The Benly Touring 150 was introduced to American Honda dealers in September 1959, only one month after Honda had entered our market with the legendary Honda 50. The Benly Touring was a high-volume, low-priced refrigerator of a motorcycle. If ever a motorcycle deserved to be called an appliance, the Benly is a shining example. This is one boring classic motorcycle. It is also deserving of a very special place in tiddler history as the machine that brought modern motorcycling to an eager herd of buyers ready for back to school excitement. Has there ever been a better reason to be excited about going back to high school or college in the fall than on a brand new Honda?
Of course the Honda 50 changed everything on two wheels in America. Without it there may never have been a sandcast 750 or a naked Gold Wing, much less the highly evolved two-wheeled cars that most motorcyclists ride today. You may have forgotten this, but the 80-100cc single-cylinder tiddlers that would become so ubiquitous everywhere from every brand were still a few years away at the beginning of The Sixties. Due basically to its OHC twin-cylinder, four-stroke engine, the Benly Touring became an instant success with the step up to a real motorcycle crowd in the early Sixties. The 150 was the lowest level machine that might not scare you on a road more traveled than a country lane. This trait, combined with its modern styling, refrigerator reliability, and its low price of about $500-550 depending on the dealer, put the Benly 150 in the motorcycle history books.
The 150 had a claimed 16.5 horsepower for a top speed of 84 mph with a tiny Japanese rider going down a very steep hill! The specs may have been fudged a bit, but the Benly was light years ahead of the American and European competition at the time of its introduction. The 165-175cc, ten-horsepower H-D Super Ten, Pacer, and Scat had classic motorcycle styling along with classic piston-port two-stroke singles that drank manually mixed fuel and sputtered their unpleasant drivel out the exhaust. Harley-Davidson had not yet even discovered real suspension systems for their tiddlers, and anything interesting such as nice paint colors, a decent amount of chrome, and buckhorn handlebars were optional at extra cost! They could do an honest 60 mph. So? Most Benlys could easily top 70-75 mph. The Triumph Road Sports Tiger Cub certainly had styling and charisma out its unreliable English wazoo, but its price was lofty and its dealers and servicing were few and far between. Did I mention how often it needed that servicing? What about the BSA tiddlers? They were about as exciting as a ratty old Ford Pinto. What else was available? Allstates, Cushman Eagles, Mustangs, and Vespas were the most common. The only thing resembling a real motorcycle among this bunch was the Allstate 250 Twingle, and its styling and performance was as inviting as a vacation to Austria in the winter. Of course Yamaha and Suzuki would very soon be challenging Honda's market share with zippy, sporty two-strokes in the 125-250cc size class, but the Benly Touring was the machine with the big head start in the race off the sales floor.
Out of the thousands of CA-95 150 and CA-160 models built, there were very few variations. All models were available in the ubiquitous red, black, white, and blue, and as with most of the early Hondas, the production numbers probably followed these four colors in descending order. The Benly Touring introduced Honda's modern, pressed-steel frame styling with square-shaped fenders and lines to the youth of America. The enclosed chain guard, twin seat with passenger strap, folding rear footpegs, squarely styled tank, sixteen-inch wheels, and low angelwing handlebars were a new look to American eyes. Everybody loved the quiet, but pleasant exhaust sound, electric starter, battery lighting, and decently comfortable suspension. Even a SOHC engine with a four-speed transmission was considered exotic at that time., and with its horizontally split engine cases, it didn't even leak!
The model pictured is a 1967 CA-160. That model was produced from '66 through '69. I used this one simply because it is the best photo I have from this series. The original CA-95 was built with blackwall tires, slightly smaller knee pads on the tank, a 154cc engine, a smaller taillight, and a few other, very minor identifying elements. The mufflers were crudely welded with a seam left showing down the center of the top edge, and their sides were somewhat flat. In 1963 Honda changed the standard tires to wide whitewalls, altered the shapes of the tank pads slightly, enlarged the taillight for better visibility, and changed the mufflers to a more pleasantly rounded shape. The 161cc, twin-carb CB-160 had already been introduced in late '64, so the Benly engine was changed to this displacement in 1966. The most distinguishing trait in 1966 became the narrower whitewall tires, the new model was renamed CA-160 and the Benly name was lost in the ozone forever.
See also: The Honda Dream Chart