1971 Honda CL70 restoration

Rangerscott · 01-28-2011, 01:57 AM

I thought I posted this here but I guess I never did. Started on this back in May '09. Worked on it till August or so. Hell I can't even remember. Doesn't seem that long ago and it doesnt look like it's been sitting that long (outside).

Anyways, I've decided to give it another try on getting the engine to work. If it doesn't then I'll just get a bigger chinese engine.

I'm just going to copy and paste from another forum. (I posted each post form another forum but here they get put together on here so my sentences might not makes since.)

I picked these up back in August and I think I'm gonna start workin on them this weekend.

Honda CL70

Good: Well it is there. LOL A lot more stuff on ebay for them. Found some websites that sell parts, tires and modified engines. Already bought new carb.

Bad: I hope the forks aren't rusted up. Needs new cables, pretty much anything made of rubber (ex: gas tank pads, tires), needs chain, some wires need to be redone, needs battery, engine condition unknown.

Yamaha YG1

Good: I can feel the piston move with the kick start. Clutch cable works.

Bad: Pretty much the same as the Honda. This is why you dont leave things out in the open. Bent handle bar

The Honda is a 4 stroke and the Yammy is a 2 stroke with oiler. I plan on working on the Honda first cause my other bike is a Honda. LOL I want to have at least one engine running in a month.

I have to clear out some stuff in the garage like tires and a cherry picker. Those seem to take up a lot of space.

2:

Well this is what I got done today. Not much but I know what I need to order for now. Even though the fork boots pretty much fell off and there was a ton of oil/dirt, the tubes look good.

She's so dirty.

Rangerscott · 01-28-2011, 02:00 AM

Clean that dirty girl.

More dirt.

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1qnX...e=channel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clzKe...e=channel_page

Bought a battery, gas tank rubbers, petcock, coil & spark plug cap, and seals for the engine.

If the engine turns up bad I'll just order a performance sleeve and head or maybe even one of those Lifan engines.

I did find out the frame and engine are Cl70K2 models.

Showing the valves moving.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4654U...e=channel_page

Got the petcock, seals, gas tank rubbers, and spark plug cap. No battery or coil. I'm just gonna see if it'll start without power. Im sure it will.

Still dont know how the petcock installs.

Old petcock

New petcock

Well she doesnt run well and I'm still waiting on the battery and coil. Probably gonna have to find a new spark plug on the internet.

I have video but it plays too fast for some reason.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZL2b...e=channel_page

Rangerscott · 01-28-2011, 02:03 AM

Still no vid. I was sick all last weekend and the work week kept me worn out. I did get a vid but when I was editing it the program froze and I lost the file so I'll get another vid.

I got another problem now. The carb is leaking fuel out the bottom of the bowl. Its a vent and the tube inside goes way up so the think is just filling up with fuel I'm guessing. It just started this today and has NEVER done it before till now.

Still doesnt wanna run without out choke set some, but doesnt run well. Anything over 1/8 throttle she bogs.

I adjusted the valves but they weren't that loose. Cam chain looks nice.

I turned the intake & carb around to how its suppose to and now when it cranks over it just full revs. I have to turn her off. Adjusting the screws does nothing.

I haven't done anything else from what I've already done. I didn't bend any part of the float. The float needle is seating correctly. I guess I'm gonna have to bend the float tabs so is doesnt fill up so much.

I'll check the timing again tomorrow.

Got the new tubes/tires on. They are Shinkos 244's.

Haven't done much since I'm getting frustrated that she's not running correctly.

I just got done replacing some seals, draining oil, and replacing the point. Tomorrow I'll replace the condensor and recheck the valve clearances.

I'm still waiting on some oem parts which include some spark plugs. So that would be nice if they showed up tomorrow.

Engine is coming apart.

I just cant get her running right and she smokes so gonna start taking the engine apart and see what needs to be done.

I have to see certain parts of the insides to know if I can bore the engine (short rod, is it this or that, etc) and I may order a new head with bigger valves/cam. Just gonna start new and hope she runs right then.

Putting windows in a church in a small town and wouldnt know. 500ft away is a Honda CL70 sitting on a porch. LOL Gonna ask tomorrow if they want to get rid of it.

