Estimated read time: 6 minutes
Welcome back to the Dispatch. Series 5 starts Monday on Instagram, two posts a day, and the first frosts have already shown up in the garage. This week the market told a quieter story than last time: the big auction houses went silent on CT70s, no new hammer result closed in our window, and the action moved to dealer listings and the for-sale boards instead. That is still useful information. A quiet week at auction, plus a high-end restoration flipping to sold, plus three fresh bikes for sale from $2,025 to $4,999, plus a cold-morning starting routine for the frosty rides ahead. Grab a coffee and settle into the garage.
Market Watch: What CT70s Are Actually Selling For
Asking prices are wishes. Hammer prices are facts. Here is the honest version of this week: we checked Bring a Trailer, Bonhams, Cars & Bids, Mecum, Iconic Motorbikes, and the aggregator tables, and no new CT70 hammer result closed between Issue #3 (Oct 18) and today that we could verify on its own results page. So we are not going to invent one. What did move, and the last two BaT closes before this quiet week that Issue #3 did not cover, are below.
1971 Honda CT70H, NOS restoration, Sapphire Blue, listed at $7,450, now showing sold
Street Dreams Texas in Fredericksburg, Texas, had this one listed at $7,450: a nut-and-bolt NOS restoration, 2 miles, VIN CT70H-202032. The page now reads “This vehicle has been sold” and “no longer available for sale.” Note the careful wording: the page confirms it sold, but it does not confirm the sale price, so we are reporting the asking price and the sold status, not claiming it brought $7,450. Either way, a top-dollar restoration just left the market, which keeps the top-end story from Issue #3 intact.
View the listing page
1972 Honda CT70, $4,000 on Bring a Trailer, Sep 30, 2026
The last BaT close before the quiet week, and one Issue #3 did not cover: a 1972 CT70 with 31 miles that brought $4,000 out of Leander, Texas. Low miles, strong money, right in line with the mid-fours lane we have been tracking for clean riders.
View the BaT results table for 1972 CT70s
1972 Honda CT70, $2,101 on Bring a Trailer, Sep 24, 2026
Six days earlier, a 4,500-mile 1972 out of La Fontaine, Indiana, closed at $2,101. Same model year, very different bike, very different money. The spread between these two September closes, $2,101 to $4,000, is the whole market in one sentence: condition and miles decide everything, and a driver-condition bike still trades near two grand.
View the BaT results table for 1972 CT70s
The big picture: Issue #3 moved the ceiling to $7,500 on the Kaplan concours bikes. Nothing this week moved it again, because nothing verifiable closed at auction. What the week did confirm is the floor holding: riders and projects still trade in the low twos, clean bikes still sit in the fours, and the $7,450-ask restoration that just sold shows the top end is not waiting around for auction season. If you own one, this is still a good time to know exactly what it is worth, which is precisely what the Pricing Guide below is for.
Bikes For Sale Right Now
1971 Honda CT70, fully restored, Emerald Green, $4,999
Supreme Motos in Virginia Beach, Virginia, has a fully restored 1971 in Emerald Green at $4,999. Four-speed manual, 5 miles on a rebuilt engine, all stainless hardware, new seat, tires, carb, fenders, wheels, and chrome. VIN CT70H-138887. One catch to know before you call: bill of sale only, no title, and the rebuild title status is listed as rebuilt, rebuildable, and reconstructed. If your state is title-friendly, this is a turn-key restored bike at the middle of the market.
View the listing
1971 Honda CT70 Mini Trail, Gold, $2,025
A 1,552-mile Gold 1971 out of Mentor, Ohio, at $2,025. Clean Ohio title, out of a private collection, stored dry with no gas in climate control for 14 years. Fresh engine rebuild, new paint, decals, and seat cover. The seller says it needs only a battery and fuel. The other catch: the seller will not ship, so this one is for Ohio buyers or anyone willing to make the drive. VIN CT70272366.
View the listing
1970 Honda CT70, restored rider, Blue, $2,500
The budget entry this week, and it is a real rider: a restored 1970 out of Bismarck, North Dakota, at $2,500. House of Kolor candy paint matched to the original, new grips, cables, tires, tubes, seat cover, decals, battery, carb, sprockets, and chain. The engine got new rings, seals, clutch plates, and valves, and the listing says it runs great. 5,648 miles, VIN 196146, bill of sale only, no title. Restored, running, and priced like a driver. That combination does not sit long.
View the listing
From the Workbench: The Cold-Morning Starting Routine
Issue #3 put the bike to sleep for winter. This one is for the mornings you still ride: the first frost is here, and a CT70 that fired on the second kick in September can turn stubborn in November. Cold air is denser, cold engines want more fuel, and a tired battery spins slower. Here is the routine, in order.
Step 1: Choke it, then back off. Full choke for the first start, then ease it off as the engine warms over the first minute. Leaving the choke on too long fouls the plug, and a fouled plug on a cold morning is how a five-minute ride becomes a forty-minute garage session.
Step 2: Let it idle before you ride. Give it a full minute at idle before you touch the throttle. Cold oil is thick oil, and a CT70 motor is happiest when it warms up under no load. If it stumbles when you first roll on, it is not broken, it is cold. Wait it out.
Step 3: Read the plug. If cold starts keep getting harder, pull the plug and look. A white, dry plug says lean, which cold dense air makes worse. A wet, black plug says rich or choked too long. The plug tells you which way to adjust before you start guessing at the carb.
Step 4: Check the battery before you blame the carb. A slow crank on a frosty morning is usually the battery, not the fuel system. Check voltage, charge it, and only then start chasing fuel problems. Most “carb issues” in November are batteries in disguise.
Step 5: Run fresh gas. Old gas plus cold weather is the hardest starting combination there is. If the tank has been sitting since September, drain it and start fresh before you diagnose anything else.
Do these five in order and the frosty-morning ride stays a ride, not a project.
From the Shop
The Shop Manual, $7.77. The factory service manual, digitized and searchable. Torque specs, wiring diagrams, exploded views. If you own a CT70 and turn your own wrenches, this pays for itself the first time you use it.
Get the Shop Manual
The Official Trail 70 Pricing Guide, $9.99. Every model and year, with real market data so you know what your bike is worth before you buy, sell, or insure it. Instant download.
Get the Pricing Guide
The Grease Monkey Bundle, $17.77. The Shop Manual plus the Pricing Guide, together at a bundle price. The full garage reference shelf in one download.
Get the Grease Monkey Bundle
The Jumpman Mug, $22. The garage coffee mug, and that price includes shipping and handling. For the morning routine above, obviously.
Get the Jumpman Mug
The Jumpman Big Ass Tumbler, $44. Forty ounces, stainless, with a straw and a screw-on lid. For the rider who does not stop for refills.
Get the Big Ass Tumbler
Trail 70 Posters, $20 to $37. Garage wall art from the small original poster at $20 up to the large prints at $37, including the Lady Dax.
Get the Posters
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The Dispatch goes out weekly: real sale prices, bikes for sale, and one practical tip from the workbench, every time. If a friend forwarded you this issue, sign up below so the next one lands in your inbox.
The Trail 70 Dispatch is published by the Trail 70 Association. Sale prices are reported from public auction records and are accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of writing. Listings were live at the time of publication but may sell at any time.
