Described by some as the Swiss Army Knife of motorcycles, at least in the early 1970s, Honda’s CL-175 Scrambler was pretty close to being a motorcycle that could almost do it all. This 1971 Honda CL-175 Scrambler can be found here on Facebook Marketplace in Appleton, Wisconsin, and the seller is asking $1,900. Here is the original listing, thanks to Lothar… of the Hill People for the tip!
Yeah, I noticed the seat and tank as well. The white stripe on the gas tank looks good, but it doesn’t look factory to me. The 1970 CL-175 had a similar white stripe, but it was tapered, being wider in the middle, and had a pinstripe above and below it. It also had chrome fenders, which this bike has, and the 1971 model had color-matched painted fenders.
I’d argue that this is a 1970 model, but without seeing any numbers, we don’t know for sure. The seller doesn’t mention that this bike was repainted, but they say, “Extra parts including OEM seat and original gas tank available.” Presumably for more money? We don’t know for sure. Honda made the Swiss Army Knife of small motorcycles from 1968 through 1973, and this one weighs almost 100 pounds more than my giant-looking Rokon, which is weird. The Rokon is mostly just air in those huge tires, though.
The 1970 CL-175 had a black heat shield at the end of the pipes, and this one has a new-for-’71 chrome heat shield. Maybe, as with the seat and tank paint, it was upgraded a bit at some point? Again, we don’t know for sure. The CL-175 Scrambler has upswept pipes, both exiting on the left side, as you can see. That can be handy for off-road use compared to the CB-175 street bike with regular exhaust pipes down low on each side. That wouldn’t have mattered to me as a kid; I would have put a bigger sprocket on the back and used it off-road anyway. But we were hillbillies, making do with what we had.
Men, women, kids, almost anyone and everyone can hopefully appreciate and use a bike like this CL-175 for what it is, a great all-around motorcycle. Big enough, but not too big. Good for beginners and fun even for experienced riders. The problem is that, sometimes, when an all-around anything is touted, it cuts corners in one area or another in order to try to make it great or just good in all areas. I think a 250 may be easier for a more experienced adult rider to live with every day, but I’d take this 175 in a heartbeat.
The engine is Honda’s 174-cc SOHC, four-stroke inline-twin, which was rated at just under 20 horsepower and 11 lb-ft of torque when new, and is backed by a 5-speed manual transmission. By this era, Honda added electric start, making it even more universally appealing. The seller says it runs great, and you can ride it home. The only thing not working is the high beam. Are any of you into all-in-one vehicles that try to do everything for everyone, or do you prefer to have more than one, each dedicated to the task at hand?
Always nice to start the day WITH A KNIFE IN THE GUT. Perhaps I’m being a bit vain, but the author posts these directed squarely at me. He knows how vulnerable I’m right now, and how much I miss biking. I know what I say about a 250 as the smallest, this would be an exception. A 175 single, nah, but a 175 twin is a different story. Very similar to the old 160s of yore, that I’d also like to have, these were great bikes. Still, not quite a road bike, and not quite a dirt bike, but I found out, you can’t have both and this was pretty close. I read, this bike cost $795 new, which meant just about anyone with a worn monkey bike could have one. While no official sales records available, it’s estimated TENS of thousands were made. It was one of Hondas biggest sellers, and for good reason. It was cheap, never needed gas, dependable, didn’t leak or use oil, simple to operate and,, appealed to everyone. Great find.
Depending on how old that Kia was, it might have been built in Georgia. Probably more American labor then most cars sold by U.S. brands.
Same engine in my ’73 CB175, which my parents actually bought for me to commute to work and school…what were they thinking?
I should have sold it after a few months for a CB350, which would have been a wiser choice, but hey…what was I thinking??
Nice summary Howard. Like Fahrv said the 350 was a sweetheart too.
Mr Honda was dealing out some good bikes in the 70s bigtime. Thanks for the feature SG. 👍
These were the ones that taught you to never wear shorts while riding.
What a trip! The CL 175 caused a huge surge at the local dealer when they hit the showroom floor (all 50 sq ft of it). All they guys mowed lawns, delivered papers, bucked bales and/or what ever to save up, usually getting a used one much later.
The tank stripe doesn’t look anything like the stock I remember but that was one of the draws of personalizing your bike-more than a few rattlecan tanks came out just fine.
Clean looking bike, would be fun for around town and slower speed two lanes!
I have a 1970 CB 175 in the red and white paint scheme and a matching 1971 CB 350. Both are great bikes.
My plan is to use them to tour the Great Lakes islands. Right now they are lots of fun for bopping around town or the occasional back road blast.
Japanese motorcycles of this era are as good today as they were then, and I think, had the style nailed.
The tank stripe just irks me. The closest to it would be the 1970 model with the stripe widest toward the front and tapers almost to a point at the rear. They were good looking, this aberration is not, at all.
The 1971 striping is altogether different and IMHO, the ugliest of all the years the vertical cylinder CB/CL175s were built (1969-73). There was no red color available for the 1971 model year.
The 1968 CL175 was a one-year wonder(ful) bike with its tank knee pads and tilted forward cylinder block. Basically, a larger bore CB/CL160. Three colors were available, silver, orange and blue. I’ve only ever seen blue ones, and I have a blue tank complete.
Whether the tilted engine or the vertical engine, the 175 twins were excellent bikes. However, the 1968/69 CA175K3 (CD175) was a horse of a different color. Also, the CL high exhaust versions were simply street ‘scramblers’ and absolutely not built for off-road use unless major changes are made.
My personal Honda favorites are the CB/CL160, the CB/CL175s, the (very best) CB/CL350s and the CB500/550 fours. I have had and still have all but the 160s. I prefer absolutely stock as they came from the factory.
Good write-up as usual, Scotty.
Small enough that two guys could throw it in a pickup, big enough to safely get around town traffic and get out into the woods, too.
If I’m remembering Honda vernacular correctly,
CB= street bike
CL= street scrambler, lower gears, high pipe, more aggressive tires
SL= Off-road bike only, no lights or horn
XL= Motocross bike
Honda could take an example from their own history here and bring back a 2026 version of this bike, 250cc or so.
As close as there is for 2026, but we can hope..
https://www.hbhonda.com/Motorcycles-Honda-XR150L-2026-Huntington-Beach-CA-7d0559f7-4c0e-40f2-aa6c-b3cc006b4003G
SOLD – and not surprised.
Despite the feelings of some people here, please keep writing about these great bike finds, Scotty! Many many of us are not offended.
One of my friends purchased one of these in 1969 and rode it to school. It was blue coloured. I rode it a few times. We went on a big camping trip in the school holidays (we actually took our school texts along to study). He on the 175; a second friend on a Honda 125 (twin) and me on my brother’s Kawasaki 250. We were getting low on fuel and rode into a small country town. While we were sitting on our bikes with the engines still idling, the Police came over and said to get out of the town! We complied and at the next town we went straight to the Police station and asked where we could camp near a stream for water. They were quite helpful. What amazed everyone with the 175 was that the redline mark on the tachometer was 10,500 rpm as I recall.
The first cops thought you were these guys:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061420/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk