1982 Honda C70 Passport from United States of America - Comments

Just picked up my "banana bomber" 1981 passport for 410 dollars... shifts great, does 45 cruising, and is a blast to ride... last night however, I think my sprocket came loose and is rubbing on the chain guard... will have to take apart this weekend... Do I need to mix oil in the gas?

WTB: Hi all, hope things are well.

New to the site! Just picked up a 1982 C70 Passport. The only thing that's keeping me from riding is a "Front Fork top Bridge". It's the cup with wings that holds all the wiring. I ordered NOS from Bangkok, it got here 3 weeks later and was too small.

Any help would be appreciated.

E-mail me at itssoperverted@gmail.com

Thanks.

The Passport is a 4 stroke engine, so no oil mixture is needed.

I have one of these little scooters that I got from a friend for free. How exactly is this intake system with a funnel and a lawnmower air filter achieved?

These scooters are amazing; at 6'4" 230 lbs I am able to go 40 MPH on a flat road. I can't wait to try downhill, although it may be scary.

I have a 1982 Honda passport bike 70. Does anyone know how to adjust the carburetor adjustment, since we cleaned the carburetor, and it doesn't want to start or idle very well. Any help would be appreciated.

I have to disagree with some things I've read here.

Premium gas? These bikes were designed and produced for use in places like Cambodia and Indonesia and Africa and stuff. Do you really think they use premium gas over there?

The auto clutch makes shifting tricky? I think the purpose of the auto clutch is to eliminate tricky.

And all the talk of lifting front ends at 40 mph or going 90 mph on these bikes... If you are lifting the front end at any speed, you are doing something wrong and abusing the drive train big time.

I was surprised it took so long for somebody to point out the reality of doing 90 mph on one of these type bikes with a 3 or 4 speed transmission and presumably stock sprockets. Like was said, you are talking AT LEAST 12,000 rpm's, probably 15,000. If that is even possible with zero load connected to the engine, it would beat the heck out of the bearings and everything else, due to the crank and other parts not being balanced even remotely well enough for such rotational speeds.

I lived in Japan for a few years, and drove both 50cc and 90cc Super Cubs there. The older 90cc I had was great, it would easily keep up with normal highway traffic. But in Japan that means 60 kph, or about 40 mph. Going down a slight incline through a long straight tunnel, I used to get it up to 70 kph fairly quick, then creep up to 80 kph. So I'd call 55 mph about tops for that bike, and bordering on abuse even then. And they say those early 89cc 90's had noticeably more power than the current 86cc 90's. Surely more than a 70cc.

I just recently bought me an even older 90cc CT200 with the very early push-rod engine. Not going yet, but I love it already. With all the deer, raccoons and ruffed grouse crossing the road where I live, I don't really want to go faster than 45 mph on any bike.

I'm going to look at a C70 tomorrow and hopefully buy it! Wish me luck! Thank you for all of your wonderful comments... keeps the enchantment going!

C70M comments: If you have an owner’s manual, READ IT!

I bought my first c70m in 1977 for my wife to ride. I had a 1975 CB400F Super Sport, it was a 1973 and it would “easily” do 50+ mph on the flat, but I wanted a little more. What the hell, it was wound up tight, so I changed the front sprocket to one with 1 tooth more to increase top end, it did, to apx. 60, any more might not overcome wind resistance. I can’t remember the exact speed and if I was “laying down” to cut wind resistance.

That’s because in mid July I started up my 1972 c70 for my first ride on any one of them since 1985 or 6. I bought the ‘72 in ‘79 to ride along side of my wife on the c70 because riding the 400 felt like a waste of machinery next to the c70. The 72 had 2200 miles and came with an almost new owner’s manual, and the 73 had 9000 miles and a beat up 1971 manual.

From pix on the web and this 71 manual, it appears the 1970 & 71 are the same, and from looking at my 72 & 73 I see none between them but I see changes from 71 to 72. The big changes are the gas tank housing and tank size (even though Honda lists the tanks as the same size from the style change it is only 1 gal. total on the 72-3 from bone dry), ign. key location, speedo & odo (9999 mi vs. 99999 mi.), vents on the engine side covers that change the fairing, fewer tools in the kit, and the storage compartment size got bigger from 71 to 72, and the seat size goes from dual to large single with a rack.

The manuals show each bike without passenger pegs even with the long seat (71) my 72& 73 have pegs. The 71 manual lists in engine specs. 5 Hp @ 8500 rpm (that means it is limited access hyway legal in some places, I’ve done it and it and it is not recommended) the 72 leaves the Hp listing out. I have 3rd party repair manuals that list Hp higher.

Comment on 14th Jun 2006, 07:10 Google “ Honda Wave 100” or 125 you might find what you want but you can get it here.

Comment on 20th Jun 2006, 21:11 Google “50th anniversary Honda c70”

Comment on 10th Jul 2006, 20:59

Keep looking, there are plenty of good ones out there, and they are easy to fix if you know what you are doing; they are simple and straight forward.

Comment on 15th Sept 2006, 16:57

Go for the 1981 C70, old bikes are cool. See 14th Jun 2006.

