I love seeing the muddy rear tire on this 1967 Honda CL77 305 Scrambler, the owner is using it as it was meant to be used. Too often we have nice original or restored vehicles and we keep them out of harm’s way and never use them, just keeping them around as eye candy. This motorcycle can be found here on eBay in Little Orleans, Maryland and the current bid is $3,350, but the reserve isn’t met.
That raised exhaust system lets you know that this CL77, otherwise known as a 305 Scrambler, is an offroad bike. Or, I should say that it can be used off-road, it’s more of an on/off bike. It’s not a dirt bike or really a trail bike and I’m spending too much time on this, we all know what an on/off bike is for cryin’ out loud. Sorry. The seller says that this one is all original: paint, chrome, seat, engine, everything. I’m assuming not the tires and other regular wear parts, but who knows.
The CL77 Scrambler was related to the Honda CA77 Dream and also their CB77 Super Hawk. Honda came out with a 250cc version in 1962 to try to compete with European scrambler-type motorcycles that were showing up on the market. In 1965, they came out with the 305cc version, the CL77, and they made them until the 1968 model year. Hagerty is at $4,500 for a #3 good condition bike.
This bike is not perfect, cosmetically, but that gives it more character. It’s not as if it’s in bad condition, there are just a couple of normal scratches, some normal wear, and some aging present. I have to tell myself that every time I look in the mirror. Yamaha also had a 305 Scrambler, their “Big Bear” and I would love to have one of each, how about you? You can see some cracking on what I’m assuming are the original cables, I might change those but keep the originals.
The engine is Honda’s 305cc overhead-cam air-cooled twin-cylinder with around 28 hp. This engine has split cases, of course, but they were split horizontally so it cut oil leaks down to basically nothing, which for those of us with too many old motorcycles would be fantastic. Most of my bikes drip a little bit and it’s annoying and it’s almost impossible to cure 100%. This one “starts, runs, rides and stops.” Have any of you owned a 305 Scrambler?
One of my favorite Hondas. The Scrambler 305 and the Super Hawk will always be at the top of my list. Of course the 250 versions will be right in there too. Interesting that Honda came out with the 305 first, I believe as early as 1957. A former dealer in Central WA gave me a couple of boxes of bike parts catalogs and service manuals and there was a catalog (1959) from a distributor on the coast that showed the latest from Honda and BSA. The Honda was essentially the Dream only with upswept pipes. It looked strange in that regalia. I might add that there was another offering from Honda called the ‘Cub,’ a 50cc Step-Thru.
And yes, I also remember the Yamaha Big Bear 305. Impressive and I wouldn’t kick it off my place but I always had a hankering for the Honda. Of course a Big Bear would be welcome in my collection…
Hey, pal. I read, Mr. Honda never liked 2 strokes, which is why you never saw any in the 60’s. You could always tell a Yamaha, Suzuki, or Bridgestone( “BS”,,remember those?) or any Italian job, by the cloud of smoke behind them. Honda was too sophisticated for that, it seemed. He deemed 2 strokes “buzzing and annoying, with the engineering of a blacksmiths anvil”,,He did just everything you could possibly do to a 4 cycle. I think he finally gave in with 70’s dirt bikes.
Major difference is the Yamaha was a 2-stroke. But it also had electric start like the Honda.
They left off the electric start on the CL-77, to make room for the full front downtube frame. I’ve owned 3 including one currently. But yes the other 305’s had electric start. In ’69 I had my first CL-77 and a friend had a Big Bear. The 2 stroker would blow me away every time, but I still preferred the sound of the Honda.
We think alike, Geomechs & Scotty. This (in Burnt Orange), became the 4th bike owned; was absolutely no dirt bike in my clumsy hands but damn if it didn’t make enough racket cruising the local Saturday night cruise scene with open SnuffrNots to find much attention from the..
local cops, more so than than the small town girls cruising who’d been told by their dads that ALL motorcycle riders are all Hells Angels/outlaw rider gang wannabe”s.
