The history of the automatic clutch used in Honda's Super Cub motorcycles can be traced back to the 1940s. Soichiro Honda's early success with auxiliary engines had shown him there was a market in Japan for inexpensive motorised two wheeled transport.
By the mid 1950s he had begun to think of...
The history of the automatic clutch used in Honda's Super Cub motorcycles can be traced back to the 1940s. Soichiro Honda's...
C90 Engine
If you want your website to use HTTPS you'll need an SSL certificate. Read on to find out what this all means, starting with a bit of history.
HTTP
When Tim Berners Lee launched the first ever website in 1991 it was accessible using a protocol called HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). The protocol...
If you want your website to use HTTPS you'll need an SSL certificate. Read on to find out what this all means, starting...
website hosting
amazon cloudwatch logo
Right, you've got your server up and running and it is being backed up regularly. Your next job as an amatuer server administrator is to put in place some monitoring and logging capabilities so you can be notified in case it stops working.
Resource monitoring
The good news if you are using Amazon...
Right, you've got your server up and running and it is being backed up regularly. Your next job as an amatuer server administrator...
website hosting
backup image, page header
Introduction
If you can't use snapshot technology to backup your web site, or would like something more flexible, then you'll need an automated process that creates an archive of your data and copies it somewhere safe. Simpler options are available! If you want to see what's involved, read on....
Introduction
If you can't use snapshot technology to backup your web site, or would like something more flexible, then you'll need...
website hosting
Hosting your own web site comes with a number headaches, not least sorting out backups so you can recover your data should disaster strike. A relatively painless solution for those of us with servers deployed on a cloud platform is to use snapshots.
To be honest it is a lot easier to use a third...
Hosting your own web site comes with a number headaches, not least sorting out backups so you can recover your data should disaster strike. A...
website hosting
Over the past couple of weeks I have been moving this website from Wordpress to Ghost.
Modern web technology
Moving to a modern solution based on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript seemed like a good opportunity to learn some new things, since I haven't done any front-end development before (well, apart from in the...
Over the past couple of weeks I have been moving this website from Wordpress to Ghost.
Modern web technology
Moving to a modern solution based...
website hosting
When learning how to repair my 1978 Honda Super Cub c90 I was surprised to discover that original printed copies of the Honda shop manuals are still in circulation. Unlike the Haynes and Clymer publications that were aimed at the general public, these are the instructions used by the Honda mechanics who mended and maintained...
When learning how to repair my 1978 Honda Super Cub c90 I was surprised to discover that original printed copies of the Honda shop manuals...
manuals
Timing
The cam to crank timing is initially set when you assemble the engine. Timing refers to the regulation of the parts of a mechanism to ensure it works as designed. In this context it a reference to the mechanism by which the crank turns the camshaft and the valves in the engine are made...
Timing
The cam to crank timing is initially set when you assemble the engine. Timing refers to the regulation of the parts of a mechanism...
C90 Engine
Adjustment
Here are Honda's valve adjustment instructions for the C90/CT90 engine.
The idea is to set the gap so that the feeler gauge just slides between the tappet adjustment screw and the top of the valve stem.
As explained here the adjustment must be done when the engine is cold and when...
Adjustment
Here are Honda's valve adjustment instructions for the C90/CT90 engine.
The idea is to set the gap so that the feeler...
C90 Engine
As explained in this extract from a Honda manual, valve adjustment measurements must be taken at top dead centre (TDC) on the compression stroke. This short article explains how to check your engine is in the right spot to measure the valve gap.
To understand Honda’s instructions we need to recall the basic operation...
As explained in this extract from a Honda manual, valve adjustment measurements must be taken at top dead centre (TDC) on the compression stroke. This...
C90 Engine
Washita oilstones are used by woodworkers around the world and they all come from a small area east of Hot Springs in Arkansas, USA.
Origins
Washita, and the closely related Arkansas stone, are both forms of a rock geologists call Novaculite. As this research shows, Novaculite was used by Indians to make tools long before...
Washita oilstones are used by woodworkers around the world and they all come from a small area east of Hot Springs in Arkansas, USA.
Origins...
sharpening
The Record 74 is an excellent little vice, it weights 26lbs , has 4 inch jaws and opens to about 4 ½ inches.
It was pitched as an inexpensive[1] vice for the amateur mechanic or the woodworker who has an occasional need to do a bit of metalwork (where the fact it can be popped into...
The Record 74 is an excellent little vice, it weights 26lbs , has 4 inch jaws and opens to about 4 ½ inches.
It was pitched as...
Record Tools Ltd
The North Bros Yankee 1003 bench drill – and its larger sibling, the 1005 – is one of the finest bench drills ever produced. They were only made for about 15 years and are now something of a rarity. I was lucky enough to get hold of one a couple of years ago (you can read about...
The North Bros Yankee 1003 bench drill – and its larger sibling, the 1005 – is one of the finest bench drills ever produced. They were only...
drills
Once you have the engine back together an important job is to adjust the valve clearance (sometimes called “valve lash”). The clearance you are adjusting is the gap between the “tappet” and the tip of the valve. Tappet is an Engineering term meaning:
a moving part in a machine which transmits motion in a straight...
Once you have the engine back together an important job is to adjust the valve clearance (sometimes called “valve lash”). The clearance you are adjusting...
C90 Engine
The valves are held in place by metal guides installed in the cylinder head and on some C90s (including the c90 z2) there is a synthetic rubber valve seal on top of the exhaust valve guide, as is shown in this diagram from the 1978 CT90 service manual:
Honda tried a number of different valve...
The valves are held in place by metal guides installed in the cylinder head and on some C90s (including the c90 z2) there is a...
C90 Engine
Doing an overhaul of the engine involves dismantling the cylinder head and inspecting the valves. They will need to be cleaned of any accumulated oil and carbon, but do they also need lapping?
Lapping
If the valves are worn or pitted due to wear or because they have been poorly adjusted in the past it...
Doing an overhaul of the engine involves dismantling the cylinder head and inspecting the valves. They will need to be cleaned of any accumulated oil...
C90 Engine
