Finished project - 1976ish Honda CT70 with Lifan 140cc Pitbike

Bandit Bill

Bandit Bill

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I've been working on a 1976ish Honda CT70 based project on and off the past year and a bit in my living room(!). One of the joy's of being single, i'd say.

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This morning, I finally finished her off. She was re-engined with a Lifan 140cc motor, and lots of aftermarket chinese bits.

This morning i rolled it out of my living room and into the light of day. Added go-juice, a few prods at the kick-start, and it fired right up. Now, this was no mean feat - I've got bilateral AVN of the hips, requiring hip replacement very soon, and that motor seems to have more compression than i remember my old Yamaha XT500 had, back in the day.. but it did start, and i even got a hooligan ride out of her around the neighborhood.

[video=youtube;JkjllRCYx4k]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkjllRCYx4k[/video]

It'll be the first and last ride, however, until i get this physical health issue taken care of over the winter. I've already salted her away in the garage - and with the new addition, space is REALLY becoming an issue - I think it's time to move again, i've out-grown the garage i think. This is why my living room was my 'project shed'.

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I've got a second '76 Honda CT70 project to build up, buried in there - maybe this winter's project, maybe next summer's.. we'll see how it all goes.

The full project thread can be found at http://lilhonda.com/webboard/f14/bandit-bills-little-collection-horrors-8841/
 
Hey! I see a Honda C70 in blue in there. I loved that bike! 3 speed semi-automatic, and not too smooth to shift. It gets absolutely fantastic gas mileage.

That CT70 looks great and fun to ride. Is AVN avascular necrosis? I hope you can get that fixed.
 
TorontoBoy said:
Hey! I see a Honda C70 in blue in there. I loved that bike! 3 speed semi-automatic, and not too smooth to shift. It gets absolutely fantastic gas mileage.

That CT70 looks great and fun to ride. Is AVN avascular necrosis? I hope you can get that fixed.
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Yup, you got it - a 1981 C70 in good running shape, if mildly challenged cosmetically - you'd look that way too if you were left in a barn unloved for a number of years. I had an earlier version of it (C65) many years ago as my 'first wheels', so it's a relatively recent nostalgic acquisition of sorts for me.

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AVN is avascular necrosis, yes - the consequence of inappropriate prescribing of prednisone steroids. My 80's appear to have come early in my 40's. I too hope it gets fixed - it's great to have the sidecar rig and all before all this became a health issue, but it's still an effed up health situation for someone used to being active.
 
motomike said:
Can you register this bike for the street?
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If i went through the steps of obtaining the long-lost ownership, yes. CT70's were street legal with an assigned VIN. As it sits now, i've not provisioned it for turn signals, horn, or mirrors, so not without those additions to the electrical system plus mirrors. For my purposes, this CT70 was intended as a pit-bike/play-bike only, from the get-go.

I'm planning on a hop-up of the C70 Passport to a 120cc Lifan motor ( http://dratv.stores.yahoo.net/120cceengine.html ), and i've got the ownership for that one - the project aim for that one over the winter, is to build up a Hyper-Passport with 12volt electrics (the stock 6volt electrics are rubbish) for in-town use, come next summer. Should be fun with that stock drum brake .. :D

The second '76 CT70 will likely sit for a little while longer, while i decide just how stock that project will be, to original Honda.

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Post is cloned several posts from ADVRider scoots thread.. sue me, i'm lazy.

The already full garage, just got fuller.. even with the Bling Ct70 moved into the living room for the winter a little earlier than expected.

I dragged home two more last night, C70 Passports this time around, as a package deal.

One was a 1981 C70 parts bike with 27,000 km's showing on the clock - it has everything on it that i need to fix, what i'm not happy about with the Baby Bloo '81 that i've been having fun with since the spring. That parts bike was stripped down, and disposed of for room - the overall rot was just a little too far advanced on the frame, for it to be restored.

