A tiddler motorcycle is generally thought of as most bikes under 125-cc or so, give or take. Some consider anything under a 250 to be a tiddler, but that’s not me. I love small motorcycles. This 1968 Honda CL90 is listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Bennington, Nebraska, and the seller is asking $1,400. Here is the original listing, and thanks to NW Iowa Kevin for the tiddler tip!
I love little bikes like this, and for me, a 90 is pretty big. Most of mine are 49-cc or so. I don’t need a giant motorcycle or a giant car or truck to feel good about myself or prove anything. I like what I like and couldn’t care less what anyone else thinks about them. I get “Hey, nice kid’s bike” comments every once in a while, and I have to chuckle to myself, wondering what kind of tortured life that clown leads to have to prove their manliness by the size of their motorcycle or their truck. Bennington, Nebraska is about a seven-hour ride home for me on two-lane roads. With a 70 mph top speed, that might be fun, sort of, maybe.
One of my favorite recent motorcycles was a 1965 Honda Sport 65, somewhat similar but even smaller and less powerful than this Honda CL90. It’s unusual seeing turn signals on this one, and not just because 99% of humans don’t have a clue what they are or how to use them. The seller says these are reproduction blinkers, as is the seat. The headlight is from another model that isn’t listed, so the speedometer isn’t currently functioning. Also, the top of the gas tank paint has seen better days. They came in Black, Candy Blue, and Candy Red, as seen here, with silver accent pieces. Hagerty is at $2,400 for a #3 good-condition example, and $1,400 for a #4 fair bike. I think $1,400 is a good deal, given how much I’ve paid for other motorcycles in much worse condition. Or maybe I’m just a meathead.
I would think that most Barn Finds readers could figure out the speedometer issue, and man, those are big turn signals! Anything you can do to stay as visible as possible around the majority of drivers who will be texting at all times while behind the wheel is a good thing. Honda made the CL-series of dual-sport, or scrambler-type motorcycles in many sizes and configurations. The CL90 was made from 1967 through 1969, the sweet spot for psychedelic rock music. Wait, we were talking about motorcycles, never mind. This example doesn’t have a title, but I’ve applied for one on a 1984 Honda Gyro in the past, and it’s an easy process.
There wasn’t an engine photo; my apologies for the zoomed-in photo above. This is Honda’s 89-cc OHC four-stroke single-cylinder, which had 8 horsepower, and it sends that power through a 4-speed transmission to the rear wheel via a chain, as you already know. The seller says it starts on the first or second kick, which isn’t surprising, and there are no leaks. It has new tires, a new battery, a new chain, and a rebuilt carb. At $1,400, this is a good deal, even with the gas tank paint. Take it off and repaint it yourself and you’ll have a fun little bike for shows and riding around the neighborhood.
not the original tail light, missing original air filter can, needs red rear blinkers
Care to differ all 4 of my Harleys have amber rear turn signals.
difference between your harley and that honda among other things
And the speedo is round ?…..maybe why a top picture is missing….nice bike and the price – did he say it has a title ?
Don’t need an engine picture, as you can’t really see a Honda 90 without seeing the engine! Anyway I had an S90 I rode on base during the 1973 oil crisis. I was able to get gas at the motor pool so I never had the hassle of long lines. You can ride these anywhere except on a freeway as long as the speed limit is 50 or less. Add a rear rack and a milk crate (like mine had) and you have a grocery getter too! The prices for these Hondas has sure gone up. I remember when they were practically giving these bikes away,
A “tiddler”? By golly, I thought I heard them all, we’ll see about that,,,,,hmm, seems “tiddler” is a British term for a small fish, golf, small child, a small object, nothing yet, but typing in tiddler motorcycle does indeed bring up a small, under 125cc motorcycle and often used on slow “Tiddler Tours”. Fascinating,,,like Terrry, I don’t recall many of these, but quite a few of the S90, essentially the same pressed frame with a sleeker tank, possibly gearing, but 70mph was a bit much, more like 55 or 60, but still for a small bike, it held its own. The original speedo was a triangle thing with “speeds in gears”, and shows 4th tops out at 65, again, ideal conditions pending.
As a kid, I was lucky to have a Honda dealer just down the block from grade school, we would go and check out the new models, the Cub 50, like mine, then the 55 ( Sport?), 65 Sport, the 90s, their seemingly most popular size, trail, S, and CL and C200 or “regular 90” and Cubs,, then the Benly and Dream 150s, then the 160s, and finally, the 305s( Super Hawk and scrambler and Dreams) Did I miss any? We were simply blown away with what came a year later,,,,the 750. Made this look archaic. Cool find.
