ST70 1981 - Speculator

Hi! New here

Stumbled over a ST70 yesterday, rather small, and it got my attention. However this specific bike didn't seem to be in mint condition so I kept on searching and found one:



According the ad it's a ST70 1981 340km/211.26 miles and when I called the seller he confirmed good condition, thought it was 6V and only rust on (around?) the chrome stripe above the frame (fuel tank?). Will go and look at it tomorrow, any tips? If it's only the chrome stripe that's rusty, is it easy to get/change? He didn't know anything about last inspection or service for that matter so any tip is welcome =)

About the voltage, did Honda deliver them (ST70) with 12V at any point or is it only after market? Read about 6V ignition and output, 6V ignition and 12V output and 12V ignition/output, how do I know? If it have 6V battery is it a 6V ignition/output?

So I went and looked at it, short test ride and first gear up/twice down was a surprise =)

Nothing major but:

• Front left indicator was in no good 90 degrees angle/broken
• No indicators worked, green light at the speedometer did blink
• Stop light didn't work with either front/rear brake but when we push the rear stop light switch it worked
• High beam headlight didn't work
• Some incipient rust on the frame but overall in good condition, no rust under the seat

Tried with some RPM to awaken the lights that didn't work but no luck.

Some tips about the indicators? As said the green light/indicator worked.
Rear stop light switch needs to be adjusted but I didn't think about the front stop light switch, how does it work on a ST70? I need stop light to both front and rear brake from 1978- to be road legal.
High beam could be the bulb but if there is some other plain error would be nice to know.

Is the original indicators somewhere to be found today? Unsure if they are OEM parts or fitted for various markets, can't find them at cmsnl.com.

Is there some correct way to fix/restore manner small rust spots/under the stripe?

I will try and answer some of your questions.

- this is a 6v bike! (ignition, battery, bulbs) Probably one of the very last bikes produced before they switched to 12v
- check the flasher relay or earthing / short circuit (because of the broken indicator) - (relay should look something like this http://thumbs2.ebaystatic.com/d/l225/m/ ... -xKYEw.jpg)
- High beam could be the bulb, switch or position of the headlight switch if this is the 3-way version
- Chrome strip can be pulled of (is fixed with a couple of clips) and easily replaced. You should be able to find a new one, which is cheaper as a rechrome. It's too far gone to clean up yourself.
- brake light switch shoul be a pull-type, not a push. Check wiring, spring and connection.

Oh, and welcome, great bike!!!
Good luck finding a decent OEM indicator.
Best bet will be second hand (ebay), these could be quite hard to find unnused.

Thanks for the info.!

Well I haven't bought this bike yet, he wants about 1600GBP.. sure in good condition and everything works but that's not the case =) Will give him an 1000-1200GBP offer and then we will see.

Nice to see a new enthusiastic member, but where are you from, WHAT'S YOUR HOMETOWN

All the best Si

Uppdated my profile.

Sunny and 10°C up here in the north =)

Talked to the seller today =)

It seems that it will be business, he had to order the registration papers for the bike because the latest he found was from 1988... (previous owner) Hopefully he get this fixed before Friday so I can disassemble the bike to molecules this weekend

At first I'm gonna try to get everything working as it is and figure out the paint code. If the electrics are in bad condition I will probably change everything (how hard can it be on a 1510mm bike?), think LED can be a good solution (6V) but if so I want to build it with original light housings.

For now I have to settle with searching parts online but I will wait for the bike before ordering anything.

Got it! =)

Been a long day so I will do a follow-up tomorrow after work.

Well the original battery.. thought it was dead a long time ago but hard to get a new one in the weekend so I borrowed a cheap charger but no luck. Skid away on my lunch break and bought a CTEK 6V charger, tried to charge again and it worked! Will do for now. Ctek power plug was included with the charger so I will install it to the bike tonight.

After some troubleshooting tonight I will start to look and order some parts online, found one guy in Norway who thought he had some original indicators in his garage.. hope hope.

Have been flying som RC heli so I asked those guys about to update electric wiring because they are walking electric wonders, will see if I get some good info.

That's all for now =o)