Topic: just got a '71 cb750 with green gauges wtf?

[Hondawggie]

I just bought a real nice 1971 cb750 and was surprised to see, and the seller was also puzzled about, the seeming 'fluorescent green' look of the gauges.   

I have another cb750 and the gauges look nothing like that.  I seem to remember reading somewhere that this 'fluorescent green' look was only on the very earlier cb750s.

Did someone put some 1969 or 1970 gauges on my '71 here?

EDIT:  the VIN (frame #) is CB750-10650xx,  not sure if that helps.

[ekpent]

The color of the face changed over the years, Early K0 gauges have a clear plastic cover and higher redline. Does your have the dummy light jewels in them.Picture would be helpful,heck let see the whole bike.  Do they look like this K1 at all or are they a brighter green.

[dusterdude]

Mine are green also

[Hondawggie]

The color of the face changed over the years, Early K0 gauges have a clear plastic cover and higher redline. Does your have the dummy light jewels in them.Picture would be helpful,heck let see the whole bike.  Do they look like this K1 at all or are they a brighter green.

Thanks guys, but no, I meant the numbers and graduations (the scale of dashes around the perimiter) look fluorescent green.   Not white.  I will post a couple pics directly.

[toytuff]

Did the white numbers fade?

tt

[Hondawggie]

Okay here are the pictures, I just shot them


Green everywhere...






Here is the redline on the tach...



As you said, the faces are in fact not glass, they are plastic, and the clear plastic faces stick out from the black gauge body


Are these pre-1971 gauges, or is my 10650xx a late-70 bike?

[ekpent]

Those are K0 first gen guages. Probably should consider yourself lucky on that swap    Don't be such a tease,lets see a picture of the whole thing,maybe some other goodies on it.

[Hondawggie]

The thing is ready for a dual-front disc, I have the parts, that came with it, and now that I realize it the gauges musta been put on there.  Because check out the hodgpodge of stuff:

- black ribbed stock airbox
- no rear fender grab bar
- chrome headlight ears
- key under the tank, left side, no 'dashboard' like on my other 750
- sidecovers do not have slotted holes

So part of it looks like older than '71 (chrome fork ears, black ribbed airbox) and part of it is apparently pre-1971 based on what you're saying on the gauges being '1st gen.'


I'd really like to know, what was the last frame number for the 1970 year?   Because he coulda had rust on the front bits and put the chrome headlight ears on or something.   The front fender is not a single cut or anything either.

[ekpent]

The K1 frame starts at 1044650 so anything lower than that should be K0.Is there a month or build date on your vin tag on the frame ?  Yeah the chrome headlight ears would be 72 or later depending on how the turn signals mount.

[Hondawggie]

It has to be a '71 k1 then as the frame starts with 10650xx.
The front turn signals attach at the same point on the headlight bucket's mount screw holes. 

My guess:  one of the prior owners bought this '71, it was rusted or missing parts or something, and he bought various bits -- newer front end parts, carb parts, and somehow, without trying to, wound up with old gauges.

Maybe he bought it as a parts bike and made a runner out of it.   I'm about 100% sure my first guess was right, old gauges on a newer bike.  I'm 100% okay with it, the older the better.

[Kevin D]

the VIN (frame #) is CB750-10650xx,  not sure if that helps.

Thats October or November 1970 build date K1. The title would likely say when the bike was sold.

[ekpent]

Things really got changed up on them as we have seen here.A guy I met was making a hillclimber/dirtbike out of a 72 750 using a Kawasaki dirt bike frame. I bought all of his take offs and apparently his bike was running an early wrinkle gas tank and some minty HM300's he was going to cut the ends off for drag pipes.  Parts which should not have been there on it. Glad I was able to save it all.

[Hondawggie]

When I'm back out at the shop tomorrow I'll look for the 'build date', and the other thing I would say is the engine # is ENGINE #:  cb750-10657xx and with cb750-10650xx being the frame number,  I'm guessing the frame and engine go together.


Main reason I'm curious about the gauges is - the mileage.  If a prior owner did put on different gauges for whatever reason, then I can't really trust the mileage on the bike.  I bought it from a seller who did not ride it, he bought it and held on to it a few years as an "I'll get to it" project and did not have  a title, only some DMV paperwork I have to take over and record to get the title.


