“Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound” – it’s a bird, it’s a plane! It’s superbike! To paraphrase Superman’s opening line. This 1970 Honda CT-70K0 isn’t any of those things, but they’re red hot right now this one is listed here on eBay in Anoka, Minnesota. The current bid price is $3,052, but the reserve isn’t met.
Wow, over $3,000, and the reserve isn’t met, how times have changed. I get it, though, the CT-70 is one of maybe the top-ten hot vehicles of any type right now. Top twenty? In any case, it isn’t 2012 again, it’s the end of 2022. It helps when they look as original and nice as this Honda does. As always for every era and generation of collectors, certain vehicles will always become hot-button rides, even more so now with social media churning things up as it always does. The seller says that this bike was locked in storage for years and has been well-kept, it sure looks like it has been.
Introduced in 1969 and made until 1994, Honda sold boatloads of these little mini-trail bikes. The 1969 through 1971 models were designated as either CT-70K0, (k-zero) or CT-70HK0, where the “H” designates a four-speed manual transmission. I believe this one has the more-popular three-speed semi-automatic transmission. Candy Ruby Red, as seen here, Candy Gold, and Candy Sapphire were the only colors available in its first two years of production.
Anoka is about twenty minutes away for me, but despite my passion for vintage Japanese motorcycles, and even more so when they’re small-displacement bikes, I’ve never been a huge fan of the Honda 70. I don’t have any rational excuse for that at all, they’re great transitional bikes and trail bikes, but I just don’t have any history or memories of them as a kid, which is what it’s all about for me.
The clean little engine, which isn’t really little since it’s bigger than most of the engines on my oddball Hondas, is a six-horsepower 72-cc single. This one runs and drives, according to the seller, and you have to read the description to find out everything that’s going on with this one. I admit to being a little confused by the description, but this sure looks like a winner, and the bidders agree. Let’s hear those Honda 70 stories!
1st, I’d like to thank the staff for giving Scottys, um, submissions, air time. We truly never know what this guy finds. 2nd, the restraint shown on behalf of said author, that this isn’t in his possession by now, is also noteworthy.
These never did anything for me, probably, because the Honda 50 I had was more of a real motorcycle. These were just of a toy, and marketed as such. Not to sell this little bike short, for many, it was their 1st motorized bike after the Schwinn 10 speed. It was the 1st many got hurt on , but all in good fun. They didn’t go fast enough to get killed, and the injuries were a right of passage, of sorts. With 250 miles, clearly someone bought this, found out it wasn’t much, stashed it away, forgot about it, and this sat all those years, recently exposed when the storage unit was gone through.
Again, nostalgia is about it, and a REAL motorcycle could be had for this, like that CL77. For a couple hundred bucks new, it was money well spent. Getting to be a couple grand, maybe just to hang it in their garage as a display, kind of sad some kid never got to trash this thing, and probably never will.
Howard your right on a lot of aspects. I had the 50cc . Had 2 of them and looking at the 70 when it came out it was like ” Uuu, who would want that ?”
Guess being older I wouldn’t mind one more. I’d plate it and run to the local small town grocery store. But definitely first thought was always ugly.
You can get the New monkey bike with a 125cc for under $4000.
Great to see one in this condition. They were never really anything more than a glorified moped in the day and definitely NOT a dirt bike! I had one and an XR75 and can tell you that the X-R was the “right of passage” – still would love to have one of those hanging in the wall but at over 3k….no thanks!
Brian, I’ve been getting to remember what my older neighbor got. It was an XR75 ! I had the mini trail 50. I’d sure love to find an XR75 in great shape. Scared of the price tho. You can buy the new “Monkey bike” only with a real 125cc engine now for about 4k
My father bought one for me and my 2 stepbrothers, same color and everything. We had tons of fun with it, took it camping (it fit inside our camper with the handlebars down) all over California. Later, I rode it to school my junior year of high school, though I did get kidded about it. It would keep up with traffic most of the time. I sold it in 1973 and bought my first car. Great memories!
I had a 4 speed model. I think it was a ‘ 71. At 11 years old? It was the bomb. It would go fast enough to hurt you, climb decent size hills, and two kids could ride two up to the convenient store! And, it would blow a Honda 50 into the weeds.
I recall both the 50’s & 70’s because we had both. There were 4 of us, I was the oldest, we started with the 50 then I quickly outgrew it. I was 14 I think.
The difference between the two was mainly the 70 was street legal, at least out here. I wanted a beautiful 125 Blue Suzuki, was close to getting it, but the folks settled on the 70, because it was clutch less (semi automatic?), easier for my younger siblings. You could make it sort of like a clutch by holding down the shifter, then popping out while revving the engine.
In any case my good friend then, best friend later to now, had gotten a 70 like mine, but older. His was blue mine was Orange, mine was a bit more snazzier, because it was new.
We rode them everywhere; you could get to an honest 45 miles per hour most times. There was a big, long hill near hear we sometimes got to 50 miles per hour.
I recall a neighborhood kid got a small Kawaski 2 stroke, it much like the 50, but went like hell. We could never beat him.
We mostly rode them full out all the time, oil changes once a year sometimes longer. We rode through mud, water, rain, mud (as high as the engine), and snow. They never broke or not started. The Kawaski was a bit more finicky about cold starts and stuff.
Dad would carry them both camping in the motorhome, one in front one in back.
