I’ve built CT70 with Lifan engines since the early 2000’s. The Lifan engines are as smooth and reliable as the original Honda. For those that immediately think of poor quality, when they think of Chinese products…….Lifan does not fit into that category. They have been around for a very long time and build quality products. I personally have two bikes with Lifan engines that have racked up over 7000 miles and I know of engines that have 15,000+ miles on them.
Hey Mike! I could not agree more! I have had great luck with those motors as well. I have done both street and full mini moto dirt versions with great success. The 17 frames I have left, only ten stock motors to build. I to will be building some wicked fun rippers! I got to ride Conor’s bike that’s in the video. It to is a very cool build! A lot of fun to ride! I can not say enough great things about Alex and Kase! Very cool to see young men be so into the vintage side of bikes and mini bikes! I am a big fan of your channel Mike! Thanks for your comment.
You two are cracking us up over here at the ranch! Thank you, as always, for doing such a great job showing off my dads work! Quite the bike you have there, Conor! Thanks for the show”kase” 😁
🤣I think after all the defense I gave you Kase in your last video of you showcasing your bike, you learned nothing about being gracious towards other bike enthusiasts. 🤣 Aint it fun to have a buddy like that, that you can pick on? 🤣 I can tell you got a lot of underlying respect for each other, even if you try not to on camera. I was ready to slap an absolute NO to the question posed, but after this, why not? Showing once again, bikes are as much a personality and art as any wall painting. Great fun video Kase.
Buddy built one with a 190cc engine and took it on a dual sport / adv ride. It was leaking or drinking oil like crazy. He packed oil in some half liter water bottles. I think it survived 100+ miles of the trip.
If I was Andy and had a barn full of used and NOS parts, I’d build them stock all the time just for nostalgia, but if you want to ride it on the street 70cc just isn’t enough to be safe IMO. No amount of Honda “smoothness” is going to change that. 140cc minimum unless you’re just cruising your yard/neighborhood.
Hi Guys. I enjoyed your video and can relate to having a stock gold 1971 Honda ct70 non-street legal(but was registered back in 1983 to me) and a current street legal Blue Honda ct70. I have both. I just installed a Lifan 125 into the blue last month. I love gold one in that it sounds like a sewing machine, but I love the blue one because when I was 12 years old, my friend dad bought him a brand new blue 1971 honda ct70 and he let me ride it for literally 2 minutes. My son saw the blue one at a garage sale andit gets up and goes now. Thanks for your video
Making a honda trail 70 street legal...... back when they were originally sold, they were street legal from the dealership.... came with turn signals, all lights, and a title so it could be registered..... had quite a few of them back in the day.
@@MiniBikeMike Didn't know that.... going mostly from memory of what I had, and memories of me lusting after new showroom models as a child....... 56 now... lusting to find a fairly complete one to restore thats not gonna cost me a small fortune. 🤣
@@davelowets The side frame badge on K0’s state that the bike is for off-road use only. Do not use on public streets, roads or highways. Fortunately, nothing in the ViN throws red flags at the license bureau, so I’ve plated many of them.
@@MiniBikeMike Right... It's above the 50cc limit for a moped, so it's considered a full blown motorcycle as far as the DMV is concerned. I'm sure the warning on the bike is to cover their own asses if someone does register it for road use. The horn, reflectors, head light with high beam, rear view mirror, tail light, brake light, and clear tail light lens on the bottom for a licence plate light weren't put there by the factory for just trail riding. Honda did all of that just to meet the requirements for limited road use, and left the choice up to the owners. I actually took my cycle license endorsement on a CT70...lol, and had to use hand signals during the test because of the lack of turn signals on my 1970. I must have REALLY looked like a dork, with the fluorescent vest and headset on while I was taking my road test on it. 😆
Loved the vid, check out the Coleman mini bikes, ct200u and such plus the mods you can do. People hit 60 mph on those things and still take them off-road.
I have a 150cc custom honda z50j gorilla with billet extended swing arm, inverted forks, billet 10" rims and 4.00-10 dual sport tires. its super fun and registered as a motorcycle. I ride it to work all the time.
