Hi, I am tryiing to restore a CL77 which I think is a 67. I just found this sight and hope some of you experts can steer me in the right direction. I am not a mechanic but I am mechanically inclined and have been learning as I go with this bike. The last time the bike ran was 1991 and it ran good. Since then it has sat in a barn up north until I brought it home to Detroit last summer. The gas tank and carbs had varnish it them so I had the tank acid washed and rebuilt the carbs. I got the bike running but not smoothly. I'm guessing the problem is in the carbs. When the bike is running exhaust comes from both cylinders but the right hand side has black smoke and the left hand side has an exhaust but it is not hot, I can hold my hand in front of the exhaust pipe for that cylinder when the bike is running and the exhaust is only warm. I'm not sure why this is happening?
Another issue is the transmission. When the bike last ran it had 1rst, 2nd and 3rd gear, no high gear. When I started working on it you could still shift into the 3 gears but now I can't shift it into gear. If I keep working the gear shifter I might get it into first and then back to neutral. Also, during this time I a bunch of gas leaked from a carb overflow into the crankcase and contaminated the oil, I changed the oil but did not do it right away. Could this have affected the transmission? One last thing, when I pull in the clutch lever the bike idles faster which I don't normal. Any help diagnosing these problems would by greatly appreciated.
thanks, Bob
New CL77 Member with problems
new guyHi there Bob, first of all, welcome to our nut house.
My first advice to you is to go to the FAQ section and copy the "how do I tune my 305" (or something like that) and follow it to the letter. This procedure will get her purring like a kitten. That is if you don't have other issues. Gut feeling here is timing and carb adjustment. Get that right and then move on to the other thing at hand. Now I'm racking my pea brain trying to figger out how the gas could get into the crankcase to contaminate the oil. It would run under the cover, through the overboard drain hole and into the final drive/chain area. From my experiences with old transmissions is that PO's have let their oil go way too long and the gear parts get coated with thick black varnish. I've seen shift forks so bound with the crap that they could not slide on the shift drum. Once cleaned, no problem. You may have more serious issues here and I'm sorry to say it but you may be in for a case splitting. It's not that big a deal so don't be intimidated by it. Sounds like you are willing to learn and we're all too willing to help those who are willing to try. Maybe some one here can advise a quick and easy flush for the tranny. If so please speek up. At any rate , list the VIN and eng # so we can get a fix on your exact year and post some pics. Folks like to pick these apart. Enjoy the journey. RW CL77 VIN #Thanks RW for the tip, I wasn't quite sure how to adjust the points but the FAQ section you steered me too makes it pretty straight forward. Also, the VIN # on my bike is CL77E-1048803. I think its a 1967 Scrambler but not for sure mainly because the gas tank isn't made to carry any badges. I'm thinking this may be an aftermarket tank because I have never seen a picture of another Scrambler that didn't have badges. I've attached a couple pics.
Also concerning the trans, if I do end up cracking the case, what will I have to do once it is open. Is the main purpose just to clean the gears and put everything back together? It sounds like a major project which I don't mind, but I'm going to focus on getting the engine running properly first. I currently have the carbs off and am putting in line fuel filters on the fuel lines because I found some rust in the carb bowls and then plan on tuning it up, hopefully adjusting the timing solves my problems. Bob
Re: CL77 VIN #The numbers and pics do show a 1967 issue bike.
The tank has had the badge area filled as oh so many had back when they were everywhere ya looked and the owners wanted theirs to be DIFFERENT. Do get the engine running and ride it some then time will tell what the trans will do. ..............lm
One way that fuel gets into the oil is through the intake ports. When the carb floods, the angle of the carb can allow some fuel to run down teh intake ports and if a valve is open, fuel will run in and start to fill the cylinder. Some fuel will find its way down past the pings and into the crankcase which of course contains the transmission.
LM is right. Clean out that contaminated oil, and focus of getting the carbs and points/timing right and see what the trans does at that point. tuning/trans updateI set my timing and adjusted carbs according to the helpful link in FAQ and now my bike is running great. The points were off and needed to be cleaned. Also, when I got the bike running correctly my trans started working. I don't know why but I am know able to shift into all gears and before struggled to get either 1rst or 2nd. It's pretty satisfying to ride a bike that has been started in 20 years.
I do have one more concern. In order to ride the bike I need to keep the choke lever postioned about a 1/4" to 1/2" below where it tops out. If I bring the lever all the way up the bike will stall out when you give it gas. Is this OK or do I need to make some more adjustments, if so where? Bob
Re: tuning/trans updateYa may want to try with the Choke Lever all the way Down. .........lm
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