I need to slow down some on her cause I'm getting burnt out. Won a new honda manual for it (new as in printed in this decade

2: ) and should have the engine fully apart this weekend.

Not gonna order any engine parts until I have everything apart for inspection.

Rangerscott · 01-28-2011, 02:03 AM

Disassemble!!!!!!!

Rangerscott · 01-28-2011, 02:04 AM

My ghetto valve spring compressor. Big C-clamp and a 3/4" female threaded copper fitting. I cut a section out of the solder on part and grind down the socket edges. I used this on my vehicle engine rebuild. I had to grind it cause it was a tight fit.

I think one is missing a seal.

Looks like the intake valve has had work done to it.

Check this out. Double spring on this little work horse. My vehicle engine isnt even double spring. LOL

Rangerscott · 01-28-2011, 02:05 AM

You can see that the sat at the bottom position and moisture made a ring on the cylinder wall.

Dirty Piston head.

Lot of scuffing.

Luckily the piston is a floating one. Take out one clip, pull rod, and your done.

Clutch adjuster

Right engine case off. Clutch showing.

Rangerscott · 01-28-2011, 02:06 AM

Oil filter. Yup, just a metal screen. Not even multi layered.

Oil pump.

Stuff stuff stuff O MY!

GAME ON!!!!

Sorry guys for leaving ya'll out on the clothes line. Finally ordered a new head, piston w/rings, and had the bore honed.

Here's the new head with dual bearing cam. I think my CC's is gonna drop cause the cut out is smaller than the original (if you cant tell then look at how close the valves are).

Old head

Comparison

Now I can see that they did valve work once but I'm not sure if the piston bore has been touch but both old and new piston fit kinda loosely in the bore. The old one was nice fit with the rings so maybe thats how its posed to be since it's air cooled.

Well got pretty much all the engine together but I hit a snag of the valve adjustment. The manual calls for .05mm (.002in) for both intake & exhaust. The exhaust valve is setting correctly but the intake rocker has more movement in it so when I set it to .002in, the piston hits the intake valve. So obviously the intake needs to be set different. I know have to figure that out.

Rangerscott · 01-28-2011, 02:07 AM

New pistons with rings

Luckly the piston pin is a floater.

Bottom paper gasket with rubber oil seal.

Cleaned up cylinder. Also installed a new idle wheel inside it.

Head gasket with two rubber oil seals

Head is nice an clean.

Everything lining up well

Torque down the head and now installing new cam chain.

Putting back clutch cover.

Right engine cover all clean and ready to go on.

and plate

Rangerscott · 01-28-2011, 02:09 AM

Right engine cover

Make sure this little guy is in.

Here's the right side that has the alternator. Forgot pics of installing the stuff so I'll take the magnet wheel off tomorrow and snap some shots.

Pretty much done.

The cam and cam gear was out of alignment. Got that re-done and adjusted the valves and everything was okey dokey.

Took the magnet wheel off to snap some pics.

It's just an aluminum disc w/ big o-ring around it. Two screws hold that down, then everything bolts to that.

The contact

The ignition pulse

GOT IT RUNNING!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqeq1LkVm-c

I'll use "running" loosely now. Still having fuel/air management problems. I have three carbs that are identical to the stock one with everything being the same. From jets to the throttle valve size.

Got it to run ok with an identical carb but it would just keep dieing. I tried the chinese knock off but once it fires up, the engine just revs up. I have to control the throttle with the carb's choke. When I do give it throttle it bogs.

Still having problems with fuel just dumping out of the bowls vent tube. Some times it happens and some times it doesnt. So it must be building up pressure still. I'm going to tap a hole in the top valve cover. (I'll get pics) New petcock stinks just as bad as the original one.

I have the contact point adjusted properly and I know I'm getting spark cause it shocked the poop out of me. New spark plug of course.

Got a new throttle cable coming my way. Still working on getting a new kick starter and gas cap.

(This is when I started back up. 1-26-2011)

Thread from the dead! I gave up working with the CL70 and its been sitting ever since. Going to give the engine one more chance before I just order a chinese engine.

Rangerscott · 01-28-2011, 02:12 AM

Pulled the carb off the engine and gave it a good cleaning. Also went to my storage and got all the extra parts. Going to get some pinesol and let all the carbs soak in it for a day or so.

