ballbearian
Veteran Member
I'll pass too. I guess I just posted the link for general interest, I hope you didn't mind. The moped switch you used is pretty period correct and functional.
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The 62 CA95 Basket Case Rescue Log, Start Date June 1st 2024
- Thread starter Spokes
- Start date
Spokes
Veteran Member
The 62 as she sits this morning. Pics include "as found". Only a few more bits to install. I bought some scrap CA95 mufflers just for the mounts. I plan to build my own straight exhaust pipes. Maybe, someday down the road, I will find original flat type mufflers or go for the Asian aftermarket types.
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Spokes
Veteran Member
As previously mentioned, the carburetor I found for the 62 had no "snout" for the air filter. Ballbearian kindly offered me an original snout from a recent purchase he made on eBay. (Thanks Tom!) But in the meantime, to get parts off the bench and onto the bike I completed an interim air filter "system" 
Attachments
ballbearian
Veteran Member
That does look like it would work pretty good. There must be still a significant number of these in various markets, as the Asian reproduction industry has made the filter and rubber tube available.
Spokes
Veteran Member
For those following my 62-rescue thread, I thought it might be interesting to publish costs involved to bring the little scoot back to life. I have to account for parts to gain a salvage title in KY. anyway. My costs so far:
Total overall costs including bike: $2901.16
89 replacement parts including many small parts.
Shipping of ordered parts accounted for $548.75 of total costs (not including the bike)
Sales tax accounted for $155.71 of total costs.
Polishes, paints, sandpaper and thinners have been left out of total costs. (Estimate $150)
Chemicals for removing rust and cleaning parts have been left out of the total costs. (Estimate $125)
Labor hours unaccounted for. It's a hobby. Some days hours, some days minutes over a period of 7 months. (Estimate 110 hours)
Parts on hand saved from previous builds unaccounted for as well. (Estimate $125)
Cost of personal vehicle use to pick up original bike unaccounted for. ($135)
No complaints. I enjoy the hobby. Hope you found the above interesting!
Total overall costs including bike: $2901.16
89 replacement parts including many small parts.
Shipping of ordered parts accounted for $548.75 of total costs (not including the bike)
Sales tax accounted for $155.71 of total costs.
Polishes, paints, sandpaper and thinners have been left out of total costs. (Estimate $150)
Chemicals for removing rust and cleaning parts have been left out of the total costs. (Estimate $125)
Labor hours unaccounted for. It's a hobby. Some days hours, some days minutes over a period of 7 months. (Estimate 110 hours)
Parts on hand saved from previous builds unaccounted for as well. (Estimate $125)
Cost of personal vehicle use to pick up original bike unaccounted for. ($135)
No complaints. I enjoy the hobby. Hope you found the above interesting!
Spokes
Veteran Member
Time stamp 12-23-2024. The 62 is 99.99% complete. High fabrication costs dictated buying a new exhaust from Asia, so no exhaust, The carb clam needs to be cleaned up before installing. Besides those two items, the bike is complete. So, is the project complete? Maybe, maybe not. Historically, with these types of projects, something is amiss.
Will the carb leak? Will the tank have some goober I missed? Is the carb float set correctly? Did the piston rings seat? Will the clutch plates stick or slip? Was my valve job adequate? I literally touched every aspect of this bike from the speedometer to the spokes. Being winter is upon us, I will fuel her up mid-March. A few pics attached before and now. Enjoy and may all have a safe and Merry Christmas and a prosperous and healthy New Year!
Will the carb leak? Will the tank have some goober I missed? Is the carb float set correctly? Did the piston rings seat? Will the clutch plates stick or slip? Was my valve job adequate? I literally touched every aspect of this bike from the speedometer to the spokes. Being winter is upon us, I will fuel her up mid-March. A few pics attached before and now. Enjoy and may all have a safe and Merry Christmas and a prosperous and healthy New Year!
Grumpybugger
Veteran Member
Amazing transformation. I’ve enjoyed following along. Thanks for taking the time to post it up. Happy Holidays.
Cycleranger
Veteran Member
I admire your dedication to that one. Not many folks would look at the before photos and see any potential.
Nice work!
