrow. Headed to Baja Friday morning so not a lot of time to check things out for a few days. It's been garage stored, last registered in 2001. It looks to be 100% complete, spare gas can and tool kit are there, original seat cover is perfect, tires still holding air. Light surface rust here and there, paint should clean up nice with a little TLC.

My plan is a front hitch mount on my truck, use it for a camp bike. Recommendations on a hitch mount carrier would be appreciated as well.

 

[STREGA]

I was a motorcycle mechanic in the 70's-80's and literally worked on hundreds of those. They are great little bikes for what you plan on using it for, fun to ride and will last almost forever if reasonable care is given to them.

You didn't mention if it is currently running or not, if it was properly put to sleep back in 2001 (not being registered since '01 is generally a good indicator that it hasn't been used since then) it will more than likely start right up with fresh gas and new battery installed. It is a battery ignition system so it does need a good battery in order to run. If it was parked with fuel in the tank and carb it will require a bit of work to make it run. A minimun of a good tank cleaning for rust and carb cleaning. Very possible that the carb would have to be replaced due to very small passage ways that corrode and no amount of carb cleaning will ever clear them out, this will show up as the bike will not idle no matter what carb setting used or general poor running. Also the tank if not totally corroded through may need to be lined with a tank sealant that you can get at a moto shop, fuel lines will more than likely need to be replaced due to dry rot and wouldn't be a bad idea to add inline fuel filters. Change the oil fairly often if it is getting used regulary and keep a eye on the valve lash especially the intake because it tightens up and will quit running, unfortunately not always before it does damage to the engine. If it is hard to start check the valve lash, IIRC its set at .002", Exhaust valves tend to loosen up they were set at .003" again IIRC,

 

[onetraveller]

Be sure to add the fuel filter and change out the fuel lines as mentioned above. You will probably need several spare fuel filters. The switch to ethanol that is now put in most gas will loosen the deposits that have formed inside the fuel tank. The inline filter will catch them, but you may need to change it several times until it is clean. You will need to replace the fuel lines if they are original otherwise the ethanol will cause the old line to deteriorate and allow pieces of the line to clog up your carburetor. New fuel hose is ethanol tolerant, but most of the stuff pre '90s is not.

I used to ride one of these back in the mid '80s. They are a fun little bike.

Mike

 

[bob91yj]

Great info from both of you. The battery thing would have kicked my butt trying to get it started!

 

[fluffyprinceton]

Good advice from all except my '84 does fine with a totally discharged battery - you have to have a battery installed or you damage your rectifier (I think it's called) but they start & run fine - not sure if you'd get full lighting at night...Moe
THE spot for everything ct90 ct110 is-
[URL="http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/ct90/messages/18524[/URL]

 

[FAW3]

Get it home and enjoy it...

Clymers makes a nice manual for the CT series bikes...it can guide you well for a lot of work.

A nice forum for wisdom:

http://lilhonda.com/webboard/forum.php

A great parts source:

http://www.dratv.com/info.html

Have fun! And lock it whenever you park it.

 

[bob91yj]

Going to get it cleaned up a bit while I get some $$$ together. Considered going through the mechanical myself, decided taking it to a buddies shop is a better idea.

 

[fluffyprinceton]

Here's a useful mod...Dr.ATV bit of gear. Carries tire repair kit,water,clif bars - sometimes a tiny sleeping bag that would keep me alive for a night. Kids REI day pack fits fast & but pretty small...Not shown is a small basic behind-the-bicycle-seat pack for more stuff that mounts under the curved handle bar lever. Weight doesn't seem to effect handling & the headlight still works. When you get remote in your truck THEN head off on one of these bikes you can get very very remote so survival gear is advised. They extend you range so much - it's just too easy to explore a very sketchy track nobody would think of to look for you... Also mounted a rear seat (Dr.ATV again) & rear pegs so I can get my wife & me back to pavement if necessary.Moe

 

[FAW3]

Fluffy...I agree...this is a wise observation:

"When you get remote in your truck THEN head off on one of these bikes you can get very very remote so survival gear is advised. They extend your range so much - it's just too easy to explore a very sketchy track nobody would think of to look for you..."

 

[bob91yj]

Don't worry boys, it'll be baby steps with me on this thing.

Once it's running and ready to go, I'd imagine that there will be plenty of rides within sight of camp, or to a nearby store or that type of thing before I start getting adventurous on it. I get to be the pesky kid that hot laps camp at 6AM, cutting through the middle of your camp at full throttle, first gear, low range!:sombrero: ...you know the ones I'm talking about. I'm in tune with proper warm up procedure too, start the bike 20 minutes before you intend to go anywhere and whack the throttle a couple of times every 30 seconds or so to make sure it still works. (Sometimes I just kill me:sombrero

I thought the bike was too cool to let it sit in a garage and rot. I have no intention of doing a restoration, clean it up some and make it reliable. In a perfect world I'll still have it when my grandkids start learning to ride (not through your camp, or anywhere near it!)

 

[JJackson]

I'm in tune with proper warm up procedure too, start the bike 20 minutes before you intend to go anywhere and whack the throttle a couple of times every 30 seconds or so to make sure it still works. (Sometimes I just kill me:sombrero

You also need to do this at stop lights, especially when there're many peoples around. It helps if you look down like you're looking for something wrong as whack it open.

 

[STREGA]

Good advice from all except my '84 does fine with a totally discharged battery - you have to have a battery installed or you damage your rectifier (I think it's called) but they start & run fine - not sure if you'd get full lighting at night...Moe
THE spot for everything ct90 ct110 is-
[URL="http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/ct90/messages/18524[/URL]

It will run with a dead battery, but not a bad battery I.E. one with sulfated cells. A CT 90/110 has what is called a battery ignition system (what most street bikes have) which requires a battery in the system to run, as opposed to a magneto type ignition system (used in most dirt bikes) that do not need a battery to run.

 

[chenggong]

ct 110 won't restart after initial start up

hi everyone...new to this forum and new owner of 1982 ct 110. got carburetor cleaned out and added fuel filters to each line. got ct110 to start, rough idle, but did start....after turning off engine, very hard to restart...any suggestions for this novice person?

 

[Dawgboy]

Ihave a manual for you, Was about to put it on Ebay... Interested?