1981 Honda NC50 express

Description

I bought this locally from a guy who got it for his daughter to ride in the mid 80s until she was ticketed for having no license. Since there are no pedals it is not considered a moped in Indiana, and we had a hyper vigilant cop in town who based his career on enforcing such things. I wanted one of these as a kid but was told “when you’re 16”, but at that point I had a small block chevelle and a Kawasaki H1, so a noped was no longer of interest.
It sat in a shed for 30+ years and remains mostly original. I scrubbed out the fuel tank as best I could, and blew out the carb jets. New battery and fuel tap installed. It will start up and run but not very well. I rode it around the block at about 10mph and realized I’m too old & fat to ride it; my purpose was simply to rescue it. Perhaps the auto choke needs attention, or reeds, crank seals, or just a thorough carb cleaning, IDK. At this point it is a distraction from other projects I must finish.
The low beam headlight does not work, nor the right turn signals. I have not looked at the bulbs. There is a rattle that comes & goes in the drive area. Otherwise it is in decent shape for the age. Fuel and oil portions of the tank remain separate, all the plastic pieces are there, 2 original keys included, clear Indiana title in my name. Tires are the Yokohama world tours which I believe they came with. They have cracks but hold air. This 1981 model has an actual Kickstarter (not wind up) and auto choke. In all it’s a pretty good example for someone interested in these.
Again it runs, but not well, and will need sorting to be ridden. Good luck bidding.