A bigger tube frame with a front downtube gave extra strength and ran through the space where the electric starter was mounted in the CB and CA models.

It had a small-capacity painted fuel tank, fork boots, 19-inch front and rear wheels, coarser-tread tires (called universals), a taller handlebar with cross-brace, and abbreviated fenders.

The 305.4 cc (18.64 cu in) overhead cam engine had a redline of 9000 rpm and contrasted sharply from the low-revving European and American bikes of the day.

Running straight pipes with small internal baffles, CL77s featured a loud and very distinct sound from the 180 degree firing order of this parallel twin.

[citation needed] Many of these motorcycles featured aftermarket snuff-or-nots (commonly misspoken as "snuffer nuts"),[3] which featured a flat washer like piece of metal which pivoted just inside the tips of the exhaust pipes to quiet or increase the sound of the exhaust at any time during operation simply by twisting the external knob.