And that too was in and of itself was a confusing message when this 15 year old boy rode up to a potential girlfriend’s house on my “You meet the nicest people on a Honda” Cub 50 only to get thrown off the ranch as a potential OMG candidate..!
Still have a soft spot in my head for these. Thank you, Scotty.
You’re right, Howard-everything published said Honda wasn’t too keen on 2 strokes after his team came up with the 4 stroke Dream in 1951 but saw the handwriting on the wall with the success of the European and later competitive Japanese 2 stokes on the track and dirt.
All that changed with the success of the Honda Elsinore….ironic.
I remember that Burnt Orange color; it’s still one of my favorites. And you’re right about the attitude toward people on 2-wheelers. From an article in Life Magazine about Hollister, CA in 1947. Who says that mainstream media doesn’t sway people? Well, if that doesn’t work, try the movies. I’d show up at Coffee Row with the truck and I was one of the gang, but show up on the bike and I was a turd in a swimming pool…
Never paid attention to the earlier Hondas (pre-350s, 750s) back in the day but now, so many, like this one are suddenly beautiful.
I bought a burnt orange cl from a guy on the north side of Boston in 73 when I got out of the service. I called from an ad I had seen in the Sunday paper to inquire as to the condition. He said it was in concourse condition. I said great can I come get it? I didn’t even know what he meant by concourse. It looked great and ran as good as it looked. Had snuffs and he no longer had the muffler. I’ve been casually looking for one now for about 5 years. I think I have set my expectations a little high. I’m looking for that concourse bike to come by again.
Had a nice running CL72 250 Scrambler at one time – most had never heard or seen the 305’s little brother. Finally was able to by the 1964 one owner 305 Super Hawk…..the tank badges actually say 300 and not 305.
Commenting on a very limited basis, how many Mustangs, Chevelles and Firebirds do we need? It’s the oddballs, which seem to have diminished considerable, is why I’m here at all. Can’t let this one go by. Growing up, friends brother across the alley, who was older than us, his 1st bike was a S65, then he came home with a yellow Scrambler like this. 1st thing to go was the exhaust can, in favor of “snuff-or-nots”. I don’t think it made the bike any faster with open exhaust, but it sounded like it. I was too young to drive it, but rides proved, it was a fast bike, at least to a 13 year old used to a Honda 50. I think the Super Hawk was the 1st Honda to do 100 mph out of the box. It ate Sporty’s for lunch and gave Limey’s a run for their money, as well. This, with Scrambler gearing, not as much, but plenty of oomph. While technically not a “dirt bike”, as the author mentions, many got their 1st taste of off road riding with these, and the injuries to prove it, but you had to start somewhere. I’d love to have this. Great find.
What or who is a “snuff-or-not”, you may ask? I know geomechs knows,$1.95!!! Dang,,,we had fun for peanuts, you can see why I’m pixxed off today,,,those twins sounded so cool with open exhaust. The neighbors didn’t think so, but noise wasn’t as unusual as today.
,http://www.geekbobber.com/2017/01/snuff-or-nots.html
I remember our shop teacher had them on his CL77. Just washers on a stem with springs that lost their shape within 100 miles. They didn’t do a lot of snuffing but they sure changed the exhaust tone. Lots of memories…
The only thing “offroad” about CL Hondas in general are the high pipes on the one side. If you want on/off road, you bought an SL which would come out around ’69 or so. And the early 250/305 Scramblers have the sweetest sounds ever made by a Honda motorcycle.
Cool bike and good comments 👍😎
We used to weekend ride in the Nevada desert on a ’70 Honda dirt bike. Carried two with ease and went as fast as we wanted it to. Engine was a real beauty and never failed on any of the 200 mile plus out and back trips. One of the riders had a Kawasaki Big Horn, lime green, big one cylinder, fast and out of our talent range at the time. Crew Chief said she wouldn’t climb on the back of that one with me driving it. Conversley, she had no problems riding on the back of the 4 cylinder 500 Honda street machine. Just can’t please them all the time.
