Texan
Senor Member
Picked up this bike a few weeks ago. Seller said he didn’t use it much and it was bought used as a gift to him. The owner before him had obviously done some tinkering with it. Started first kick and overall cosmetic shape was really good and only had less than 500 miles on it…so I bought it. He had it listed as a Vintage Honda CT70, but I knew before I even went to see it in person it was a clone. Genuine Honda CT70s are few and far between and very pricey in my part of the woods, never even seen a clone for sale either.
It is marked JinCheng on the speedometer, has no other markings, except some unreadable pin punches/dimples where the real Honda tag usually goes. The engine is a Lifan 72cc. The guy said it is a 3 speed manual, I’m still trying to figure out the shift pattern, as this is my first “motorcycle”.
First thing it needed was a rear tube. This was a breeze to install with the split rims. Then it needed a throttle cable, the one on it was busted. The guy said he would ride it with the cable in one hand, yeah I tried that for a quick test ride and definitely not safe. Found a cheap one on ebay, but it had the threaded end. Luckily I had some extra Honda grips/controls from my Honda Express extra parts with the threaded connection.
Now I was able to ride it. Lot of fun. But it just looked bland and chinesey, so I threw some ebay money at it to spiff it up. I know some purists would disagree with it, but I don’t care, I think it looks pretty cool as an actual clone. Best part about it is almost all Honda CT70 parts are direct bolt-ons. It is a 12V system, installed new battery, but running with no lights, needs new controls.
Here is how I found it:
Here it is currently:
It is marked JinCheng on the speedometer, has no other markings, except some unreadable pin punches/dimples where the real Honda tag usually goes. The engine is a Lifan 72cc. The guy said it is a 3 speed manual, I’m still trying to figure out the shift pattern, as this is my first “motorcycle”.
First thing it needed was a rear tube. This was a breeze to install with the split rims. Then it needed a throttle cable, the one on it was busted. The guy said he would ride it with the cable in one hand, yeah I tried that for a quick test ride and definitely not safe. Found a cheap one on ebay, but it had the threaded end. Luckily I had some extra Honda grips/controls from my Honda Express extra parts with the threaded connection.
Now I was able to ride it. Lot of fun. But it just looked bland and chinesey, so I threw some ebay money at it to spiff it up. I know some purists would disagree with it, but I don’t care, I think it looks pretty cool as an actual clone. Best part about it is almost all Honda CT70 parts are direct bolt-ons. It is a 12V system, installed new battery, but running with no lights, needs new controls.
Here is how I found it:
Here it is currently:
Real Honda CT 70's are pricey in everybody's neighborhood, ride it, it's a clone, but cool. Superb job Texan!, I wouldn't mind owning that myself. (Seriously)