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1987 Helix CN250 with 1985 CH250 Elite engine
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 I had the opportunity to buy a Honda Helix with a blown engine and decided to buy it because of its oddity factor and low price. I own several two stroke scooters but had never ridden a 4 stroke scooter for any length of time. A short ride on a 150 Elite had impressed me with its acceleration and I thought it was about time I tried out a 4 stroke. The rear bodywork was removed to replace the damaged Helix motor with an 85 Elite 250 motor. It wasn't quite a "bolt in" replacement but I managed to have it adapted after a week. I decided to take it out for a short spin before disassembling it again for the welding and some minor cosmetic work. The "short spin" evolved into a one year "spin" before I ended up finally selling it. The regular passengers still grouse about the fact that the Helix was much more comfortable than the Elite 80 or 150 I now use for ferrying passengers. Having driven a 74 Lambretta , an 84 Honda Aero 80 and a 91 Honda Elite 50 recently I thought the 250 was going to knock my socks off and establish itself as my main scooter. It didn't turn out quite that way. The suspension felt awfully soft and cornering hard seemed to reduce the ground clearance substantially. The resulting screech of metal grinding against road surface definitely made me not want to push it as hard in the corners as my other scooters. It was also awfully long which resulted in it taking up more space and being hard to maneuver in tight spots. The positive side was that those bumps and dips in the road surface that used to make my rear teeth vibrate seemed to have disappeared and the ride was incredibly "smooth" compared to the other scooters. The Helix definitely responded to a much more relaxed riding style. Its smooth acceleration kept it ahead of city traffic and its quietness (even with a muffler whose insides rattled around) led to a much more relaxing ride. The windshield also stopped a lot of bugs from entering my "personal space". It did look good parked in the driveway and its the first scooter I've owned that my neighbours have expressed interest in owning. Its a scooter that seems to appeal to a much wider variety of people; I even took my mother-in-law for a short ride. She was quite surprised and said it was perfect for my wife and I going on long trips. I did originally miss having a kickstart. Something about kick starting seems like the right way to start a two wheeled vehicle. The lack of a kick starter also necessitated having to buy a new battery as the old one just didn't keep a charge and the engine had a high enough compression that it needed to have battery with adequate "juice" to get it going. The Helix battery was $80 but I ended up buying another battery for $40 that was the same amperage although it needed a bit of rewiring to make it fit ( positive and negative terminals were reversed from the stock Helix). I got used to the electric start pretty quickly . The Helix carburetor, aircleaner assembly, muffler and rear
axle/shock holder assembly, rear wheel and drum were all bolted up
to the Elite CH250 motor. The Helix tire looks nice and fat but I
may switch over to a 4.00-10 Bridgestone as the current tires tread
only allows a moderate lean before the tread ends and the sidewall
starts. Part of the relaxed Helix riding style I guess. The shocks from the CH250 were used
and the LH shock needed an adapter at the top mount so it would fit the Honda Helix rear shock mount.
The mounting nut was removed by hacksaw and file. The mild steel
rectangular tubing was then shaped to fit the existing frame, then
bolted into place as shown below. The photo was taken before welding the
adaptor to the frame. Use of the CH250 shock decreased the amount of
room between the tire and shock but everything fits although the
rear fender needed a bit of shaving. Unlike other Honda scooters, you'll find quite a few websites with info on the Helix/CN250/Fusion and I've included a few links at the bottom of the page. The Japanese seem the most smitten with the Helix and there seem to be more than a few custom accessories from exhausts to handlebars to body parts so don't be put off by the language as just looking at the pictures can yield a lot of ideas. My other webpages with info about the CH/CN250 motor are here. I'm currently shopping for a used sportbike muffler to adapt to the Helix. The stock muffler exit pipe should stick out a bit further to the rear in my opinion. I don't want loudness like the Supertrapp mufflers on the Japanese Helixes and so I'm looking for a "takeoff"; a stock sportbike muffer someone replaced with an aftermarket "performance" system. Stock sportbikes are awfully quiet although somewhat "growlier" than the Helixes "Kerfuffler". I've bought a 34mm mikuni roundslide carburetor to fit to the Helix . I had originally hoped to mount a Honda XL250 30mm carburetor with accelerator pump. The XL250s carburetor bowl was much deeper than the stock Helixes and would have rubbed against the engine swing mount so that idea was abandoned although I still feel it could be adapted with a bit of ingenuity. I'm also thinking of a way to slightly stiffen the rear suspension. The original adjustable Helix shocks came with "pre-load" adjusters which basically was an adjustable spacer that compressed the stock spring. My thought was I'd add a spacer that equalled the Helixes "stiffest" setting to see what difference it made.
 The Helix was discontinued again after the 2007 model year. Another Helix
In March of 2009 I picked up a scruffy 1986 Helix and will start another web page once I get into it. It's in need of a lot of love with almost 50,000 km as it was used year round in all weather as a commuter. It currently doesn't run due to "electrical problems" . The body panels were replaced after an accident with chinese panels which suffered badly in a subsequent accident(both low speed spills). As well as doing a "down to frame" restoration, I'm hoping to use the remains of the chinese body panels to build a custom body with more storage, better streamlining and wider footrests. You can read some more at the "Rant page" while I get a new page started.   Helix Links
Japanese Pages can be translated by copying the web address into the Google translate page |