As I’ve mentioned before the CL version of the 250/305 engine had a different cam profile with more low and mid range torque. Very responsive and rideable at the expense of some top speed. I’ve had several, still have an original 1965 305 in the garage that I got running and drove but needs a real going over and paint. I’m not riding any more so I think I’ll let it go, not sure where to list it for sale………
My 305 scrambler never quit except once we blew the fuse drunk at the Catholic Picnic in Viola. We rode everywhere around Redding, CA. My buddies had the later model 350 SL’s & a 450 CB etc.
I had a 1968 Yamaha big bear, took the baffles out. Rode it for year, everyone in town called be the mad bumblebee because the sounds of the bike. After a year I got a 1969 Roadrunner and parked bike. Then 1970 I got a AAR Cuda,
the Cuda could get the Roadrunner on take off but the roadrunner passed it like it was sitting. I could bury the speedometer on the roadrunner about 110 top in the Cuda is as fast as I get it. Those were the days!
i had the 305 super hawk with the scrambler pipes and the snuff-or-nots…beautiful sound…
Icon for Honda! Popular model back in the 60s. We use to take the muffler off the pipes.Drill holes in the exhaust pipe and install a device called Snuff something? You could turn the device to make it louder.
SnuffRNots-see Geomechs and Howard A remarks earlier here.
Propabably another reason for those of us that rode with them open are hard of hearing now…well, that’s what I’M gonna blame it on anyway😆
Here in Michigan we called the combo road and dirt bikes “enduros”, cause that’s the way so many of us used them. I never rode the 400+mile Jack Pine, but I rode some of it after the fact.
In just a few years later we were using the term Enduro for the dirt bikes that were street legal😁
The first thing I look for with these is the muffler. That was the first thing we cut off when I was a teenager, kinda hard to find now.
My candy apple red ‘67 305 Scrambler was used for both the road and the trails. Got is stuck a couple times and it was not easy to dig out. It was definitely a favorite, but when I went away to college, I had to upgrade to a bigger bike. The 400 miles from Longview to Pullman would have been too much. Oh, yeah, I had the straight pipes with the snuff or not baffles too; reached back to close them when I saw a cop.
Nice looking ole Honda. This bike brings back memeroys of the one my friend had and another friend. They ride them during the winter in bad roads. During deer season. Take them right through the snow and woods. The roads were real slick too. Later on Jim Rose moved to Montana. He was a real nice guy.
Bought a brand new black 305 Scrambler in ’67. Had so many coats of Sears Silicone Wax on it you would swear it was clear-coated (had that been a thing then). Have a black 305 Scrambler in the garage now. Has so many coats of Pinnacle Brilliance Carnauba Wax on it you would swear it was clear-coated. Still the original paint and exhaust. Super fun to ride. Accelerates just fine for traffic on local roads. Handles OK. You could describe the brakes as “Whoa!”. Not as in “whoa” as in “Whoa (stop) horse”, but “Whoa!” these don’t stop! Even the double leading shoe front brakes of the ’67 Scrambler don’t compare with the disc brakes on modern bikes. The one thing I really have to think about when I go from one of my modern bikes to the 305.
I started with a new 1963 Honda 50 step thru but after getting into Yamaha’s and then Suzuki’s, Honda’s became slugs and bikes to outrun in my view…never got back into them but I did venture into a used CL77 in 1979 that had been rebuilt by a pro…the bike ran very well for what it was but still never tugged at my heart strings like the Suzuki X6’s and T250’s I had. I still love the smell of 2 stroke in the morning. Hope this CL goes to a fan that will preserve it for the history it evokes in so many.
Auction update: this one sold for $6,800!