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1972 Honda CL 175 Cafe


J.W.

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I have too many bikes in the garage right now and possibly another on the way, so it is time to let this one go. I bought this bike in pretty rough shape (see pic below) and got it cleaned up and running a few years ago. I rebuilt the carbs and threw a quick rat-cafe paint job on it. It's definitely not perfect but it's a fun bike and easy to work on. Parts are easy to find and are cheap. I put cafe bars on it but still have the originals.

The good:

It runs!

4,036 original miles

Clean title in hand (historic plates on it and registration is current).

The bad:

It has been sitting for almost 3 years without being started regularly. Will need new tires and a new battery. The last time I rode it, the carbs needed syncing (surprise surprise). Throttle cable should probably be replaced and the gas cap could use a new piece of OEM cork or an aftermarket gasket - easy 10 min. fix and I may have that done before someone picks it up. Also, you cannot tell from the pics but one of the gauges has a cracked face. It does not leak or affect operation but might be a cosmetic consideration for some.

Overall, its in good condition for a bike that rolled off the line in 1972. Needs a little TLC but that is the nature of these bikes. My plan was to put fresh tires on, sync the carbs and get book value. I'm open to reasonable offers.

Here is how it looks as of right now with 3 yrs of dust:

cl1751.jpg

cl1752.jpg

How it looked when I picked it up:

cl1754.jpg

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Do the tires hold air? That is to say, if I got a new battery and needed to drive it from Cincy up here to Columbus do you think it'd make it?

When I wheeled it out to take pictures, the tires had air in them (and I have not added any in at least a year). I'll check tomorrow and see if they will hold at pressure. That being said, I would not trust these tires for any travel because I am pretty sure the are the original treads. Who knows, the tubes may be too :wtf:

More importantly, I don't know that you would want to ride this from Cincinnati to Columbus unless you just want to do it for the sense of adventure on the back roads. I don't even know if it will do interstate speeds; I never tried. Bike night has always been the furthest trip it has made as long as I've owned it.

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I have a 72 cb175 I am working on right now. I don't see a price. What are you looking for it?

Book price for "like new" condition looks to be around $1600 for these bikes. This one is no where close to that. My original thought was to get everything fixed, shine it up and shoot for 1K. I have too many other projects going right now so that is not going to happen. I'm open to reasonable offers. I would like to sell it to someone who will fix it up instead of parting it out because it does not need a lot of work to be a dependable ride. There is a kit to convert the 175 from points to electronic ignition and some LED bulbs take a lot of pressure of the 1972 charging system. A few mods by someone who has time to tinker on it and the bike would be good to go about anywhere... still probably not on the interstate though :D

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Definitely wouldn't be trying to do anything on the interstate, I just don't have a trailer or even a vehicle that could pull one. Let me know how they hold air, and if you have a price you're kicking around.

edit: saw the above on price, would definitely be interested in fixing it up and using it to commute back and forth to osu.

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