Stew's CT70 Thread

[MICRider]

I finally got my old CT loaded up on my pa's Sonoma and it's headed for town. They're trying to clean up the acreage to sell it, so I figured I had best get it out of there before it ends up in the town dump . In my youthful memory the bike was in a bit better shape than it is now. I have no doubt it's repairable though and it should make for a good project. I think the manufacturers date is 6/71, guessing that would make it a 72 model? I think it's going to take some time and $$$ to undo what time (and my big hammered repairs!) have done to it. Lol, wish me luck on getting an old friend back on the road



P.S. I just folded the bars down so that they wouldn't get bent in transport, looks a little goofy I know...
Edit: Looks like it's actually a 1971 CT70KO model. Thank's for the id link Jim

[Weldangrind]

A new project! Yaaaaay!

I'll be watching closely.

[MICRider]

I'll post a bunch of pictures once I get it unloaded in the garage. I had left her in a partially disassembled state about... Oh, 25 or so years ago? I think I found most of the parts though... Think I'm missing a bunch of fasteners so I'll be sourcing some new ones. Some of the "extra" bits in the box are from a dead XR75. I think my biggest hurdle will be fixing the electrical. Pretty sure that's what was wrong with it all those years ago, then I made it worse with my good intentioned repair efforts . I'd like to replace the whole electrical system and convert her to CDI and 12 volt if I can. I don't want to fart around with 6 volt systems and points if I can avoid it. I'll have to look back at Kato and Jim's threads on the 70's and see if I can find some links to parts sources, save me hunting them down myself . I see some ebay hunting in my future....

[MICRider]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

A new project! Yaaaaay!

I'll be watching closely.

Hi W&G, I remember you mentioning a 125 china motor for these before, is this the one you were referring to?
http://cgi.ebay.ca/SEMI-AUTO-LIFAN-1...#ht_5341wt_905

[makenzie71]

That doesn't look bad at all. If you get all your parts together before you start then the CT is simple enough you can completely restore one in a couple days, including paint.

That's why I like them.

[MICRider]

The CT is safely in town now and tucked away in the garage. Since I know everyone likes pictures (even scary ones!) here's a few more.

Standing up with bars up and seat on.


Back view, I don't think I ever had the taillight lens for it.


Another back side view.


Left side front view... Not sure if I ever had the rest of the headlight, I can't remember now .


A very badly damaged flywheel cover. I think it was like this when I got it... At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it!


Speedo view... Looks like it only had just over 7000 miles on it. Looks like the cables are shot as well.


One more pic, case is messed up above the flywheel because I wedged a screwdriver behind the flywheel to hold it so I could undo the crankshaft nut. Bad part is that if I recall the TDC line up thing for points and valves was on this part of the case... Hey, I was only 12 :roll:


So, my dilemma would be, do I try to fix the stock motor (also has a new piston and rings that I did when I was 12... Your guess to the quality of the work is as good as mine! Or, do I just swap in another motor (like the 125?) and go from there. I guess if I went that route I could always rebuild the old engine at my leisure and put it back in later? Looks like I set a record for sharktoothed sprockets to, another thing to add to the list! I have to get a new rear axle and spacers as well. Seems someone mushroomed the old one! Lol Open to suggestions and ideas, it doesn't have to be perfect I just want it running again. Thanks guys!

[Weldangrind]

Originally Posted by MICRider

Hi W&G, I remember you mentioning a 125 china motor for these before, is this the one you were referring to?
http://cgi.ebay.ca/SEMI-AUTO-LIFAN-1...#ht_5341wt_905

That's one way to go. Do you want a semi-auto? You could choose one with a clutch if you prefer. My vote is for a China motor for now, allowing you to carefully rebuild the stocker as time permits. You'd probably save some money if you found a 125 China bike on CL; you could confirm that it runs and then swap the engine and all electrics over.

[makenzie71]

I say skip all the hassle and do this:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LIFAN...Q5fAccessories

Considering the work you'll put into making that motor work right, $250 is pretty fair. Plus, there's a following out there that'll buy your old CT engine for a more than fair amount to restore an all-original engine.

New wiring, motor, control, etc...plus it's a manual clutch (good for me, others may not agree).

[MICRider]

Lol! You guys are making my decision easy! I'm leaning towards repowering it with a 125 right now. I have to do some homework on the conversion though... Like the rest of the wiring . I definitely wouldn't miss the points and 6 volt system! I much prefer a modern CDI for reliability. Sure is nice to have the old girl back though, it was my second bike but my first was a joke that I hardly got to ride so I class this one as my first. My uncle bought it brand new in Calgary and used to ride it around my grandparents lake lot until he sold it to me. This old CT pretty much kept me sane living in the sticks with no internet and only 3 tv channels

[makenzie71]

I'd just skip the rest of the wiring. Run your ignition kill through the key and that's it. If you want lights, run them on different relayed circuits.

If you go with a different motor get rid of all of the stock wiring.

[Jim]

This is a good site for parts I think but I haven't purchased anything from them yet http://hondaminitrail.com/ct70.html



This is good for model id http://www.hondatrail70.com/ct70id.htm It looks like a ct70 k0?

[MICRider]

Originally Posted by Jim

This is a good site for parts I think but I haven't purchased anything from them yet http://hondaminitrail.com/ct70.html



This is good for model id http://www.hondatrail70.com/ct70id.htm It looks like a ct70 k0?

Great links, thanks Jim! Yup, I think your right on the designation, mine has to be a KO. I can see I'll be making up a list of part's I need. The prices seem very reasonable too. It's too bad I left it partially torn apart, still fixable but now I have to scrounge up some miscellaneous pieces that I can't find.

[MICRider]

Originally Posted by Weldangrind

That's one way to go. Do you want a semi-auto? You could choose one with a clutch if you prefer. My vote is for a China motor for now, allowing you to carefully rebuild the stocker as time permits. You'd probably save some money if you found a 125 China bike on CL; you could confirm that it runs and then swap the engine and all electrics over.

I really like this idea! Unfortunately Edmonton's craigslist is seriously lacking in the motorcycle department, not many listed and no chinabikes that I've seen. I wonder if it would be cost effective to buy a GIO 125 and swap the motor and electrics from it?

[Weldangrind]

CTV, CBC and ITV. I remember those days. On Christmas morning, the Queen was on all three channels.

It might be more cost effective to buy an entire Gio bike, vs. just the motor. Perhaps you could sell the rolling chassis on CL and recover some of your money.

[MICRider]

After checking out a few mini-trail sites I think I've decided to try to repair the engine I have. Parts are plentiful on ebay and vendor sites so I don't think it will be too hard to source them out... Expensive maybe, but not too hard. I want to keep the character of the bike the same, and I think repowering it would alter that too much. So, we will see how this all unfolds