This problem happened before, in 2014, when the kick-starter ratchet spring became disengaged.  To keep the disobedient spring arm in the little hole, I used a high-temperature epoxy.  That seemed to work for a few years, but again in 2016 the kick-starter stopped engaging.  With other motorbike projects underway, the Benly had to wait its turn for repairs.

Today I pulled the engine apart.  Once again, I could see that the little spring worked its way off the kick-starter ratchet pawl.  The epoxy was still in place, but somehow the spring leg wiggled away from the hole.  I drilled out the epoxy and will consider other solutions.  At this point I’m thinking that using stainless steel safety wire wrapped around the ratchet pawl will retain the spring.  Since the safety wire is at the Alden house, I’ll have a week to think about it.

Since we’re nearing the end of riding season here in Michigan, I’ll use the Winter to make a few other improvements to the Benly.  I’ll switch to LED light bulbs for the turn signals and an electronic flasher.  This will work more reliably than the incandescent bulbs, especially with the 6 volt electrical system.  I want to be riding the little beast again when Spring arrives.

I rode to Bellaire to take some higher resolution pictures of the bike by Mom’s shed, then decided to ride into Alden.  I stopped at local landmarks along the way to take pictures, worried that the high winds would knock the bike over.  While I stopped for pictures at the Dockside restaurant, a woman got out of her car and started taking pictures of the little motorbike with her cell phone.  After taking some pictures in Alden, I returned to the house.

The odometer now reads 6201 – 52 miles since it’s been restored.  It’ll be fun riding it around town when I get it home.

The project took 11 months and 2 weeks of weekend work.  64 parts orders were placed, 34 from within the USA, 27 from Thailand, 2 from Canada and one from England.  Within the USA, I ordered parts from 19 different states.

It’s a tiny little machine, but it’s fun to ride.  I’ll bring it down state next weekend where it will be more at ease on the slower surface streets.

I reassembled the front suspension and anything connected to the forks, which includes the big fender and the headlight nacelle.  The front fork uses ancient ball bearings, which are still in excellent condition.  The bearings were well packed with grease when the fork was assembled.

The rear swing arm suspension installed quickly.  I reassembled the rear shocks then hung them from the rear fender to support the rear swing arm.  The wiring harness was routed through the frame as illustrated in the parts manual, connected only to the ignition key switch at this point.

I’ll be busy the next 2 weekends so the project will have to wait until August for additional work.  Stay tuned!

It’s difficult to convey the quality of the paint job in pictures, but you’ll get the idea.  The 15 parts will be hauled to Alden this Friday so that I can begin reassembling the ’65 Honda Benly this weekend.  The front and rear suspension will be installed first, followed by the wiring harness.  These little motorcycles go together quickly, but I still haven’t received my wide white wall tires, so I won’t be able to finish the bike until then.

I’ll post updates with any significant progress this weekend.

The original rims were just too rusty to use, and the ancient tires were so hard that I couldn’t remove them from the rims anyway.  Using a carbide blade on the reciprocating saw, I simply cut away the spokes to free the aluminum hub.  I cleaned the 5 decades of grime and oxidation from the hub with steel wool pads, then used 3 different buffing grits to polish the hub to give it a bit of shine.  As you can imagine, it’s much easier to polish the hub with the spokes off.

I separated the spokes into 2 groups, since there are both ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ spokes, distinguishable by the angle of the bend at the top of the spoke.  The inner spokes were installed first, followed by the outer spokes.  Each spoke received a new chrome nipple to hold it in place.  The spokes have only been hand tightened at this point.  I still have to ‘true’ the wheels to ensure that they spin perfectly, with no wobble.  I now have both wheel hubs laced to new rims and ready for truing.

The parts should be back from the paint shop in 2 days, and I’ll start assembling the bike next weekend.

Otherwise, I have only a few tasks left to complete before reassembly can begin in July.  I still have one more wheel to lace with new spokes.  I’m still waiting for the wide white wall tires to arrive.  I also have to clean some front suspension parts.  I did manage to paint and reassemble the front foot bar and side stand assembly, pictured below.  The rubber foot rests are new, replacing the original cracked and crumbled pieces.  The foot bar and side stand were caked with decades of dirt and grease, hardened to a thick crust that I had to break away with a hammer before I could scrub the parts clean with steel wool.

Just more baby steps toward restoring this interesting little motorcycle.

The project is really a series of little sub-projects.  The latest sub-project was a complete rebuild of the starter motor.  Since this is a full restoration, components like the starter require restoration, too.  The starter came apart without argument, and the parts appeared to be in great condition.  The original grease appeared to be fresh, but when I rotated the bearing the grease peeled away with the consistency of licorice candy.  So, all the parts were soaked in mineral spirits to dissolve the old grease.

In a moment of cleaning overkill, I put the bearings and gears in an ultrasonic cleaner to blast away any remaining tiny crud.  The appropriate parts were coated with fresh grease before the starter was reassembled.   The starter was clean and lubed, but I still didn’t know if it worked.  I grabbed a set of jumper cables, connected them to a battery then hooked the other ends to the starter.  With a kick the starter pounced to life, spinning with a convincing hum.  When the engine cases are painted, the starter body will receive a coat of paint to match.

Still a long way to go with this project, but the starter is ready for service.