1971 Honda CL175. The engine is a 175cc SOHC parallel twin, two valves per cylinder, two 24mm carbs, 20 HP, 10,500 RPM redline with a five speed gearbox. Tires are 3.5X18 rear and 2.75X18 front, with cable operated drum brakes front and rear, and a cable driven speedo AND tach.

Everything is original- the tires, the spark plugs, everything... all original. Even the bulbs in all the lights.


The downside? Some assembly required:






Forks and seat are a little rough... but the forks still function fine- the rust is on a part that's hidden by the headlight bracket. The seat will need new foam and vinyl, but that's not a big deal.


And the best part? These are original and not rolled over:


What it'll look like put back together:


Stuff it needs: Clutch, front brake and speedo cables, brake light and two small 3W gauge bulbs, a rear luggage rack, side panels for the air boxes, mirrors, maybe a new chain and tires (haven't inspectedthem yet), and an exhaust heat shield/ guard thing. Probably a couple hundred bucks worth of parts, at the most, plus some elbow grease to get it all shiney again, so I'll be into a vintage, almost totally original, almost brand new bike for about $500 including what I paid for it.


[sm=happybounce.gif]

 

$500 is about what those bikes cost new back in 71. Also, I may be wrong, but I think that the luggage rack pictured is aftermarket- the stock bikes came without a rack.

 

I think you're right about the luggage rack... I haven't been able to find one for sale.

I got the carbs cleaned today and figured out most of the wiring. The horn and starter still elude me, and for some reason, when I hit the turn signals, they just shine solid and not blink... I suspect that may be because the battery I'm using only has about 9V in it (****ty chinese scooter battery). What's really weird is that I can turn the headlight and tail light off with the switch while ignition still on, and that the key has a position that keeps the just the tail light on and allows me to remove the key. Weird. Oh, and every electrical plug is a bullet connector and a HUGE pain in the ***. At least the wire colors match.

It might be up on the wheels tomorrow, but we'll see what happens.

Stuff fixed:
Brake lamp and the gauge illumination and indicator lamps

Stuff ordered and on the way:
Clutch, throttle and front brake cables
Chain guard
Mirrors
Proper battery

Still need:
Seat
Exhaust heat shields

Once I get all that stuff here, it should be good to start and ride. I'm not worried about the electric starter too much, since the bike begs to be kicked, but the horn kinda pisses me off. Maybe it's a bad horn; we'll see.

 

Well, I have it all "mocked up." I decided to put it all together and see what I'm missing before I really get into it and start painting and cleaning. I'm missing various nuts and bolts, but the two main things are the spacer for the rear wheel and one of the rubber tank mounts, which I just ordered from Bike Bandit and ebay.





Next step is to get the carbs back on, get the throttle, brake and speedo cables hooked up and go for a ride.

 

Older bikes were like that. Honda didn't go to lights always on until the mid seventies.

 

Interesting. Considering that the headlamp is 25/35W, I can understand why they'd make it so some people can just go "**** it... nobody can see my headlight during the day anyway..." and shut it off to save the filament or whatever. I'm a firm believer of being seen, so it'll stay on high and fortunately, it shuts off when I turn the ignition off.

I'm really excited to get this thing on the road. I love my F4i, but this thing has an allure that just begs to go on some adventure down back roads.

 

Well, **** **** damnit sonofabitch. The throttle cable is too short, and when I was bolting up the left carb, I used an o-ring that I thought would work, but apparantly was too big, and when I tightened it down, it broke the intake manifold. No big deal, 'cept it's hard to find that part for a 38 year old bike, and when I do, it's attached to a $180 carb. I found a place in Ohio that says they have one in stock for $23, but I'll have to wait 'till Monday or Tuesday to call, so for now, the broken part is being JB welded. I'm in pain doing this, but it's what I'll have to do 'till I can bring myself to pony up $180 for the damn thing. Lesson learned: Use the right size o-ring or use RTV. ****. I coulda fired it up tonight. I also ordered a new petcock since the one I have is really corroded and beyond rebuilding, as well as a correct throttle cable. The good news is that I hooked the brake up and got it adjusted. We all laugh at drum brakes, but pushing it and then hopping on and stepping on the rear brake as hard as I normally do on my F4i got me a nice black skidmark in my driveway. Hm. Maybe drums aren't so bad after all.

So I figure that if the JB weld works and all the parts get here this coming week, I'll have it rideable next weekend.