CL175 - Runabout

Barnburner

Coast to Coast
So, I picked up this sweet little CL175 from fellow DTT'er Buckeye Bike over the weekend. It was quite rough around the edges and missing the carbs, exhaust and front brake cable/lever, but apparently the engine was overhauled recently and bored out (the previous PO used it for FREAKING ICE RACING!). Here's how it sat after I brought it home.



Anyway, I decided to ditch the plastics since they aren't my style, and I gave it a nice cleanup. Then, since the stock headlight ears were shaved off, I fab'd new headlight ears from the PO's custom fender mount and some L shaped brackets to mount my CL350's old headlight. I also painted a few previously-brown bits black, to continue the black/red color scheme. After about 2 hours of work, here's how it sits.



I'm currently finishing a frame-up rebuild on my CL350 so the plan for this is to keep it as a runabout/dirtbike until this winter. I'm basically on a mad dash to scavenge parts to make it rideable and street legal. I've got a center stand and a stock front fender in the mail (props to DTT member "alec.korvin" for the fender) and there's a cycle salvage place pretty close to me, so I'm planning on trying to score some carbs and maybe an exhaust there this weekend (unless some kind DTT member would like to sell me any extras of theirs ;) ).

There's definitely some awesome builds on here using these little guys so I'm excited to dive into those and get some inspiration!
 
Re: CL175 - Hell on Wheels

Amazing how two hours of work can make such a difference. Will be following this to see what you can do with a bit more time!
 
Re: CL175 - Hell on Wheels

Thanks, RevheadR. Unfortunately, I don't haven't been able to put much more in it than those initial 2 hours. I just scored got some stock carbs in the mail today though so I should be able to fire it up tonight finally. I'll post an update later.
 
Re: CL175 - Hell on Wheels

I don't have much of an update at this point, but this little hellion is getting closer to being on the road. I got a set of stock Keihin carbs (with correct jetting, choke linkages and manifolds!) in the mail last week from benevolent DTT member and 160/175 guru Teazer. They were in great condition already when I got them - Teazer ran them through an ultrasonic bath for me - but I'm still waiting on some filters to get here so I decided to polish them up a bit. What do you think?



Sorry for the hazy photos. My iPhone rear glass cracked and dust has settled on the lens inside the case. I also managed to snap a crappy picture of the new cb175 exhaust I bought off eBay.



It came with generic shorty mufflers, so fitment has been a bit of an issue. I have them mounted currently so that the smaller diameter opening is connected at the header (even though I assume the larger diameter side is the intended inlet). Unless someone has a good reason why it shouldn't be mounted this way I will probably keep it - the smaller diameter is very close to that of the header, making an almost perfect fit. I will probably use some self-tapping screws to tighten everything up though. I ended up bolting the included mount to the rear footpeg, which should help keep things steady for now.

I've also have a problem with the rear brake lever with the exhaust now on. I don't have a picture but I'll try and explain. It seems that the header and the rear brake lever are all in too close proximity to one another, so the lever rests against the header when not used. I've tried moving the header and also examining the break lever to make sure it was mounted correctly and everything seems fine. My bike is a CL, so I thought maybe there was some variation in these parts between models. Anybody know if the CB brake lever swings out farther or if there's a magic point where everything just fits that I'm missing?

Edit: Post #100!!!
 
Re: CL175 - Hell on Wheels

Those shorty mufflers have two different diameters so that they can fit different header sizes. You simply fit the end that fits your header.
 
Re: CL175 - Hell on Wheels

I finally made some progress with this bike last night! I had installed CB pipes but found them to interfere with my kicker (meaning I had to bump start the bike - not a problem with this little guy, just a pain). So, I scored some CL headers off eBay and switched them out. The EMGO shorty mufflers I had on the CB pipes would not fit on the CL though (without chopping off more of the headers). SO, I went to the hardware store and picked up some copper fittings and made my own baffles. Here they are:



The ID of CL175 pipes is 1 1/4" but unfortunately the copper fittings in 1 1/4" I found didn't match exactly (they're labeled by ID size). I used a 1" to 1/2" reducer with a 1/2" by 4" pipe in the middle, making each baffle about 6" long. The OD of the baffle is about 1 1/8". I attached the reducers to the pipe with pop rivets and used my ancient Buffalo drill press to make the air holes. I ended up installing them in the headers using a self-tapping screw in the bottom of each pipe and through the baffle. Here's a quick video of the new sound.

http://youtu.be/PQnyZ16Lrmg

Running kind of rough, huh? ;) It's still loud too but not eardrum shattering. I have some fiberglass muffler wrap so I may wrap each baffle in some of that to further deaden the sound. Now that it's ready to run I can start tuning. I got a little of the black smoke monster from Lost coming from the right exhaust so I think I'm flooding that side out. Check of the plug confirmed this. I'll probably work on setting the floats tomorrow and hopefully get around to timing it and taking it out for some shakedown runs this weekend to make sure jets are close. My historic Ohio plates should be coming in the mail soon so I may actually be able to take it around town a bit before the big chill sets in!