I hate to admit I remember new 305 Dreams at my dealers. 1400 is a great price for this assuming you can find an air can on ebay. This design was beautiful when it was new and still is. Museum of Modern art beautiful IMO/
First gear, it’s alright
Second gear, I lean right
Third gear, hang on tight
Faster (it’s alright)
A friend had one these when we were teens and wasn’t all that fast but was bullet proof
Had a step thru in the day with tank conversion to make it look like a big boy bike.
My first bike at age 14 was a 1965 Honda 65. It was so much fun! I drove it to school a few times on the access road to Loop 410 in SAN Antonio. One of my buddies had the Honda CL90, and I thought he was the coolest. My next bike was a Triumph 650 Trophy. Quite a step up! But those late 60s were really the sweet spot for Hondas. So popular and so much fun! First Gear, it’s alright…
There was a local kid who bought a 65. He babied it almost to death. I remember him commenting about the engine being rated at 10,000 rpm. “It would blow up at that speed.” With that attitude he would get it into high gear around town and it would shudder like it was going to die underneath him. I might add that his late father left him a pristine ’66 Chevy pickup with a six-cylinder/3-speed. He’d get that into high around town and it literally shook. The engine was shot at 16K miles. In 50 years as a mechanic I haven’t seen valve guides that shot…
The only time I have ever been on a motorcycle of any kind was in 1969. I drove a ’68 Honda CL 90 on Colorado’s infamous 285 from Denver to Buena Vista, 120 agonizing miles at 40 mph in a headwind, which seemed to change direction at every turn so it was always directly in my face. After that trip I’ve never really wanted to ride a motorcycle again, although I’m sure that wasn’t a representative example of the motorcycle experience.
Hi Mike, that would be a tough ride on any bike, Hy. 285 is a poorly executed road, in fact, I think Colorado has some of the worst roads and I’ve been on a couple. The wind seems to be influenced by the mountains, and unpredictable. When I moved here from Wis., that has some of the most beautiful motorcycle riding, btw, I brought my GoldWing with( in the UHaul) and I didn’t like riding here at all and sold the bike. After I got the DRZ dual sport, naturally, riding back into the hills was a gas, but getting TO the hills proved too dangerous for me, and my motorcycle days are done as well.
My first bike was a similar to this CL. Standard Honda black paint and some nice chrome. It was a cobbled together bike with a 50cc 4 speed capable of 43 mph with a tailwind… Maybe… in the summer of ’69…
I paid $75 bucks and got a stack of correspondence between the seller and the DMV. He never could get s title. I never did either. But, I rode it, my brother rode it and all the other kids that wanted to rode it. Ain’t we having fun!! My brother finally managed to destroy the transmission and it died a slow death in the garage of a friend. A few years later, I asked if it was still around. Nope, friend’s dad got sick of it sitting in his garage gathering dust and sent it to the strap yard. It wasn’t s big loss. We did have a lot of fun with it.
I bought one identical to this (except grey and black) from a small time used bike place around 68 or 69 used, for $200. Ran for one day. Never got my money back. But I did learn some valuable lessons.
Tiddler? Must be a regional thing. Never heard the term. My neighbor had a newer Vespa scooter. Me and my Harley buddies never harassed him, just smiled as he “tiddled” out of his driveway.
A couple of friends got S-90s in the summer of ‘67. At that time I had a 55 Sport. The CL-90 came out in ‘68.
I first wanted a CL-90 but before long my desires grew immensely as a ‘59 BSA 500 Sportsman came across my path. Not bad for $75. It spent a winter with the spark plug out and got stuck. Not bad as I was able to break it loose with a little persistence and a brew made up of acetone, diesel fuel and ATF. The guy I got it from was quite surprised when I rode it past him a couple of weeks later.
Went through a few bikes after that. Never had a lot of money invested but sure enjoyed them.
It’s gone – must have sold.
Thanks! I’m just now going back through everything to see if they’ve sold or not. That’s darn nice of you to beat me to it. It’s nice, in case anyone comes back to these months or years later and wonders if they sold. Unfortunately, eBay is the only place you can see the selling price.
That’s exactly why I do it – it feels like the closing chapter of a book – you now know the outcome.