cl70 project with lifan engine

Abe46219 · #1 06-23-2011, 03:54 PM

Hey everyone, I want to get my cl70 running again it was running but lost some parts and the fuel petcock needs replaced. I want to upgrade to a 125cc lifan engine, it is $250 on eBay new but no warranty. I'm new to small engines what will need to be changed; carb, air filter, ignition coil, speedometer? Will the lifan bolt into The engine mount, no problem? Do I use the existing chain? The main thing is I want a dirt bike and a road bike all in one

thanks for the help in advance

Smithers · #2 06-23-2011, 07:19 PM

So what's missing exactly? Putting a different engine into the CL70 will require a lot of work and more money for getting things working correctly. It might be a toss-up but it depends on what kind of condition your 70 engine is in. Interesting option though. If you want the performance you will need the larger engine for sure. I just have no idea and no experience with the durability of the Lifan engine. There are a ton of people who gives their opinions on other websites though. Gotta do some homework on that one.

Abe46219 · #3 06-23-2011, 07:38 PM

Hey Smithers, The bike is in great condition needs a paint job. I am missing the needle or pilot jet for the car which i believe are the wrong jets ever since me and my brother bought the bike it runs at a very high rpm and the spark plugs gather up soot and wont start after running it cause the dirty spark plugs and the fuel petcock needs replaced and the air intake boot, air filter, battery, rectifier. Over the weekend i rode a raptor for the first time and i wont the speed my birthday is coming up and my mom is talking about getting me the engine i cant beat that if i dont have to buy a whole lot of other parts im curious about the carb i would need a different one wouldnt i and the chain? and ignition coil? Thanks for the reply

Smithers · #4 06-23-2011, 09:53 PM

Well all those parts can be put back to stock for not too much $$ so making it run correctly isn't that big of a deal in my opinion. Batteries are super cheap! Probably doesn't need a rectifier unless its missing completely. You can just slap a universal foam filter on the carb easily so that's cheap. These engines run FLAWLESSLY for a long long time as long as the oil level is kept up and the air filter is clean. The only thing that ever needs replacing is anything rubber like oil seals on the shifter and kickstarter. These bikes are really tough and you will get tons of use out of it.

I just can't recommend an engine swap just yet. It's a lot more involved than you think. Unless you really like that power - but you'll have to do some research for the recommended carburetor. I just haven't done a Lifan swap myself because the Honda engines are very high quality and run forever. It's probably a lot easier to repair your 70 engine. I was rebuilding those engines when I was 15 years old and heading for the hills with my friends racing around on them. I would get the 70cc Honda engines and put them in the little 50cc dirtbikes frames and ride the piss out of them. Honda makes very very tough engines.

But of course they don't make those engines cheap and I have read about people swapping in the Lifan engines and they sound and look great. I've never heard of anyone really beating one up and putting one to the test though. If you can take some pictures and post up your progress while you work on putting the Lifan engine in your bike I would be happy to give you some advice on what to do. I'm sure some other guys here would give you some input as well.

I would bet that you would have to modify your chain or buy a new one. I thought they sold those engines with the coils attached to them and with carbs? It sounds like you'll easily have to put another $100 into those parts alone.

Here I found one. This comes with the ignition, carb and just about everything you will need.... it looks like it anyway.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LIFAN...Q5fAccessories

In case the link doesn't work: Item number:250312321541

Smithers · #5 06-23-2011, 10:13 PM

I can't believe how cheap those engines are. Just kinda scary. I mean that price INCLUDES shipping which alone is probably like $50. For the price being so low it's worth the risk of seeing if the engine works out.

I just would hate for you to get it and the thing break on you or not even run.

Well just looking around on Youtube there are a ton of people putting those engines in little Hondas and they are working great. So the decision is up to you. You'll have to compare the mounting locations for the engine bolts to see if the CL and CT are the same. I would guess they are but you should check by finding a CT to compare yours to. Or use the ol' Google and see what you can come up with.

Sounds like you got a project! Don't throw out any of your old Honda engine parts though. Someone somewhere will want them.

Abe46219 · #6 06-24-2011, 06:49 AM

Yea that is a better deal that you found on ebay but does that need to be run on a 12 volt system? and with the original motor i want to learn how to rebuild it on a later project

as far as everything else the chain might need to be changed what about sprockets, throttle? i need to get a list to start ordering the parts

i also will check into the ct70 mounting thanks alot

Smithers · #7 06-24-2011, 07:00 AM

Get used to improvising and making things work! Anything is possible and this will just be a little exercise in engine swapping.

It looks like nearly every single thing you need for the ignition and electronics is there. Now to make the bike's chassis 12v you will need to do a couple things. You will need to remove all of the components that are for the 6V engine, the stuff that will be replaced by the Lifan 12V stuff. Now it doesn't matter what size the wires are. The wires that are in the bike are fine to run the lights all the same. All of your light bulbs will have to be replaced for sure. Then you need to feed the 12V power from the Lifan equipment into the Honda chassis wires. It's not so hard. You should REALLY make sure you have a decent digital camera and post some pictures when you get stumped. We'll point out which ones you'll need to connect to power the bike up.

