In 2002, I bought from the original owner a 1970 Honda CT 7O Mini-Trail…with the title. It ran (sluggishly) and shifted but had been stored outside and neglected cosmetically…a lot of scratches, rust, seat needed repairs, etc.
I brought it home in the back of a RAV4 with my oldest son, who was about 17 at the time.
I disassembled it down to the last bolt. Took the frame to a body shop and had it painted the original gold color. I shipped the engine to an individual who specialized in mini-trail engine restorations to have it rebuilt and the engine cases refinished. I eventually had to contact the Texas Attorney General’s Office to get the engine back. It was rebuilt and refinished but what a pain.
I polished, cleaned, had parts rechromed, and purchased new OEM parts as needed. No expense spared.
When it was all assembled, I couldn’t get it to idle correctly. I took it to a nearby Honda dealer. In a couple of weeks, I called to see if it was ready.
The owner said they couldn’t find it. I don’t remember the conversation I had with him, but you can imagine. He had little remorse and offered little help.
![[Image: 32519f90eecd2bed2079288bba76ec64.png]](https://cb1100forum.net/forum/uploads/imp/202212/32519f90eecd2bed2079288bba76ec64.png)
I put $250 reward posters in the area and ran an ad in a local newspaper. Eventually, someone called and said they knew where it was but didn’t want to tell me for fear of getting arrested should I turn them in. I told them I just wanted the bike back…no questions asked. As it turned out, someone in the Honda shop had traded it out for cocaine. At the time, I worked for the WV State Police. I told them to call off the investigation because I had found it and was not pursuing any charges. My wife was concerned we may end up having some sort of encounter with drug dealers. The Honda dealer reimbursed me for the reward gave me new parts to replace the damaged ones.
I repaired the minor damages and sold it. The bike seemed “snake bit”.
I’m sure you can now understand why I drive 40 miles to the next nearest Honda dealer…passing and up the one closest to where I live.
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