blackbomber

Yeah, that's the key to making the CB160 a really fun ride!

I was working in a motorcycle shop at the time (1999), and bought the 160 and a 100cc 2T Yamaha enduro from the owner in a package deal for $600. They were both bikes that were brought in for service, then abandoned by their owners. I didn't know the problems when I bought them, but the Honda turned out to have a charging issue. I worked around that by riding either on high beam, or with headlight off. Seems Honda thoughtfully engineered a stator which changed it's output based on demand - demand being dictated by headlight switch position. Anyway, I knew little about old Hondas when I got it, and was riding it like one would drive a car. No tach, but I imagine I was shifting in the 4k range. Anyway, a neighborhood motorcycle guru convinced me that I not only could wind the thing out, but that the bike would like it. So anyway, I was riding the thing like a GP bike, and having loads of fun. I rode with a couple of friends to a party several towns away, under the condition we would take backroads, as I'm on a 160, and they were on a '79 T140 and a '00 CBR600. I got good and drunk, as youngsters often do. I was yelled at for dirt tracking the 160 around the house we were at, and later did a smoky burnout on a piece of plywood (I have a photo somewhere I'll add if I find it). Then the ride home. My friends without telling me decided to take the freeway home. As I had no clue where I was, nor any GPS or map, I felt (keep in mind my condition) I had no choice but to follow them on the interstate (a road I was well familiar with). Anyway, I felt they were going too slowly for my tastes (the guy on the CBR just got the bike, and was riding on a permit), so I logically felt the thing to do was to get into the inside lane, pass them, and make my way home as briskly as possible. So there I was, tucked down behind the bars on i84 on this little Honda, completely maxed out for 12 miles or so. No helmet, no jacket, probably no gloves. Occasionally passing cars (I think we figured out this thing would do 75 on flat ground with no wind). Made it to my exit, and the little Honda had the smell of a warm engine, and the pipes were making all kinds of clattering sounds as they cooled off. But the bike continued to ride perfectly for the rest of the time I owned it.