I also recall a story I read around the late seventies, from a motorcycle magazine, of a guy with a Honda 90 who rode it across the states into Alaska. No problems for him either, I recall the picture of two extra tires tied to the back.
In my opinion and experience all those Honda bikes were outstanding, and super reliable. sorry for the length.
No apology needed, it’s why we’re here. Big C says it would blow a Honda 50 in the weeds, not sure about that. While I think about 42 was the limit on my Honda step thru 50, going 40 on that and 40 on this,( 50 a tad optimistic) was 2 different things. The Honda 50 had real 19′ spoke wheels, held the road better. The small wheels on these would get you into trouble. They just weren’t designed for speed, and after falling off my bicycle at 15 mph, 40 will indeed do some damage.
We did the same thing, took that Honda 50 camping. We didn’t have our licenses yet, and me and my brother would endlessly drive around the campgrounds, waving at the park ranger, who didn’t seem to mind. Today, that would be incredibly annoying, but lots of parents had cycles for the kids. It was a fun time to be a kid!
Starting with a 5hp Briggs mini-bike, these were quite a step up. Better transmission than a slipper clutch got you up hills, some suspension and better brakes. I recall that it kept up with traffic ok, but you really needed to go through the gears from stop signs. I commuted to work on one, don’t recall ever wearing a helmet or getting hurt. 1st gear was so low that you could pop the clutch at idle and it do a mini wheelee and just go. But no, nostalgia only takes me so far and I cant see myself on one these days. But the memory is still pretty fun.
Still got a scar above my knee from the muffler burn. And by the way that was over 50 years ago so if you are buying for your child or grandchild, you better give them a heads up about that. These were the envy of every neighborhood kid that laid eye’s on one back in the 70’s
My best friend had a trail 70 in 1973, I had a yellow Harley Davidson 65cc mini bike. We had the most fun on these things. When we weren’t playing football in our Joe Namath uniforms we were riding these bikes. Fast forward to 1977 my buddy got a 72 Charger. Then we realized what real fun was 😉
I have seen these go for just over $10k at auctions.
I’ve been crazy lately for some reason……..there are now four of each of the 50 and 70 in my barn recently acquired this year.
Yes, had both in my youth and of course a Hodaka and a Yammie 400 Enduro followed the others home too.
Damn. They all look cool sitting together.
I have a addiction for all the honda trail bikes .Had my first 50 when I was around 12 or so.Never got a 70 although I rode them and wanted on.I jumped into the trail 90 and loved those.I collected all of these through the years and at one point I had 12. I went through al kinds of dirt bikes,street bikes but I went back to the honda,s. As of now I have a 70 z50,73 ct70 and the nicested of them all a 81 110. I live on a island and when people come over we pick our ride and cruise to the beach or the local small store for beer and burgers. I have a good folloing of people that come to visit in the summer and cant wait to ride one. Kind of neat that I still enjoy as well as when I was a teen.I,m 62 now! BTW I love this 70. love to have it but i better stay with what i have. The featured is so nice I could up grade and sell my current 70. To much though. Hope it gets a nice home.
I know where 3 of these are, IN PIECES. We beat these into the ground on my Uncles farm as kids. Used them for everything. Round up Cows, Horses, Pigs, Chickens. The barn is still standing and the pieces are still all over the place. If your ever in New Oxford Pa. You might still hear stories.
Well…..in 1972-73 my dad bought a brand new mini trail identical to this one, but a 4-speed. I was 12 then. I would meet my neighborhood buddy, Tim, every day after school and we would ride the woods, he on his Honda 50 and me on the 70. Found a half pack of cigarettes and smoked my first and last one. We would bring our Daisy BB guns and shoot minnows in the canal. I came home from school one day around 1976, and the mini trail was gone. I couldn’t believe it. No warning, nothing! I asked my mom what happened? She said, “dad sold it.” No explanation. I missed it terribly. My and Tim’s friendship grew distant. He later was shot in the head thru his front door at age 22 in 1981. His murderer was never found……two happy stories turned sad…..
Hard to accept the actions parents make sometimes… These kind of thoughtless actions, while so trivial to them, can have long lasting questions that are hard to reconcile. There are several of these from my childhood.
Wow Mark ! I was 9 when my dad traded something to my Uncle and we got our first 50.
My Uncle just went and got another. It wasn’t long my dad had that one too. We rode all over between my Uncles farm and the lake cabin my Gma n Gpa had. About 4 miles in between. My dad finally let me take one home to my mom’s(she had a fit) I’m sure. They were divorced. But I was the envy of the neighborhood and it wasn’t long and friends started getting some kind of mini bikes. Great times and great childhood ! Unlike Today the only riding these kids do is on a computer! Sad thing. Sorry about your friend
With just over a day left on the auction, this one is already up to $5,100!
Got a Z50 K1 for Christmas of 69. It started the lifelong hobby of motorcycling and still owned to this day. CT’s,CL’s,CR’s,MR’s,S’s,SL’s and TL’s have passed through the door. Bought a CT70 in 98 for 100 dollars with a title, which being the better of the two power and ride wise is still used regularly. Crazy money today on any vintage Honda’s be careful,much like muscle cars do your research. Many bikes are pieced together from multiple bikes and reproduction parts, even some parts from Honda are not the same as the originals and many are being discontinued. Early to mid 90’s were the days for NOS parts,reasonable prices and easy to locate