New Old Guy to the CT70 forum

[rbogner]

My name is Bob, I'm 53 and I live in St. Joseph, Michigan (gosh that almost sounds like the intro at an AA meeting; are CT70's addictive?). I bought a 1993 CT 70 for my daughter 8 yrs. ago and after two years of use, its sitting in my garage. My wife likes the bike, so I guess that means I have to fix it. By the way, this is a great site with a lot of information.

While there is tons of stuff and literature on the older bikes, info. on the newer ones is limited. Mice chewed the wiring harness and the carb needs work, again. The doofus at the Honda shop that worked on it last said it smoked some, just before he put the bike on its side in the back of the truck and had filthy gas from the air cleaner he never cleaned roll back into the carb I just spent $220 to have rebuilt.

Because I wish to avoid this type of stupidity, I look to you folks, the experts, for answers, and I will perform the repairs myself, which is most likely its own form of stupidity.

I am looking for guidance with respect to the correct wiring harness, carb repair or replacement (the carb seems to have issues that go beyond the affects of dirty gas, including a broken choke lever so I never know if the choke is on or off) and ring replacement or complete upper engine replacement since that might be as easy as new rings and boring the cylinder (is that necessary?).

Any help would be appreciated. I see one of the resources listed here is located in close proximity to me (Zeeland, Michigan) and I am more than willing to drive, haul the thing up there or do whatever might be necessary to get this bike running again.

There, I'm done with first rant.

[steampick]

First of all, the answer is "yes," these bikes are addictive.

I'm not sure what the correct harness was for the '93, as they were 12 volt bikes while the early (and more abundant) models were 6V. I'd check at Dratv website (http://dratv.com/honctminnewp.html ) to find out more about that part. As far as carb repair or replacement goes, again, dratv has rebuild kits and replacement carbs for the bikes.

You don't have to have the cylinder bored out when replacing the piston rings. Maybe just score it in a cross-hatch pattern lightly. There is a tool that you put in your drill that works well for this; just a local hardware store bit, I'd think.

I wouldn't replace the head, just get new valves and seals and have them reseated, but if it's a '93 it might still have lot's of life in it yet.

Good luck. Oh, and get a Clymer's manual.

[John Pond]

Hello, Bob.

Personally, I much prefer the 12V bikes, so I think you made a good choice.

If you're not handy with electrical, the 1991-1994 harness is available from Honda. I bought one at the beginning of the year. PN 32100-GAN-670, List $115.40, Seervice Honda sells it for $84.42.

I would also drain the fuel, drop the bowl, and hose it out good with chemtool. Make sure you check the strainer while you're there. I don't understand $220 to rebuild a carburetor: they're available new for $175, and Service Honda sells them for $128.65. The mechanic could have put on a new one and still made $90 profit with virtually no labor.

As you can see, for the late bikes I recommend Service Honda for replacement parts. Nothing beats OEM quality. If you're looking for chinese re-pop stuff, MyTrailbuddy or ebay works fine. Most of the good vendors (Dr. ATV, Trailbikes, NEVC) work with the early 6V bikes, not so much with the 12V ones.

So, anyway, clean out the carb and fuel tank and get it running before you decide about the valves and/or rings. If you do decide to upgrade the engine, make sure you get a bore-up kit for the 12V engine, as they're different (also better supported).

Welcome to the club!

John

[mrdouble]

Hey Bob!. Up until recently I lived in Coloma. My job made me move to Indiana.. BOO HOO.. I miss michigan

[rbogner]

Thanks John. Regarding the carb. that is exactly what I thought after seeing prices on new carbs and is why I won't be returning for additional demonstrations on how to lighten my wallet. I will contact dratv about the wiring harness and or Servie Honda (would taht be Service Honda in Hammond Indiana?)

I did clean the carb with a product that I believe was called "seafoam", however at that time I did not know the wiring harness had been chewed. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks, Bob Bogner

[rbogner]

Thanks John. Regarding the carb. that is exactly what I thought after seeing prices on new carbs and is why I won't be returning for additional demonstrations on how to lighten my wallet. I will contact dratv about the wiring harness and or Servie Honda (would taht be Service Honda in Hammond Indiana?)

I did clean the carb with a product that I believe was called "seafoam", however at that time I did not know the wiring harness had been chewed. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks, Bob Bogner

Mrdouble,

Actually, my wife is from Coloma as is her sister who still lives there. We live just south of St. Joseph outside the Village of Baroda, which no one has ever heard of unless you drink Tabor Hill or Round Barn wines.

[mrdouble]

unless you drink Tabor Hill

And I have

[MSZ]

Get a new wiring harness from Honda. Service Honda, Ron Ayers, etc. The only downside to Service Honda is on small orders, they have a minimum shipping charge of $10.00 unless it's changed.

I have a 1993 CT70 and if you have any tech questions regarding this model, feel free to drop me a note.

Dan

[markbrede3]

Hi Bob,
If you need any help with your bike we would be happy to help (Trail Buddy). I would recommend Dr. ATV for OEM parts I have used them for my restorations for years, good parts. How bad did the mice eat the wiring? You could just replace the wires if they only got a few. There are a lot of good people here to help you out, welcome to the fun.
[FONT='Calibri','sans-serif']Mark[/FONT]

[John Pond]

You are most welcome, Bob.

Yes, Service Honda is in Hammond, Indiana. I wasn't aware of that until you asked. I just order online from them.

They have a nice application that lets you log in to their parts catalog and look up items for yourself. I used to be a parts guy in a past life, so I like that a lot. BTW, Seafoam is good stuff. Old timers I knew used it to cure everything (including trips to Tijuana and hangovers).

Get the wiring fixed and get it running first. Then you'll be able to see if it really needs rings or a valve job. It seems unlikely in a '93, but maybe you have 6k miles or more on it.

Good luck!

John