Common issues and how to solve them

While Honda motorcycles are generally considered to be reliable, any bike nearing 40 years of age will face problems with general running.


Remember that your bike is your property and you are responsible for anything you choose to do to it.

With that out of the way, remember when carrying out repairs and maintenance to always be slow, careful and patient. If you are seriously unsure about anything, consult a manual, qualified mechanic, or one of many specialized forums on the internet.
However, these tasks are listed because they are relatively simple and can be a great way to explore and learn about your bike.
If there is anything you would like to add to this page please feel free to comment or email me.

Listed below are some simple issues that I know to be widespread or are bound to occur on the SS50E, or old bikes in general.

• Fuel tap and Carburettor blockages and soiling

This can be caused by a number of things. Firstly, the fuel tanks are known to rust on the inside, and while it may not cause any damage to the integrity of the tank, over time the debris from the rust can get into the fuel system.

Rust particles and other bits and bobs can start to build up in the fuel tap or inside the carburettor, blocking the pipes and running jets which in turn can cause poor running.

While I am still exploring possible ways to repair the inside of a fuel tank (a tricky job, or costly if you just get a new tank) I think this is a manageable issue and can be partially solved by inserting an inline fuel filter into the fuel line that leads from the tap to the carburettor.

Carburettor blockages can also be caused by a simple build up of fuel residue over time. This is bound to happen especially if the bike has been sitting for a long time.

Removing and dismantling the carburettor is a relatively simple job, and then you can either check the jets yourself or simply send it off for ultrasonic cleaning (around £20.)

For more information on carburettor maintenance click here. (TBC)

• Electrical issues such as poor lighting or horn output

Being a 6v system, the lighting on the SS50E is never going to be brilliant, but if you experience any issues such as flickering, fading and intermittent working, repair can be surprisingly simple.

The first place to go to is the main wiring loom in the central column of the frame. Remove the battery and check that there have been no acid spillages (you should have an overflow tube fitted anyway). Then, open the plastic sheath and have a look at wires. Check for any obvious damage such as stripped plastic, partial cuts and excessive bends.

If you want to be really hardcore, group and label the wiring (sanity optional)

The next step is to check through the bullet connectors. If you don't want to mix up the wires, do this one at a time and go through them with some wire wool and emery paper, cleaning up both the male and female connectors.
Remember to be careful when separating bullet connectors as the wire can be pulled from the connector if forced.

If this has not solved your issues you can repeat the same task at the dashboard loom. This is located by removing the headlight at the front (via a screw on the underside).

Again, take care to not stretch the bullet connectors. If a specific connection does not want to be separated, it is possible that it has been badly corroded and needs replacing - which could be the source of an issue.

It is also worth making sure all of the bullet connectors are protected in some way. If they are missing the original rubber sheathing you can opt to use insulating tape or invest in some new sheaths.

For more information on wiring and electrics, click here. (TBC)

More will be added to this page in the future.

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SS50E: Essential Tools

 "There is no substitute for the correct tool"

One of the most important tools is a flywheel puller. It removes the Magneto housing in the way the manufacturer intended. If you wish to do heavy maintenance or want to get to the bottom of electrical issues this tool is a must.

27mm x 1.0mm Left hand thread

There are many other ways to do this but most methods are potentially damaging to the crankshaft and housing itself; which is made from soft metal and is easy to mark.
The good news is that this tool is relatively easy to find. I purchased mine for £7.95 from startright.co.uk. Make sure it has a left-hand thread.

If you are lucky you will still have  the bike's original toolkit stored away in the right-hand side compartment. (Mine has long since been mixed up with the rest of the toolbox.)
However, if you want to recreate this toolset for on-the-go usage, the contents are as follows:

• 14*10 mm double open end wrench - general use
• 9 mm wrench - tappet adjusting luck nuts
• General use pliers
• Spark plug wrench (including handle bar)
• 0.05 mm thickness gauge - tappet clearance 
• No. 2 flat head screwdriver attachment - general use
• No. 2 cross head screwdriver attachment - general use
• No. 3 cross head screwdriver attachment - general use
• Screwdriver handle (for the different attachments listed above)
• 3 mm socket wrench - tappet adjustment

 The case also has space for a spare battery fuse and touch up paint (if you are the kind of person that likes to fix paintwork while out and about), intended to be supplied seperately.
On the SS50E manual page there is a scan of the toolkit pages.

