Thread: Question(s) about 77' CT70...

Hey Guys, New guy here w/a project ! All in all it looks pretty good but I have a few questions about correctness. I'm not looking for a 100 pointer but I would like to fix it with the right parts. First thing I noticed was the front fork covers are chrome, not orange. Did that happen or is it wrong. They are drilled for blinker supports which are in a box. Next question, The blinker lamps are all (4) metal, chromed Stanley and the supports ( front ) are round,tapered, chromed and about4/5" long and have a short hex nut molded into the base and are splined on the lamp end. Rears are the same only shorter and not tapered and are mounted to a "U" shaped bracket/flange that looks to mount to the frame somehow. The bike is wired for blinkers but I cant tell if these are the right ones. The diagrams I have looked at only show a single rod for the rears that appears to run thru the frame and is held in place w/ a more or less flat flange and bolt. This little bike was a gift... and I'm beginning to understand why. I have spent every spare minute for the last 2 weeks reading or on ebay and elsewhere on the net trying to find out anything/everything I can and I can tell it's going to cost me !
Tell me there is a cure. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks, Tom Peadon

Sounds like you got most all of the original turn signal parts and those items are high-purity billet unobtanium these days. Check those headlight ears closely. They shouldn't be simply drilled for turn signal mounts, they should have inner/outer shell construction, with compound curves, around inner reinforcements, the orient the signal stalks parallel to the axles. Yes, `77s were painted. The chrome versions were all done by `75. If yours are near-perfect, there's probably a frustrated collector out there somewhere, willing to pay serious cash for these. You could also paint them, Colorite should still have the correct orange (though I doubt that it'll match the original paint, which has had 33 years to fade). IMO, the bike will look nicer with the chromed headlight ears. And, since they are OEM CT70 parts, just from another model year, you'd be building more of a "phantom" CT70 model than a restomod.

Earlier model chrome parts & decals generally make the later models look a lot nicer, imo, than they do stock. Beginning in `75, the chrome & little appearance details began getting cost-reduced out of existence.

Thanks for the response. The ears / uppers are correct and in really good shape except for one small ding . I lightly steel wooled them today and any traces of rust about the seams came right off. Finally got a look at the proper rear blinker stay and this is not it. I also noticed that the front stays do not have a step in them about 2" from the base as have some I've seen. They are straight taper to the intregal hex nut base. Are they still correct and what would the shorter ones be for ? Also noticed today that the muffler as well as the heat shield are chromed ? The more I clean the better it's looking. The ignition key is missing and there is no key code on the face. Does this mean I need a locksmith or is there another way to find a key code (serial no., etc.). I should be off the road in a couple of weeks and can hardly wait to tear into this ol' girl.

Thanks agian, TP