Nice work!
ballbearian
Veteran Member
It's a saved from the grave, for sure. Plenty of appeal there and all the work shows. I hear the word, curated, thrown around lately. I guess this could be, curated reverse entropy.
At least the days are now getting longer. Maybe a first start won't be too far away.
At least the days are now getting longer. Maybe a first start won't be too far away.
Spokes
Veteran Member
If we could only do the same for broken-down humans.
I received the Asian TR style mufflers today. With the mufflers and carb clam installed the bike is done. As mentioned earlier, I will fuel her up sometime in March.
The Asian mufflers fit pretty well. I had to make one modification to the sprocket cover (see pic).
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Spokes
Veteran Member
I put the bike on back burner for a spell. Our weather in Lexington is unusually cold with Ice & snow. Ballbearian sent me the missing snout for my early 60's CA95 carburetor. Thanks again Tom! I reconsidered the first air filter idea using a velocity stack with mounted air filter. Had I not received the snout, I would have kept the stack/air filter assembly in place. With the snout, I decided to change gears and build yet another air filter assembly. I drilled two holes in the new assembly for the tubes from the carb spacer and engine breather. 
Spokes
Veteran Member
I have been on the lookout for nice chrome shock lowers. As you can see from the before & after shots of the shock absorbers, I was able to bring back the chrome lowers just so far. The shock fasteners were in bad shape as well. In addition, the axle and sprocket collar mounting nuts were pretty shabby as well. I found some newer shocks with terrible pictures on eBay. Seller accepted my $20 bid. Oily and dirty. Oily was key! The shocks were newer type because of the plastic covers. The oil protected the chrome. So, I swapped out the rough chrome original shock lowers with the nice chrome lowers. I wasn't happy with the shock mounting hardware, again I searched for good used ones. Once again, I found dirty nasty mounting hardware. Another low-ball bid accepted! They buffed out like new. Finally, I found new old stock sprocket collar and axle nuts. Next week, weather is forecasted to hit mid 50's. I'm too restless to wait until March
, so she gets fueled up. The day of reconning is approaching...
, so she gets fueled up. The day of reconning is approaching...I have to say there is something about the combination of shiny chrome parts, some shiny paint, mixed with some wonderful patina this bike possesses that is very pleasing. Sort of lets you know of a hard former life with a new reguvenated spirit!!!
Spokes
Veteran Member
Today was the day of reconning. Before I report out, I have always loved working on motorcycles. Failure is an opportunity to try again more intelligently. (Henry Ford)
I fueled up the bike this afternoon in our 62-degree sunshine. Good news, the gas tank is clean with no leaks (tank that is). The Asian aftermarket petcock adapter leaked like an old farmhouse faucet. So, I packed paper towels tight around the petcock assembly and opened the petcock. Hit the starter button. No start, no backfire, electric starter operates perfectly and so does the kick starter, but no dice. I installed new spark plugs thinking I may have ruined the set with oil during assembly. No start. Now, I did not want to check for spark, too much gas dripping. Basically, I had a gas mess.
Ok, so I remove the fuel inlet to the carb, great feature on the early carbs I might add and drain the tank. Good news is the fuel drained out pristine! I remain amazed the tank is shiny as new inside, so no dirt in the tank. Blew out the tank, washed the outside and place it under my fume hood to dry it out.
Next concern is there any fuel in the carburetor bowl? Yes! Float is set correct and bowl full about 1/8 inch below overflow. My compression gauge is too old to take a good reading, after all I've had it since working on my 65 Pontiac Bonneville back in 73.
I need to order a good compression gauge to get a reading. I think, just maybe I may not have the valve train set correctly. even though I went through pains to set them correctly. The Asian tank flange? My thoughts are to buy a new repair kit for the original petcock. The original petcock that came with the bike is pristine as well, thus adding to the mystery of why the inside of the tank and original petcock is so pristine.
Going forward, I will check spark again, the new plugs are six years old, but never out of the box, so just to be sure, I'm going to order a couple sets of new ones.
Hopefully, compression is my issue and fingers crossed; the issue is mis-adjusted valves.
