1965 Honda CL 72 Value?

GMX

GMX

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A friend of mine wants to sell his 1965 CL72, so I told him I'd do some research for him. He bought it new in 1965, is the original owner and has the title.
Frame and Engine numbers are only 41 numbers apart, which is nice.
He served in the 82nd Airborne and when he was in Vietnam his brother painted it green! (without his knowledge or permission...)
Original colors were black and silver. Front fender was cut by him, seat has been recovered. Other than that it's mostly original that I could tell.
It has not been stored well, sitting outside for many years before being brought inside sometime later.
It is one of those bikes that might be described as "Ran when parked" lol
Engine is frozen with velocity stacks open to the atmosphere for who knows how long.
Looks to me like it's mostly complete but I have not worked on a CL72.
That said, it would be a huge undertaking to restore.
I'm guessing it would bring some good money to him if parted out, but not sure which parts are most rare or Mega Unobtanium...
Looking for input from members here who have experience with this model, so I can help him decide what he wants to do.
Thanks guys.

20260430_130653[1].jpg
 
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I own a 65 CL77, but am not real knowledgeable on the CL72's. First glance the wheels look to be alloy. I think they are chromed steel from the factory. Someone please correct me if I am wrong. Exhaust seems to be in good shape, which is a real plus. Having a title, I would guess that might be a $1000 - 1200 project bike in my area.
 
Heck if the muffler is mostly rust-free it could be worth $6-800 on it's own, imho.
Is the side cover chromed? I don't think that's factory if so.
But I am no CL72 expert.
 
It's worth whatever you can get out of it. It's a shame someone had to butcher the front fender, those early aluminum fenders are really rare.
 
Speaking from experience on my 1966 CL77 build that is better off as a parts bike for someone. Restoration will be spendy with parts hard to find, since it was an in between model. The CL77 was more common and likely produced in greater numbers.
As noted it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it and finding someone willing to undertake a restoration will be a challenge, unless you find a passionate CL person.
Bill Silver AKA Mr. Honda maybe a candidate for it from a California base which is somewhat close to Arizona.

Here is his information if your friend wants to reach out to him. He also will be a good person for an evaluation of the true value if he isn't interested. https://www.vintagehonda.com/
 
Thanks for the input fellas. I do believe those are alloy wheels, the owner didn't say he ever swapped them out.
If we all only knew then what we know now...we would have kept all the original parts instead of performing "backyard customization"...
I was not familiar with Mr. Honda, as I've mainly only dealt with 350 and 450's and 70's naked Goldwings. So thanks for that info.
I couldn't get a good look at the right side since it was near the wall and hanging from chains, but it looked to be the same condition as the left side.
 
GMX said:
Thanks for the input fellas. I do believe those are alloy wheels, the owner didn't say he ever swapped them out.
If we all only knew then what we know now...we would have kept all the original parts instead of performing "backyard customization"...
I was not familiar with Mr. Honda, as I've mainly only dealt with 350 and 450's and 70's naked Goldwings. So thanks for that info.
I couldn't get a good look at the right side since it was near the wall and hanging from chains, but it looked to be the same condition as the left side.
Click to expand...
Bill is an excellent person who specializes in these bikes and has written books on this series. Likely no one else is as knowledgeable or as passionate about these bikes. He was invaluable when I did my extensive restoration on the 1966 CL77. He graciously spent time with me over the phone and sold me some much needed parts at better pricing than the eBay stealers.
 
GMX said:
Thanks for the input fellas. I do believe those are alloy wheels, the owner didn't say he ever swapped them out.
If we all only knew then what we know now...we would have kept all the original parts instead of performing "backyard customization"...
I was not familiar with Mr. Honda, as I've mainly only dealt with 350 and 450's and 70's naked Goldwings. So thanks for that info.
I couldn't get a good look at the right side since it was near the wall and hanging from chains, but it looked to be the same condition as the left side.
Click to expand...
Bill is a member here, @MrHonda1948, and he'll get a notification for this thread in case he's interested
 
Yes, very pricy, since used motorbikes are seen and value's like new ones when it comes to taxes. I calculated roughly, but have to pay an extra 1000+ USD on top of the slaes price.

The last shipment from the US (1 pallet only) set me back around 700 Euro's on shipping and taxes, and that's 5-8 years ago....
 
  • Wow
Reactions: J-T
That would be about the same as shipping a bike cross country here in the USA>
Just declare it is antique garage art! LOL
 
In a related area, here's some interesting info about the Honda CL72...

www.cycleworld.com

Before There Was The Baja 1000, There Were Ekins And Robertson

There’s Daytona, Bonneville, Indy, Le Mans, The Isle of Man. But for off-roaders, nothing distills the dream like the short cough of two syllables: Baja.
www.cycleworld.com www.cycleworld.com

www.cycleworld.com

Before There Was The Baja 1000, There Were Ekins And Robertson​

There’s Daytona, Bonneville, Indy, Le Mans, The Isle of Man. But for off-roaders, nothing distills the dream like the short cough of two syllables: Baja.
www.cycleworld.com
www.cycleworld.com
 
In an even less related tangent (aside from the Baja 1000 reference), this was a short-lived TV drama about a Yamaha XT500 rider in the Baja 1000 who accidentally time-traveled back to the late 1800s (love the "technoid types who come up with all this bonnaroo boogie" quote about a glow stick)

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www.imdb.com

/highjack
 
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