I know these are not as popular as our CT70’s but I want to share the build. After going off road this summer on my CT70 it became clear I needed something else to do that with. I stumbled across this by chance with OldCT and thought this may be it. My plans are to make this my street legal off road beater. Pat and I spent Sunday afternoon disassembling the motor. There wasn’t enough good remaining to rebuild it. I’m going to use OEM and aftermarket parts to get this running on a semi budget. For now here is what I’m starting with. I will update this thread as often as needed to keep the build current. My time frame is to be able to ride it by summer.
Too bad about the engine. But congrats on the new bike! Looks like there is some room for improvement You're the man Deoodles. I look forward to see what you do with this one.
Keep us updated. Looks like your starting out with some good bones. What did you salvage from the engine?
I managed to save the flywheel but the threads for the puller pulled out so I’m afraid to use it but would if I had no choice. The 1dn3up Honda shift drum, the shift shaft are good. the 4speed trans is different from our ct70 versions. 1 gear is missing a tooth but the rest is good, the stator plate, primary gear for the clutch, the clutch may be rebuildable. Cases are trash, the head could be rebuilt I wouldn’t use the crank I suppose I could hang on to the cyl but I don’t like collecting stuff I know I’ll never use. No stator cover and the clutch cover has a crack/dent in it so trash to me. I have some spare cases and may assemble a 108 stroker. Only missing a head and flywheel. For the XL70 I am using a 140cc piranha and will install a custom 12v full wave setup like my 124 CT70.
That's going to be one of the nicest looking beaters I have ever seen! Yes, that was the worst engine I have ever disassembled/worked on. Ray and I really wanted this motorcycle junk yard to have some CT70'S, BUT we had a better chance of finding Bigfoot!
Too bad you're so far away, I got a Lifan 140 coming out of my CL90 I'd let go cheap, that would work well in that XL. I put one of those together as my son's first dirt bike when he was about 8 (30 years ago).
Thanks, I’m a bit further ahead than that. Here is what I have collected so far. piranha 140 New front and rear spoke wheels and tires A rear swingarm from a ST90 fitted New brakes, bearings, seals, spacers for both wheels 12 v battery box Side covers A repop seat New ignition and electrical system A new Honda hi rise handlebar for a Grom new aftermarket controls and cables A nice Sl70 gas tank. It holds more gas than the XL version Aftermarket signals and tail light Chain and sprockets Oil cooler All the rubber mounts and bits and pieces Headlight and digital speedometer. Same as my 124 build. I like the 5-3/4” headlights for these bikes I still have to find a front fender, and fab an exhaust for the motor. At some point I will take the frame to a fab shop and have my list of mods done. After that powder coat the frame and then the real work begins. I continue to mock up the frame so I won’t have any surprises when assembly begins. Just a mock up shot as I fit it together
Lookin good Ray. Are the new wheels the same size and all...just a better set? Have you confirmed that the Piranha cylinder head fits thru the frame ok? It looks like a kinda narrow opening...from here.
Wheels are 16/14 front rear. Here is a picture I found on the net. It’s important because that is a 140 in there. The top end has to come off to get it in
So Kirrbby got me worrying a bit. Research said it will fit but I had to try. I had to remove the head as I expected and gave it a shot. This was something I needed to do anyway before I got the frame powder coated to make sure I didn’t have to adjust anything. Happy with the results. No modifications and a nice fit
I thought today would be a good time to update this build thread. I brought the frame to my welder this morning. The mods he will do are; weld in 2 brackets to the top of the drop down tubes. It’s for an oil cooler. He will also install a custom made plate to mount the 12v regulator. The 12v battery box will also be modded and brackets welded under the seat. The box will be bolt in. I drilled the spot welds out for the gas tank/seat mount bracket. These bikes have a “V” shape to the lines where the seat and tank meet. I’m raising that point 3/4” to straighten out the look. There will also be spacers welded to the top of the frame for the seat rubber cushions to rest on. The rear frame loop on an XL70 is slightly higher than an SL70 that means an SL70 seat won’t really fit properly the back of the seat hits the loop in the back. The fix is to heat the frame and bend it down about 1/2”. Also have a front fender mount that needed to be shortened so that’s on the list as well as adding 2 1/2” to the kickstand. I needed that to compensate for the ST90 rear swingarm and wheel setup. When I get it back I will again mock it up and make any corrections if needed then send it to be powder coated. Lots more to this build but these are just the physical mods for now.
Frame is still out. I worked on the tins and I’m done. I started out looking at CYS. Love the color but it wasn’t what I had in mind for this build. After 4 or 5 test sprays I settled on this yellow. I can’t say why. I just like how it looks. I used Rustolium Tuscan Sun over primer then shot it with eastmans 2k clear. A wet sand with 3000 wet and hand rubbed. I also needed to wind a full wave stator for the 140. I used a Honda CRF70 stator and flywheel. It’s ready for the day I get to assembly. Also got my plate so it is street legal. Really hope this meets my expectations