I fueled up the bike this afternoon in our 62-degree sunshine. Good news, the gas tank is clean with no leaks (tank that is). The Asian aftermarket petcock adapter leaked like an old farmhouse faucet. So, I packed paper towels tight around the petcock assembly and opened the petcock. Hit the starter button. No start, no backfire, electric starter operates perfectly and so does the kick starter, but no dice. I installed new spark plugs thinking I may have ruined the set with oil during assembly. No start. Now, I did not want to check for spark, too much gas dripping. Basically, I had a gas mess.
Ok, so I remove the fuel inlet to the carb, great feature on the early carbs I might add and drain the tank. Good news is the fuel drained out pristine! I remain amazed the tank is shiny as new inside, so no dirt in the tank. Blew out the tank, washed the outside and place it under my fume hood to dry it out.
Next concern is there any fuel in the carburetor bowl? Yes! Float is set correct and bowl full about 1/8 inch below overflow. My compression gauge is too old to take a good reading, after all I've had it since working on my 65 Pontiac Bonneville back in 73.
I need to order a good compression gauge to get a reading. I think, just maybe I may not have the valve train set correctly. even though I went through pains to set them correctly. The Asian tank flange? My thoughts are to buy a new repair kit for the original petcock. The original petcock that came with the bike is pristine as well, thus adding to the mystery of why the inside of the tank and original petcock is so pristine.
Going forward, I will check spark again, the new plugs are six years old, but never out of the box, so just to be sure, I'm going to order a couple sets of new ones.
Hopefully, compression is my issue and fingers crossed; the issue is mis-adjusted valves.
RobMan
Veteran Member
I have followed your thread but I don't remember if you ever mentioned rebuilding the advance unit or not. If so is there any chance you reassembled it 180 out? I had issues getting my S90 to start and after wasting a good deal of time and perfectly good cuss words I found that was my issue. I am not familiar with this model so may not be possible but wanted to mention it.
ballbearian
Veteran Member
I barely remember long ago putting my top end back and frustrated by the poor drawings/pictures and the previous page wording on the cam timing pages. It may be possible to totally remove the cam tappet adjusters to roll the cam slowly and gently (with the plugs out too) to line it up correctly, without interference. I suppose also possible to loosen the chain adjuster and remove master link to reset.
Also, seem to remember the vague wording referring to the valley of the sprocket teeth rather than the tip of the tooth. See bottom of page 23 in FSM.
I know I've participated in discussions of this, now famous (or should be), Benly Cam Chain Bungle, in other builds here.
EDIT: Looking back at Nov post #241, You had no trouble with the chain. Disregard the above. RobMan probably nailed it, a backwards advance re-assembly.
Also, seem to remember the vague wording referring to the valley of the sprocket teeth rather than the tip of the tooth. See bottom of page 23 in FSM.
I know I've participated in discussions of this, now famous (or should be), Benly Cam Chain Bungle, in other builds here.
EDIT: Looking back at Nov post #241, You had no trouble with the chain. Disregard the above. RobMan probably nailed it, a backwards advance re-assembly.
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Spokes
Veteran Member
Suggestion considered! My 1st CA95 rebuild was a 1965 back in 2008. At that time, I did install the points lobe 180 out. The result was a shotgun backfire. I was hoping for start or backfire, to which I got neither. I will check again tomorrow morning.
As far as Tom's point, I really made sure cam & crank marks were "as I remember" being crankshaft mark 6:00 (bottom) and cam mark at 12:00 (top) The pdf of the manual shows both crankshaft mark and cam mark at 12:00.
I'm digging through hundreds of pictures to verify my memory.
I've got another decent morning coming up tomorrow to check things out. I will report back then. Thanks for the follow up!
ballbearian
Veteran Member
The wording of "lowest point" is about the tooth valley, not the crank mark. The keyway on the crank should be up, so 12:00 and 12:00. Your post pics on post 232 and 241 look right.
Spokes
Veteran Member
Yes, it looks right. You see, the opposite side of the crankshaft key is the timing mark I was getting at. That's a relief at this point. I'm going to look at the advance and points lobe again, in the meantime, against my better judgement. I'm going to cut a new gasket from quality gasket material for the petcock adapter, then make a makeshift mount on a wooden horse to test leakage. I'll report back tomorrow! Many thanks to all for your input!
ballbearian
Veteran Member
The PDF is correct, both at 12:00.
The sprocket is between teeth, "at the bottom" means in the valley between tops or teeth.
