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60's Honda CL 160 Rebuild as Racer

twitchmonitor said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmGzzbNhtug

Here it is, aggravating the neighbors. One lady came out right afterword and said "do you REALLY have to run that thing up and down the street?" I don't know if the video really captures the total racket the bike makes. It's a great sound, just ragged and really loud.

This morning it wasn't running, of course. It turns out the the knock pin the keeps the timing advancer locked to the cam shaft came out. I just replaced the whole think with a pertronix magnet and sensor, now it runs just fine.

Still have some things to sort out, but I should be fine to make it to Bonneveille in time. :teeth
Click to expand...

SQUID! That thing sounds/looks freaking AWESOME!!!
 
and tangy, too,

with a flavor only available near the borderline
between the Sin State & that Oh-So-Squeaky-Clean enclave
 
I just read the whole thread. Awesome! I'm deployed right now and can't wait to get back and start on my cafe racer project. I am glad to see it can be done on such a low budget. Props!
 
Nice job! How soon can you get on the track with it?

I was at a vintage race in Portland a couple of weeks ago, and there were a good 40 or 50 of those things there, including the guys from Seattle who started the whole CB 160 thing 10 years ago.
Here's a shot of two race leaders on the front straight at 95 mph. Unbelievable.

closeactioncb160class.jpg


That day, I decided the CB160 in the back of my garage is going to be racerized, not restored, like I originally planned. At 6'3", I'll look pretty goofy on it, and at 220lbs, I won't be winning any races, no matter how much I try, but it'll still be worth it.
 
firstbuell said:
95 mph?

I really don't think so......
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That's the speed that the track workers I spoke with told me. They have radar guns.
The track is two miles, and I timed them lapping it in the neighborhood of 1:36. That's an average speed of over 75 mph. I think 95 mph on the front straight at PIR is pretty consistent with those lap times.

Don't forget (maybe you never knew?) that in the 60's they ran 50cc bikes at the Isle of Man, and elsewhere that were hitting over 100.
 
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Carlo said:
That day, I decided the CB160 in the back of my garage is going to be racerized, not restored, like I originally planned. At 6'3", I'll look pretty goofy on it, and at 220lbs, I won't be winning any races, no matter how much I try, but it'll still be worth it.
Click to expand...
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
 
Carlo said:
That day, I decided the CB160 in the back of my garage is going to be racerized, not restored, like I originally planned. At 6'3", I'll look pretty goofy on it, and at 220lbs, I won't be winning any races, no matter how much I try, but it'll still be worth it.
Click to expand...

One of the fastest riders in M1GP is also one of the largest and does it on a stock NSR50.
 
KazMan said:
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
Click to expand...

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.
 
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?
 
firstbuell said:
I realize now that I actually don't know how many HP it takes
to run one of these kinda-streamlined liteweights to 75mph
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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.
 
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
 
firstbuell said:
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?
Click to expand...

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