Comments on

9th Sept 2006, 09:35

13th Dec 2006, 11:44,

5th Apr 2007, 05:33,

25th Apr 2007, 04:53

What does a c90 look like? Is it a step-thru? What drag strip has the traps at the 4 miles mark?

According to the 1971 owner’s manual and the 1972 manual on the not-numbered pages before page #1 Under stopping distance it says it takes 105 feet to stop from a speed off 44.1* mph using a fully operational service brake (it does not specify F or R or both) under “light load” and under max 108.5 feet. “* The maximum speed attainable by accelerating at maximum rate from a standing start for one mile.”

Comment on

26th Apr 2007, 11:35

29th Jun 2008, 01:54

It's not a scooter. It is a (Step-Through) motorcycle by definition. Wheels over 15 inches, engine “between” driver’s legs (49/50 cc rule may apply) and pegs (no movable pedals). I get lots of looks and I weigh 185. The HD guys are amused, and Asians say hi.

Comments on

20th Feb 2007, 17:40

24th Apr 2007, 09:00

If you know how to drive a manual shift car, this shouldn’t be a problem. If not, of course you have to down shift. The lines on the speedo are there to help you figure out what gear you should be in at a particular speed, then experiment a little. When down shifting you have to bring the engine speed up to match the vehicle speed in the lower gear, you can do this when you shift by holding your foot down, it disengages the gear, then when the speeds are matched let your foot up slowly.

THESE BIKES DO NOT HAVE A 3 SPEED AUTO TRANS. They have a 3 speed manual with a centrifugal force clutch. Backing off on engine speed if low enough disengages the clutch, which helps to reduce banging while shifting up and especially down when matching speeds.

Comments on 18th Sept 2007, 19:10 move to a state like RI titles are not required on old vehicles and no title were issued before 1973, but you will need the last owner’s last or next to last registration.

Comments on 27th Sept 2007, 12:25 in the 1971 manual it says use premium gas with an octane rating of 85 those 2 statements make no sense in 71 premium was 100+ equal to today’s 93+. Their use of the word premium more than likely means a good brand. But with 8.8:1 compression ratio mine runs just fine on poor gas. Better A/F? my original works just fine, tap the sand out occasionally and change your oil at least once a year whether it needs it or not I use Mobil 1 5w30.

Comments on 2nd Oct 2007, 19:19 Keep it stock and find an 80’s model. They should last forever, but, my shop manual isn’t so optimistic, it says the engine should be overhauled every 10,000 miles, my 73 showed no signs of fatigue when it was last ridden.

Comments on 30th Mar 2008, 14:27 71 Manual= Spark Plug NGK C-7 HS.024”-.028” gap. Points.012”-.016”. Valve clearance.002”.

Comments on 9th Apr 2008, 23:59 these things are cooler because they are so old and should have disappeared by now not to mention the fun factor, yeah all 60,000,000 of them that includes the 50s, 65s & 70s. Back in the 80’s I kept a book on mileage and I was getting 100 to 125 mpg depending on the type of riding in 1980 Honda was advertising the Passport with an EPA rating of up to 130 mpg (your mileage will vary).

Comments on 13th Apr 2008, 11:37 Google “ Honda Wave 100”

Comments on 3rd Jun 2008, 18:01 My blanks on the 72 & 73 are the same but they don’t turn the other bike the key number listed on the cylinder and key are only a few numbers apart in different years so they may be recycling key combos. http://www.hondakeys.com/

Comments on 19th Jun 2008, 09:29 It’s a 4 stroke – no.

Comments on 2nd Jul 2008, 09:13 You still haven’t cleaned the carb out enough; it takes tiny pins to poke through the small jets. If it is like the 71 thru 73 carb, it is on left side of the carb, has 2 small screws next to each other the one in the recess is the mixture screw with an initial setting of 1 – 1 ¼ turns out. The other screw is the idle speed screw; it pushes open the throttle piston. Adjust at 1300 rpms with a hot engine after adjusting points, timing and valves (cold), if everything else is OK it will start before adjusting the screws.

I have a 1982 Honda Passport that tops out at about 32 mph. Does anyone have any ideas as to how I could get it up to 40 or 45mph? Thanks.

My '82 C70 is making a clacking sound when starting out through first gear and into second. Any ideas what that might be?

I just picked up an 81' Passport last week as a restoration project. I had been buying parts for the bike for awhile so I was able to complete most of the job over a long weekend (they are super easy to work on). I started with a wire brush and some engine cleaner and detailed the motor. The bike got a good bath and I polished and waxed the paint. New fuel lines and filters, new carb and K&N filter, new exhaust and drained and cleaned the gas tank.

The bike was in rough shape when we picked it up, and the white leg shield was busted up pretty bad. For now I'm leaving it off cause it kinda looks cool.

Someone has wrecked it cause I have a small bend in my front rim and a few spokes are loose, causing the front wheel to start shaking around 30 mph. I have a few more adjustments to the motor and clutch, but I'm hoping this bike will reach 35-40 mph. Next on the list is a set of new rims and spokes, along with tires.

So far I love this bike and I look for any excuse to ride it. It starts on the first kick and you don't even have to choke it. It idles super smooth and runs like a champ. Not bad for a bike that's pushing 30 years old.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g150/Jennybeth1/Random/Cub.jpg