Spokes
Veteran Member
I confirmed the correct position of the small notch on the points lobe to be correct by comparing a pic of a new spark advance and several used ones offered on eBay.
Next step is to pull the plugs and spray some starter fluid into the cylinders. With strong spark, I should at least get a pop. If no pop, then onto the valve adjustments then order a new compression gauge. Somethings amiss. The something could be simple, or I may need to pull the engine and check the head and cylinders again.
I don't like fooling with fuel and spark in enclosed spaces, so I'm going to step away from further fussing as we are expecting heavy rain over the next few days. Saturday or Sunday looks promising.
Next step is to pull the plugs and spray some starter fluid into the cylinders. With strong spark, I should at least get a pop. If no pop, then onto the valve adjustments then order a new compression gauge. Somethings amiss. The something could be simple, or I may need to pull the engine and check the head and cylinders again.
I don't like fooling with fuel and spark in enclosed spaces, so I'm going to step away from further fussing as we are expecting heavy rain over the next few days. Saturday or Sunday looks promising.
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Spokes
Veteran Member
For those who follow my 62 story, it's well known that reviving a scrap bike is a multi-challenge endeavor. Being retired I look forward to maintaining sharpness through reading, wrenching and health maintenance. In my world, this is my trifecta of happiness.
So, today's findings as to why the little 62 won't start, was based on two gambles. Gamble#1 was enlarging the used cylinders to fit .25 over pistons, gamble#2 was reusing original head and refitting new valve guides and lapping new valves into existing seats.
The addition of motor oil to both cylinders verified I lost gamble #1 and won gamble#2. My assumption that my compression gauge was too old and unreliable was incorrect. Adding oil to the cylinders increased compression from 60psi to 150psi verifying pistons & rings rather than valves.
I'm not really unhappy about the above results. I threw the dice and "it is what it is".
There are so many parts and assemblies that have turned out successful, pulling the engine, still pristine clean, and sending off the cylinders for boring and fitting .5 over pistons is no big deal.
I think, while I have the head off, I may have it shaved just to make sure it's flat. We will see what happens. I'll post more pics as I make regressive progress.
Thanks for continuing to read my posts!
So, today's findings as to why the little 62 won't start, was based on two gambles. Gamble#1 was enlarging the used cylinders to fit .25 over pistons, gamble#2 was reusing original head and refitting new valve guides and lapping new valves into existing seats.
The addition of motor oil to both cylinders verified I lost gamble #1 and won gamble#2. My assumption that my compression gauge was too old and unreliable was incorrect. Adding oil to the cylinders increased compression from 60psi to 150psi verifying pistons & rings rather than valves.
I'm not really unhappy about the above results. I threw the dice and "it is what it is".
There are so many parts and assemblies that have turned out successful, pulling the engine, still pristine clean, and sending off the cylinders for boring and fitting .5 over pistons is no big deal.
I think, while I have the head off, I may have it shaved just to make sure it's flat. We will see what happens. I'll post more pics as I make regressive progress.
Thanks for continuing to read my posts!
ballbearian
Veteran Member
I always double check myself by removing the plugs and tappet covers to watch what happens when the pistons are at or just after TDC. Then I know I got the chain, cam and crank right. The combustion stroke has the exhaust just opening after TDC, the other, on compression, has the intake opening after TDC.
I use a light in the plug hole or a chopstick to watch for TDC.
ballbearian
Veteran Member
I'm surprised Gamble #1 seemed to fail. I really don't know what would happen if the cam was 180 degree out from the crank. Would the pistons hit the valves? Would there be extreme low compression? Kind of a wild academic, what if?
If your piston to cylinder fit was off, but it didn't stick, it should still work for a little while, if you fitted rings with a good gap. The low compression stumps me.
I'm grateful for you sharing all the ups and downs. "It is what it is" but learning opportunities abound.
Spokes
Veteran Member
My theory is the cylinders are either tapered or out of round. The oil added to the cylinders filled the gap. There may be another "could be" like a broken ring or a gouge in the cylinder wall. I'll share findings once I breakdown the upper half of the engine!
