[mcpt1]

I've finally found the time to begin the restoration of this 1969 CB 175. This bike was purchased new by one of my brothers, he didn't have it long when he got drafted (remember this is 1969 , there was a dust up in SE Asia at the time, a different story for another day), he was kind enough to leave me the keys and I did have some adventures on this bike, turned it into a scrambler by putting on high pipes and high bars, didn't quite make it dirt ready, I was too young and stupid to know any better. It has been kicking around the family for all these years, now that I have the room and time for such a project I decided to tackle this. Have never restored a bike before so please bear with any stupid questions, here it is before any work

Have it torn down, frame powder coated and painted parts back from the painter,swingarm is on but I cant tighten it beyond just a few ftlbs before it starts binding up, maybe I'm missing something ? any help is appreciated, the service manual from that time isn't much help,

heres the project so far

Gary

 

[mcpt1]

Figured out the powder coating needed to be removed from any pivoting parts to allow swing arm to pivot freely, moving forward with rear tire and wheel bearings,
Working on the headstock, going to replace the original bearings with tapered bearings, have got the races installed in the head stock now need to remove the lower race from the triple tree steering stem, this is apparently pressed on , does this require a special tool to remove or is it best to just cut it off?

 

[mcpt1]

sorry for the upended pics, not sure why this is happening

 

[66Sprint]

Please phone about your swing-arm problems....540-525-5199......Steve

 

[ancientdad]

sorry for the upended pics, not sure why this is happening

this might help for the picture problems

https://www.hondatwins.net/forums/25-website-issues/120382-pictures-post-upside-down.html#post1008568

 

[CB2NR]

Looks like a nice project.
Sometimes a photo can help out as you progress. If you have some time; check out the link below in my signature.

Good luck!

 

[mcpt1]

Thanks for the help with the pictures, easy enough to correct

 

[mcpt1]

Ray
Saw your '71 CB 175 restoration,...WOW, wish I had the skills to dig in that deep, I guess I can refer to mine as a clean up and rebuild just want to get it looking good and functional , I've bookmarked yours and will no doubt refer to it often when doing mine , Thanks
Gary

 

[Simo]

Please phone about your swing-arm problems....540-525-5199......Steve

Phone Steve, the heat from the pc oven would/should have melted the plastic bushings in the swing arm, or did you replace them?

 

[Richard_Pitman]

Like this:

 

[mcpt1]

I removed them ahead of time, so no problem there , I think there was too much build up from the powder coating so going to remove all that

 

[mcpt1]

Got the swing arm installed , working on the front end, tapered bearings from all balls went in pretty smoothly, got the forks apart ,cleaned and ready to put back together, lots of rust where the triple tree clamps the tubes but since this area is covered I'm not too worried about it, just knocking enough rust down so it doesn't damage the seals as they slide past this area, the manual calls for motor oil 10-w 40 or 50 if I remember correctly, I have 5w fork oil I plan to use unless this is a bad idea, opinions are always welcome, this board is a great resource for a first timer like myself, I find myself coming back to it constantly to see how others have solved problems I'm encountering, grateful for everyone's willingness to share
Cheers

 

[ancientdad]

I'd be surprised if the manual calls for motor oil in the forks. My guess would be ATF for that bike, it was common back then. Fork oil of today would be fine as well, as long as they are clean inside and free of any previous fluid. I used ATF in my 450 when I did my complete build and it's fine, rides nice with it

 

[Simo]

I'd be surprised if the manual calls for motor oil in the forks. My guess would be ATF for that bike, it was common back then. Fork oil of today would be fine as well, as long as they are clean inside and free of any previous fluid. I used ATF in my 450 when I did my complete build and it's fine, rides nice with it

FSM calls for SAE 10-30

But ATF or fork oil is probably a better option

 

[ancientdad]

Interesting... so, back then I guess they were thinking it will damp gently when cold and then get firmer once it warms up outside based on the suggested use of multi-grade oil