Late K0?

I recently bought a red CT70 K0 from CHP. The frame# is 276787 and the engine# is 224729, with a mfg date of 7/71. Am I correct that this was among the last of the K0's made? I think Polson's book says that production of K1's started in 8/71.

K0 VINs went up to ~285xxx so, yes, it's a very late K0...probably within the last month of production. Not so sure about the engine SN, they're usually within about 500, or so. It's still a K0 motor.

TexasJJB said:

I recently bought a red CT70 K0 from CHP. The frame# is 276787 and the engine# is 224729, with a mfg date of 7/71. Am I correct that this was among the last of the K0's made? I think Polson's book says that production of K1's started in 8/71.

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The frame and engine on my 1/71 K0 are 243737 and 243668, so your frame is late K0 for sure. The engine is several months younger from 1970 and most likely belonged to a frame with a closer VIN.

racerx said:

K0 VINs went up to ~285xxx so, yes, it's a very late K0...probably within the last month of production. Not so sure about the engine SN, they're usually within about 500, or so. It's still a K0 motor.

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286445 is the highest K0 number I’ve seen.

I have the same thing, I just bought what someone said was a 72 CT70, it's just the frame, VIN: 283917, built in 08/71. I believe the K0 all have 6 digits and the K1 and up have 7 digits in the VIN, correct? Does that mean it's a K0? I really like the look of the front bucket with the speedometer in it, so that's what I'm hoping haha.

That's a K0, one of the last manufactured. K0 VINs never reached 29xxxx and K1 production began in 09/71.

racerx said:

That's a K0, one of the last manufactured. K0 VINs never reached 29xxxx and K1 production began in 09/71.

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Thanks RacerX! Now I can start the part searching accordingly!

Guys,
My bike is a mix. It's vin has 7 digits like a K1 and the production date is 8/71. It has KO forks and came with the speedo in the headlight, but the handle bar holder was the two piece like the K1. As far as I can tell the forks had never been removed from the bike. I attached a picture of how I purchased it. The headlight bucket with speedo was still on it but broken when I got it. I am assuming I have a very early K1 with left over parts from the KO's. The first 4 numbers of my vin are 2001

Carlo C.

I’m pretty sure it’s a k-1 someone installed k-0 forks on….a lot can happen in 50+ years.. good thing is the color matches..

Robert,
I guess you could be right as I got it like you see it in the picture well over 10 years ago. It sat in my shed for years while every now and then I would collect some parts and put in a bin for it. I just recently finally got it out to see what parts I had and what it still needed to build it back into a running bike. It will be finished very soon so I can go riding with one of my buddy's who purchased a new Grom. The color on the forks not only matched the frame exactly the patina was about the same and I could tell that the forks had been on it a long time. It really does not matter to me as everything got stripped to the bare metal and it is at the paint shop as we speak. It will be more of a resto mod then original, but at least it was saved from becoming scrap metal. I am now assuming it must be a really early K1 with the 8/71 manufacturing date.

Carlo C.

just know it would ride better with the correct k-1 fork setup but all the parts needed would be expensive being the head light ears are hard to find in good condition as well as fork tubes…I personally like the looks of the k-0 forks better..also there’s a chain guard that you might want to have painted with your frame ? k-0 and k-1’s both came in the candy red that’s why they matched so well..

The bike was probably wrecked and the forks were bent, The K0 forks were handy at the time?

I bought the '71 K0 shown below from a friend in '08, and put it so far on the back burner that it fell behind the stove... About 10 years ago I put a Chinese 107 engine in it, along with a disc brake front fork setup, and then parked it...again. I dragged it out of storage a couple of months ago, to make it a "street legal" neighborhood rider.
After reading Carlo's post above about it being a mix, I gave mine a closer look and mine is a hybrid as well. It has a build date of 7-71 on the neck, and is a 6-digit VIN. I want to say that the original forks/bars on it are from a '71 HKO, it has the round speedo separate from the headlight. It also has the HKO taillight assembly, not real sure what year the seat is from.

Have another cup of coffee dirtbkr, that's a K1 taillight assembly all day long.

Thanks, Pat, phat phingers here due to the time change....