My first ever Honda CT70 first ever anything.

kirrbby said:

With the bike idling in neutral, hold on to the bike and push the shift lever down completely, then release it. The bike might jump a little, BUT it should not move when you release the lever if the engine is at idle speed. If it does try to move...the idle may be too fast, OR you need to adjust the clutch.

Then, give some throttle, the bike should begin to move as the rpm's increase.
Then run the bike down the road until the rpm's are as high as you are comfortable with...release the throttle so the rpm's begin to drop...then click the shift lever completely down again...into second gear...then release the shift lever smoothly and apply throttle again...run up to speed/high rmp's and repeat to shift into third.
You should be able to stop, in any gear, but if you are in too high of a gear for the speed you are traveling, the engine will not have much power, indicating that you need to downshift to a lower gear.

If you are going fast in third gear, you need to allow the bike to slow down some before shifting down into second gear...otherwise the lower(too low for your speed) gear will slow the bike...possibly skidding the rear wheel...trying to throw you over the bars...and pulling the engine rpm's way high. You'll just have to get accustomed to knowing what gear you need to be in at any given speed. Typically, if you give it the gas, and it doesn't pull well, you know that you need to downshift so you'll have power...then speed up and go back into the higher gear.

Whether you are shifting up, or down, you should release the throttle so the rpm's drop a bit before shifting, otherwise you get hard shifts(not smooth) and it's hard on the transmission and clutch.

When you get used to shifting, you can learn to use the shift lever similar to a clutch lever. From neutral, click the shifter down completely and hold it there, give some throttle to raise the rpm's, the bike shouldn't move if you hold the shifter down, then release the shifter slowly. You'll feel the clutch begin to grab as you release the shifter and the bike will begin to move.
Then maybe run the bike into second gear and high rpm's, when you shift into third, hold the shifter down again...rev the engine a couple times...then rev the engine a little before you begin to release the shifter slowly again...this is just to help you to learn how the shift lever can be used just like a clutch lever. When you get good at it, you can start pulling some sweet wheelies between 2nd and 3rd :--)

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You are very helpful, it does jump a little when I first shift it and it does when I let it go slower and upshift but not much I'm going to assume that's normal, what I'm planning on doing is taking a video of myself riding it and going through the motions and you guys can tell me how I'm doing if I'm not too much of an burden haha so anyways I'll try to get that up tomorrow night maybe tonight depending on what my schedule calls for.

Whatever ya do, don't ride like Sidewinder... b@lls to the wall & grabbin' gears like somebody was handin' out free money, LOL.

And if ya do, be sure to wear helmet & pads, maybe some tough footgear as well... my work boots still have a nasty chunk o' leather missing from the spill I took on Rim Road 300. Knee has a lifetime scar too, no additional charge...

If you're really that new to riding, remember that safety is paramount... and watch for water, oil patches, drift sand, etc., in the road, potholes, railroad tracks & angled ruts too, all that stuff can ruin your ride, best to steer clear of it.

HERE'S LUCK TO YA, I THINK I'M GONNA BUY ANOTHER BIKE ONCE I RELOCATE TO THE SOONER... MAYBE CJ HAS ONE FOR SALE, LOL.

CJ, I WANT THE TWISTER-RIDIN' VERSION, DOESN'T HAFTA BE AN IMMACULATE RESTORATION, AN UGLY RESTOMOD WILL WORK FOR INTERCEPTING THE F5 FUNNEL...

WHICH REMINDS ME, I'D BETTER UPDATE THE OL' LIFE INSURANCE POLICY...

P.S. I'll be sure to wear the fully-charged Hero Cam as I hit the F5 twister funnel at max speed in top gear... somebody might as well benefit from the footage, IF that individual can actually FIND the camera, LOL.

Goldurned Hero Cam will probably wind up on the dark side of the moon... won't be found for centuries, and even then it'll be some CLUELESS SPACE TOURIST who picks it up, 10-4??? Meh, STORY OF MY LIFE...

CJ, I WANT THE TWISTER-RIDIN' VERSION, DOESN'T HAFTA BE AN IMMACULATE RESTORATION, AN UGLY RESTOMOD WILL WORK FOR INTERCEPTING THE F5 FUNNEL...

Dont worry SW. You can ride my brothers K3 til you find one.LOL

I may take you up on that... if I don't go clear across to the Atlantic Ocean, LOL. I've been doing a lot of soul-searching lately, so I haven't fully committed yet to any one location. Hell, I even thought about ditching everything and buying a boat to live aboard up there in the Pacific Northwest, but it turns out the marinas now run background checks... my fake felony may bar me from staying, even though I'm willing to pay cash up front for a year's worth of slip fees every time, LOL. Slip fees are cheaper up there, you understand, even as a liveaboard I'd be paying less than $300 per month (not including boat insurance, which is probably also mandatory). Meh, P!$$ ON IT, I've already done the Pacific Northwest thing anyway, and it rains half the year or more on the coast. Call it sour grapes, LOL, I don't give a f#%, I can buy a 38' Morgan sloop in TX for $10K, toss a few more grand into it, and set sail for adventure... maybe a short-lived life of piracy, AYE??? I won't rob folks for their money, just their rum and BBQ material, maybe their heller chronic & daughters too, LOL. Beautiful daughters, not the fat ugly ones, unless I happen to need a sea anchor or a good supply of salt pork...