Going to check to see if the condesor and coil are still good.

I ordered a carb rebuild kit just so I coukd get new gaskets and spare parts. I hope the throttle cable comes in before sunday so I can get too cranking the engine. Once I get the bike in the garage Ill make a walk around vid so you'll know what Im working with. About to head out to the garage and put a multimeter on the coil and condenser.

Got a couple carbs soaking in Pinesol. Pulled the engine and took off the coil w/ condenser. Tested those two but didn't feel as if I was doing it right. Sadly the FSM is more towards the c50. I have a new condenser I can use. I also have a spare OEM main wire harness I'll use. I need to buy some connectors for some of the existing wires. Took off the contact and noticed the two points weren't touching flush so I bent the top half till it did. Hope that makes a better electrical transfer.

The throttle cable came in today. Hope it's the right length unlike the last one I bought.

It's been sitting for awhile but the oil still looks new (I'll flush anyways), the head is still clean inside, and the pistons moves with ease. Going change out some of the crappy phillips/slotted screws with some allen keyed screws. Dang things are so soft. One important thing I have to fix is the teeth on the kicker starter spindle. I'm hoping I can just use my dremel and the new kicker starter will slide right on and hold.

Another nother problem I have is with the new head. The dang set nuts on the rocker arms wont stay tight which makes the set screw vibrate loose which makes the valves not open much. I think I can get some tiny lock washer that'll fit.

I took the top screw out. It's not missing.

The timing advance moves freely.

Used pliers to make the contacts touch evenly now.

Tested the coil and condenser but don't think I did it right. Going to put a new battery in my multimeter. It did shock the **** out of me last time.

The garage smells fresh.

01-28-2011, 01:57 AM	#1
Rangerscott Viff6N Mutated Warrior Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Texas Moto: '01 Honda VFR 800 & '09 ER-6N Posts: 8,704	1971 Honda CL70 restoration I thought I posted this here but I guess I never did. Started on this back in May '09. Worked on it till August or so. Hell I can't even remember. Doesn't seem that long ago and it doesnt look like it's been sitting that long (outside). Anyways, I've decided to give it another try on getting the engine to work. If it doesn't then I'll just get a bigger chinese engine. I'm just going to copy and paste from another forum. (I posted each post form another forum but here they get put together on here so my sentences might not makes since.) I picked these up back in August and I think I'm gonna start workin on them this weekend. Honda CL70 Good: Well it is there. LOL A lot more stuff on ebay for them. Found some websites that sell parts, tires and modified engines. Already bought new carb. Bad: I hope the forks aren't rusted up. Needs new cables, pretty much anything made of rubber (ex: gas tank pads, tires), needs chain, some wires need to be redone, needs battery, engine condition unknown. Yamaha YG1 Good: I can feel the piston move with the kick start. Clutch cable works. Bad: Pretty much the same as the Honda. This is why you dont leave things out in the open. Bent handle bar The Honda is a 4 stroke and the Yammy is a 2 stroke with oiler. I plan on working on the Honda first cause my other bike is a Honda. LOL I want to have at least one engine running in a month. I have to clear out some stuff in the garage like tires and a cherry picker. Those seem to take up a lot of space. 2: Well this is what I got done today. Not much but I know what I need to order for now. Even though the fork boots pretty much fell off and there was a ton of oil/dirt, the tubes look good. She's so dirty. Last edited by Rangerscott; 01-28-2011 at 02:13 AM..

01-28-2011, 02:00 AM	#2
Rangerscott Viff6N Mutated Warrior Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Texas Moto: '01 Honda VFR 800 & '09 ER-6N Posts: 8,704	Clean that dirty girl. More dirt. Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1qnX...e=channel_page http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clzKe...e=channel_page Bought a battery, gas tank rubbers, petcock, coil & spark plug cap, and seals for the engine. If the engine turns up bad I'll just order a performance sleeve and head or maybe even one of those Lifan engines. I did find out the frame and engine are Cl70K2 models. Showing the valves moving. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4654U...e=channel_page Got the petcock, seals, gas tank rubbers, and spark plug cap. No battery or coil. I'm just gonna see if it'll start without power. Im sure it will. Still dont know how the petcock installs. Old petcock New petcock Well she doesnt run well and I'm still waiting on the battery and coil. Probably gonna have to find a new spark plug on the internet. I have video but it plays too fast for some reason. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZL2b...e=channel_page

