I had a XL70 a few years ago and had to sell it because someone offered me a whole lot of money. Since then I have been riding my 94 CT70 with yx140 engine on the street. Recently a 1971 SL70 roller (frame and suspension only) showed up on craigslist for $100. I had to have it. I was able to get it titled and registered in Vermont with just a bill of sale. I plan to transfer the Vermont title to my state Ohio soon and register it in Ohio so it has Ohio plates. Since it is older than 1973 it technically doesn't need turn signals but I am going to put turn signals on it anyway.
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I have been planning this build a long time.
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Initially I was going to do a resto-mod build with inverted forks and leave the remainder of the frame pretty close to original.
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As you can see in the above photos someone drove the front wheel into something solid and the frame was bent. I straightened the frame and continued with the retro mod build. I put a yx140 engine on it with a huge oil cooler.
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I rode the bike around a bit like this on DOT legal 90/100-14 Kenda Trakmaster tires for a while but it just didn't work. The swingarm was so short it would wheelie in the first three gears at any time and the seat position put my rear end on top of the rear axle and my knees were too high and interfered with steering. The front wheel had no weight on it so it was really sketchy if you were in the middle of a turn and hit the throttle the front wheel would come up and you would have to steer by leaning. This was clearly not a good setup.
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I had a 1997 Kawasaki KX80 frame, swingarm, and rear wheel in my storage barn I got for cheap with a bunch of other dirt bike parts. After some measuring I test fit the swingarm. It was a very good fit. With one washer on each side and 12mm to 10mm shims it was a perfect fit. This took care of the short swingarm problem but required upgrade the 600mm forks I had to 735mm forks to match the extra height the KX80 rear end would require.
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I gave up trying to make it a resto-mod and got reproduction CRF110 tank & plastics. I welded all new attachment points for the seat and plastics.
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Today I finally got to ride it again with the new swingarm. Unfortunately I left my new CRF110 fuel tank at work so I had to put the old tank on for the test ride. I'm 6' tall so the height is about right but I might lower it some to make it easier to sit flat footed at stop lights. The KX80 swingarm and shock are nice and smooth. It still wheelies easily but is very controllable now and much more weight is on the front wheel.
I have been planning this build a long time.
Initially I was going to do a resto-mod build with inverted forks and leave the remainder of the frame pretty close to original.
As you can see in the above photos someone drove the front wheel into something solid and the frame was bent. I straightened the frame and continued with the retro mod build. I put a yx140 engine on it with a huge oil cooler.
I rode the bike around a bit like this on DOT legal 90/100-14 Kenda Trakmaster tires for a while but it just didn't work. The swingarm was so short it would wheelie in the first three gears at any time and the seat position put my rear end on top of the rear axle and my knees were too high and interfered with steering. The front wheel had no weight on it so it was really sketchy if you were in the middle of a turn and hit the throttle the front wheel would come up and you would have to steer by leaning. This was clearly not a good setup.
I had a 1997 Kawasaki KX80 frame, swingarm, and rear wheel in my storage barn I got for cheap with a bunch of other dirt bike parts. After some measuring I test fit the swingarm. It was a very good fit. With one washer on each side and 12mm to 10mm shims it was a perfect fit. This took care of the short swingarm problem but required upgrade the 600mm forks I had to 735mm forks to match the extra height the KX80 rear end would require.
I gave up trying to make it a resto-mod and got reproduction CRF110 tank & plastics. I welded all new attachment points for the seat and plastics.
Today I finally got to ride it again with the new swingarm. Unfortunately I left my new CRF110 fuel tank at work so I had to put the old tank on for the test ride. I'm 6' tall so the height is about right but I might lower it some to make it easier to sit flat footed at stop lights. The KX80 swingarm and shock are nice and smooth. It still wheelies easily but is very controllable now and much more weight is on the front wheel.
