1971 CL175 cafe

backshedmechanic

Active Member
Ok so I went on craigslist looking for a project bike. Found one for $800. Asked him for $300 and he accepted. I went down there to look at what all was included. I'm glad I asked my buddy to borrow his truck. You wont believe the deal I got! Two frames, two motors, 3 tanks, 3 seats, gauges, wheels, the works! Anyway I have been obsessively working on it to try and get it to fire so i can tear it down properly and make it look nice and all. Here are some progress pics to bring you guys up to date.
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This is the shop i cleaned out in the back of my work
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This is how I got it, this is the CL frame with title, I have another frame its a CB175, no title, looking to sell cheap!
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It came with new clip ons and two sets of forks, so i chose the set that was less rusted and threw on the clips. It looks sick right now. I also chose the tank from a CB175, i like the thinner box profile. It is HEAVILY rusted, I hope to do some electrolysis and fix that this weekend. I have two other tanks if anyone is interest, I need money for more parts.
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Bought a new headlight, the one that came with it was deteriorating, fits like a dream, but doesnt line up with the adjusting screw, Ill figure that out later.
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decided I'm going to mount just the speedo in the dead center, It looks clean.
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Did i mention that it came with this nice fiberglass cafe seat?
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Mounted the one working and fully assembled motor in last week. It has good compression and cranks easily, so im not going to mess with it quite yet. It came with another motor and tons of extra side covers and little bits, I'm going to rebuild that one once this one is finished, swap em out.
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How she sits now, I am having problems with the coil though..
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Took apart one fo the three wiring harnesses I had and found this one to actually fit the diagram i got off the web. I took out all the flashers and the relay, and some of the bulbs for the tach and warning lights.
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all wired up and ready to connect! At first i was so disappointed cause I checked the wires three times and everything was hooked up right! but still no power, not even a spark.
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But then i went to unplug it and it flickered on! There was a short in the ignition cable. I should also explain, this thing has no key, its two wires that touch lol

Anyway I also found out my starter button on my controls is messed up, so i disconnected the wire and touched it to the frame and got the starter to turn! and got spark from the plugs! But after a while it stopped working so now i have to figure out with the problem is, the magnetic starter clicks, but the starter motoro doesnt crank anymore and there is no spark, everything else works. Any ideas??
 
You sure did get a great deal there. Keep us posted on your progress. These little 175s arent exactly the fastest bike out there, but man are they a blast on the twisty back roads!
 
Dang I wish I could score like that. I did get a running titled 81cb750c and a parts bike of same year for 600 though. Well I had to drive 3 hours one way to find her but hell I guess it was an awesome deal.

Cool find. Are all those bicycles yours or do you do cycle repair?
 
I work at the local bike shop and during holiday hours, we are closed due to the lack of people braving the cold weather to come in. So I cleaned out the storage area where we keep the bikes waiting to be fixed and sold and i made my temp. workshop.

Another update, I got the electrical system working the other night and got the starter to turn and the plug the spark. But after the third try with the starter button, all i get now is the clicking, no starter, no spark. Any thoughts?

I have tried the old coils and a new one, to no avail.

Also found out last night, the gaskets are bad, so i cant go any further without a new set.
 
So today I tackled the exhaust. The old muffler was rusted out. Chopped it off.
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Then I tried to clean up the wiring a bit. Also found today, if I use a FRESH battery, the starter will work and I get a spark. So i installed the new coil and hopefully it still works..
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This is my key for right now
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Found out while working on the tank that I cant use it, it has rusted out many holes in the sides and bottom. So for now I'm going to use the stock CL tank that came with the bike.
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Im considering not painting anything besides the seat. Leave it ratty looking. what do ya think? That or black out everything.
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I plan on wraping the pipes later on. I cant really go any further with gaskets, the manual, oil, and a battery. Any suggestions on a battery?
The goal right now is to get her running before i make any aesthetic modifications.
 