Reason I'd like to understand the gauges is, I may not know the correct mileage on it.  It has not been registered at the DMV for going on 20 years.

If the greenish gauges are from a '69-'70 model parts list, surely this '71 K1 bike's original guages are long gone, is there any way or experience you guys have with finding a K or a K0 speedometer on a K1?

I checked in the parts lists and here's what it says:

1969 cb750k,
   and 1970 cb750k0 -- speedometer is part # 37230-300-671

1971 cb750k1 -- speedometer is part # 37230-300-672


Now that I know it has to be a 1971 k1, and thanks Kevin D and ekpent on that one, then based on the part numbers looks like I have a set of 671 gauges on it and therefore the mileage on the bike is anyone's guess.

[ekpent]

Those guages may be worth more than you paid for the bike depending on what you had to pay 

[Hondawggie]

Okay good to know, wow, however I did buy the bike as a rider, and because of the rest of the condition, stock paint and decals and seat, nothing really missing, I did not get it cheap, I paid $1500 for it but he did some basic investment into it since he acquired it, so it had brand new tires, new chain, new sprockets, and it has the parts for a double-disk front brake setup, I was jazzed about the relatively low miles, so I thought $1500 for a 1971 cb750k1 was a fine deal, must say though I now really am wondering -- what the original miles might be.

I will need to check valves and compression.  The bike sure does look decent though.  When I unloaded it I put all the regular bits, seat tank sidecovers in my home garage then unloaded the bike at the shop, so I didn't think a chassis picture would be impressive, but here's what she looks like, this '71 on ebay right now looks similar:

THE ONE I BOUGHT HAS A 4-into-1 Kerker and stock swingarm though, not a drag pipe setup like this one...




NOTE THE 'FUNKY'-LOOKING TANK STRIPING -- MY TANK LOOKS *EXACTLY* LIKE THAT -- I'm thinking some decal seller got the tank stripe decal wrong, this one is too wide and drops down in the back too far, but my tank's stripe is *exactly* the same so maybe my tank was re-done with the same incorrect tank decal??  Stripe looks funky to me.  Also, the "Honda" tank badge letters are white on my tank, not black.


Once she's back together and up on the road I'll re-post photos.

[Stev-o]

I'd buy that bike for $1500

[Viktor.J]

Hell I'd buy 1/3 of that bike for 1500$ 

[ekpent]

Sooo how much did the pictured bike sell for on E-bay or is the auction still active. See a lot of non 71 parts there,seat,fork ears,back fender-tail light,badge pointed wrong way etc.

[Hondawggie]

Heres the ebay bike, http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1971-CB750-4-cylinder-/281054409195?pt=US_motorcycles&hash=item417025f1ebj

He set the starting price too high imo, you know when the guy knows what its worth and thinks 'I'll just save time and put a starting price thats reasonable given the worth of it'  and time and again you see a guy put a bike on for $1.00 and it got tons of interest and bid way up.  No one has bid on his bike, it's listed for $2920.00.

Yep my '71 has a tiny rear tail light compared to that, which looks like the taillight off a '76 cb400f, my 1st bike I had in 1976.  He has the same chrome fork ears problem I do, but the picture of his gauges, that must be what my gauges are supposed to look like.

He is also missing the bottom tank trim, my tank has a silver trim with black stripe running down the middle.  I like the low lean look of his bike and I bet it sounds righteous, and hope if he doesn't get a bid he sets a low start price and maybe a reserve.  Cool machine there.

[Stev-o]

Did you see his other bike he's selling? Its a Z50 hill climber?!


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-Other-1978-Honda-Z50-Mini-trail-Rare-Modified-Hill-Climber-/271142302205?pt=US_motorcycles&hash=item3f215731fd#ht_4731wt_948

[Hondawggie]

Pretty dang cool there, he must not have any kids or they would get after him.  My Dad tried to sneak-give away my cb400four once after I got injured at 16, no way jose, that was not going to happen.  His kids must be out of the house.  That's a cool little bike, monoshock, the whole deal.

[Tews19]

I recently sold a set of K0 gauges on eBay for a little over 300. My face and lens were in better shape though. I would keep the gauges if I were you. Nice find.

[754]

 Can I have them ?

There are reasons for them to be on there, example, my buddy liked the looks of them , so he ordered new KO guages, and a red tank..just because... Bthey were cheap back in the day..