71 CB175 Project Lily Faye

Hey everyone,


I am fairly new to this forum and style of motorcycles. I just got a '71 Honda CB175 for $300 so that my wife can learn to ride. I don't think she would fair well starting on the 999.









I am leaving the bike as is while the wife is learning. However this winter I will be turning her into something that resembles this:





I wanted to start a thread now because I have some specific questions that I have been unable to find answers for, or am too tired to try looking for.


So onto the questions. If you can see in the pictures the fork cylinders have some pretty bad rust at the top. Does anyone know a DIY way to remove that, or am I going to have to have the shocks rebuilt and the cylinders turned. If that's the case, I know a guy that can do it.


I am also in the market for a headlight if anyone has anything awesome looking. I have the standard 7" that comes with it but the bucket is fucked, which is why it isn't on. So right now I will just be replacing the bucket, but if anyone has anything retro ideas, link em up.


Ok, well I swore I had more questions, but those are the only ones that come to mind right now. Chime in if you can help out and thanks in advance. Also, if this needs to go in a different forum, i.e. Bob and Chop, please move it over admin. Thanks!

Re: '71 CB175 Bobber/Tracker Project

SOS pad and a rattle can of paint. Sure it sounds crude and ghetto like, but as long as teh rust is limited to that area under the lower triple clamp, it's just cosmetic.

If teh legs themselves are pitted where the seals slide, that's a whole other story and the fork legs would need to be replaced.

Re: '71 CB175 Bobber/Tracker Project

I used a chromed pipe and split it end to end. Slid it down the fork tube, put the top clamp on, and got the cheap EMGO headlight ears to hold them tight. That is of course, after the sos pad and paint treatment.

Check out MikesXS.com for headlights. A 7" light on such a small bike looks pretty big, and they have 6.25" (?) at a good price.

I'll look into the SOS pad and see if I can take of the rust.


Thanks for the link to mikesxs.com! That site has some great stuff on it.


So I was outside today trying to start the bike and I have been unsuccessful. When I take the plugs out they are wet with gasoline, and I'm sure there may be gas just sitting in the cylinders. What would cause this? I have spark when the plugs aren't in. The carbs are adjusted properly and were just cleaned.

Re: '71 CB175 Bobber/Tracker Project

Probably your timing is off or you have low compression.

Big Rich said:

Probably your timing is off or you have low compression.

Click to expand...

No, I don't think its either of those. I ran just fine the other day. I have it taken apart and am going to start electrolysis on the tank because the PO did a number on the fuel system and it all needs redone. I'll see if that fixes it but it will likely be a week before I know anything.

Re: '71 CB175 Bobber/Tracker Project

How is your battery? A weak one can cause all sorts of havoc.

The battery is great, I keep it jumped with my truck while I'm trying to get the bike running so I don't kill it and I keep it on a tender.

Well I started electrolysis on the tank today and ordered a new petcock to replace the clusterfuck of whatever the PO had rigged up. We'll see if it starts once I get the tank cleaned up and the fuel system back together properly.





And after about 5 hours...

Re: '71 CB175 Bobber/Tracker Project

As new!


feel sorry for you man, shit in there is a bitch to get out.

Re: '71 CB175 Bobber/Tracker Project

Probably too much choke flooded the plugs. The easy fix is throttle wide ope,n choke wide open crank or push teh bike until it starts to fire and keep it wide open until it clears and the revs start to rise.

Or take the plugs out and dry them and then spin the motor over with the plugs out and a finger over the plug holes with a rag to catch the gas.

Time for an update if anyone even follows this. The engine really needs rebuilt, bad. I could never get it to run well enough so I decided to start tearing it apart and rebuilding the bike.

I soda-blasted the engine and prepped the frame to be primed and painted.






And I took the mudguard off.




I'm going to mount the fender back in the frame to act as a mudguard. Sort of like this.

Also, the wife wants a sherbert/aquamarine color for the bike so I went ahead and mocked up what the bike may look like. Blacked out with the tank and fender painted. Opinions? I'm not crazy about it but she likes it...

Re: '71 CB175 Bobber/Tracker Project

What was the problem with the motor? Valves, rings, etc?

I can see that paint working. I don't know if I would completely black out the motor & exhaust with it though.

Still the fuel/air. I cleaned out the tank, sealed it, and bought a new petcock since the bike didn't come with one. Then I come to find that the PO welded over the threads where the petcock should go so I rigged it back up like the PO had it and got it running again. But no matter what, I couldn't get the bike to hold idle and it fouled the plugs after about 5 minutes.

Many angry days later, I just ripped it all apart. I'm going to start fresh and see if I can't locate where the bolt in the tank is so that I can drill it out and rethread it. It's either that or try to get a new tank.

I did buy a tank for a 60's CB160 hoping it would fit because I really like that look, I would have to modify the frame or tank to get that to fit. I don't think I can do that without ruining whatever I try to modify. So its on here for sale again. :-(

http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=30898.msg333818#msg333818

This is me trying to drill and thread a different hole in the tank to see if the petcock will hold. It didn't.

Also, I am looking for rearsets for this bike. I do NOT want motobits, I think they are ugly. Throw out any ideas you have!

Another weekend, and some more work done on the bike.

I got some 3/4" hot rolled and bent the rear hoop for the bike.


I also took some time thinking about how to mount the rear fender to act as both rock guard and chopped fender. I think I came up with the perfect solution to drill out the tac welds on for the rear mount bracket on the fender and move the bracket to where I want it and re-weld it. I think it turned out great.









Now that all the frame work is done, its ready for primer and paint and I can focus on the wheels and rebuilding the engine.

Another fat paycheck, and some more parts for the bike. I got an allen head bolt kit and gasket kit for the motor ordered so I can rebuild it now. I also ordered a new gas tank. These tanks have been a pain. The red tank that I did so much to clean up ended up not being able to house a petcock and I ruined it trying to weld a plate to it to tap into. The CB160 tank I bought didn't fit. So now I finally got one ordered for my bike.

I seem to be running in multiple directions with this bike and I think by the time I get this built I'm not going to like it. Maybe once I get a seat made for it, I may like how it comes together.

Nice progress so far. Really good work with that rear hoop. Also the soda blasting made that engine look great. Keep it up. I love these little bikes

300 bucks and it ran? where did you find that thing! looks like someone had a lot of fun throwing things together. like a sad baby frankenbike

great welding job, too! should be a fun bike for your wife to ride. you should see if she'll help you out with the rebuild!