01-28-2011, 02:03 AM	#3
Rangerscott Viff6N Mutated Warrior Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Texas Moto: '01 Honda VFR 800 & '09 ER-6N Posts: 8,704	Still no vid. I was sick all last weekend and the work week kept me worn out. I did get a vid but when I was editing it the program froze and I lost the file so I'll get another vid. I got another problem now. The carb is leaking fuel out the bottom of the bowl. Its a vent and the tube inside goes way up so the think is just filling up with fuel I'm guessing. It just started this today and has NEVER done it before till now. Still doesnt wanna run without out choke set some, but doesnt run well. Anything over 1/8 throttle she bogs. I adjusted the valves but they weren't that loose. Cam chain looks nice. I turned the intake & carb around to how its suppose to and now when it cranks over it just full revs. I have to turn her off. Adjusting the screws does nothing. I haven't done anything else from what I've already done. I didn't bend any part of the float. The float needle is seating correctly. I guess I'm gonna have to bend the float tabs so is doesnt fill up so much. I'll check the timing again tomorrow. Got the new tubes/tires on. They are Shinkos 244's. Haven't done much since I'm getting frustrated that she's not running correctly. I just got done replacing some seals, draining oil, and replacing the point. Tomorrow I'll replace the condensor and recheck the valve clearances. I'm still waiting on some oem parts which include some spark plugs. So that would be nice if they showed up tomorrow. Engine is coming apart. I just cant get her running right and she smokes so gonna start taking the engine apart and see what needs to be done. I have to see certain parts of the insides to know if I can bore the engine (short rod, is it this or that, etc) and I may order a new head with bigger valves/cam. Just gonna start new and hope she runs right then. Putting windows in a church in a small town and wouldnt know. 500ft away is a Honda CL70 sitting on a porch. LOL Gonna ask tomorrow if they want to get rid of it. I need to slow down some on her cause I'm getting burnt out. Won a new honda manual for it (new as in printed in this decade 2: ) and should have the engine fully apart this weekend. Not gonna order any engine parts until I have everything apart for inspection.

01-28-2011, 02:04 AM	#5
Rangerscott Viff6N Mutated Warrior Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Texas Moto: '01 Honda VFR 800 & '09 ER-6N Posts: 8,704	My ghetto valve spring compressor. Big C-clamp and a 3/4" female threaded copper fitting. I cut a section out of the solder on part and grind down the socket edges. I used this on my vehicle engine rebuild. I had to grind it cause it was a tight fit. I think one is missing a seal. Looks like the intake valve has had work done to it. Check this out. Double spring on this little work horse. My vehicle engine isnt even double spring. LOL

01-28-2011, 02:05 AM	#6
Rangerscott Viff6N Mutated Warrior Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Texas Moto: '01 Honda VFR 800 & '09 ER-6N Posts: 8,704	You can see that the sat at the bottom position and moisture made a ring on the cylinder wall. Dirty Piston head. Lot of scuffing. Luckily the piston is a floating one. Take out one clip, pull rod, and your done. Clutch adjuster Right engine case off. Clutch showing.

01-28-2011, 02:06 AM	#7
Rangerscott Viff6N Mutated Warrior Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Texas Moto: '01 Honda VFR 800 & '09 ER-6N Posts: 8,704	Oil filter. Yup, just a metal screen. Not even multi layered. Oil pump. Stuff stuff stuff O MY! GAME ON!!!! Sorry guys for leaving ya'll out on the clothes line. Finally ordered a new head, piston w/rings, and had the bore honed. Here's the new head with dual bearing cam. I think my CC's is gonna drop cause the cut out is smaller than the original (if you cant tell then look at how close the valves are). Old head Comparison Now I can see that they did valve work once but I'm not sure if the piston bore has been touch but both old and new piston fit kinda loosely in the bore. The old one was nice fit with the rings so maybe thats how its posed to be since it's air cooled. Well got pretty much all the engine together but I hit a snag of the valve adjustment. The manual calls for .05mm (.002in) for both intake & exhaust. The exhaust valve is setting correctly but the intake rocker has more movement in it so when I set it to .002in, the piston hits the intake valve. So obviously the intake needs to be set different. I know have to figure that out.