Spokes
Veteran Member
I've partially disassembled the engine while still mounted on the bike prior to removal. No need to disconnect wires in the harness or disconnect the starter cable from the solenoid. The engine, oil drained, less starter, flywheel, stator & housing will reduce the weight of the engine at least 15lbs or better. I don't need to remove the opposing side cover and clutch components, but doing so would lighten up the engine even further. The picture proves you can make corrections to timing should one assemble the engine only to find out the timing is off.
Perhaps this a note to self to avoid removing engine when not needed or handling or lifting heavy completed engines if possible. (Starter wire was removed from the engine mounts and zip tied clear of the engine after this pic was taken) 
Perhaps this a note to self to avoid removing engine when not needed or handling or lifting heavy completed engines if possible. (Starter wire was removed from the engine mounts and zip tied clear of the engine after this pic was taken) 
Spokes
Veteran Member
Engine pulled and upper half broken down. Cylinders out of round. Valves beautiful based on oil in cylinder raised compression from 80 to 150lbs.
I probably need to bore the cylinders .75 over this time around. My new .25 over pistons & rings are pristine but I can't use them, so they will be available after I get my cylinders back and new piston/rings installed. On a positive note, internals look great, oil pump works well, lots of oil in upper rocker assembly.
I probably need to bore the cylinders .75 over this time around. My new .25 over pistons & rings are pristine but I can't use them, so they will be available after I get my cylinders back and new piston/rings installed. On a positive note, internals look great, oil pump works well, lots of oil in upper rocker assembly.
ballbearian
Veteran Member
Actual powersports machinists seem to be the only ones with boring bars small enough.
Spokes
Veteran Member
I've found a few shops to bore small engine cylinders and one shop to machine the head. I will report out where I have the machining done with cost.
Spokes
Veteran Member
My cylinders ship out next week. I found a shop near Akron, Ohio to bore & hone both cylinders to fit the new .75 over pistons and fit the rings for $120.
I will report out and share results when I get my cylinders back. Then I plan to ship the cylinder head to mill flat. Hopefully all this upper work won't toast the crankshaft.
I will report out and share results when I get my cylinders back. Then I plan to ship the cylinder head to mill flat. Hopefully all this upper work won't toast the crankshaft.
ballbearian
Veteran Member
Good news. That's about what my machinist charges, $60 per hole.
I had good results from doing the figure 8 on a sheet of 320 or 400 grit sandpaper stuck to a sheet of plate glass for my Dream 305 head. I only did it till the low spots just barely disappeared. It didn't take much and I said no thanks to my machinist who wanted like $80 to take off .0010" , IIRC, maybe it was more.
It doesn't leak, so I called that good.
Spokes
Veteran Member
I agree with your flat plate/abrasive leveling suggestion. But in my case, I have mixed & matched parts. 1962 head and a 1963 cylinder. Best to spend the extra dough to finally have a smooth-running bike. In retrospect, I should have done this step some time ago, but I like to gamble. Win some, lose some.
ballbearian
Veteran Member
Me too, the cheap-skate game is kind of fun, sometimes.
I figure the cylinders being cast iron, don't ever really change much, but the heads may a little bit. The sanding gives a good visual, as to how much, plus I didn't want the machinist to get too carried away and take more than minimally needed, to justify his charges.
I do need to get mine done, before my guy retires or otherwise closes down, as so many have done.
Spokes
Veteran Member
Got my freshly bored cylinders back today. .75 over bore to match pistons. This was a "shudda done" earlier in my project. I measured the head flatness with a straight edge and a known flat tool and used 1200 grit & oil to determine flatness. Looks ok and I might add there is very little meat to take off with milling machine anyway. The crush gasket embedded in the head gasket is additional insurance.
Bike and engine are back in the warm shop for reassembly. Winter has rolled up her sleeves again to deliver another punch to Lexington. Nothing like the sound of 60's music, the smell of WD40 and howling wind and snow outside to comfort the mechano-soul. See attached cylinder pics for reference.
Bike and engine are back in the warm shop for reassembly. Winter has rolled up her sleeves again to deliver another punch to Lexington. Nothing like the sound of 60's music, the smell of WD40 and howling wind and snow outside to comfort the mechano-soul. See attached cylinder pics for reference.