Been checking the listings in OK and NC, and there are some homes I can buy for a decent price in either state. Property taxes tend to be a bit higher in NC, unless you're in the country, whereas OK has some pretty good deals on property & taxes. I saw one cool place (newer mobile home) situated in a beautiful stand of pine trees, didn't look much different from my present home, except there were more pines and they were a wee bit shorter, LOL. Beautiful property though, and not far from town either... that's important, ya gotta be able to resupply with minimal hassle, 10-4? Ideally, one buys a home right on the outskirts of town, with rural water and sometimes even sewer available, though I'm okay with septic as long as the system is good to go. Wells are okay, though they require pumps, filters, etc., and I'm not terribly concerned with the quality of rural water, since it'd be more for bathing and doing dishes, laundry, yard work, and whatnot. I can always buy drinking water if necessary, five gallons at a time, and use the rural water for everything else. Ya never know, the rural water might be good enough to drink... probably beat that chunky Coronado tap water hands down, LOL.

But I DO appreciate the offer, CJ, and I may very well wind up in OK with our homes less than an hour apart... I've been looking at homes above and below I-40, you understand. If I go the OK route, I know I'm gonna buy a place near to one or more of those lakes, no point in NOT having some recreation on the side. I can live without the ocean, I've already determined that, but then again, some of those Inner Banks properties in NC aren't bad deals, the big question is whether the local economy is strong enough to offer employment opportunities for a guy in my situation: growing older, fake felony on my record, etc. That's important, because this area of AZ only has so much going on, much of it seasonal and the rest run by Mormons, and even that bull$h!t is seasonal, LOL. Meh, live and learn, I still had a good time here in the White Mountains, despite the knee injury, death of Jingle Belle, lack of employment, etc., and I'll keep the good memories as I move on and try my luck elsewhere. I've already made up my mind to sell, and I'm locked into a contract anyway with the scumbag realtor. Soon enough, I'll scrape that p.o.s. outta my life like dog$h!t off my friggin' boot, and good riddance.

Y'all catch the Kentucky Derby yesterday??? That was a pretty good race, with the two horses up front setting a furious pace in all that mud and slop. Better to be out front, I reckon, otherwise ya gets splattered with mud, LOL. For a moment there, it looked as if the horses in second and third might overtake "Justify"---but that jockey aboard "Justify" was an old hand (Mike Smith, I think), and he has run a $h!tload of races in his time. Sure did a good job keeping "Justify" in front, might have been a different story without all that slop on the track. I sure love watching the horses run, me dear departed mum & I used to watch all the Triple Crown races together... we'd pick horses beforehand, not for wagering purposes but just to see which horse won, LOL. Sometimes they both lagged, but there were other times when both were among the top three finishers. Always a good time, watching the Triple Crown races, I don't watch all the hoopla beforehand, I usually cut in as the horses are being walked out to the track and put in the starting gates. Me mum, she enjoyed watching all the events leading up to the big race... which was fine, considering her age.

GOTTA GO, JUST HAD A CALL FROM THE SCUMBAG REALTOR AND SOME PARTY IS COMING TO TOUR THE HOUSE MANANA... THAT'S NOT WHY I GOTTA GO, I JUST GOTTA TAKE A PHAT P!$$, LOL.

CHEERS, YOUSE KNUCKLEHAIDS!!! ER, I MEAN YOUSE MONKEYBIKING HEE-ROES & CRUSTY MINI DEMONS O' DIRT!!!

The tornado thing sounds like what I thought of doing if I had terminal cancer would be to just ride into it at full speed ahead, among numerous other things I would do before doing that.

So I have uploaded the video it will be below, maybe you guys can tell me how it sounds and anything else you might think of.

Seat needs trimming, LOL... ya know, it didn't sound bad the second time around, probably because it was warmed up by then, sounds like a strong motor at times, just needs some tweaking & tuning. Those old bikes are surely bulletproof, with a little money and elbow grease invested in your project you would have a nice little cruiser. You can probably bend that handlebar back into correct shape, and you can always buy a nicer seat later, unless ya happen to like that look, LOL. I'd start with a good overhaul, new plug, oil and filter change, new fuel filter, clean or replace the air filter, general inspection and tightening of nuts and bolts, some tinkering with the idle screw and the air screw (if it has one), check the tightness of those pipe bolts and maybe get a new crush gasket... the bike would probably sound a heckuva lot better. Honestly, there were times during the second run when the motor itself sounded pretty good. These guys will chime in shortly, they know a heckuva lot more about these bikes than I do... but you clean up that bike and it'll be fun to ride. Get that wiring done right and back where it belongs, no future in having that hang out and flail in the breeze. Oh, yeah, never run anything but premium gas in that baby, the bike will love ya for it, LOL. Otherwise, ya done good with the video... later, you'll need a mounted Hero Cam so you don't hafta hold the camera in your hand, that's a recipe for eventual disaster.

