Where to start on CL77E???

[dbg1ok]

Hello all,

I am brand new to this forum and after searching through various posts decided to post myself.

I have a C77E that I am really looking forward to working on/ restoring, but I have no idea where to begin the process. I am not looking to sink a to of money into this project right now as my main goal is to just get the motor running.

Long story short when I was about 13 years old my brothers and I were walking back from a local park and passed by someones house. In front of the house was a hug pile of garbage and amidst the garbage was this motorcycle. So we ended up pushing it back home 2 miles and thought we would tinker with it. My older brother did most of the messing around with it and took stuff apart and added you spark plugs, things of that nature. So that was when I was 13 I am now 26 and have a house in a different state and I am now ready to work on this bike.

Where should I start to assess if the motor will run? It turns over and seems to have good compression, gas tank is useless as is is filled with rust. For some reason the wiring harness was all but taken off and it has no battery. Any help would be greatly appreciated to point me in the right direction.

[rustywrench]

Judging by the pics, I'd say that you have your hands full but in your favor, the engine turns over. Stuck motors complicate the process by a bunch.
First thing you need to invest in is a shop manual and parts manual. Most valuable tool you will own working with these bikes.
Next do a compression test. That will tell you how likely the thing will fire or not. Both plugs removed and carbs wide open.
The tank may be salvagable if the rust has not eaten through. Several ways to do that tank, all on this froum.
Remove and clean the carbs, set float height.
Next, go to the FAQ section on the left yellow and click on " how do I tune my 305" and follow Ed's recipe to the letter.
You could easily do your home wire routing with a basic route from the battery, switch,coil,condensor, points.
Now you have fuel, fire and if you have any compression at all, you should get run. After that, then you can figure out which direction you will take her. Good luck and please do keep us up to date on your progress. Rusty

[dbg1ok]

Judging by the pics, I'd say that you have your hands full but in your favor, the engine turns over. Stuck motors complicate the process by a bunch.
First thing you need to invest in is a shop manual and parts manual. Most valuable tool you will own working with these bikes.
Next do a compression test. That will tell you how likely the thing will fire or not. Both plugs removed and carbs wide open.
The tank may be salvagable if the rust has not eaten through. Several ways to do that tank, all on this froum.
Remove and clean the carbs, set float height.
Next, go to the FAQ section on the left yellow and click on " how do I tune my 305" and follow Ed's recipe to the letter.
You could easily do your home wire routing with a basic route from the battery, switch,coil,condensor, points.
Now you have fuel, fire and if you have any compression at all, you should get run. After that, then you can figure out which direction you will take her. Good luck and please do keep us up to date on your progress. Rusty

Thanks Rusty...

I will start with that and update as I work on the project.

[dbg1ok]

Judging by the pics, I'd say that you have your hands full but in your favor, the engine turns over. Stuck motors complicate the process by a bunch.
First thing you need to invest in is a shop manual and parts manual. Most valuable tool you will own working with these bikes.
Next do a compression test. That will tell you how likely the thing will fire or not. Both plugs removed and carbs wide open.
The tank may be salvagable if the rust has not eaten through. Several ways to do that tank, all on this froum.
Remove and clean the carbs, set float height.
Next, go to the FAQ section on the left yellow and click on " how do I tune my 305" and follow Ed's recipe to the letter.
You could easily do your home wire routing with a basic route from the battery, switch,coil,condensor, points.
Now you have fuel, fire and if you have any compression at all, you should get run. After that, then you can figure out which direction you will take her. Good luck and please do keep us up to date on your progress. Rusty

Ok so I started with your steps rusty and I got to the carbs. My right side left side carb is leaking so I have to diagnose that, but the concerning thing is when I was tinkering with the carbs and cleaning them I noticed that they have CB77 stamped on the side. Is that normal or is that A part I am not supposed to have for a cl77???

[rustywrench]

As much as I hate to say it, I don't remember if they do or not. I don't even have any here now to compare. Perhaps someone else would like to ring in on this one. They look normal to me via the pics. Rusty

[swampyankee]

Your bike is almost as bad as mine from the looks of it. Mine is borderline hopeless case since it's locked up solid. If the motor on mine turned over i would definitely be attempting a restore. Although, in my youth I took a locked up Scrambler, beat the pistons out of it, had it bored and replaced the pistons and rattle can painted the tins, and ran the hell out of it.
Keep us up to date on your progress. It could be inspiring.

[malcolmgb]

swampyankee don't hammer your pistons you run the risk of damaging the crank/bigend bearings, I used a home made press and pushed the pistons to free it, and they were well seized on one cylinder.