New Tires

My new tires arrived and I installed them with new inner tubes and spoke bands.  I'm in the process of replacing wheel bearing and seals. Somewhat boring stuff...

In the meantime, here are some great SL90 photos from Japan. I like the mildly modified red SL90. Nice exhaust and shocks - the headlight brackets, tail light and color scheme are nice touches:

Finally,  some more "back in the day" photos from Japan - these are from Bunjyuro.com:

Speedometer

My new tires will  be delivered in two days.  In the meantime, I recovered and installed the wiring harness and I cleaned the speedometer and installed it in the headlight bucket with a new rubber gasket (below)

September 2012 to July 2013 - comparison

Piped

The new tires haven't arrived, so I installed exhaust pipe number 1(not the latest) to see how it looks and lines up.

I'm polishing out the exhaust I purchased last week - when it's finished, I'll figure out which pipe I want to use on my blue SL90.

I also test fitted the side cover to make sure the new knob works.

Not too bad!  Next up: restoring the wiring...

Details - Manufacturer Plate

The media blasting and powder coating destroyed the old manufacturer's plate/tag on the frame's steering head tube.  I was fortunate to be able to locate a reproduction - a very good quality reproduction on an aluminum base with 3M adhesive.

Here's the new reproduction plate:

Here's the plate installed in the proper location on the frame:

I have an old frame with (yes, I have a third frame) with an intact mfg. plate that I used to measure the plate's location so I could position it in the correct factory location on the bike.

CHP Motorsports (Hondaminitrail) supplied the reproduction plate/tag.

I was also able to obtain NOS keys - the key on the left is the one that was still with the blue SL90 (44 years of wear and tear) and the two to the right are the "new" keys.

"New" Exhaust Pipe

I was able to locate a complete exhaust in good condition - no fatal rust and only missing one heat shield screw.  There's no road rash to speak of and the chrome will polish out nicely.  This will save me a ton of restoration work as my second (now third) exhaust is rusted through and will require serious cutting and piecing to restore.  

Now, all I need is a second side cover to complete the "tins" for my red SL90 project bike.

Anybody have a side cover they want to sell?

Roller

I'm waiting for new tires, so I've done some minor work on my blue SL90 project.  I've polished some parts, cleaned up the "new" the rims and hubs and restored the throttle.  I also reversed the upper motor mounts on the engine brackets (I put them in the wrong way around).   

Finally, I decided to install the old wheels while I'm waiting on tires.  

The photo shows my "roller" with the old rims and rusty spokes.  Installing the old wheels and kick stand make it easier to move the bike around the garage - also, it gives a preview on what the bike will look like when done.

All I have left, in terms of major work, is the wiring, headlight, new tires and polished wheels, exhaust and stock handlebars.  

Test Fit - Headlight and Controls (Switches)

I polished the clutch and brake perches while waiting for the new tires to arrive.  I did a "test fit" of the headlight bucket and controls using a set of "Euro Bar" handlebars that I had in the shop.  I decided to re-chrome the stock handlebars, so I'm temporarily using the Euro style bars while the stock bars are at the chrome plater. 

The headlight bucket needs a little trimming as the chrome ring is slightly off (the plastic needs to be trimmed slightly to improve the fit).

Battery Box and Air Cleaner

I installed the battery box and air cleaner housing today - It's hot outside (about 107 degrees F today), so I only installed the two components and called it quits.

It's amazing how the sliver stripe really makes the tank look sharp.

Here's the air cleaner view... 

It's starting to look more like a motorcycle and less like a parts pile...

Gas Tank Stripes

The tank is striped and ready for buffing out.

I like it!

Honda SL90 Drawings

Blueprint drawings of the Japanese domestic model (not exported to the USA). Note that this model had turn signals, seat strap, passenger pegs and a slightly different paint scheme (silver tip on front fender) - here's a photo with engine guards: