Topic: My new K3

[HotCarl73]

i've been a lurker here for years. i've been very slowly working on a k4 for a couple years. i stripped it to the frame sandblasted and repainted the frame and started putting it back together. i was going for perfect and it just got too frustrating having to replace every little sub assembly that i took apart. i was stalled out. then 2 weeks ago i found a k3 that had a bunch of the prettying up done (new paint, exhaust, seat, etc), but the previous owner couldn't get it running. he was selling it for about what i paid for my k4 that i received in boxes. i did a little carb and ignition work, a little cleaning and polishing, and got it running. it's not perfect, but looks like a pretty well cared for 40 year old bike. and the build date is the month and year i was born! oddly i'll always know my age when people ask, because i'll know the age of something important like my bike. i've put 750 miles on it so far and only had a few bugs to work out. i just wanted to share my joy and show off my new baby.

[Schnell]

It's a beauty!

[flybox1]

perfect!  needs nothing!
nice find 

[Bankerdanny]

Welcome. That's a spectacular looking bike.

[HotCarl73]

Thanks!

[Bandit18]

Congrats,seen a 69 this week with same paint.A pic is nothing like seeing one up close.

[phil71]

Beautiful.

[harisuluv]

Stock exhaust to boot!

[cheftuskey121]

gorgeous man, that orange was the first color I wanted! I imagine how pristine it is in person, pictures only show so much

[Lars]

Yep, very goodlooking bike, good on you! Enjoy!

[tool14]

nice looking bike,congrats.

[KCbarsos]

very nice Carl, and welcome

[HotCarl73]

thanks guys! it actually looks better in pics than in person. a little rust here and there, paint has some drips in it, #4 pipe has a little road rash, #1 pipe has a dent, engine paint flaked off, little stuff like that. honest wear and tear. this is the problem i ran into with the k4. when i got it it was a couple days of work away from running and driving. i figured i may as well pull the engine and paint the frame. once i had the bare frame, why not go ahead and sand blast the whole thing. and it was just that way putting it back together. while i have this piece in my hands, why not make it perfect. it all came screeching to a halt on the fork ears. i bought about ten fork ears off ebay and couldn't come up with a set that was perfect. and i just couldn't move past it. so that's where the k4 sits today. perfect frame, kickstand, centerstand, rebuilt front end and swingarm with rusty fork ears. the k3 doesn't have one piece on it that i can look at and say it's perfect (except the front tire). but it runs and rides great and looks pretty good to boot. some of the k4 suspension parts are gonna come off the k4 and move to the k3. and then i'll either get back to work making the k4 perfect or just get it together decent like the k3. i'll post a pic later of what the k3 looked like when the previous owner got it. here's the k4:

http://s458.photobucket.com/user/HotCarl73/slideshow/CB750%20K4

[flybox1]

now you've got one to ride and enjoy, and light the fire to get the other one done 

[HotCarl73]

this is a crappy cell phone picture of a crappy picture printed with a crappy printer and stuck in the front of the crappy binder that the previous owner gave me with the bike when i bought it. this is how it looked when he got it.


he put a bunch of money and time into it. i think he let it sit and plugged up the carbs he had already cleaned once before, and was just over working on it. he had a nice newish harley that just worked when he wanted to ride it. i know it doesn't sound right to sell the honda because it always needed fixing, and keep the harley because it didn't. but i think that's what happened. he sold it to me for $1800 which i'm sure is less than he paid for the exhaust and seat. not to mention the paint and emblems and all the other little things he bought for it. he was a hell of a nice guy and i told him i would ride it and love it. i'm doing my best. with the k4 i'm thinking i might go ahead and paint and polish the engine (it runs fine) and swap it with the k3 engine. then do the same on the k3 engine and fix the leaky pucks, and then put it back in the k3. with the two bikes i can strive for perfection and have one always ready to ride too. i have a couple other bikes that keep me busy too:
2005 919:

1995 Ural

[Bankerdanny]

Love the Ural.

[HotCarl73]

thanks. it's my daily driver. my "car" is a 4x4 excursion diesel with a 44 gallon tank. it goes through about 400 bucks a month in fuel if i drive it every day. i mostly use it for fishing since i got the ural. the sidecar is really nice. this is my tool kit:

still plenty of room for parts, clothes, helmets, groceries and a passenger. on my 2 wheelers, i can't even find someplace to stash my sunglasses.

[KCbarsos]

only thing perfect about my k3 750 is the feeling i get when riding it 

[HotCarl73]

only thing perfect about my k3 750 is the feeling i get when riding it 

i'm feeling the same way! but it's getting to be that time of year when it's too hot to ride. i like to wear all my gear when i'm on the two wheelers. on the sidecar rig, i'm comfortable wearing shorts and tee shirt and a half helmet. it only goes 50 mph, i don't take it on the freeway, and it's a little harder to dump it over. i mostly ride the two wheelers in the middle of the night, when the temp drops into the mid 90's. so i'm taking the opportunity to freshen up the k3. i'm gonna rebuild the suspension, do some work on the carbs, replace the rear tire, and try to take care of some of the rusty chrome. i ordered all the parts yesterday and i'm gonna start straightening up the garage today.

[754]

Nice bike do you have any f the CBO. Olive color body parts left to sell. ?

[HotCarl73]

sorry the candy baccus olive is either under the flake sunrise orange, or dust on the floor of the previous owner's painter. my first motorcycle ever was a 71 cb500 that i believe was candy jet green. if it makes you cringe to think about the CBO being gone, i'll spare you the story of what happened to the cb500 when i was young and dumb and pissed that the transmission exploded on. it involved an axe, and i'm as upset with myself now, as any of you might be. if i ever get the k4 done, it will probably be freedom green metallic. or i might put the flake sunrise orange on the k4 and put the k3 back to candy baccus olive.