Thanks for reading, hopefully I'll get some more updates in soon.
 
Re: CL175 - Hell on Wheels

Nice on the baffles.
I have a similar setup on my cb350.
Its still LOUD, but not unbearable. Im going to fiberglass wrap mine as well at some point.
 
Re: CL175 - Hell on Wheels

To wrap the baffles do you just roll the fiberglass around the middle pipe and stuff it back in the exhaust?
 
Re: CL175 - Hell on Wheels

I wrapped a single layer around each baffle and secured it with some safety wire before pushing it in and using a set screw from the outside to hold it in place in the pipe. If you use too much wrap it gets quite bulky and won't fit in the pipe. Even with only one layer it was still a tight fit.
 
Re: CL175 - Hell on Wheels

Just saw your post Tom. Sorry, no real updates. I rode her around a bit in the fall before putting her away for the winter. Since then, I've just been working on converting her from a racer to a street machine - some cosmetic touches (the white fiberglass fenders), adding things to become street legal (new taillight, mirror and signals) and other safety features (like a front brake and working brake light switch).

This will be a fun runabout for me until my CL350 is finished. Two (of the several) lessons I've learned since starting this hobby - don't tear down a bike that isn't running well and never leave yourself without a bike to ride.

8638895358_3c970e4715.jpg
 
Re: CL175 - Hell on Wheels

Quick update. I've been running this little bastard all summer without too many problems. I did however pick up some stock air filters and throw on some old shorty mufflers to replace the homemade baffles, which cut down the angry neighbor stares a bit. However, I still wanted to tone it down a bit so I went about repacking the shorties with some FMF 4 stroke fiberglass muffler packing that I picked up from Amazon a while back. Here's the first baffle I pulled out:



I didn't get a picture of the second one because everything was quickly being covered by disintegrating carbon particles but there was almost nothing in it! So, needless to say, everyone using these should probably consider a repack immediately.

The bike has also developed a bad habit of marking its territory, so I've been forced to follow it around the shop and driveway with an oil catch pan.



To remedy this, I first replaced the left crankcase cover gasket and alternator cover gasket since that's where oil seemed to be seeping out. However, that didn't solve the problem, so this week I took off the left crankcase cover again, cleaned everything as best I could, and kicked over the bike a few times. I noticed a small amount of oil escaping from behind the clutch pushrod oil seal and the shift shaft oil seal (Parts 25 and 9 in the following fiches, respectively).





My guess is that these oil seals have failed. So, I'm about to replace these parts and was hoping that the DTT hive mind might have either (a) some tips on removing and isntalling those oil seals, and/or (b) any recommendations for other seals in the area I should replace at the same time. It's not too hard to get the covers back off but I'd like to get everything done at once. Thanks in advance for any advice!
 
Re: CL175 - Hell on Wheels

Hey man, I can't believe I just found this thread. Very cool little bike you have! I'm happy to see the bike that you use to give me all the advice on my build!

Did you ever get the leak figured out? Also, sweet DIY baffles. I might make a set if I ever decide to hack the muffler.

If you don't mind, what kind of intake setup are you using? Still stock air boxes? What did the jetting end up like with your setup?

Glad you're riding the wheels off it!
 
Re: CL175 - Hell on Wheels

Thanks! This is just my little runabout so there shouldn't be too much to be impressed with ::)

I did get the leak figured out - it was the clutch pushrod oil seal and the shift shaft oil seal as I thought. I replaced them and the major leak definitely stopped. I found another small leak though from behind the tach drive housing on the right side of the head, so I have to tear that off this winter and replace it as well. Not a big job but when you have to use PB blaster and an impact driver on every screw it's all a headache.

I got the baffle idea from the forum here. They seemed like a good idea but even with them the straight pipes were still quite loud. I eventually caved and went back to generic shorties to cut the tone down a bit. Its still loud but at least I don't get as many evil stares from my little old lady neighbors.

As for intake, I am running stock airboxes. I've read quite a bit about how these motors are finnicky about total intake tract length. I think something like 9-10" from the intake valve is ideal but don't quote me on that. The bike came from the PO with generic pods and ran a little rough but really perked up when I put back on the stock airboxes. The airboxes have a great little rubber manifold tube that adds a couple inches. I think combining those tubes with pods or using long velocity stacks may work as well.

I've been playing around with jetting. I had a large 105 main/38 slow in (per a recommendation from Teazer) but was running rich so I scaled it back to a 98 main/38 slow (which is stock for CBs). I believe stock for CL carbs is 90/38 so I may have to go back down even more. I picked up a bunch of main and slow jets from JetsRUs (good buy BTW) so I've got plenty to play with.

I was actually inspired by your thread to get do some work on this. I actually just came from the garage where I've been tearing apart the front end to clean up the fork tubes, polish the lowers, replace the fork seals, and paint the triples and bar mounts. Should make it a bit less ratty, but not too much. I actually want a little bit of the rat to stay with this one...
 
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