Arguably one of the hottest motorcycles right now, at least for small bikes, this 1972 Honda CT70H would be fun to own. These things have taken off in value over the last couple of years and the seller has this gem listed here on eBay in Vernon-Rockville, Connecticut, the current bid price is $3,901, and the reserve isn’t met.
I’ve been all around these Honda 70s, size-wise, but have never owned one for some reason. They were more trail-oriented than the Honda Z50s that we’ve seen a gaggle of here lately and I remember seeing them a lot in the 1970s and early-80s in campgrounds on our travels. That distinctive dddddddddd… exhaust sound is stuck in my brain after this many decades. We never brought a motorcycle with us on our camping trips which I’m still scratching my head about now, why didn’t we?
Introduced in 1969, the Honda CT70 has had a couple of nicknames such as DAX, or Dachshund – which is a nod to its unusual look, like the long nose of a dachshund. The design originally came from a motorcycle-themed park in Japan and these bikes had a smaller engine but kids could and would ride them around. Reportedly, the CT70 was the first motorcycle to have spark arresters and mufflers approved by the USDA.
The folks at Kaplan Cycles say that this Honda has the original paint, complete with a couple of chipped areas but overall is looking fantastic. It has 1,892 miles on it and was owned by a collector who kept it inside year-round in heated storage. This one is Candy Ruby Red and they also offered Candy Yellow Special for the 1972 model year. This one has had a major service including going through the engine with a few new parts and detailing the whole bike. It looks great even underneath.
The engine is Honda’s 72 cc single and this one has a four-speed shiftable transmission as opposed to a three-speed automatic-type transmission. Make my vehicles shift with a clutch every time and I’m happy. They have provided a great video here on YouTube showing this one, it’s great seeing and hearing it run and ride, pretty cool. Have any of you owned a Honda CT70?
Cool little bikes with lots of fond memories for us old guys who rode them when new. But, not worth the $3k plus prices people ask. Unless it’s museum quality with current license plate/reg. and going into a collection. Who wants that? These were meant to be ridden. You can buy brand new little bikes like this for less now. They maybe “knock offs” but similar in quality, performance and rideability too. I’m out at $1500.00. At $3k plus too many real motorcycles available to choose from. Just saying.
Why new piston and rings etc… with only 1800 miles ??
Deteriorate from lack of use…
My 1971 has about the same mikage and starts right up every time we are ready to roll – always have set it up right for winter.
If you take it apart to make sure everything is cool you might as well hone it and put new rings in it and take a minute to clean up the valves
Could carry a dear but hard to carry a deer:-)
Had a blue one. Folding handlebars enabled it to be put on front bumper of motorhome.
I was going to list a 1970 Benelli 180cc Volcano “The Mother of all Minibikes” but was asked to list it with no reserve. Nah, I’ll just keep it. Indnrdr (Indian Rider)
Nice but not worth what they’re getting for them.
The same seller that has the Sno-runners from the other day. I have seen mint ones go for over $10k in auctions.
I had a CT-70 back in the 1970’s. With the fold down handle bars I was able to get it into the back seat of my 1971 AMC Gremlin-X. With the small wheels, I was driving across a field that was cut by a wide tractor mower so a dip in the ground was not apparent and it went into the dip and I flew right over the bike and the bike tumbled and one of the handle bars got bent. Lucky it did not tumble right on top of me. Some of my back pain today may be the result of that CT-70 flip back in the 1970’s!
Unforgiving on big bumps. I was pitched over the handlebars more than once!
I had a red one in 1972. I was 16. We rode that thing all over. In the mud. Snow. Never broke down. I think dad sold it in 1976 for $100. Barrett Jackson just sold one for $9,000. Stupid buyer thinking they are worth that. Never. It 8s only worth what some dunce with deep pockets is willing to pay.
This is not a survivor – the swing arm looks like the wrong color and some other touched up places as well as the engine has been repainted. And I swear that’s a wrong tail light for a 1971.
Lots of kids of this era are coming into money might be a reason they are going for big money – they didn’t get them for Christmas !
That is also not the correct muffler cover for the 72. 72H and 3 spds had large holes and some black paint not the all chrome slit one you see here. That is for the KO 69-71 first gen with the integrated headlamp/spedo.
This is not original. I have two of these 72′ Hs.
One just sold on “Bring A Trailer” {BAT} for $10,000.
Ouch,you could get a nice 1800 Goldwing for that 💰:-)