I’m sure each state is different. In Indiana, it has to have a title, so that it can be registered and plated. If there isn’t a title, there is a process to obtain one. The rider must have a motorcycle endorsement on their license. As for the bike, they want a left side mirror and proof that it’s insured, that’s about it.
Nothing... Ride em like they are... Take the title to the DMV, get a plate, and ride. Just know your hand signals for the KO-K2's. The turn signals came on them starting with the K3's
I have a 72 CT70. The only thing aftermarket is the 88cc cylinder and piston. Stock carb jetted bigger. I’m 210lbs and it’ll do 55mph cruising nice. Can’t remember my sprocket count setup. It’s also the 4 speed H model.
For a collector piece of course all original OEM Honda all the way. For a rider really any Chinese CT70 can be built to fit whatever the owner desires for a lot less money. The original bikes were 70cc and 6volt electrical systems and the newer Chinese clones come out of the box 12 volts, most have electric start 125cc engines and have turn signals as well. Not to mention the disc brake as well is standard on the front. This in my opinion gives the clones an actual advantage to some degree. Plus the new clones come with the correct paperwork to get them titled and tagged for the street where many of the older Hondas are sold with a bill of sale only and takes a bit more work to obtain the title and registration for. The Chinese do a pretty good job at copying things but they leave a little to be desired on their attention to detail on assembly which with a little mechanical knowledge and time is easily accounted for very cheaply. The main thing as well is the number of Honda ct70's being passed off as originals when just about everything except the frame and maybe the wheel hubs is restored using 3rd party Chinese made replacement parts not OEM Honda parts including engine, transmission rebuilds using original cases but not OEM rebuild parts including many exhaust systems. I guess it all comes down to what you really consider original for the bike as a whole and what performance level you want even more so if going to be street ridden. But you are right in that compared to most things Chinese parts for these allow you to build a lot of bike for the amount of money spent.
The "clones" are garbage... There's no way in HELL a "clone" would last 52 years, and still run like new, like my all original 1970 CT70 does... Not a CHANCE.
I have a CT70 that is totally restored to look like new. It has all OEM parts but it does have a YX140cc motor and a high performance exhaust that looks just like the original. I have 2000 miles on it so far and it runs great!
Have an oem K0 SL70 that is registered street legal. With it's original California DMV "YOM" plate. No speedo, blinkers, or horn. Just as street legal they were back in 71/72. Nice Ct70s.
"Sounds like a sewing machine" - it's like watching Felix Unger & Oscar Madison the Couple who lived together in NYC just a Couple 😂of fellas dontchya knows
Dude there are guys fitting 190/212cc motors in these, they can be way better quality, you fit budget you get a budget ride, although if i wanted to modify it with a bigger motor i would get a clone dax, skyteam skymax i have has a 5.5lt fuel tank so has way more range than the og Honda which is great if fitting a bigger motor, look around on RUclips and see just how scary you can make them, p.s his 140 would sound way nicer with a better exhaust not that basic chinese rubbish thats on, mine has a similar pipe as standard but the 140 or bigger wakes up with a bigger bore quality pipe fitted.
Hmm.. I guess it's worth it if you want a really small street bike :-) But seriously, it's worth it to have a dirt bike that is street legal so you can ride it to the places where you want to do some dirt bike riding. Much more convenient than loading the bike up onto a pickup truck every time. And also great for doing errands and stuff around town 👍
CT70 is street legal as they came from the factory with title. They are still crappy bikes. SL70 or SL100 are way way better bikes. Better in every way.
Modified is best. If you can't handle that and you think it's,,, well how you said, you don't sound to me like a confident rider. Not a poof are you lol. If you found that hard work maybe bikes aren't for you. 😅😂
🤣I think after all the defense I gave you Kase in your last video of you showcasing your bike, you learned nothing about being gracious towards other bike enthusiasts. 🤣 Aint it fun to have a buddy like that, that you can pick on? 🤣 I can tell you got a lot of underlying respect for each other, even if you try not to on camera. I was ready to slap an absolute NO to the question posed, but after this, why not? Showing once again, bikes are as much a personality and art as any wall painting. Great fun video Kase.