Now that I look at the video again, I guess the left handlebar isn't seated correctly, my Z50 didn't have those kinda bars, it was an ugly restomod, LOL. Meh, I gotta have the MX bars, I like a wider stance for control of the bike at speed in the dirt...

The

Sidewinder said:

Now that I look at the video again, I guess the left handlebar isn't seated correctly, my Z50 didn't have those kinda bars, it was an ugly restomod, LOL. Meh, I gotta have the MX bars, I like a wider stance for control of the bike at speed in the dirt...

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Thanks for the insight, in the video I only started the bike once and it was running like that the entire time it's just that I hit the record button mid way through driving away and stopped the recording by accident so I had to hit record again not far from where I started out.

As for the handlebar the left one is the nice straight one the right one came bent so I have to attempt to bend it back if I can haha. As for the air filter that's a new one I purchased with a PZ19 carb and put it on the carb in the video.

As for a crush gasket what exactly is that, I'm new to all this and I don't know what or where that is located haha.

Also I did get a new fuel filter with the carb I'll have to switch out for that old red one haha, also as for the oil what kind do I get, is it specifically motorcycle or is there some other kind I can get. The oil in it looks fairly new not discolored or anything old owner must have changed it before I got it. Also when checking the oil for the appropriate level do I let the bike lay on the kickstand or stand it up straight

Just got another question last one I hope, I have one of the old battery's you put distilled water into to create acid I guess I was wondering if I might be able to use it if I filled it up and was wondering if the bike Charges it while driving.

Hondasher said:

Just got another question last one I hope, I have one of the old battery's you put distilled water into to create acid I guess I was wondering if I might be able to use it if I filled it up and was wondering if the bike Charges it while driving.

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Throw it away. Get a sealed battery. They're cheap. Just convert the battery ends to fit.
Without a good battery, do not run the headlight or it will burn it out.
The 1st on position of the keyswitch is for "run" only. The 2nd is for the lights.

Hondasher said:

As for a crush gasket what exactly is that, I'm new to all this and I don't know what or where that is located haha.

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The crush gasket is located in the exhaust port in the head. Its just a round copper tubing that seals to the exhaust pipe when tightened.

Hondasher said:

Also I did get a new fuel filter with the carb I'll have to switch out for that old red one haha, also as for the oil what kind do I get, is it specifically motorcycle or is there some other kind I can get. The oil in it looks fairly new not discolored or anything old owner must have changed it before I got it. Also when checking the oil for the appropriate level do I let the bike lay on the kickstand or stand it up straight

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There are others, but Honda GN4 wet clutch and Valvoline MC wet clutch work fine. Most people use 20w50 or 10w40. DO NOT put automotive oil blends in it. The oil drain plug is located in the center of the engine on bottom. 17mm socket.
Get the bike level upright. Unscrew the dipstick, wipe it off, then set the dipstick in without screwing it back in. Pull it out and there's the oil level. It should read in the "X'd" area.

Your bike seems to be running and shifting fine...watching and listening on my cell phone. Unless YOU are seeing/hearing a problem, I'd say go ahead and ride it some. Start making a few improvements, and maybe plan to do a little maintenance...but ride it a bit and play it by ear.
Riding is the fun part, so just enjoy it for a while.
You're just on the verge of our addiction... Give it a little time, you will figure out what you want to do next.

That PO may have dumped the wrong kind of oil into the bike... I'd drain it and put in the right kind just for peace of mind, and perhaps better performance. Did I say "oil filter" last time? LOL... I'm mixing up my vehicles, now that I think about it my FrankenBike only had fuel and air filters. Meh, got a lot on my mind right now... but you'll make things right, I have faith in ya, LOL. Definitely lose the funky old battery and go with something like CJ suggested, all the little things and improvements here & there will contribute to better overall bike performance, something I learned while slowly upgrading my FrankenBike. I miss that fun little bike, you can see it in my thread in the Projects/Builds Forum... sure was a blast to ride, as you can tell from some of the pics & videos, LOL.

Well.....Slightly annoyed by my bike at the moment, it has started just about every day that I have tried until today so I thought maybe it needed more gas so I found some gas and then it seemed to start but wouldn't idle so I figured maybe the gas was bad smelled old like so I emptied it all out and it is the color of ice tea. So I cleaned out the tank the lines drained the carburetor and then added the tiny bit of good gas I found 8 oz to be exact and it still won't start. Maybe I don't have enough gas in it.

I checked the spark plug, it is black on the end but it does spark. I also did put a new fuel filter on there as well.

Kinda sounds like the idle jet is clogged.
Did you check both fuel valves? Sometimes we all forget to open the tank vent as well as the carb petcock.

Try the Reserve.

cjpayne said:

Try the Reserve.

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That's what I've been using is the reserve since it has gas in it all the time, if it is the idle jet how do I unclog it?

Its just one of the possibilities. Remove the bowl and take the small jet out. Look through it to see if there are any obstructions. Spray with carb cleaner and blow out with air.