01-28-2011, 02:07 AM	#8
Rangerscott Viff6N Mutated Warrior Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Texas Moto: '01 Honda VFR 800 & '09 ER-6N Posts: 8,704	New pistons with rings Luckly the piston pin is a floater. Bottom paper gasket with rubber oil seal. Cleaned up cylinder. Also installed a new idle wheel inside it. Head gasket with two rubber oil seals Head is nice an clean. Everything lining up well Torque down the head and now installing new cam chain. Putting back clutch cover. Right engine cover all clean and ready to go on. and plate

01-28-2011, 02:09 AM	#9
Rangerscott Viff6N Mutated Warrior Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Texas Moto: '01 Honda VFR 800 & '09 ER-6N Posts: 8,704	Right engine cover Make sure this little guy is in. Here's the right side that has the alternator. Forgot pics of installing the stuff so I'll take the magnet wheel off tomorrow and snap some shots. Pretty much done. The cam and cam gear was out of alignment. Got that re-done and adjusted the valves and everything was okey dokey. Took the magnet wheel off to snap some pics. It's just an aluminum disc w/ big o-ring around it. Two screws hold that down, then everything bolts to that. The contact The ignition pulse GOT IT RUNNING! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqeq1LkVm-c I'll use "running" loosely now. Still having fuel/air management problems. I have three carbs that are identical to the stock one with everything being the same. From jets to the throttle valve size. Got it to run ok with an identical carb but it would just keep dieing. I tried the chinese knock off but once it fires up, the engine just revs up. I have to control the throttle with the carb's choke. When I do give it throttle it bogs. Still having problems with fuel just dumping out of the bowls vent tube. Some times it happens and some times it doesnt. So it must be building up pressure still. I'm going to tap a hole in the top valve cover. (I'll get pics) New petcock stinks just as bad as the original one. I have the contact point adjusted properly and I know I'm getting spark cause it shocked the poop out of me. New spark plug of course. Got a new throttle cable coming my way. Still working on getting a new kick starter and gas cap. (This is when I started back up. 1-26-2011) Thread from the dead! I gave up working with the CL70 and its been sitting ever since. Going to give the engine one more chance before I just order a chinese engine.

01-28-2011, 02:12 AM	#10
Rangerscott Viff6N Mutated Warrior Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Texas Moto: '01 Honda VFR 800 & '09 ER-6N Posts: 8,704	Pulled the carb off the engine and gave it a good cleaning. Also went to my storage and got all the extra parts. Going to get some pinesol and let all the carbs soak in it for a day or so. Going to check to see if the condesor and coil are still good. I ordered a carb rebuild kit just so I coukd get new gaskets and spare parts. I hope the throttle cable comes in before sunday so I can get too cranking the engine. Once I get the bike in the garage Ill make a walk around vid so you'll know what Im working with. About to head out to the garage and put a multimeter on the coil and condenser. Got a couple carbs soaking in Pinesol. Pulled the engine and took off the coil w/ condenser. Tested those two but didn't feel as if I was doing it right. Sadly the FSM is more towards the c50. I have a new condenser I can use. I also have a spare OEM main wire harness I'll use. I need to buy some connectors for some of the existing wires. Took off the contact and noticed the two points weren't touching flush so I bent the top half till it did. Hope that makes a better electrical transfer. The throttle cable came in today. Hope it's the right length unlike the last one I bought. It's been sitting for awhile but the oil still looks new (I'll flush anyways), the head is still clean inside, and the pistons moves with ease. Going change out some of the crappy phillips/slotted screws with some allen keyed screws. Dang things are so soft. One important thing I have to fix is the teeth on the kicker starter spindle. I'm hoping I can just use my dremel and the new kicker starter will slide right on and hold. Another nother problem I have is with the new head. The dang set nuts on the rocker arms wont stay tight which makes the set screw vibrate loose which makes the valves not open much. I think I can get some tiny lock washer that'll fit. I took the top screw out. It's not missing. The timing advance moves freely. Used pliers to make the contacts touch evenly now. Tested the coil and condenser but don't think I did it right. Going to put a new battery in my multimeter. It did shock the **** out of me last time. The garage smells fresh.