You are doing it right!! Keep an open mind and learn from others!! It’s free and enlightening. I like how you wrote your comment as well!!! Good on ya! Eh!
I’ve built CT70 with Lifan engines since the early 2000’s. The Lifan engines are as smooth and reliable as the original Honda. For those that immediately think of poor quality, when they think of Chinese products…….Lifan does not fit into that category. They have been around for a very long time and build quality products. I personally have two bikes with Lifan engines that have racked up over 7000 miles and I know of engines that have 15,000+ miles on them.
Hey Mike! I could not agree more! I have had great luck with those motors as well. I have done both street and full mini moto dirt versions with great success. The 17 frames I have left, only ten stock motors to build. I to will be building some wicked fun rippers! I got to ride Conor’s bike that’s in the video. It to is a very cool build! A lot of fun to ride! I can not say enough great things about Alex and Kase! Very cool to see young men be so into the vintage side of bikes and mini bikes! I am a big fan of your channel Mike! Thanks for your comment.
Hi Mike
@@geoffreyjones2000 Hey!
The original Honda motor is better... Period
@@davelowets if you’re ok with 35 mph, then yes, I agree, keep the stock engine.
You two are cracking us up over here at the ranch! Thank you, as always, for doing such a great job showing off my dads work! Quite the bike you have there, Conor! Thanks for the show”kase” 😁
I love both but the 140 sounds great
🤣I think after all the defense I gave you Kase in your last video of you showcasing your bike, you learned nothing about being gracious towards other bike enthusiasts. 🤣 Aint it fun to have a buddy like that, that you can pick on? 🤣 I can tell you got a lot of underlying respect for each other, even if you try not to on camera. I was ready to slap an absolute NO to the question posed, but after this, why not? Showing once again, bikes are as much a personality and art as any wall painting. Great fun video Kase.
Buddy built one with a 190cc engine and took it on a dual sport / adv ride. It was leaking or drinking oil like crazy. He packed oil in some half liter water bottles. I think it survived 100+ miles of the trip.
That 140 sounds beautiful
Not sure why he was shitting on his buddies build the whole time but to each his own...
Yeah pretty crap move, hey man you brought your bike. I'll trash it.
I thought the same thing his buddies bike was pretty sweet. dudes got his head too far up his ass with is perfect 70
If I was Andy and had a barn full of used and NOS parts, I’d build them stock all the time just for nostalgia, but if you want to ride it on the street 70cc just isn’t enough to be safe IMO. No amount of Honda “smoothness” is going to change that. 140cc minimum unless you’re just cruising your yard/neighborhood.
I like them both. Tinkering with one that can't be made stock would be fun. Just seeing what you can make out of it. Great video guys
Both. Have to have both!!
Hi Guys. I enjoyed your video and can relate to having a stock gold 1971 Honda ct70 non-street legal(but was registered back in 1983 to me) and a current street legal Blue Honda ct70. I have both. I just installed a Lifan 125 into the blue last month. I love gold one in that it sounds like a sewing machine, but I love the blue one because when I was 12 years old, my friend dad bought him a brand new blue 1971 honda ct70 and he let me ride it for literally 2 minutes. My son saw the blue one at a garage sale andit gets up and goes now. Thanks for your video
Making a honda trail 70 street legal...... back when they were originally sold, they were street legal from the dealership.... came with turn signals, all lights, and a title so it could be registered..... had quite a few of them back in the day.
Turn signals were added for the K3 model. K0, K1 and K2 did not come with signals.
@@MiniBikeMike
Didn't know that.... going mostly from memory of what I had, and memories of me lusting after new showroom models as a child....... 56 now... lusting to find a fairly complete one to restore thats not gonna cost me a small fortune. 🤣
Street legal either way... Use hand signals on the early ones.
@@davelowets The side frame badge on K0’s state that the bike is for off-road use only. Do not use on public streets, roads or highways. Fortunately, nothing in the ViN throws red flags at the license bureau, so I’ve plated many of them.
