My Collection: The 1965 Honda CM90

This bike is my current project, a 1965 Honda CM90 Supercub. It looks pretty much the same as the other two, but with a few key differences – the frame is heavier, the headlight, front fender and muffler are larger, and it comes with a more powerful 90cc engine, making this the most motorcycle-like supercub of the three.

Along with the Cub 55, the CM90 was never sold in the US as far as I can tell. This particular one is also a Japanese domestic model (you can tell by the white fender cap), and it was imported as a set with the Cub 55 at some point during its life. The only documentation I have on it dates from 1992, and I’ve been dying to find out how these bikes wound up in Seattle.

When I got it home, the CM90 was missing a carburetor, the engine was frozen, it was incredibly dirty, and overall it just looked sad. I was initially going to sell it because I didn’t want to deal with a complete engine rebuild, but in the end I couldn’t help myself.

You can see from the above picture just how dingy the bike was after sitting in a shed for years and years. Frankly I was amazed that there wasn’t any rust or major damage to it. Below you can see how drab and faded the paint was, but even with just a paper towel and some turtle wax the finish shined up beautifully.

Currently the CM90 is in pieces in the shop, rather forlornly waiting to be reassembled. The project has slowed to a crawl because of my job search, but I’m hoping to get it done by year’s end, if I can manage to lay my hands on a nearly-impossible-to-find carburetor (*crosses fingers*).