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| A Tale of Two Scramblers |
Okay, I confess! I’m one of those VJMC guys that hands over the subscription money every year, but just reads the magazine with sincere intentions of going to and arranging events and otherwise contributing to this great organization, but rarely gets around to it. I do wear the T-shirt though!. But when I saw Roger Smith’s beautiful CL72 in the latest issue, I knew that I had to contribute. The guilt finally got the better of me. Plus, I owe debts of gratitude to a variety of VJMC’ers around the country for their help and support and wanted to find a way to pay that forward.
Anyway, as far as I know - and I’m pretty sure I’m correct - both have almost of their original parts. The engine numbers are also consistent with the frame numbers. One was a 1964, one a 1965. Now, how cool is that, just to sit down with a cup of hot coffee on a fine Indiana Summer morning, birds chirping, a light breeze, the woods just beyond the edge of the driveway, as I sat on my Craftsman rolling mechanics chair sandwiched between not one, but two red CL-72’s and just admired the marvel of design and engineering that is the CL-72 Scrambler. It doesn’t get much better.
Let me share with you some of the differences a year can make. If you’ve read any of Bill Silver’s restorations guides, as I have - many, many, many times, (yes, that many!), you know that he does a superb job of describing the various running changes made to these models over the years. However, being the visual learner I am, I need to see it in person. So, since you may not have the luxury, here’s the visual evidence of just a few of these subtle changes, along with photos. Hope the visuals help you as they did me! 
1) The rear brake forward cable end mount . The 1964 had the cable end mounted at the end of the swing arm pivot bolt. The 1965 had the more commonly seen mount welded directly on to the frame tube.
4) The handlebar mount. The 1964 had the cap nuts, the 1965 had the bolts.
5) The ’64 had the permanently riveted folding drivers pegs, the ’65 had the cotter keyed removable pins.
For those who are interested, a few more particulars. The 1965 was obtained free of charge from Mr. Bill Chifos of Indianapolis, Indiana, who contacted Jim Townsend several years ago with a free Honda “Dream” to anyone interested. It belonged to his son, also named Bill, who went to Vietnam
His father gave the bike away or sold it several times over the years with the proviso that the owner give him first right of refusal if they were done with it. It always came back and this last time he was ready to part with it. I believe that was about 2002.
The bike was in pieces and rattle can blue when I lugged it home, but almost all of it was there. The frame number is CL72-1001828 and it had about 5,600 miles showing on the odometer. I spent several years and many hours restoring it. The frame is powder-coated an Eastwood Medium Red color. A little different, but nice nonetheless. I thought of Bill and his family often as I worked on this bike over the years. I still do.
By the way, Staff Sargent William Lewis Chifos was awarded two Silver Stars and a Bronze Star for his actions in Vietnam while a member of B C0, 5th BN, 60th INFANTRY, 9 INF DIV, U.S. Army. A true American hero.
The 1964 was purchased locally and appeared to have been “adult-owned”. After a little clean-up, it ran like a top. An absolutely amazing bike. 3,700 original miles, original paint, tires, and chrome and I’m not sure the valves had ever been adjusted. It was that pristine. It looked like very few nuts and bolts had never been apart and had only a couple of very small dings, one in the tank, and one in the front fender. For those of you who rode these scramblers back in the day, they didn’t get treated this nicely. Of course, the surface rust showed through the paint in places, but that only added to the patina!
The only mod I could find (I originally thought it to be original), was a hole through the chain guard through which the vent tube from the head cover was routed – for chain lubrication, I assume. Always started first kick, ran like a top, even better than my ’ 65 with the rebuilt engine. Some of you may have seen me riding it around Mid-Ohio Vintage Motorcycle Days a couple of years ago. I no longer have this bike. I won’t tell you what took its’ place in the garage. I’m saving that story for the VBMC magazine.
Anyway, I have too many VJMC members to say thanks to, and since some may wish to remain anonymous, and I’d forget a few I’m sure, I’ll leave it there. Anyway, a sincere thanks to all. My way to repay all that generous advice is to offer that I will try to send a CD of detailed photos of both bikes to any CL restorers who are interested. I wish I had had a nice set of detailed photos during the restore, so I’ll offer it up here. I’ll try to get to everyone who asks, but if demand is too great, I may have to resort to Plan “B” and it may take a while. Either way, I’ll get back to you. Just send me an email. And best of luck with your restoration.
Bill Voetsch
VJMC # 3364
Oldbikebill@yahoo.com
Oldbikebill@gmail.com
(Published in Vol. 30, No. 4 edition of the Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club (VJMC) Magazine).
Please note that this article was formatted slightly differently than you'll see if you read the published article. The article can be found in the archives at www.vjmc.org.
Please support the VJMC - Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club. The organization continues to be run in a professional manner by a fine group of volunteers totally dedicated to, as their mission statement reads, to "promote the preservation, restoration and enjoyment of vintage japanese motorcycles". I continue to be impressed that it is run as well as it is over many years.
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