My dad rode it to work in Dubbo, New South Wales and as kids we used to ride it around the back yard. It was a dark grey colour with a egg yellow leg shield. Not the most attractive machine in the world but we loved it.
When I was at Teacher's College in the late 80's my family transported the bike to Armidale in Northern New South Wales where I had the joy of riding it around as very cheap transport. My mates nicknamed it 'The Ox' because it had a number plate that read OX-???. Can't remember the numbers just the fact that it started with OX.
In 1989 the machine was retired to my dad's shed where it sat idle until this year, 2014. For 25 years it sat there gathering dust until my parents decided that the wanted to 'downsize'. 'Do you want the OX?' came the question.
'You betcha!', came the reply.
The bike was transported to my home in Hervey Bay, Queensland and arrived on Tuesday, April 22 2014. What follows is the story of the restoration of this beautiful old machine.
Below are the photos I took on the day it arrived. I have added a few comments below each.
ABOVE: 'The OX' Honda C70. Note the busted leg-sheild, the missing air filter cover and the 1989 registration NSW registration sticker.
ABOVE: Right hand side. Note cracked shield and the very ordinary yellow and grey colour scheme.
ABOVE: The back end. Two things to note, first of all the brake lens is missing, will need a new one. Secondly, and most importantly, the rear indicators are on a chrome bracket that sits up off the rear guard and below the rear rack/seat. Of all the thousands of images I have searched online and in all the manuals I have flicked through I have never seen another Honda C70 with this rear indicator assembly. as most come straight off the rear guard on the sides.
Oh yeah, and it is busted. I remember the moment it happened. I was riding along in 1989 when a guy pulled out onto the street from the side of the road in his car, banged straight into me and broke it off. I patched it up at the time with an old wire coat-hanger to keep it in place. Ah, the life of a student!
ABOVE: The back end. Note the dust from 25 years in the shed. The ignition cover is good, the chain guard, forks etc all looking fine. The bike is in good nick really.
ABOVE: Right hand side, cover held on with packing tape, muffler a bit damaged but all pretty good.
ABOVE: There she sits, not particularly appealing but in very good condition. I have not yet tried to start her. Battery is obviously flat and I don't have a key to the ignition.
ABOVE: Self explanatory. Note there is only one indication light in the speedo, it glows green when the bike is in neutral. Well, it used to.
ABOVE: Front end detail. The lens on the front shield is patched in the right hand corner with silicone, an old trick of my dad's. You can just see that the chrome trim at the top is missing a bit on the left hand side.
So there we have it. Day one. The OX arrives and is in pretty good nick except for some cosmetic cracks and bumps. Now to pull it to pieces and start again. The plan is to completely dis-assemble the machine, have it sand-blasted and re-sprayed a more pleasing colour and re-build it with all new shiny bits.
In a few years my own boy will be off to uni. My hope is that he can take this very groovy machine with him and be the 3rd generation to get around on it.
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