Honda S90 Restoration by The Chattahoochee Skunkworks

Honda S90 Restoration

1965 Honda S90 resurrected in the Georgia foothills…

Toby Jones and his wife — “the artists formerly known as OtC Custom Motorcycles” 😉 — recently moved from Vero Beach, Florida, to one of the world’s riding Valhallas — the North Georgia foothills.

“Actually a couple of vintage bike friends (one from Dahlonega and one from Suches) turned us on to it. It was love at first sight. Can’t wait for spring to do some serious riding. The roads and scenery are just fantastic.”

This area is simply incredible for riding. Says Toby:

“Two Wheels of Suches is about 30 miles from me and the ride up there is one of the coolest I’ve ever ridden. It’s a little like the Dragon with much less traffic.”

Enter this 1965 Honda S90 — the first build to come out of their new shop, which they’re calling “The Chattahoochee Skunkworks” in honor of the famed river nearby. The S90 — sometimes known as the Super 90 or Sport 90 — is one of the most nostalgic bikes from the 1960s, a 65-mph “mini superbike” on which thousands of lifelong motorcyclists learned to ride.

Honda S90 Restoration

With this basket case, Toby and his wife decided to go with a near stock restoration. While we normally feature more custom builds, the incredible style and flair of these “tiddlers” in stock trim just begs for attention — as does the supreme execution of this restoration.

Honda S90 Restoration: In the Builder’s Words

Honda S90 Restoration

My name is Toby Jones and my wife and I recently moved our hobby/shop (OtC Custom Motorcycles) from Vero Beach Florida to the foothills of northern Georgia. This little bike is the first one out of the new shop we call “The Chattahoochee Skunkworks” and represents a little different direction than we normally go with our builds.

Honda S90 Restoration

This 1965 S90 Honda was acquired in a trade with several other Honda project bikes. The little bike was in pieces when we got it but after sorting it all out I was surprised that, unlike most basket cases, it was fairly complete. These bikes make sweet little café racers and I have seen a lot of cool ones, but I also dig the way they look in stock form. Since most of the parts were there and serviceable I decided to go with a stock restoration.

Honda S90 Restoration

The S90 was sold in the US from ’64 thru ’69 as the street version of a series that also included the CT90 trail and the C200 Dream. Although folks today refer to them as “tiddlers” when we were 10 years old, with a claimed top speed of 65 mph, the S90 was a superbike to us.

Honda S90 Restoration

This particular bike was stripped down to bare metal and received a new urethane paint job on the frame, tank and fenders. The rims were too far gone to be serviceable so a set of NOS rims from David Silver Spares were laced to the stock hubs. My wife and I installed an aftermarket cover on the stock seat pan.

Honda S90 Restoration

The nonexistent exhaust was taken care of with a reproduction piece. Of course (like all of our builds) the brakes, battery and tires were replaced. With the odometer showing only 2100 miles, with the exception of a tune up, valve adjustment and carb rebuild, the engine was left as is. Like with most of our builds, everything was done right here in our shop.

Honda S90 Restoration

The little red bike turned out really sweet and is a blast to ride. It’s amazing how many folks you meet that remember the S90 and learned to ride on one. It makes even the old kids smile. Although I can’t really classify this bike as a customer build, it was sold to a collector in Florida before it was completed. Time to move on to the next one.

 

7 Comments

  1. Victor Hawkins

    That is such a fine looking little bike! Thanks for undergoing the restoration…and thanks for sharing via BikeBound.

  2. Derrick Tincher

    Listed after one of these but had to settle for a Suzuki 80! Great restoration

  3. neil sandoz

    Is it for sale?

  4. Mike Vickerman

    I have a 1968 Honda Mini Trail. I’ve restored the bike for my grand kids. I’ve done everything except for the engine. Do y’all rebuild the Z50 engines ?
    If so, how much to make it like new again?
    I live in Marietta, want to go through a Georgia company.

  5. I have a 1965 S90 and want to restore. I was wondering what air cleaner you had there on the carb? Is that the original mikuni carb? I have the mikuni carb but can’t find any bowl gaskets and I need a new air cleaner like yours. Great job on that bike. Looks like new. Thanks for sharing.

  6. Nice bike. I have a black 1965 S90 that I want to restore. Was wondering if you had the mikuni carb and what air cleaner you are using there. I have the mikuni carb but can’t find any bowl gaskets. Any ideas? I need a new air cleaner too. Thanks for sharing.

  7. Norman Lockerby

    I have a 1969 Honda S 90 that I have owned for 50 years last rode 15 years ago. Simply shut off and has not run since. Would like to refurbish new trying to find the stock colours for the red and for the silver fenders. The motor I would like to rebuild however would like to bore out to 100 CC if possible.

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