The second, is what i was really looking for - a 1982 Passport with the CDI ignition, the 12volt electrics, and in Canary Yellow. Yay. It needs a light restoration. Last registered in 1986 it got buried in the back of a barn for the next 24 years and forgotten - coincidently the same year that i had started riding on a $50.00 1966 Honda C65 Cub. It needs a little TLC, an exhaust, and a pair of new shoes, but i did hear it run. This one is destined for the street, next summer.

A picture flood of the new '82 Passport addition:

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Ridden 3 seasons, 3108 km's total, then parked for 24 years. What a waste..

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Last Registered in 1986. Apparently parked that same year, when the original owner sold it to his brother in law on a promise to pay. He never picked it up.

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Came with OEM front basket, and a 'barn-door' plexiglass windscreen. I bet that sucker reduced the top speed by 10 km/h.

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The '81 Passport can be seen outside in the rain.. i have since put it back in the garage. It was outside while i stripped down the '81 parts bike, so i could evaluate what parts were needed and which ones were passed on to someone else in need of C70 parts.

The Bling CT70 can just be seen behind the couch in it's storage spot for the winter.

Yeah, i'm a fan of Honda.. i wonder what gave me away?
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The exhaust looks good from a side view shot, but the back side has more holes than all the Swiss cheese in Switzerland.. a good example of why it's a good idea to fog up an exhaust with oil before storage, and occasionally thereafter for the duration.

Not sure what i'm going to do with either the '81, or '82 Passports. The '82 is destined for the street - the '81, i'm thinking that'll be going on Ebay to farkle it up with some Asian aftermarket bits over the winter, as well as fully repair the lighting electrical system. Time will tell. Until i make up my mind, i'm likely not doing much with either.
 
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First mod on the '82 Honda C70 Passport - a new exhaust to replace the OEM rotter. I could have gone OEM again, but, i decided to do something different as my '81 Passport is already setup as stock with a new OEM muffler.

I sourced this from Fast Trails Performance in Kleinberg Ontario, a local firm. It was a purchase made on a gamble that it'd be an adaptable fit - it looks like i gambled right.

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It requires elimination of the rear foot peg (big whoop – who in their right mind would slow it down further with a passenger?!?) and it’ll require a slight trim of the lower edge of the leg-shield to clear the header bend, but other than that, basically bolt on and go. I haven’t finalized the fitting yet, but as can be seen, is the way it fits.

I think this is the first step towards up-rating the motor in this Passport - whether that will be an overbore stock motor, or an aftermarket Chinese, i'm not sure as of yet.
 
No pictures this time - but i've been working steadily on the 'yella '82. The exhaust is now totally installed, and i have started repainting a few things on the bike - starting with the rusty windshield stanctions. With those color matched and painted up, that mounted barn-door windshield looks pretty darn good. The exhaust is comparatively loud, but not obnoxiously so. It sounds like a step-through with authority now. I've already done a few circuits around the neighborhood (private roadways), once i'd spent about 8 hrs cleaning out the gas tank and replacing the fuel lines.

I need to bring the '81 Passport back into the living room next, to replace the parts needing fixing, from the '81 parts bike that i stripped down.

STARSHIP said:
Where do you find these bikes, would love to find a Honda S90 or an SS 50
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So far, everything that's fallen into my grubby little hands, i've pretty much gotten by crawling the kijiji.ca adverts and throwing out the geographic search option wide. This is the wrong time of the season to be passively searching for bikes for sale - the yellow '82 was gained by a WTB advert specifically asking for an '82-84 project. I got three responses in the 24 hours that i allowed the advert to run, and i followed up on two of the three respondants. In the spring and summer, the ads appear much more frequently - but some of the asking prices also get stupid, and you've got to be willing to drop everything and travel to get them at short notice.

Another good source for small Honda projects would be to go to the CVMG based swap meets - one in June at the CVMG annual rally in June, and another swap meet in the fall, in Milton.

I'm looking at another one tomorrow morning - from the second respondant to my advertisement - an '83 or '84 Honda Passport. Based upon what i know about it, it might be just a parts donor - as it has sat for a good long while neglected, and without an ownership.