@@MiniBikeMike Right... It's above the 50cc limit for a moped, so it's considered a full blown motorcycle as far as the DMV is concerned. I'm sure the warning on the bike is to cover their own asses if someone does register it for road use. The horn, reflectors, head light with high beam, rear view mirror, tail light, brake light, and clear tail light lens on the bottom for a licence plate light weren't put there by the factory for just trail riding. Honda did all of that just to meet the requirements for limited road use, and left the choice up to the owners. I actually took my cycle license endorsement on a CT70...lol, and had to use hand signals during the test because of the lack of turn signals on my 1970. I must have REALLY looked like a dork, with the fluorescent vest and headset on while I was taking my road test on it. 😆
You don't have to MAKE them "street legal", they already ARE street legal.
My dad just gave me a 1981 CT-70 that he had when he was and im gonna spend the summer getting it running
Loved the vid, check out the Coleman mini bikes, ct200u and such plus the mods you can do. People hit 60 mph on those things and still take them off-road.
I have a 150cc custom honda z50j gorilla with billet extended swing arm, inverted forks, billet 10" rims and 4.00-10 dual sport tires. its super fun and registered as a motorcycle. I ride it to work all the time.
I would have appreciated a rundown on what was necessary to make it street legal, as versus 10 minutes solely of talking about it being street legal.
I’m sure each state is different. In Indiana, it has to have a title, so that it can be registered and plated. If there isn’t a title, there is a process to obtain one. The rider must have a motorcycle endorsement on their license. As for the bike, they want a left side mirror and proof that it’s insured, that’s about it.
@@MiniBikeMike Thanks. If I would have got that from Chase and roommate #1….
It's the same thing to make any vehicle street legal in any state you need a horn headlight turn signals brake light
@@infesting Signals aren’t required in Indiana.
Nothing... Ride em like they are... Take the title to the DMV, get a plate, and ride. Just know your hand signals for the KO-K2's. The turn signals came on them starting with the K3's
How did you get it registered with just a Bill of Sale? Here in Idaho, DMV pretty much refuses to register a Bill of Sale bike.
We used to ride CT70s and XR80 / XR100's when we were kids.
I have a 72 CT70. The only thing aftermarket is the 88cc cylinder and piston. Stock carb jetted bigger. I’m 210lbs and it’ll do 55mph cruising nice. Can’t remember my sprocket count setup. It’s also the 4 speed H model.
Speed and accel test?
My CT70 with a 140cc runs 63mph.
Hello, I think the 140ccm sounds very good...👍👍👍 Does anyone know where to buy the built-in motor struts?
"a sledgehammer driving through a coffee can" 💀
For a collector piece of course all original OEM Honda all the way.
For a rider really any Chinese CT70 can be built to fit whatever the owner desires for a lot less money.
The original bikes were 70cc and 6volt electrical systems and the newer Chinese clones come out of the box 12 volts, most have electric start 125cc engines and have turn signals as well. Not to mention the disc brake as well is standard on the front.
This in my opinion gives the clones an actual advantage to some degree.
Plus the new clones come with the correct paperwork to get them titled and tagged for the street where many of the older Hondas are sold with a bill of sale only and takes a bit more work to obtain the title and registration for.
The Chinese do a pretty good job at copying things but they leave a little to be desired on their attention to detail on assembly which with a little mechanical knowledge and time is easily accounted for very cheaply.
The main thing as well is the number of Honda ct70's being passed off as originals when just about everything except the frame and maybe the wheel hubs is restored using 3rd party Chinese made replacement parts not OEM Honda parts including engine, transmission rebuilds using original cases but not OEM rebuild parts including many exhaust systems.
I guess it all comes down to what you really consider original for the bike as a whole and what performance level you want even more so if going to be street ridden.
But you are right in that compared to most things Chinese parts for these allow you to build a lot of bike for the amount of money spent.
The "clones" are garbage... There's no way in HELL a "clone" would last 52 years, and still run like new, like my all original 1970 CT70 does... Not a CHANCE.
