Let’s take some time to look and talk more about this 1965 CL77 and it’s Red frame. There is some interesting history behind it and why many dealerships had them repainted to Black like this one was. When I bought this bike, I assumed it was a Black framed model as most did come that way. After I washed off most of the ‘barn dust’ and got it up on my lift, I noticed that my new project was in-fact going to be a Red frame. You’ll see in the photo at the right, that the original Red was still there…..hidden by the Black re-paint cover up. This project was going back to it’s Red roots – the exact color it left Japan with 45 years earlier.
1965 Honda CL77 (305cc) Scrambler
12991420 • October 4, 2015
These photos are of a 1965 Honda CL77 (305cc) Scrambler that I bought and restored back in 2010. The 1965 CL77’s had several 1-year only features, making this one both more interesting and more difficult to restore. The forks, front fender, chainguard, brakes, clutch and brake lever perches were just some of the items unique to the 1965 CL77 Scrambler. Honda used/carried-over those parts from their 250cc (CL72) for the 1965 model since the easiest way to hot-rod the increasingly popular Scrambler was to give it their Superhawk 305 engine! Then, in 1966, new forks, lever perches, chainguard, and better brakes from the famous Black Bomber CB450 K0 were installed.
The before and afters show this truly was a “barn find”. The fellow that I bought this from is now a good friend and was very happy to see it get a 2nd chance.
In the 60’s, Honda used the ‘pressed frame’ construction for building their smaller bikes like the 50, 65, 70, 90. They also used them in the Dream models of the 160, 250, and 305. The ‘T’ or ‘pressed frames’ carried most of the bike’s color, so to have Red, Blue, Black, even Yellow models of those required the frames to be of the same solid color. Well Honda went too far – too far for the times that is. The ‘tube frame‘ models like this CL77 were not as acceptable in colors and American buyers didn’t like or buy them as often. Sure, some sold but many of them would be stripped-down by the dealerships and repainted to a Black frame. This one is clearly one of those that failed to sell in Red.
Look close at the bottom right and you’ll see a V-Twin tribute bike that Cobra Exhaust had built for the 2011 International Motorcycle Show. I was asked to put them together for family photos of the original and tribute. Here you see head-to-head photos with Cobra’s modern version of the famous CL77 Scrambler in a 700cc V-Twin copy. Everyone was amazed at how well the bikes and colors paid tribute to the Red Frame from the 60’s.
Welcome to the first of several boating set-up and discussion articles that I plan to add to this Public Service Articles platform. These are being added as a public service to readers who can’t find the odd facts and principals affecting boating performance questions. I’ve spent 50 years wondering and searching for “What/Why boats and […]
Stressing Out Your Transom is an article that I wrote for Bass & Walleye Boats magazine and their March 2001 issue. I defined many of the terms used in set-up and discussions about jackplates, bolts, setback, transom stress, and leverage. The research took me several evenings at the Clemson University Library along with several phone […]
Motorcycle Gasket Sealer, Liquid Gasket, and Liquid Engine Sealant are the most common terms that people refer to the “Goo” that they use during the reassembly of their engine cases. Please read and shop carefully – the sealants and gasket goos that are sold at most auto stores and hardware retailers are almost always WRONG […]
The Modern, Manual Motorcycle Clutch does a lot more than the textbook definition of this word Clutch suggest. While the definition is “to Grasp, Seize, Clench, and Hold”, we think of them as quite the opposite. Mention Clutch and most of us will describe the Slipping Action that allows us to control engagement and movement […]
Understanding The How and Why It Works A Transmission is defined as a mechanical assembly (machine) that transmits power from the Engine to the Final Drive. The simplest transmissions can have just one, fixed ratio and no shifting. This article will expose the detailed workings of the 6-speed motorcycle transmission, but the 4 and 5 […]
He Was Here – We Know It Because He Left His Helmet! Rumors have it that Kawasaki kept pushing the envelope in performance and then in 2035, the H222 finally exceeded Warp. The daring rider who was willing to test anything with an Electron Dynamo Fusion Engine was given the nickname “Warp” and sadly never […]