If i do get it, it'll have to sit for a little bit longer yet. I've got one more CT70 Minitrail to build, as well as finish up the '82 Passport refurbishment over the winter. Once these projects are out of the way, i'd then like to take my skills one step further, and try my hand at building up a 'Honda Solo', an Asian-only market 50cc Brat style bike, an SS50 derivative, or perhaps find an S65 in need of an engine and TLC.

These small Hondas are like a crack addiction, and i'm craving harsh. I'd also like to get either a CT90, or an ST90, or both!
 
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Bandit Bill said:
If i went through the steps of obtaining the long-lost ownership, yes. CT70's were street legal with an assigned VIN. As it sits now, i've not provisioned it for turn signals, horn, or mirrors, so not without those additions to the electrical system plus mirrors.

I'm pretty sure you could register this bike if you got a safety and then swore an afidavit about its origins. I have a similar situation with a basket case I have been restoring. MTO gave me an afidavit form and told me to write out the story and swear to it at their counter, when it comes time for plates.
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I have had a 80 CT70 with a chinese 110 engine as a pit bike since 05. After much fooking about trying to figure out to wire a CDI ignition to it with no harness/map its been running like a champ ever since. Will hit 100kph on flat ground with my large arse on it (way faster than should be attempted with dicey tires and brakes). A couple years ago I mounted a speedo and its 1400km so far half of them was the kids beating the hell out of it.
Great fun and good little engines, Starts in a kick or two and uses no oil.
 
kneedragger88 said:
I have had a 80 CT70 with a chinese 110 engine as a pit bike since 05. After much fooking about trying to figure out to wire a CDI ignition to it with no harness/map its been running like a champ ever since. Will hit 100kph on flat ground with my large arse on it (way faster than should be attempted with dicey tires and brakes). A couple years ago I mounted a speedo and its 1400km so far half of them was the kids beating the hell out of it.
Great fun and good little engines, Starts in a kick or two and uses no oil.
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GOOD GOD MAN! How do you stop it; a boulder on a rope?!
 
Hey Bill, great write-up!

I started on a bike like this and used to dream of upgrading to the CT70!

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For the '82 Honda Passport, I've finished 'Stage 1' - which was to convert the stock North American market Passport to more of an ASEAN market version. This involved replacing the stock bench saddle with a solo seat, replacing the rear small rack with a larger rack, mounting chrome turn-signal assemblies in place of the stock oogly plastic DOT compliant bits, a stainless-steel chainguard for the bling factor, and modifying the rear tail-light assembly to remove the turn-signal stalks. I also replaced the rear swingarm, as the original had extensive surface rust, and i wanted a swingarm without the buddy peg mounts, and mounted a new aftermarket middle fairing rack.

Stage 2 - electrics, and Stage 3 - tires and certification for the road will need to wait until i am again healthy enough to do that work - 4 or so months on down the road. At least i've got some eye-candy in the man-cave to eyeball over the winter now - but I've simply run out of time right now to do anything further.

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Nice work, seems like you are the 'Yoda' of small hondas....
I just picked up a '67 s65 and was wondering where to look for manuals and parts etc.,...anything to help me with this project.
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stevie t said:
Nice work, seems like you are the 'Yoda' of small hondas....
I just picked up a '67 s65 and was wondering where to look for manuals and parts etc.,...anything to help me with this project.
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That looks like it is in quite good shape, coming out of storage.

Apparently one of the better sources for parts for the S65 series is the firm below - unfortunately, the bikes based upon the Honda 63cc motor is a bit of a short-run orphan as compared to the other small Hondas - it was a bored up 50cc motor, and the forerunner to the 70's and 90's.

http://www.davidsilverspares.co.uk/S65/
 
Current small video of my three small Hondas on the driveway. Sorry for the jerkyness of the video - trying to video and walking with a gimpy leg at the same time generally has poor results :(

[video=youtube;H4H2ePL7Zg8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4H2ePL7Zg8[/video]
 
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