Motorcycle Classics – September-October 2019

26 MOTORCYCLE CLASSICS September/October 2019

Story by Margie Siegal

Photos by Nick Cedar

1968 Honda CL90

A bike needing a little roadside TLC is not uncommon on a

vintage run. Everyone pulls over, and the more mechanically

adept attendees get a chance to show off their wrenching skills.

What happened next on that day, however, was a little unusual.

As Don tells it:

“We had all pulled into a parking lot and one of our members

was taking the carburetor apart. This guy pulls up in a pickup

truck. He yells out the window, ‘I’ve been following you guys for

miles hoping you would stop. Anyone here interested in buying

a CL90?’ I asked how much he wanted for it. ‘$300.’ I knew what

that bike’s value was, and figured that even if it was a total basket

case it was worth $300. I told him I would buy it.”

“I got the guy’s address and phone number and showed up at

his house two hours later with a pickup truck. The bike looked

a little tired and dirty, but it ran and was complete. Even the

exhaust muffler looked OK. It had a license plate, registration,

and one of those plastic cylinders to hold the registration that

some states used to require. Thing was, the owner started insist-

ing he didn’t say $300, he said $350. I pulled my cash out and

counted it — I had $348 on me. He agreed to take the $348. This

is my $348 Honda CL90.”

Way back when

In the 1960s, Honda was on a roll. After working hard to estab-

lish a dealership network in the United States and gain accep-

tance for its products, the company was just in time to catch the

wave of the baby-boom generation entering its teens and looking

for cheap transportation, fun and excitement. Honda offered all

three.

One of the keys to Honda’s ultimate success was its careful

study of the American market and its willingness to design bikes

that Americans wanted to buy. Honda was able to do this due

to its huge market in Asia — at the time, Honda was the world’s

largest motorcycle manufacturer — with resulting deep pockets.

By 1964, American Honda was offering 14 different models, each

keyed to a different group of potential buyers. There were the

250 and 305 Superhawk overhead cam sporty twins, the CB160, a

smaller OHC twin, touring 250 and 305 Dreams, the ever-popular

D

Don Stockett, one of the principals of Vintage

Motorcycle Rescue, a classic Japanese motorcycle

restoration business near Sacramento, California,

was on a ride through the Sierra foothills with the

Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club when one rider

had a carburetor problem.

CHEAP

THRILLS