Honda Works Development 70 Dirt Track Racer

RedRooster
Posts
5
Joined
2/1/2010
Location
Magnolia, TX US
Edited Date/Time 1/27/2012 11:57am
Looking for information: Does anyone recognize or know anything about this bike. It's from the 60's-70's and it looks unlike anything I've seen before. I was told it was from a dirt track program Honda had. There is definitely some factory-type stuff going on here. Check out the same side rear brake/sprocket!


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Dropbear
Posts
1568
Joined
5/7/2008
Location
Adelaide AU
2/3/2010 7:16pm Edited Date/Time 4/17/2016 8:33pm
That is weird. Works Honda Dax?? LOL Looks like a fun bike to ride though
RedRooster
Posts
5
Joined
2/1/2010
Location
Magnolia, TX US
2/4/2010 10:31am
I am glad someone put a picture of a normal CT70 to compare. Some of the work done to the bike, anyone could do. However, the wheels, swingarm and shock are items that would deter just about anyone, especially on this type of bike. The motor appears to be stock with exception of the intake. No carb was with it so I got a standard run of the mill xr type carb. The vin# on the motor is just a standard H model vin and the frame vin # I belive is somewhat standard ( T70-21) I finished restoring it in August, did a few minor mods to it like new bars, velocity stack, center drilled some of the bolt heads like the old vintage factory Hondas, and painted, zinc, and annodized various items. Just think it is a unique bike that some old school hardcore dirtracker dude might know something about. These are the differences that i know :

1 rear hub - same side brake / sproket it is Honda becaue it has the hm logo cast in
2 front hub - no brake cast into it, its a spool
3 monoshock - it has the old school looking shrouded very short honda shock
4 rear brake arm pivots off of swingarm pivot, not its own
5 exhaust - obviously goes through frame, supertrapp
6 gas tank - in the frame, not plastic insert, MR50 size cap
7 forks - are shorter, appear to be just modified stockers
8 bars - bolt on traditional way, not the hand knob way
9 seat - aluminum hand fabricated pan
10 intake manifold - looks modified from something else
11 foot pegs - very different from stock
12 shifter - weird bend, could be just a modified old style
13 ignition coil - moved from stock location, now up close to seat, long plug wire
14 swingarm - very odd, boxed in around shock mount area and bent to make lower
15 kick start - blanked off with a plug
nine1seven
Posts
373
Joined
9/13/2009
Location
Magnolia, TX US
2/4/2010 10:37am Edited Date/Time 2/4/2010 10:38am
Did honda ever support dirt track? Where did you get this bike? Looks pretty trick!
RedRooster
Posts
5
Joined
2/1/2010
Location
Magnolia, TX US
2/5/2010 9:31am
Honda did support dirt track but I know of nothing in the early 1970s. Hopefully someone can come up with something. As far as origin, I wish I had a great story of getting it from some long lost pro who died or something like that, but I got it from a friend, an old local flattracker from the 70s, who got it from someone who got it from someone etc. They all seem to have the crs disease on this ( cant remember shit ) From what i gather, it was just something that got moved around in everyones shop until I got it and sat on it for a few years and decided to put it together.

The Shop

2/5/2010 11:31am Edited Date/Time 2/5/2010 11:33am
Way back in the day HONDA did unoffically play with some dirt track bikes but mainly the old 250 single and that was mainly for indoor/outdoor shortracks. Of course they did have their own Team but that was on a 750 twin but that was much later. If memory serves me there was a guy from HONDA service department that raced out at the old Trojan raceway but again it was on a 250 single. This little thing has to way newer than that because of the exhaust and monoshock. I bet somebody like Bubba Shobert or Mike Kidd's mechanic made it for a pit bike back in the 750 days.
2/5/2010 1:06pm Edited Date/Time 4/17/2016 8:35pm
Honda sponsored Dave Hansen and Mike Gerald in '74 on the Champion frame XL 350 based bikes. Not much involvement after that until '79 when the XR 500's came out . For '79, the factory dirt track team consisted of Mickey Fay ,Rick Hocking ,and Jeff Haney for short track and TT.
I believe it was '81-'82 that they debuted their first 750 twin dirt tracker, the CX 500 based NS750 watercooler. It was a dud. The first RS 750 debuted in '83, and was raced into the early '90's . Bubba Shobert won the title in '85,'86, and '87, then the AMA restricted the intakes and upped the minimum weight on the RS. That was the end of Honda's factory dirt track team. They bailed out.

Ricky Graham was the last guy to bring glory to the RS750 in '93, winning twelve races ,6 of them in a row, to claim the title on the Johnny Goad tuned Honda's, as a privateer team.
RedRooster
Posts
5
Joined
2/1/2010
Location
Magnolia, TX US
2/8/2010 7:58am
thanks, project racer. I am going to try once more to get a better date on this bike. The vin# gives nothing that i have been able to gather. Looks as if I need to be looking in the mid 70s on. You would seem to think that the XR75 would have been the dominant development bike for the individual or factory. Oh well, the saga continues.
thanks to all.

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