Post Pictures of your CT90 / CT110

I don't post much but here are mine. A K1 and a K6 I bought and rebuilt 10-12 years ago.

I'm restoring this one my father in law gave me. It hadn't been started since 1981. It started on the third kick after the carburator was cleaned and I got rid of the 30 year old gas.





I finished the engine a few weeks ago.

1971, 900 mile....Found it buried in my father-in-laws garage a couple years after he passed. Today I rebuilt the carb, new spark plug, new battery and air filter......started right up on the third kick!

I had one of these as a kid, should be fun for my grandkids to use.....

Probably my favorite CT pic. Our '69 and '75 CT90s atop Ellis Peak (8100') overlooking Lake Tahoe with the moon rising.



The venerable CT. Awesome. Slow, but awesome. One day my lovely girl (who'd never owned a motorcycle before- me either), took the truck and went out and bought one ('69 K0). They multiplied till we had 4 of them. We're pretty much bicycle nuts, but seem to have accumulated 6 motorcycles as well.

The girl, on top of Mt Watson (8200'), overlooking Lake Tahoe.



See a trend here? CTs (and my girl), at Martis Peak (8550'), overlooking Lake Tahoe.


My little CT90 (with a 140cc Lifan engine), dwarfed by my girl's TW200 at an abandoned cabin near Desolation wilderness.



And last one. My CT90 (Lifan 140cc), out on the Rubicon Jeep trail, near my house. The funny thing is that jeepers wouldn't take note of the pretty blond girl on the TW200 with me, but would go nuts waving and honking and pointing that I was riding a CT90 on the Rubicon Trail.


Lots of great memories with the CTs. They were great in low range and could handle some tight twisty singletrack that would be a challenge on a bigger bike. Plus you could just lift the CT over fallen logs, etc.

With any luck, cross your fingers for me, I'll bring home a CT90 this afternoon to compliment my C70 Passport and round off my fleet of Adventure Tiddlers. pics to come...

Those Acerbis auxillary tanks are worthless for holding fuel.
They should only be used for water, or perhaps, motor oil.
I went through 3 in quick succession a few years ago. Was filling them with straight unleaded. Maybe it had ethenol mixed, I don't know, but they all quickly were eaten out.
Acerbis replaced them all for me which was nice, but eventually told me that fuel just does that...
Kind of a bummer, as it's a great idea.
I now use modified MSR stove fuel containers. (Spun aluminum)
RicklesssssssssS in Oregon

The good thing about CT90s is that they are pretty readily available pretty cheap. I bought my two for less than $600/ea. Both were mostly restored. On the other hand having a 35-40 year old bike requires that one takes care of it. I am just in the process of refurbishing my old '69 with tires, tubes, shocks, fork tube springs, spark plug, new stainless engine bolts, oil change, new air filter element, some other minor replacement of small parts. Tab is about $200 so far.

Going to look at three more this weekend. The guy wants to sell them all and won't separate. I only want one but am going to have to buy them all and then resell the other two. Fortunately I pretty much have my brother talked into buying one. Only one is running (the one I want) but they are not hard to get running for the most part.

My wife and daughter are headed to Ann Arbor this weekend but I can't go; too bad for me.

This one's the pride of my fleet...


<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">

I've noticed lots of people making the lifan transition. I've been considering doing it myself. Can any of you tell me some pros/cons for doing it? Difficulty? Cost? I'd love to get a little more speed out of my bike but not at the cost of dependability.

As far as installation - definitely not a job for someone who is not mechanically inclined. It requires drilling, grinding, welding (exhaust and foot pegs), wiring, and plumbing skills. A weekend job if you have a garage and the proper tools.

Dependability is better than with the original engine. Cost will vary but I didn't really have to buy anything but the engines from Hoopers since they come with carbs, electronics, etc.. $200 each at the time. I did go with larger countershaft sprockets, about $15 each.

Which size engine did you use? I was considering the 110, Will it fit in a honda cub 50 as well?

I used the 110cc manual clutch models. Don't know about the Cub 50.

last question i swear, Do you have a link for where you purchased the engine? I wanna be sure to get the right one.



Thanks a ton

http://www.hooperimports.com/

Hugemoth's advice is worth following, I'm probably considered a fairly "advanced" mechanic, and the Lifan conversion to my old Yamaha isn't something I'd be recommending to anyone. I had to weld together a custom adapter to get the engine to fit the bike as the old Yamaha was wider and had 3 engine bolts, where the Lifan used only two.

The Cub 50 will probably take the Lifan engine with a small amount of mechanical conversion work. The carb mount and the exhaust will possibly be your biggest jobs. I'd be prepared to have access to some metal working tools and such so the engine fits the mounts with no slop. A selection of various washers and shims to help set the chain alignment might be a good thing too.


Just keep in mind that the conversion also requires a pretty knowledgable skill set for rebuilding the electrical system. I'd go with the 12 volt Lifan engines as the C100 Cub uses headlight bulbs that are easily found in either 6 or 12 volt. The tail light is a standard 1155 style bayonet two filament bulb used in older cars.

Got the parts and i'm starting tomorrow. Got the 110cc Manual clutch 12v lifan. With the help of some service manuals and a friend I think it's going to go smoothly. Hardest part will be the re-wiring for the 12v conversion.

Pick up a lot of heat shrink tubing, extra fine multi strand, 16 to 14 gauge, multi colored insulator wire, and male and female solderable bullet connectors and a few female spade connectors. And I'd try to use as much of the original harness as possible.

There's going to be many differences in insulator color and the voltages in the wires out from the Lifan compared to the Honda. You'll also need the special CDI connector plug. Make a printed copy of the wires in and out of the CDI plug image Hooper's has on his website, and keep it handy.

I think Larry at Hooper's has wiring harnesses that has this plug already in it. They're as good a source of extra connectors and wiring as you'll probably find in an automotive electrical supply store. Just remember to double check all of your connectors and splices for continuity, especially the crimped connectors of the wiring harness from Hooper's

Dratv.com has adapters for mounting the lifan engine. ct90 engines are pretty damn dependable and easy to keep running . Mine has over 5k on it and never been rebuilt starts on first or second kick. It was sitting in a wet basement for 20 plus years, rebuilt the carb, cleaned tank , cleaned all the electricial connections, replace the battery and rectifier points, condenser, adjusted valves set timing and it runs great. Ct90 engines are on ebay fairly often and prices are reasonable. Lifan obviously has more hp but only 4 gears vs 8 for the ct. Solid state ignition is nice but points work well to and points fail over time solid state goes all at once with little to no warning . Points can easily be replaced on the trail dont know about solid state something to think about.

I just got off the phone with a buddy of mine who has a ct110 sitting in his barn. I'm picking it up Thursday. It's been a while since I've seen it but I remember Tractor Supply head and taillight and some other "creative" modifications. Should be a good project and it will look good in the stable with the 86 NX250, the 78 CT90 and the 81 C70. These things are a disease.