You really won't be able to tell exactly what you need to order to make the engine bolt in right now. You'll have to put the engine in and then see how your chain goes around the sprocket - if they even give you a drive sprocket with the engine! You will probably have to buy a sprocket if it doesn't come with one. You can buy a new throttle and cable for cheap to put on the CL70 too. I would be surprised if the cable just connected up the same. You're going to have to just get that engine and tackle every issue one at a time.

I do have a friend who has a CT70 so I could actually go over to his house and measure to see if the engine mounting points are the same as my CL. He will be getting back from vacation next week so I wouldn't have results until Thursday or Friday.

Abe46219 · #8 06-24-2011, 07:29 AM

It sounds like this will be in my budget that engine you found is perfect I was worried about having to buy the cdi and carb and getting the wrong ones. I will get pics up of my cl soon if u have any plumbing questions feel free to message me for helping me out

Smithers · #9 06-24-2011, 07:48 AM

Hehe plumbing? Just connect the fuel hose to the carb. There are no plumbing questions when it comes to that bike. Fuel petcocks can be found all over Ebay. Is yours damaged or just missing? If it's in ok shape you can buy the little gaskets to rebuild them I'm sure.

Abe46219 · #10 06-24-2011, 07:58 AM

Haha I should have gave more detail I'm a apprentice plumber goin on 4 and a half years I can help with do it yourself plumbing just for those who are not in central Indianapolis lol

Smithers · #11 06-24-2011, 08:07 AM

Right on. Well if you can be a plumber you can figure out how to slap in a Lifan 125 into a 30yr old HOnda! Check this bike out. It's a super old Honda S90. I used to ride one of these to high school every now and then back in 1993! The "friend" that bought it from me swore he wasn't going to sell it to anyone else and that he would sell it back to me someday. Yeah right... he sold that super rare Honda to someone else immediately to make a buck!! Anyway this dude on Youtube put a LIfan 125 into the Honda 90 and it's a 6V bike to begin with. It's not that hard at all. Sounds like you got it made on that engine swap. He also said in the comments that there is a HOnda engine group on Yahoo that has all the info diagrammed out. You could look up some more info on that to see if that helps. I might look at that later myself just for kicks.

I'll just post the video in a window here. If you want to read the comments and see the users profile and stuff you can click on the "youtube" emblem to open up another window so you can see all that stuff.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: No media files are hosted on these forums. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website. We can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. If the video does not play, wait a minute or try again later.

I AGREE

Abe46219 · #12 06-24-2011, 11:30 AM

Thanks a lot I'm out at work now I'm gonna check out the videos when I get home I really wanna get that engine ordered but im on stand-by til i find out if the engine will fit

Smithers · #13 06-25-2011, 09:04 PM

Check this out. I found some info on some Lifan engine swappers that put them in CT and it looks like a guy did a CL as well. He bought the 140cc it looks like. http://lilhonda.com/webboard/f35/1972-cl70-11309/

"Installing the lifan 140cc went fairly easy, but I did had to grind down the engine a bit where it slides into the frame.
Converting the 12 volt engine volts back to 6 volts went faily easy also. All had to buy was a 20.00 buck rectifier and a wire harness.
I strained my back trying to start the sucker one day. The new 140cc is hard to kick over and sometimes kicks back at you.
I have run about 300 miles on it so far and the engine seems to run better with time and it seems it is getting easier to kick over.
I'm happy"

Abe46219 · #14 07-01-2011, 08:21 AM

Hey smithers I ran into some money problems but I am going to settle with restoring what I have

so I have purchased the following; new carb, indicator lights, battery, air filter, brake light, fuel petcock. They should be here by my birthday on the 5

I have a wiring diagram and I will start connecting the wires when I get some spare time also the speedometer never worked when I bought the bike can it be repaired cable is connected also my chain is pretty loose what should it be set to? And the brakes need adjusting I'm not sure how to do that yet and I need to change the oil Ive never changed the oil on a bike before what type oil and how much I can't wait to get it on the road lol

Smithers · #15 07-01-2011, 11:07 AM

Very good! Save your money and get your wheel turning I say.

Well first thing to do it get the bike running. Then you can try and get all the lights working and the other fun stuff. The speedometer is a simple unit that should work if the cable is connected. If the cable is connected correctly and it still doesn't work just unhook it and maybe try to find another one on Ebay - or maybe someone can fix the one you have.

The brakes have nuts on the cables to adjust them I'm sure so you just have to play around with them to figure them out. They should work fine without having to buy new brake pads or anything. They basically last forever unless they are damaged or something. I would just buy 3 quarts of 30wt oil and you'll be fine. You should have a little extra oil leftover I think. Don't buy synthetic. Just buy regular 30wt and you'll be set.

Have a good b-day weekend chief.