Honda 1970 CT70 restoration project.

#1
I found on Craigslist,a March 1970 Honda Trail CT70. I bought it for 40 bucks thinking that if it won't run,I'll part it out and at least get some money for another project.

Here it is. Dirty and sun burnt. The engine is encrusted with 45 years worth of NM dust and old oil. The engine guard is bent.The shocks are worn out. The left cover for the alternator is smashed and missing,seat shot,handle bars bent and re welded,all wiring is dry rot as are the tires. A real fixer-upper.
The good news is that is not a spot of rust on it anywhere,good old New Mexico weather.
The bike is Ruby Red,or was at one time.

And it turns out to be an early bike,March 1970

The bike really does not have a lot of miles on it for a 45 year old bike. The spedo cable is broken,but I think it was from being pushed around more than driven. ill explain later.

I started this project with power-washing the bike. 45 years of crud was blasted off. No rust was found.
The wiring is bad,dry rot and jury-rigged by "experts"

There are parts I need to ID like this lever with a notch evolved with the rear brake foot lever.
The battery box has only a small amount of corrosion. A hidden problem will show itself soon.

I found the tank to be very clean. The air filter has turned to mush. The carb was full of foam. I cleaned out the cab and put in fresh gas. I cleaned the spark plug and found the high voltage cable was broken. I repaired it and tested for a spark. There is one.
The engine runs very well,though the carb needs to be rebuilt. No oil is burned.
The engine started up after about 30 seconds of cranking and ran very well. No smoke and after it warmed up,it idled very well. Revving the engine was fast and typical Honda. The little 70 cc engine ran perfectly.
I drained the thinner oil I used to clean out the crank case and gear box. I added a thicker oil and let the engine run for 30 minutes.
I did some checks of the electrical system and found why the bike has sat for 35 years. The Selenium Rectifier was bad and was dumping 20 volts AC into the battery and brake lights,spedo.
At idle I'm getting almost 4 volts

At high RPM I'm getting up to 20 VAC at the battery.

Because of this failure of the rectifier,the ignition switch servers no real purpose. There is a broken off key in it anyway. It has been turned by a screw driver.

I plan on upgrading to 12 volts anyway,so the harness will be trashed as well as the bad rectifier.
This will be an interesting rebuild/restore.
 
#7
Well, the bike has sat indoors for six years now. The engine runs very well, but I never had time to get the bike "Trail worthy" but will this late Winter,spring.
 
#8
I have probably almost any engine part you might need for her>. and I have a ct90 that's in a lot of pieces!! but the body is decent even still has the canteen on the side!!
 
#11
I pulled the bike out of storage and took some photos in the snow, The bike needs a lot of parts and is missing parts I need to look up on the frame to see what is missing?
The engine ran when I put it away and should still run.
Being retired on a fixed income I don't want to spend a ton of money on parts, but have it mostly original and running safely.
Left Side 70a.jpg

right Side 70j.jpg

front endg.jpg

front missing 70e.jpg

handlebarsh.jpg

right front endi.jpg

vin70d.jpg

spedo70c.jpg
 

PatrickCraik

Well-Known Member
#12
Stay away from the suspension stuff from china on ebay. I bought a set of front forks for my '93 Z50R. The bushings are junk and one of the lugs was indexed wrong. I had a hell of a time turning it around. They came from a dealer in New York. Theres a dealer in Australia selling Genuine Honda parts. Pricey but worth it
 
#16
I rolled the bike out of storage and into my garage. I wanted to strip off the badly damaged parts. The head light bucket is toast and cannot be repaired.
Both fenders are bent and missing hardware.
The right rear shock absorber is bent from a crash.
All control cable as broken / dry rot.
Seat is dry rot and torn up.
The Handle bars are so badly bent,they cannot be used again.
The front tire is dry rot
Rear is almost new
Engine skid plate support bars are bent but can be used.
Ignition switch has been jury rigged with a screw driver and needs to be replaced.
Brake switches are frozen in place
Head light switch is broken
Both hand grip levers are broken/missing.
The left crank case cover is shattered and missing.
The good news is the engine has very good compression and does run like a Honda should.
The rims are in very good shape.
I have many many questions for you experts.
********************
Front Forks are in good working order. Boots are rotted away.
front forks.jpg

Head light brackets are bent but not badly.
light brackets.jpg

Brake cable is missing. Not sure how it activates the switch.
Brake light switch is frozen.
Rear brake lever switch.jpg

Right rear shock absorber is bent.
rear shocks.jpg


Bike waiting for a new life.
bike waiting for restoration.jpg
 
#17
Here is my suggestion. As I have been gathering parts I know the costs you are about to face. You could part yours out and buy a complete runner for what you can part it out for. Or you will spend as much in parts as you will buying another one.
 
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