CL77 Chopper

[wrencher52]

Hello -- I am new to this forum and would like to see if any others have CL77 choppers? I have a 66 CL77 that I chopped about 30 years ago for a friend and ended up with it some years back when he bought a HD. I restored again a few years back and had gone through it completely. It runs real well and is fun to ride as it had a jockey shift with a foot clutch -- however recently I put the foot shift back on and hand clutch so that my daughter can ride it. I have photos if anyone is interested in swapping pics.

[eric spaeth]

Hey, i am a 15 year old male from WI and rolled a 67 scrambler 305 out of my grandpas barn and a year later about halfway done with the excursion. I am chopping it and also bobbing the fenders and slappin a peanut gas tank on it. I am leaning towards matte black paint but its going to have to be aerosol because i am on a limited budget. I would like to see some pics of your chopper and as soon as i get my good-for-nothin digital camera loaded up on my computer i will send you a couple shots. Any hints or tricks for anything about the resto./chop/bobb would be great! Hope to speak to you soon, Eric

[wrencher52]

Hello Eric, 15 and already chopping bikes -- good for you!<br />I'm pushing 60 and still love to ride and build bikes. You mentioned budget -- you can get a great paint job with spray cans -- the key is prepping and making sure you got a good surface to paint on -- make sure you use primar and block sand it (a square chunk of a 2X4 works) and 400 grit sandpaper before the final paint is put on. I'm not sure how to send you a picture of my bike through this forum but if you send me your email address I can send you a picture that way.<br />My email is wrencher52@cox.net -- keep in touch -- Elias<br />

[305]

eric . how is the chopper project coming along?

[dppeter]

Wrencher52,

I've got an old CL77 chopper as well. I got it off a guy a few years ago and it has been sitting in my barn in pieces ever since. I just rebuilt the engine for it and brought the whole bike down into my shop. I hope to work on it this winter and get it finished up by spring. She has a chrome springer front end and a home made/altered CL77 frame with a hard tail. It should be an interesting project. I plan on cleaning up the appearance a lot. At the moment the battery, coils, rectifier are all just kind of hanging out there in plane sight.

Dan

[Rusty Bikes]

We will see if we can get some choper talk going here.
This project was pulled from the trash with a missing tank, seat and a stuck motor so I have no regrets about drastic changes I have planned.
The engine is unstuck now and will need the top end rebuilt, I drained the oil and found no water even tho it has been sitting in a yard for years, when I got the engine free rusty water shot out of the right spark plug hole.

I have been playing with my design concepts for this bike.
I like the idea of a ready made aluminium fuel tank but thats not in my budget at this time.
I have a line on a set of high pipes that run left and right instead of the over and under pipes to give me a old school British bobber profile.
So far I plan to keep the forks and neck stock but I really like the clean lines of a hard tail.
Yes I know the pain involved in riding a hard tail since I have had a few motorized bicycle with little more than a spring fork and sprong saddle to smooth the ride.
I plan a fatter than stock tires to fill out the fender and add more cushion.
And the lower rear frame will add rake to the front forks.
The latest fuel tank idea I had was to modify a stainless steel fire extinguisher, cut out a tunnel and pinch it down in the back to give it a more tapered profile.
Here is a rough MS paint sketch.
Rusty

Lets see some pictures posted of your projects or finished bikes.

[Rusty Bikes]

Well, I have been chopping up this old SS fire extinguisher and while it's far from what I imagine as a final product it is shaping up.
I wish I had a plasma cutter so I could screw this thing up even faster.
Oh yes, you also may notice I chopped the rear fender and the front has been removed.
I just bought a condenser so I should be able to hear it run soon and then I have to tear the top end apart for new rings and check for internal water damage.
Rusty

Ps. I just pulled off the clutch side cover to inspect the sticky clutch, expecting rust or crud but found a nice clean tight interior.
Quite a contrast to the crusty coroded exterior.
It's the top end I am dreadding cause I know there was water in there.
RB

03/08/07

Replaced the condenser today and got spark on each cylinder.
Sqiurted some fuel in the intake (Still no carbs) and kicked some life into the beast, got a couple energetic revolutions and flames out the exhaust.
Also found the horn still works as well as the lights when I apply the juice directly to them.
If I could just get all this electrical stuff working correctly it will be a joy.
Rusty