@@davelowets You have had a clone that long to find out then? Must be a nice crystal ball.
@@slrs3908 Nope. I'm just wise enough to know better.
I have a CT70 that is totally restored to look like new. It has all OEM parts but it does have a YX140cc motor and a high performance exhaust that looks just like the original. I have 2000 miles on it so far and it runs great!
Have an oem K0 SL70 that is registered street legal. With it's original California DMV "YOM" plate. No speedo, blinkers, or horn. Just as street legal they were back in 71/72. Nice Ct70s.
how fast is the Lifan 140cc?
Mine does 63mph.
@@Mr10usdad I can get 61mph out of my stock 125 engine on a flat road with no head or tail wind.
@@spydie my friend has a 125. We have found the top speed of the 125 and the 140 to be about the same. The 140 has more torque and pulls harder.
@@Mr10usdad That makes sense. Thanks
I had a trail 70 when I was in junior high school in the late 70's ...Cool bike, didn't handle that great...Got hurt a couple of times on that thing.
"Sounds like a sewing machine" - it's like watching Felix Unger & Oscar Madison the Couple who lived together in NYC just a Couple 😂of fellas dontchya knows
The 1mph wheelie! 🤣
I wished I have one
For real?
Go buy one... 🤷🏻
The standard one is already street legal here in Britain.
"It's sketchy..." 🤣🤣
Dude there are guys fitting 190/212cc motors in these, they can be way better quality, you fit budget you get a budget ride, although if i wanted to modify it with a bigger motor i would get a clone dax, skyteam skymax i have has a 5.5lt fuel tank so has way more range than the og Honda which is great if fitting a bigger motor, look around on RUclips and see just how scary you can make them, p.s his 140 would sound way nicer with a better exhaust not that basic chinese rubbish thats on, mine has a similar pipe as standard but the 140 or bigger wakes up with a bigger bore quality pipe fitted.
Just buy a bigger bike... 🙄
I built a street legal 190cc CT70 and it’s absolutely insane. Its so scary that I sold it. I ended up regretting it so I bought it back today.
@@ryanriley1222 Sure, sure...
I want both thinking about the other fix up my stalker really go for it I would rather invest in an even better motor
No idea how you guys ride 50 and 70cc bikes. I had to mod my 2022 monkey just to make it reasonable around town
Lose some weight...
Hmm.. I guess it's worth it if you want a really small street bike :-) But seriously, it's worth it to have a dirt bike that is street legal so you can ride it to the places where you want to do some dirt bike riding. Much more convenient than loading the bike up onto a pickup truck every time. And also great for doing errands and stuff around town 👍
They hold 0.65 gallons of gas and can take you to all sorts of places if street legal.
@@mobydick3895 Yes. I agree. The CT70 is a cool bike if you like small bikes. Making it street legal makes it way better. Cheers :-)
I love the sound of the Blue bike...sorry
Please don’t crucify me, but would it be cheaper to just buy a Dax. Supposedly they will make it to the US market in 2025.
👊
Funny.
CT70 is street legal as they came from the factory with title. They are still crappy bikes. SL70 or SL100 are way way better bikes. Better in every way.
1st ... HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY EVERYONE
Funny!
Modified is best. If you can't handle that and you think it's,,, well how you said, you don't sound to me like a confident rider. Not a poof are you lol. If you found that hard work maybe bikes aren't for you. 😅😂
The perfect bike for a pit bike at the race track.
🤣I think after all the defense I gave you Kase in your last video of you showcasing your bike, you learned nothing about being gracious towards other bike enthusiasts. 🤣 Aint it fun to have a buddy like that, that you can pick on? 🤣 I can tell you got a lot of underlying respect for each other, even if you try not to on camera. I was ready to slap an absolute NO to the question posed, but after this, why not? Showing once again, bikes are as much a personality and art as any wall painting. Great fun video Kase.
You are doing it right!! Keep an open mind and learn from others!! It’s free and enlightening. I like how you wrote your comment as well!!!
Good on ya! Eh!