Other necessary and recommended general maintenance tools include:

• Multi-attachment socket set (a good one can cost about £30-£50)
• Feeler gauges for measuring spark plug gaps, contact point gaps and other small measurements (£5-£10)
• adjustable wrenches
• screwdrivers, flat and cross of small to medium size
• pliers, clamps
• emery paper of various grades, wire wool of various grades, for keeping electrical connectors in good condition.
• lubricants such as grease, multi-purpose oil and WD-40

It is also useful to keep a selection of washers, screws, nuts and bolts of various compatible sizes.

For heavier maintenance and restoration tools see the section on restoration (TBC).

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Honda SS50E - Diagrams

Dutch website CMSNL.com has many great diagrams of just about every mechanism on the Honda SS50E, and many other bikes. You can find these here.



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Honda SS50E - Technical Specifications

The Honda SS50E was manufactured from 1967 to 1971 (est.)
It is my understanding that the name stands for Super Sport 50 Export (but could possibly also stand for Europe or England).

Dimensions
                                 
Overall Length                        1,790 mm (70.5 in.)
Overall Width                             610 mm (24.0 in.)
Overall Height                            925 mm (36.4 in.)
Wheelbase                               1,175 mm (46.3 in.)
Ground Clearance                      135 mm (5.3 in.)
Curb Weight                                 74 kg (163 lbs.)

Frame

Suspension (F)                         Telescopic Fork
Suspension (R)                         Swinging Arm
Brake (F)                                  Internal Expansion
Brake (R)                                 Internal Expansion
Fuel Tank Capacity                  6.5 litres (1.7 US Gallon, 1.4 Imperial Gallon)
Trail                                         70 mm (2.75 in.)
Caster                                      64 degrees
Tire Size (F)                            2.50-17 (4PR)
Tire Size (R)                            2.50-17 (4PR)


Engine

Cylinder Layout                       Single, 80 degrees inclined from vertical
Valve Arrangement                  Overhead Camshaft
Bore and Stroke                       39*41.4 mm (1.535*1630 in.)
Compression Ratio                  8.8 : 1
Displacement                           49cc (30 cubic inches)
Carburettor                              One, piston valve type
Oil Capacity                            0.7 litres (1.5 US pint, 1.2 imperial pint)
Lubrication                              Forced and wet sump
Oil Pump                                 Trochoid
Oil Strainer                              Centrifugal and filtering mesh
Reduction Ratio:
    Primary                                4.313
    Secondary                           3.154
Gear Ratios:
1st                                           2.692
2nd                                          1.824
3rd                                           1.300
4th                                           0.958

SS50E engine.

Electrical


Ignition                                 Flywheel Magneto
Battery                                  6V-4AH
Spark Plug                            NGK C-7HS
Headlight                              6V-15W
Tail-light                               6V-5W
Stop Light                             6V-18W
Turn Signals                          6V-18W

The inside of an SS50E magneto - with the contact points removed.

Performance

Maximum Speed                               50 mp/h (80 km/h)
Fuel Consumption                             282 miles/imperial gallon at 19 mp/h
                                                         (235 miles/US Gallon,100 km/litre at 30 kp/h)
Climbing Ability                                16 degrees
Minimum Turning Radius                 1,900 mm (74.8 in.)
Braking Distance                               21.3 feet at 22 mp/h (6.5m at 35 kp/h)
Maximum Output                              5.2 PS, 10,200 rpm
Maximum Torque                              2.8 ft. lbs. (0.385 kg-m) at 8,500 rpm

All figures taken from manual. Performance figures variable depending on condition of motorbike.

Serial Number Locations

The frame serial number is located underneath the battery compartment on the left hand side.

The engine serial number is located on the left hand side underneath the gear sprocket, adjacent to the left hand footrest.

Be sure to keep a record of your serial numbers.

