'71 CT70 ....boneyard special

scott s

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I pulled this out of the local bike boneyard yesterday. It's rough as a cob, but for only $40 I couldn't resist.
Almost everything on it is stuck, rusted or rotten, but all I really wanted was the frame and some hardware.





So far, all I've done is dragged it into the garage....because it won't roll...and sprayed everything with PB Blaster in preparation for disassembly.

I have lots of questions and could use some guidance. Below is a list of things I'd like to do and a couple of pics for inspiration. Anything you can tell me is appreciated.
I'd like to do:

* Fork swap. USD or conventional hydraulic?
* Front disc
* Aluminum swing arm, probably the extended one. What do you do about the brake rod and stay with the extended arm?
* 12" wheels. I re-use my old rear hub. Do the disc swap front hubs accept the 12" hoops?
* Big motor....140-160cc. Would also like some suggestions on brands/size for this. Lifan, Piranha, SSR, etc.


 
It's surprisingly hard to work out all the details on this type of build. I'm on PlanetMini's and LilHonda forums, some Facebook groups, etc. It seems that a million people have done thises things but getting actual answers is tough. Maybe it's some sort of secret society... "The first rule of custom minis....".
 
I'd stick with a stock restoration to be honest. Having done a GSXR front end swap onto an SR500 I wouldn't waste my time or money doing it again.

They're fetching top dollar in stock form. I'm embarking on rebuilding my ST90 this winter and planning on going full stock restoration except I'll likely put a Lifan engine in. The stock motor runs but needs refreshing and I want something clean and reliable.
 
Check out places like CHP, T Bolt etc. For parts. They do make inverted forks for the CT's but is it necessary? Probably not but it does look cool.

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If you swapped forks they would have to be off a pit bike, any sport bike front end would be miles too long and way to heavy. And then you could just use pitbike disks.
 
To cover a few things....

No way this is worth restoring. I basically have a frame and some hardware.
That's why I'm looking at fork replacement. It'll be easier to swap that fix what's there.

And rat_ranger, I'm not talking about "real" bike forks. There are USD fork kits made specifically for these bikes.
 
Stripped down the CT70 yesterday. There's ALWAYS a rat's nest inside old bikes somewhere. And I probably got 5 lbs. of loose rust and dirt out of it.



It's really not as rough as it looks. Pretty solid. I ended up with a few usable parts from the carcass, but most of it's going to be replaced with aftermarket stuff anyway.

 
Very nice find. I just finished rebuilding a 74 st90 that I got for a deal because the motor was stuck. Dratv.com was a great resource for anything I needed. He bored out the cylinders, and rebuilt the head for a decent price and I got it back on the road in no time. The biggest pain was the rusty gas tank. Nothing that some bb's, evaporust, and redcoat couldn't handle though.

I didn't go all out like you though. I just wanted to get it back in running order so I could play with it so I just replaced what was needed.


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This happened today. Won't be long until I can start putting the CT70/140 back together. After I get done with all of this Holiday overtime.


 
Wow! That looks awesome

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Around where I live there is a group of about 10 guys that bomb around all over town and the freeway (yes freeway as in 65mph plus speeds) on those and little Z50s. Been wanting one for years now. That one looks awesome.


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With that purple paint-job, you should really go for some golden-glitte handle-bar grips or something like that and go all out 70ies disco-p*rn on it. 8)
 
I looked at some purple flake grips but just couldn't bring myself to spend $40 on a set of grips when I already had these in the garage.
 
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