C72 from France

[sky.fred]

I've dismantled the shock absorbers, or at least that's what they're called, but there's hardly any damping at all....
I'm going to try to open them up and change the seals and oil, because riding with these shocks is like riding with springs only.

[Muddy]

That is very true. :-) Another member here, GMan, did a great write-up on rebuilding the front and rear shocks and listed seals etc that are required. This may help you.

[sky.fred]

The bike is completely dismantled, the parts checked, sorted and put away.
The new frame shows no signs of significant rust. It comes from a bike bought new in Paris, as indicated by the badge riveted to the fender .... and where the climate is less humid than in Japan.
It's going to be sandblasted and painted, and as soon as it's back, I'll be able to reassemble it.





The bike saddles are finished and I think the result is pretty good.

[Geoff Hastings]

The saddles look great, nice job

[sky.fred]

I'm now waiting for the frame and other parts to be sandblasted and painted.
I'm also taking the opportunity to clean and polish what has been dismantled and I've stripped, checked and rebuilt the wiring harness.
I'm now adapting oleopneumatic shock absorbers from a French mark (Fournales) that I found second-hand at a very low price. (on the right without his cover ) The cover was originally chrome-plated and I repainted it black to match the original look.I need to adapt the mountings by finding or making the silent blocks.

[Geoff Hastings]

They should improve the handling, I always felt my CA77 was really nice to ride until you started to corner a bit faster or ride a bumpy road, then it got a bit too exciting.

[sky.fred]

No major changes as I'm waiting for the parts to be painted.
I adapted an air filter from a Honda 500 CB X (2019 - 2023) because it's easy and cheap to find, which is not the case for the one on the C72.
It's identical in shape, a little smaller, but as it's for a modern 500, I've no doubt it'll be enough for a 20 hp 250.





I cut the front of the c72 filter to fit the front of the Honda 500 CB X, put a piece of rubber on it and drilled a hole for the fixing rod.





All that remains is to attach the carburetor and its tube cleaner