So I'm still waiting on a manual and gaskets, so I decided to try my hand at painting. Too cold. So until I get the rest of my parts, I can only polish. I stripped the tank yesterday, turned out pretty good. Still undecided on a color for the bike.
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Nice progress so far. A couple things to be wary of though...

You need to run a muffler or proper baffle of some sort. Tuning will be a nightmare and all your doing is hurting the performance on an already sluggish (in stock trim) motor.

Make sure you get a NEW battery. No matter what anyone tells you, thes old Hondas DO NOT start up and run on old/low voltage/weak batteries.

You're obviously not running the stock airbox. Buy GOOD filters. K&N or the like. Not the cheap ass ones. Tuning will be tricky enough with proper filters, don't make it harder. Also, no velocity stacks. They're for race bikes on the track. Not bikes that get ridden everyday on the street. They're an invitation to disaster.
 
backshedmechanic said:
could i just put a baffle in the pipes? any ideas for that?
I may just run it kickstart only for now

Back when I had my 1200 Sportster I used Automotive expansion (freeze) plugs as a baffle. I drilled a bunch of different sized holes until it ran good and sounded good. You may be able to find a set at an Autoparts store that will fit right in your pipes. I had to whack mine in, twas a tight fit.

-Kev
 
Von is right about the exhaust.

When I had my 68 Cl175, I tried running open pipes, separate baffle plates, separate mini mufflers, then finally settled on a shoddy 2-1 muffler. Hands down ran its best on the 2-1 muffler.
 
"Back when I had my 1200 Sportster I used Automotive expansion (freeze) plugs as a baffle. I drilled a bunch of different sized holes until it ran good and sounded good. You may be able to find a set at an Autoparts store that will fit right in your pipes. I had to whack mine in, twas a tight fit.

-Kev"

One of the inexpensive ways to make a "can" (one mustn't say silencers anymore, it gets their panties in a bunch) is with freeze plugs, should work well in a muffler on a bike as well.
 
Ok well I have a new concern. I just found out that by looking in the intake valves from the carb to the motor, there seems to have been a gasket that has melted and chunks may have gone into the cylinder. I'm guessing I should break it down and rebuild the top end. Any tips? I am about to go beyond my comfort zone here
 
Take your time and follow the manual. Take pics to reference. Its just a machine. Won't hurt ya. If you get stuck post lots of pics and ask detailed questions.
 
Start looking for a new cam chain, and any other parts that may need replaced. Gaskets, tensioner, etc.

Can't think of anything else at the moment.....
 
That won't fix an issue of something getting pulled into the cylinder... Thoroughly inspect everything before you reassemble.
 
Went as deep as I could go for today. While inspecting the cylinder sleeves, I found some scarring on the right cylinder and sleeve. What should I do? I read something about hooning, but idk if that will fix it. The second engine i have is pretty clean and i would like to use the head on the engine i have now. How would I swap out the sleeves? The mounts for the carb and exhaust are missing too, how would I go about swapping that over? If its too much work I'll stick to the parts I have now, I have a very limited budget on this build. Would also like to know how to get off the old gaskets, they a PITA.
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found the master link
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disconnected the chain and them dropped into the case. doh!
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heads look ok
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head looks alright too, any tips on cleaning off all this carbon out?
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what the heck is this? also The chain has worn this down a bit, definitely need to change it out, found one with the other engine, BRAND NEW! its 2mm shorter.
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cleaning the heads with wirewheel
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Uh oh, this cant be good, there is scarring on the head too, what are my options?
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still waiting on gaskets, any tips if i want to paint the engine black? or just cleaning between the fins.
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meanwhile i got the wiring done, just need to tidy up a bit.

Cant go further without gaskets or help on the right cylinder.
 
Hmmmmm.......there's a lot of issues to be dealt with there.....

You might want to post some questions in the "1-800-cafe help" section.
 
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