Todd Hunter wanted a nice little bike to run around the campground and found just what he needed, a 1971 Honda SL70, and though it ran just fine, the picture he had in mind was something a bit more classy. He sent me some photos of his little resto-mod that looks, for all the world, like a mini Triumph Scrambler. Look closely, you’ll see a lot of detail work that completely transforms the little Honda. Quite impressive and very sweet!
Here’s Todd to tell you how it all came together:
I developed a love for motorcycles in mid-life. Unlike about 95% of the guys I know who started out riding small dirt bikes as kids, I bought my first motorcycle, a 2006 Triumph Bonneville T-100, when I was 40. I am also involved an all hobbies miniature and motorized. Many people would consider my custom projects toys, but the term “toy” is relative. My love of miniature mechanical things, and motorcycles, lends itself well to the Honda horizontal engine bikes. I have built or restored seven of these little bikes since 2008.
The latest is a 1971 SL70 resto-mod I call Bivouac and is part of a continuing search for the perfect campground bike. It began as a mostly complete, veteran SL70 that ran like a top but had 42 years of patina and use showing. This, to a sensible person, would be a perfect campground cruiser – strapped on the bumper of a camper like another well used piece of camping gear. However I am not a sensible person and I could not leave it alone.
Unlike the other pressed steel, or single tube frames that the horizontal engine bikes usually have, the SL70 has an actual frame that reminds me of a “standard” bike. Since my first love was Triumphs and I needed a semi off road capable bike, this bike would be built with a Triumph-ish scrambler looking theme.
I wanted the tank and seat to be more horizontal and the bike to be a little longer. I am not a skilled welder but I do have a cheap flux-core wire welder that is good for melting steel together so I used that to make a bracket that changed the angle of the seat and tank by 3/4″. That subtle adjustment changed the entire look of the bike and gave me the confidence to press ahead with the vision of a fully functional, scale model of a scrambler.
The swingarm is from a 1983 XR100 with the tabs ground off and the rear fender had to be moved rearward 4 inches to match the length of the swinger. While pondering what I would do with the front end, I remembered I had a junked CB125s frame and left fork on the side of my house that I was going give away as scrap. I looked at the badly pitted chrome but I noticed that the aluminum fork bottom looked really similar to the SL70 fork bottoms, and that it had the boss mounts for a disc brake caliper. The CB125s of that year used a mechanical cable actuated (as opposed to hydraulic) disc brake caliper and that seemed like a quirky feature I could add to a mini scrambler. This brain fart idea would become the most challenging and fun addition to the bike. All I had for the brake was the left lower fork and the rest would be found on ebay. The fork upper pipes are the stock SL70 pipes and the internals pistons, springs, and guides are a hybrid CB/SL concoction. The completed front end is a composition of Honda CL/CB/CT/SL parts from the mid ’70s, some of them cut to fit.
A 16 inch wheel was built to replace the stock 14 inch. The rear hub is the stock SL70, laced to a larger 16 inch rim from ebay, using the spokes from the stock SL70 16 inch front wheel. The front wheel was built using the CB125s hub, stock SL70 front rim, and some spokes I found online by accident that turned out to be the right length. I had to teach myself how to lace and true a wheel using videos on youtube.
The paint I did myself and almost ruined the whole project doing so – twice, but I learned what a nib-file is used for. The frame is Krylon Oil Rubbed Bronze and has an awesome dark gold and/or olive tone in the sunlight. The white is a GM Duplicolor spray-can and the green is a factory Honda automobile color from 2008 Kiwi Green Pearl chosen by throwing a dart at a panel of color swatches. An auto body supplier mixed the green color and put it in rattle-cans for me. The gold pin stripe is vinyl tape that I clear coated over. The clear coat is a two part (2K) rattle-can that has a hardener capsule inside the can that you brake just before use. Once the hardener is introduced to the clear, you have 48 hours to use up the can. The results of the paint are not perfect but by far the best thing I have ever painted – then sanded and re-painted.
I fabricated my own front fender stays and oil cooler mount which I welded just below the head tube. The engine began as a 50cc from some other bike and is built up using JDM parts from Takegawa to be 124cc. It has 16t/35t sprockets and propels my 200lb body to over 65mph with ease which is plenty fast on a small bike. The ignition is 12 volt CDI but I use a 6 volt reg/rec, battery, and bulbs.
The header pipe is made from three different pipes including a piece of garden umbrella pole as a transition piece that allowed it to line up in a scrambler type position. The muffler is a vintage Cobra from a Honda ATC of some sort and the heat shield is an aftermarket piece I modified with scrambler “speed holes”. Every fastener is from the original SL70 or NOS Honda. Whether mini or full-size, this is by far the funnest bike I have ever ridden.
