First ground up build - Cl175 cafe "restomod"

Nestorpants

New Member
So after getting rid of my last bike about three years ago I've been wanting to ride ever since. Also one of my dreams has always been to build up a vintage bike so now that I finally have some space I bought this bike. A 69' Cl175 from Craigslist for $850. I had planned on getting a bike and tearing into it right away but I was actually able to ride this one around a little before we loaded it up for the drive home. It ran well enough that I rode it to work a few times after removing the fenders and mocking up some clubmans and turn signals on it. But alas the other evening it threw the chain so I knew it was time to get down to business. So I started stripping it down. Like the title says this is my first build so I'm sure I'll be stumbling through alot of it but with any luck it'll be done by summer. Enough words time for pics!

Dimly lit pic of it on the truck


At home


A nice picture my wife took of it


Remounted tail light


Clubmans and misaligned turn signals


Mostly stripped down


And when it's done maybe it will look something like this


Or this



So where it stands right now I haven't taken the engine out yet because I wanted to check the compression first to get an idea of what condition it's in however my harbor freight compression tester doesn't come with an adapter small enough to fit in the spark plug holes. Not that this should make any difference but I did notice that there some kind of heli-coil type insert where the spark plugs thread in. Maybe someone stripped the threads out previously? Seems to be repaired well either way. Also as I said in another post I'll be replacing the rear hub because I found this when I took it apart.



I'll try to keep the updates coming.
 
So even though no visible progress in the bike has been made since Tuesday, I've been learning a lot, collecting some parts, ad making a game plan. I picked up an electronic flasher unit so that no matter what signals I use they'll work and I won't have to use load resistors.
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I also got a generic bar end mirror.
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I've decided that I'd like to de-tab and weld the seams of the frame but I'm wondering if this will be worth it. Will I gain enough frame rigidity to make this worth my while? Or else what are the other benefits of doing this?

Color scheme is also undecided. I'm thinking that I'll just polish and freshen everything up. Also a homemade fiberglass seat will be in the works. I don't know if the pictures do it justice but the paint on the tank is in perfect condition so I'd hate to paint it though I feel it limits me from blacking things out for fear the bike might look like Halloween. Thought about maybe making a fiberglass tank as well. Any thoughts are more than welcome. Hope y'all are having a great weekend so far.
 
Nestorpants said:
Where do you live?! I would have a WAY bigger stable if they were that cheap around here.

That's the thing....they aren't that cheap out here in Arizona.
 
AzHonda said:
That's the thing....they aren't that cheap out here in Arizona.
I'm so jealous of the Midwest guys that get titled bikes for like 300 bucks and basket cases for a six pack. :'(
 
Good thing I am a Honda guy because out here on Craigs list the XS,RD,KD's are 1 to every 10 CB's. what ticks me off is everytime I see a deal on Ebay for a bike it's always in PA or FL !! :mad:
 
I've actually considered moving to a different state just to evade smog laws and find barn bikes for cheap. Registration is easier in other states too. Man California sucks. Can't beat the weather though. Anyways small update finally took the exhaust and bars off last night and will hopefully find time to pull the motor out and strip the frame of paint between tonight and tomorrow.
Here's where it is right now. What a mess!
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Progress! I finally got a little bit of time to put in today an got the bike stripped down to this point.
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I'm pretty sure I dropped about 20 lbs of weight just by scraping off all the crap that's been accumulating over the last 43 years.
I was on the fence about rearsets until I took off the stock footpeg bar and realized how heavy it is and what an improvement some aluminum sets would be.
Took a picture of the top triple tree just as a before picture so I can compare after I polish it.
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Here's the motor slacking off in the corner.
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And here's where the bike is now. My "reliable" daily driver unfortunately decided to break down so you can see my current transportation in the background. Hopefully I'll be buying a new car over the weekend but I'm a bit picky. Anyways, current condition:
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As I was stripping the paint off last night I was amazed at the condition of the metal underneath. So I thought, "wouldn't it be cool if I could keep it this color?"
Can I just spray clear coat over the bare metal? Is this an exercise in bad taste? I'm not even sure what to google to find pictures of bikes like this does anyone have any?
Here's pics of the paint coming off and metal underneath. There's still a fair amount of paint stripper on it but you get the idea.
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I also considered the option of polishing the frame but that seems like it would take the build in a direction I don't want it to go. Thoughts on clear coating the metal?
 
I may be wrong but I think the 69 175s were slopers, where as later models the engine fit inside the frame as apposed to being part of it.
 
skatetheame said:
I may be wrong but I think the 69 175s were slopers, where as later models the engine fit inside the frame as apposed to being part of it.
I learned this lesson the annoying way by buying the wrong fsm. The 68-69 175s were slopers while 69.5-73 are full frame. Mine is the 69.5 version so my engine sits inside the frame.
 
Finally got around to reading the rattle can bling article and it was super helpful. I primed the swing arm in the garage. Here's the result.
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This is the only piece however that I'll be painting in the garage. Today I plan on making a DIY spray booth either out of some PVC or an unsuspecting pergola in my backyard. 48 hour cure periods here I come!
 
Hey everyone, apologies for the almost year long delay. Personal stuff came up so I had to put my project on hold. I tinkered with a GT380 that I got for a while and am now back to finishing what I started with the CL. Picking up where I left off. Paint..


photo 1 by Nestorpants, on Flickr


photo 2 by Nestorpants, on Flickr
 
Welp. Finished priming and finally got some color on the frame today. This is a pic after about 4 coats and in person it looks like a chocolate bar melted all over it. Just what I was going for.

photo by Nestorpants, on Flickr
 
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