Spokes
Veteran Member
Time stamp 2-21-25. Engine partially back together just enough to mount on the bike. One mild unexpected find was a nice used brake pedal/rod assembly for low money. So before mounting the engine back up I will swap out the painted original brake pedal. Attached is the brake pedal eBay pic before and after a little finesse pic. Once the engine is mounted and assembled far enough to take a compression reading, I will report out the new numbers. 
Spokes
Veteran Member
It's yours if you want it. I went through great pains to derust the brake pedal, rod, spring (at the end of the brake rod) stay and nut. The pedal is pitted, but safe to use. I'm only replacing it because of a low-cost pedal with better chrome as mentioned. Pm me with an address and I will ship it out next week. Otherwise, to the metal recycler it goes with a box of other less than desirable parts. 
Spokes
Veteran Member
I mounted the carb and my modified air filter on the engine before lifting the engine to the frame. Here is a time stamp pic of the bike this evening 2-22-25. 
Spokes
Veteran Member
Assembled the bike far enough to take a compression reading. 125psi both cylinders using an old compression gauge. The gauge relies on hand pressure against old rubber insert pressed into the spark plug hole. Compression may be higher. I'm pleased so far. We have a mid 50's day tomorrow, we will see if she starts!
Spokes
Veteran Member
I had to edit my post. Earlier I reported out I had no spark. I was perplexed as to why I had spark during my first start try then after having the cylinders rebored and reassembly I had no spark.
I had power to all connections as checked with my continuity light. Two findings. 1.) I overlooked the wispy few strands of wire connecting the green wire to the coil. I stripped and exposed new wire and cleaned and soldered back both the green & black wires. 2.) Point gap widened. I set the gap at .012 with wet acetone feeler gauge. Good spark! I ordered new points anyway.
Back on track to start the bike, but not this evening anymore. For all of those following my posts, thanks again for continuing to tag along.
I had power to all connections as checked with my continuity light. Two findings. 1.) I overlooked the wispy few strands of wire connecting the green wire to the coil. I stripped and exposed new wire and cleaned and soldered back both the green & black wires. 2.) Point gap widened. I set the gap at .012 with wet acetone feeler gauge. Good spark! I ordered new points anyway.
Back on track to start the bike, but not this evening anymore. For all of those following my posts, thanks again for continuing to tag along.
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Spokes
Veteran Member
The 62 ran under her own power this afternoon for the first time since 1966. The engine took some effort to start and burnt the oily exhaust from the previous attempt to get her going. The Thai mufflers are loud. Some fine tuning needs to happen. She is hard to restart after idle stall. Coughs & sputters in 1st gear at 1/4 throttle. I set the timing at the points mount willie nilly, so that's the first place to look. I'm happy to report the clutch works perfectly using the proper clutch plates with old friction discs. Neutral light stays on in 1st gear so another minor fix.
ballbearian
Veteran Member
Hopefully new condenser and points will do it. I've always heard a big spark makes for big tits and means the condenser is bad. If coil was warm, it must be points shorting or closed.
I've never tested resistance of these coils and never found a spec for it either.
Continuing, because I forgot to hit post reply and now it's alive. Congratulations.
Spokes
Veteran Member
Kentucky inspector approved the bike. For the record, I bought the bike in bits and pieces out of Ohio as per the start of this thread. All that is needed to gain a clear Kentucky title is a signed Bill of Sale and a completed Form TC96-182 (Application for Kentucky Certificate of Title or Registration) with my info, bikes info and Kentucky Inspection/Sheriff sign off. Next week I'm off to the DMV to submit completed form TC96-182. I can apply for plates at the same time as long as I get insurance. 
Spokes
Veteran Member
New points & condenser made a huge improvement in spark. But still no start. I did get a backfire and a sloppy kinda start then stall. My next step is timing. I went against my memory regarding cam/crank timing marks. I went by the book, but the manual tells two different ways, or at least my understanding went two ways. My memory says place cam and crank timing marks highest and lowest point on the center line. The manual was vague about this fact although if you look at the timing illustration, the keyway (which is opposite of the timing mark) is shown on the imaginary centerline. Another part of the book says timing cam timing mark at 12 o'clock and crank timing mark at 6 o'clock. Against my better judgement I went with the 12 and 6 positions.
Next step is to reset cam and crank timing to high and low on the centerline.