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Be sure to click on the photos to examine them up close. You’ll see Todd built far more than a perfect campground bike for himself, it’s a beautiful piece of work, period. Nice job, Todd.
cycledave says
Another cool take on a honda classic. Has some similarities to a one year only 1969 sl90 yet much cooler. Good job!
Todd says
Thanks!. I would love to get my hands on an SL90 someday.
Carolynne says
That is such a cute bike, reminds me of the bike I learned to ride on
Todd says
Thanks…I think….
Carolynne says
Yeah, I was thinking cute wasnt the look you were going for, but I do like it alot
Todd says
Hah! No worries. I have done a few Honda mini bikes and it is not the first time cute has been used to describe them. However I will say that when nearing 70mph on this little thing, cute is the furthest thing from my mind :o)
Larry kahn says
Mr. Hunter, that is some OUTSTANDING work. I fully applaud your thought, effort and skill that went into this very cool little bike. These “brat” builders could learn stuff from you.
My only thought is that you could make “Honda” badges/decals in the old Triumph font and have the right leg of the “H” sweep under and up to cross the “A”.
Again, outstanding job.
Todd says
Thank you sir.
The tank badges are something I am still pondering. Finding “scaled down” tank badges that don’t look too big is harder than I thought it would be. I love your idea of an old-timey Honda with a swoosh under it. I could have a vinyl decal made. Hmmm…
todd says
simply awesome. Header wrap and all.
-todd
Paulinator says
Hey, isn’t that self-gratification?
todd says
naw, this Todd isn’t me. My little Honda is still under a tarp in the back yard…
-todd
Steve says
Simply LOVE it!
Paulinator says
Cycles south. The bike looks great and I bet it wouldn’t push as many sore-spots with other campers as would a more agressive-looking machine.
Todd says
Thanks. Actually the Cobra muffler has a real bark and will not go over well in most campgrounds. I have tried melting – um I mean welding some home made baffles inside and it makes it quieter but the dBs are still a little high. I like the megaphone shape and I am considering adapting a little Supertrapp.
Klaus says
The Supertrapp megaphone has not much sound damping material inside because of its shape and is quite loud, too.
Todd says
Well, I am searching for a vintage looking muffler that isn’t too large and is fairly quiet. Any suggestions?
Harold says
It’s kinda cute, but Triumph-like? Nuh uh. I used to ride around on a friend’s S-90 in high school, before I got my 305, and it’s lack of acceleration almost got me killed a number of times. Now, I have seen a few CB or CL 160’s from that era with TT pipes and a different tank and seat that looked almost British. If I owned this l’il thing, it would get a campground-quiet muffler and would never see more than a mile or 2 of street riding! If you want a Trumpet, they’re still reasonably cheap, and even had a left-side shifter after 1975. Those were the best ones ( if not the prettiest ones), anyway.
Todd says
Harold said, “If I owned this l’il thing, it would get a campground-quiet muffler and would never see more than a mile or 2 of street riding! ”
I appreciate your input, Harold, but its a good thing you don’t own it because since completion it’s got over 100 miles of nothing but pavement, both in-traffic and on the best back roads Northern CA has to offer. It’s great fun!
todd says
Agreed. Todd could probably sell this Honda to pick up a Tiger Cub and have money left over…
-todd
Todd says
todd, you and Harold are greatly underestimating the performance of this little machine. This has about three times the power of any stock horizontal engine Honda ever produced and rips up the twisties better than my Bonneville.
todd says
I never doubted that, just suggested it’s worth more than a Tiger Cub.
-todd
jaxl650 says
I like that this is obviously such a great learning experience with lower stakes than with a bigger bike. Building your own wheels for the first time, for instance, sounds a lot less scary on this than on the XS650 I’m working on. And BTW the bike looks awesome.
Todd says
Thanks! I also taught myself how to weld (correctly) with this project. I think I am ready to build something bigger next time…..
david says
Todd,
Great piece of work, looks awesome. I would love to see the rest of your collection of bikes. I am really into smaller bikes.
david
Tin Man says
Forget the Triumph reference, this looks like a scaled down Aermacchi/Harley SX 350 with a Honda gas tank. Please tell me I can’t be the only guy who remembers those old Scramblers.
Todd says
I had never heard of an SX350 but I googled them and I agree, there are a lot of similarities.
B50 Jim says
I like the Triumph vibe — it does remind me of a Cub. I wonder if Todd put in a set of hand-crushing Cub clutch springs as a nod to nostalgia. For some reason, Triumph put a set of ultra-stiff clutch springs into one of its weakest motors. Nobody knows why, but nobody knows why Triumph did a lot of the goofy, nonsensical things they did. Ever see a Tina scooter?
Todd, you might try a tractor muffler — pick one up for less than $20 at a farm-supply store and it will look properly vintage (like 1920s vintage) plus run quiet enough for a campground.
TERRY STINNET says
GREAT FOR A SUVIVALIST BIKE JUST” THROW” IN THE BACK OF A TRUCK AND YOUR READY!