1965 HONDA C200 90cc

After passing my test on a Triumph Tina Scooter I wanted a better bike. A friend of mine had just bought a Honda C110 50cc and so I went to a local dealer to find a bike. The 1965 Honda C200 was second hand at £50 in 1968, which was all I could afford to borrow of my dad and paid him back £1 per week. It turned out to be an excellent bike which carried two 9 stone teenagers all over the place. Finally we sold it when we got married. I did all my own work on it with the help of a Honda Manual, Honda T-bar Screw Driver and a set of metric ring spanners. The later two I still have.

The C200 was a wonderful machine which was not seen or recognised by most people, because of the popular Honda C50 'Step through' and the C110. When you say you had a Honda 90, everyone thinks of the scooter-ette, and yet the C200 was everything a bike could be for it's capacity. It was smart and nippy, frugal on fuel and utterly reliable. The engine used to look a bit odd, sticking out in front, but it always started first kick and the choke lever was only needed for cold starting, and was easily accessible on the carb. None of the mess of flooding the carb and petrol spilling onto the engine each time.

The four-stroke single engine would tick-over quietly and relatively smoothly and even when cruising it never made much noise or vibration. The exhaust silencer had a removable baffle which could be cleaned and providing it was put back the noise was akin to a sewing machine. I used to get all the stick (jibes) of it being Japanese and it would not last, but who cares, it did a great job and it did not leak oil. General usage was two-up most of the time and fifty five was the top speed although we were 9 stone (126 pound) kids at the time. The engine consisted of an aluminum crankcase with an iron barrel, cylinder head with overhead rockers and pushrods. The C200 was a practical machine. The power plant was of unit construction combining the gearbox and engine together where the engine oil was serving both units. The oil was filtered by a centrifugal action which had a cover plate held in place by two 6mm screws. I was told you never needed to clean this, but mine got done. Unlike the C50/C90, the clutch was actuated by a traditional lever on the handle bar. It was light and responsive, enabling gear changes to be made smoothly using the heal and toe pedal, or if you were a 'real man' you just used the toe in the conventional manner. Fast changes were possible, but this was no racer. The gear change was performed by two selector forks following a groove which was cut into a cylindrical drum giving four speeds from the box. Carb noise was reduced by the use of a paper filter cartridge which was housed under the side panel. Another feature was the fuel tap which incorporated a fuel filter and had a reserve position as well, which was unheard of on British bikes like the BSA C15. The carb had a removable float chamber which was held in place by a wire clip.

The engine would accelerate to peak revs smoothly with a complete lack of fuss and at normal cruising speeds - 45 to 48 mph - power delivery was notably sweet and effortless. In traffic she was wonderful with acceleration which exceeded expectation from the little capacity engine and when you got out onto the open road it was fun, which you could enjoy without killing yourself. I recall once that my girlfriend had to get off and walk to the top of a very steep incline which came after a sharp bend an so left no momentum, but in the main it was a sterling machine on which we traveled up to 150 miles two-up with suit cases as well. Very fuel efficient, although these were the days when we paid less than 5 shillings a gallon (25 pence today). The Ninety was extremely comfortable with it's upright riding position and all the controls handy, with positive and light in operation. The seat consisted of a large sponge covered in vinyl with a pillion strap. My cover split exposing the orange sponge, but this was sorted by a slip over cover.