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The Honda SS50E - an introduction and short history

SS50E Brochure, image via Steve's Homepage

The Honda SS50E was a sports moped constructed by Honda from approximately 1967^[1] to 1971^[2]. It succeeded the S50, which was manufactured in the early to mid 60s.

Honda S50, image via cmsnl.com

By appearance, the SS50E retained the brightly coloured, chrome-heavy styling that was common for that era, but as the decade came to a close, the design was starting to modernise slightly with more sporty, serious, and you could say, blander looks.

SS50E, S50, Cub 50.
Note the Cub 50-esque front end of the S50, including the forks, and the more flared mudguards.
The SS50E does away with this for a bare chested look - more visible front shocks and less flamboyance in the mudguards and bodywork.
images via flickr, classic-motorbikes.net, motorbikespecs.net

The SS50E took many design cues from more powerful early-to-mid 1960s Honda Tourers and Sport models, such as the 305CC "Super Hawk" CB77 ('61-'67) and the CA77 ('63-'69)

'67 CB77. image via wikipedia

By nature, being 50CC, the SS50E was intended as an entry level motorcycle, targeted at the young enthusiast who would have been attracted to its stronger looks. In essence, it was the male to the female of the ubiquitous Cub 50 - perhaps THE geared moped - replacing plastic for chrome, baskets for pillion-size seats.

Honda Cub 50 versus Honda S50.
Bonnet versus Coca-Cola.
This clever advert defines the philosophy of the moped and the sports moped.
image via Steve's Homepage

Although the Cub 50 eventually conquered all (and still does), the SS50E enjoyed healthy competition from elsewhere in Japan, with contemporaries such as the Suzuki AS50 "Maverick" (possibly '68-'70) and the later, creatively named, Yamaha SS50 ('71-'72).

Suzuki AS50, image via taberd75.com (vietnamese)

Ultimately, the SS50E was short lived. In 1971, the "Sixteener"^[3] legislation in Britain raised motorcycle minimum age to seventeen and left mopeds accessible at 16^[4]. Honda was already on the case in 1970 with the SS50, probably the replacement for the SS50E (which may have ended production in 1970). Yamaha followed by updating it's SS50 to the FS1E "Fizzy", and Suzuki trundled in later on with the AP50.

SS50, FS1E, AP50. Coming to a Seventies schoolyard near you.
images via classic-motorbikes.net

The three bikes, which spawned many other competitors, seemed to compete throughout the 70s as the premier mopeds of the age for the younger generation. By colloquial consensus, the FS1E seemed to be the most popular and widely spread, the SS50 was the more reliable, and the AP50 the faster.

Not if you're wearing that.
image via planet.nl

While the "Moped Wars" of the 1970s can be considered an important part of social riding history and motorbike influence for many generations, where does this leave our subject, the SS50E?

Arguably it was a cornerstone bike, shorter lived and less popular than its predecessors and successors, but undoubtedly contributed to the rise of the sports moped.

In modern times the SS50E is an elusive creature. While popular in Asia as the "Honda 67"^[5] (as many low capacity bikes are), in Europe the SS50E is rarely sighted. Information, Parts and Advice is scarce, and while the bike shares a lot with other 50cc platforms of that era, one is always cautious of assuming compatibility.

The ravages of time: an SS50E in the present day, sporting some questionable shoes.
image via caferacer.net

Nonetheless, despite the scarcity of the model, the aim of this site is to collect, produce and provide information on the SS50E in the hopes that more will come out of the woodwork (or garages) across the globe. A cornerstone it may have been, but in its own right a respectable motorbike worthy of interest.

My mother's 1969 SS50E, upon emergence from the garage three years ago.
The start of a bolt-shearing, finger-cutting, wire-wool-splintering relationship.
image via my flickr stream

Notes:
[1] All signs I can find point to 1967 as the earliest date for manufacture.
[2] http://www.bikepics.com/honda/ss50/71/pics.asp
[3] http://motorbike-search-engine.co.uk/classic_bikes/yamaha-ss50.php
[4] http://thames-valley-region.mag-uk.org/Pages/legisla_chronology_of_motorcycles.htm
[5] http://www.honda67vn.com/forum/forum.php, http://honda-67.com/ (rarely works)


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