That was the confusing part of the manual, but I still had the valve covers off and it seemed like the drawing on right was the way to go.
Spokes
Veteran Member
Yes, I'm rather embarrassed about this as I have built several CA95 engines remembering the timing marks on a centerline. One additional note, minor as it is, but still perplexing is the seat stay that came mounted on the bike. Earlier I wrote about a seat frame I found on eBay. The frame was too long, and the rear mount missed the seat stay by several inches. Assuming the seat stay, already mounted on the bike and aged accordingly was correct, I thought the seat sent to me was for the CA72 or CA77. OK, so I cut down the seat frame to fit and welded it back together. The modified frame fits pretty tight at the rear stay with a gap in between the seat and tank. The cover I had from a previous build but unused, fit perfect. Odd I thought, but accepted the coincidence as "it is what it is". So, recently, I took you up on the offer of the CA160 seat, knowing the CA160 uses the CA95 frame. I received the frame (thanks again), stripped it down, cleaned and straightened it. So, just for kicks, I thought, let's make sure it fits. Seat too long! Say what? So, I go online to find the seat stay on my 62, appears to be similar to the CA72/77! Can't be! The CA72 & CA77 have wider bodies! Now I'm guessing, perhaps the early CA95 Honda's had shorter seats. That's the story behind the quest for another seat stay. The seat you sent my had the original trim, to which I was able to straighten and save giving me a more original look. Should my theory of using an updated seat stay, I will complete the seat you sent me. This early CA95 project has thrown a few curve balls to me. Thankfully it's just a hobby. 
Spokes
Veteran Member
Continuing saga. This bike won't start. I reset timing, installed new points & condenser. Nothing. New pistons & rings brought up compression to 150lbs (last check). I sprayed starting fluid into the cylinders directly and quickly reinstalled plugs. No start, no backfire, nothing.
Plugs are new/unused although the plugs have been in their box and in my parts drawer about 7yrs.
Next step while I wait for new plugs is recheck valve adjustments. Fuel was purchased a few months ago in preparation for an ice storm and preserved with additive. I've been smitten by plugs that sparked outside the cylinder (checking for spark) but not under compression and had fuel thought good wasn't.
After valve recheck & adjustment if needed and buy fresh gas. Something is fishy about this build, and I plan to get to the bottom of this no-start issue.
Plugs are new/unused although the plugs have been in their box and in my parts drawer about 7yrs.
Next step while I wait for new plugs is recheck valve adjustments. Fuel was purchased a few months ago in preparation for an ice storm and preserved with additive. I've been smitten by plugs that sparked outside the cylinder (checking for spark) but not under compression and had fuel thought good wasn't.
After valve recheck & adjustment if needed and buy fresh gas. Something is fishy about this build, and I plan to get to the bottom of this no-start issue.
RobMan
Veteran Member
We're rooting for you!
Spokes
Veteran Member
Many Thanks RobMan! Also, many thanks to all who have tagged along on my journey trying to save this little 62.
Got her started. The final issue was the new points. The points needed adjusting as they were not closing correctly. Once corrected she fired up! The video of her running was after a ride around the block. The actual 1st start took a couple of running bursts before settling in. I also created a lot of smoke from oil burn off and ring seating (my opinion)
I now enter the phase of minor adjustments and oil leak fixes. Now that she runs, I see some rework. Rear tire. I bought a "nearly new" tire from Ebay. Belts on the tire are out of line from sitting flat on some bike for years. So, a new tire is due to be ordered. Tune the carburetor. Change the exhaust gaskets at the cylinder head. I installed new exhaust gaskets but I'm sure taking this engine down and reassembling a few times ruined them. I think I need a new crush gasket on the oil drain plug. I'm glad to report the clutch, kick start, electric starter, transmission, speedometer, brakes, suspension and electrical system all operate correctly. I have to mention timing. Cam at 12 o'clock BUT crankshaft is centerline to cam which looks like 5 o'clock! To make it easy, the keyway on the crankshaft lines up on centerline to the cam timing mark. I knew this but I misread, misunderstood, doubted myself or any excuse I can muster as to why I thought cam at 12 and crank at 6 was correct.
Attached is my YouTube video of the little 62 marked 1st start, but as mentioned, after a ride around the block. More to come as I get the little 62 dialed in.