1972 CT-70

Ten years ago I bought a wrecked CB400-F to get the engine and he threw in this 1972 CT-70 for free. It's been sitting in my storage shed ever since, patiently waiting for me to get around to it. It ran when I picked it up ten years ago so it should't be too difficult to get it running again.

It's missing a lot of parts so the first thing I have to do is collect those I need to get it functional. The kick starter is welded to the kick starter shaft so I'm guessing the splines are buggered on the shaft or the kick start lever. It doesn't have a key, but it started alright when I took it. Do they run without a good battery? I've collected a new seat and the air cleaner parts, but I'll need a lot of others to make it usable. I haven't decided if I want to leave it looking like it is, but mechanically sound, or strip it and make it showroom new.

Thanks for looking, I'm sure I'll have a lot of questions down the road.

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69ST

Well-Known Member
That looks like a very good base bike for a restoration, a true diamond-in-the-rough. Aside from some denting around the RH of the frame, where the wiring passes through, everything appears to be straight and very little is missing. The biggest cost center of a restoration project would be the chrome plating. An engine can sit for years, even decades, with no issues beyond maybe brittle oil seals...but...the lottery ticket is whether both valves were closed for the duration. If one valve was open, the top end can rust. I'll cut to the chase with this engine. That welded kickstarter is a horrible indication. The good news is that, since the cases have to be split anyway, once the weld blob is ground off, the rebuild is likely to be very straightforward. Best, educated, guess, the shift forks are worn and the cylinder may need an overbore, if you find scoring or rust pitting. Neither of those are a big deal. Shift forks and piston kits are readily available and not pricey, at all. Thus, the bad news is that you may want to throw an extra C-note at the motor...to rebuild & restore it properly, ready for the next decades. New headlight guts are easy to find. The original exhaust looks to be pretty solid; if you find rot that's isolated to the area beneath the front of the main heatshield mount, it's worth repairing the headpipe. NOS mufflers have gotten a bit pricey...a complete, new, K1 exhaust will likely cost more than the price of the parts & machine work needed to rebuild the motor.

Welcome aboard, you've got yourself a nice "barn fresh" original.
 

airblazer

Active Member
Question is, how soon do you want to ride it? That will determine what route you take - fun now or showroom piece later?
 
I'm not in any hurry. We have a motor home and I usually take a bike or two in the bed of the F150 we tow behind it. I thought this might make a nice little campground bike. I didn't get a title so I don't think its worth the effort to get a bonded title to plate it. I'd like to make it mechanically sound and to do that I have to put some new parts on it. If it doesn't look to odd with some new parts I'd like to leave the patina on it. As to the engine, I'm hoping it'll run alright. I don't like that kick starter and will definitely be taking it off. If the shaft is mangled, then I'll tear it down and replace it. Luckily it looks easy to get the engine out. I've rebuilt a 71 Honda Honda SL-100 motor and had to change one of the cases because someone had JB welded the drain plug. I ended up pulling out a chunk of the case trying to get it out. That was a nightmare because they seemed to change something on it every year it was made and it took a lot of trial and error to get the right parts on the bottom and top end. It was awhile back, but I think I ended up with mostly 1972 parts in the engine.
 

69ST

Well-Known Member
You don't really have much choice with the kickstarter assembly. There's a new shaft, arm, C-clips and oil seal in your future and you have to split the cases. That's not a bad thing, really. You'll see the condition of things like the shift forks, which are probably worn and how much dirt + sludge lurks within. You'll also learn about "the secret to longevity" with these engines: cleaning the oil spinner. Might seem like more work than you want to do but, it's really no big deal. IMHO, that welded kickstart arm is more of a blessing in disguise...forcing you to correct stuff that would otherwise result in a worn-out engine, before its time.

As for titling, search the resources of this board, i.e. "the Vermont option"...less than $100 all-in and only a few hoops to jump through.
 
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