Author Topic: Bay Area CB750F Transformation  (Read 3286 times)

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Offline highgear

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Bay Area CB750F Transformation
« on: December 19, 2012, 07:06:58 AM »
Very Excited to have just purchased this 1978 CB750F Super Sport from a co-worker who had it sitting in his garage for 20+ years.  He bought it in the mid 80's from the original owner who worked in the parts department of a Honda shop in Sunnyvale, CA.  It ran and sounded great when it was last used but that was years ago, but ow, no start!  I've got some work to do. 

Before it's hibernation period began it had some modification performed; Russ Collins 836 Kit, ported and polished heads, Yosh exhaust, Raask rearsets, custom paint (very 80's), color-matched front fairing, and engine guards.  My vision is to transform this into a cafe racer.  I'm starting off with a good platform but before I start adding bits I need to freshen things up.  Upon initial inspection I found what I believed to be rust in the tank.  Two bottles of Metal Rescue and a 36 hour soak showed little to no result.  After further consideration and the strong smell of rotten gas I suspected that what I had was not rust but just varnish from the old gas.  A 12 hour soak in 50/50 Simple Green somewhat changed the condition, but didn't really solve it.  I moved on to the pressure washer to see if I could blast the gunk out.  No luck.  After wire brushing what I could off the inner surface of the tank from the filler opening and seeing the residue that came off I came to two conclusions.  #1: Someone, somewhere along the way must have coated this tank because the residue had a pliable, expoxy-like feel to it, #2 If I can't get this stuff out with all these methods I've tried I probably don't need to worry about it coming off in my tank, and cloggin my petcock, fuel filter, or carbs.  So I got it as clean as I could and re-installed the tank.  I put about a gallon of fresh gas in it to make sure everything was sealed and healed and I'm moving on to the next steps.  I will refresh all the fluids, give it a full detail before I take it down to my friendly local motorcycle shop to have them clean/rebuild/sync/tune the carbs and perform an overall assessment of the needs and concerns to be addressed.  Once that has been done it will be time to complete the vision I have for this bike.  I've been doing a lot of research as to the type of look and feel i want for this bike and where to obtain all the things I'm going to need.  But as of now, the transformation will be as follows:
Remove Front Fairing
Clubman Cafe Bars
Giuliari Seat
Chrome Bobber Rear Fender
Polish Raask Rearsets
Install Turn Signals
Bar-End Mirros
Gran Tourismo Grips
New Reaset Pegs
Remove Passenger Pegs
Bridgestone Spitfire RWL Tires
Haven't decided on filter pods yet
Still searching for the right tail light assembly

Looking forward to the rest of the project.  I'll post updated pictures along the way.  For now, here are some "before" pics.
"An ounce of perception, a pound of obscure"

Offline Greggo

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Re: Bay Area CB750F Transformation
« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2012, 07:10:33 AM »
Hey, that one looks nice! I'm up in Berkeley.

Offline Mugen_Stumpo

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Re: Bay Area CB750F Transformation
« Reply #2 on: December 19, 2012, 07:11:47 AM »
it is already looking great!

congrats

Offline highgear

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Re: Bay Area CB750F Transformation
« Reply #3 on: December 19, 2012, 09:10:46 AM »
Hey, that one looks nice! I'm up in Berkeley.

Good to hear from another bay area owner.  I'll meet you at Alice's once It's done!   ;D
"An ounce of perception, a pound of obscure"

Offline highgear

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Re: Bay Area CB750F Transformation
« Reply #4 on: December 19, 2012, 09:46:49 AM »
A couple more pics to show the progression.............
"An ounce of perception, a pound of obscure"

Offline pmurph1x

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Re: Bay Area CB750F Transformation
« Reply #5 on: December 19, 2012, 10:01:35 AM »
I have the same bike - just picked up my '78SS a month ago. I'm just over the hill from you. I'm as slow as tar though when it comes to progress. I spent days on the tank using electrolysis and it is still full of rusty varnish. I put that away for now and am rebuilding the carbs. May give it a try with Laquer thinner followed by more electrolysis over the holidays. I'll let you know if that works.
   We'll have to meet up for a bevy if I can get back on the road.

      Paul

Offline highgear

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Re: Bay Area CB750F Transformation
« Reply #6 on: December 19, 2012, 10:07:44 AM »
I have the same bike - just picked up my '78SS a month ago. I'm just over the hill from you. I'm as slow as tar though when it comes to progress. I spent days on the tank using electrolysis and it is still full of rusty varnish. I put that away for now and am rebuilding the carbs. May give it a try with Laquer thinner followed by more electrolysis over the holidays. I'll let you know if that works.
   We'll have to meet up for a bevy if I can get back on the road.

      Paul
That's a deal!  I have to admit, the tank issue was pretty frustrating for me, mostly because the outside of the tank is in really ggod shape so I have to be very careful in how I handle it and what products I use inside so I don't risk dmamging the paint on the outside.  I finally decided to just go with what I had and see how it does.  The more i handled the tank the more potential there became for damage, scratches, etc.  Looking forward to going for a ride!
"An ounce of perception, a pound of obscure"

Offline pmurph1x

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Re: Bay Area CB750F Transformation
« Reply #7 on: December 19, 2012, 10:56:23 AM »
Yea - I'm in the same situation. My tank is almost perfect externally with the original paint. I have it wrapped in towels and put away. I'll probably wrap it with seran wrap to help protect the paint before I start trying solvents. I went and bought a Motion Pro Aux tank so I dont have to balance my tank on the seat or the workbench.

Offline HonderCB

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Re: Bay Area CB750F Transformation
« Reply #8 on: December 19, 2012, 05:11:29 PM »
thats a pretty killer old paint job!  But, if it is a 78 that would make it an F3, not an F2 like painted on the side covers...not that it really matters, you cant tell by looking at the bike.

Welcome to the F club, if i can make one suggestion, forget about the pods... they look cool but are a bigger pain than they are worth in looks.  i ended up ditching mine about a week after i bought the bike.  good luck!
-Scott, just a F'er from Illinois-

77' CB750F
81' CB650C - SOLD

Offline highgear

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Re: Bay Area CB750F Transformation
« Reply #9 on: December 19, 2012, 07:42:06 PM »
thats a pretty killer old paint job!  But, if it is a 78 that would make it an F3, not an F2 like painted on the side covers...not that it really matters, you cant tell by looking at the bike.

Welcome to the F club, if i can make one suggestion, forget about the pods... they look cool but are a bigger pain than they are worth in looks.  i ended up ditching mine about a week after i bought the bike.  good luck!

Thanks.  I think you just help clear up 2 things for me.  I have seen many charts as to whether a 78 is an F2 or an F3 and I've gotten both answers depepnding on which chart I look at.  It seems most show it as an F3.  I thought maybe, because of the VIN number structure (pic attached) that it was an F2 regardless what the charts said.  The second thing was the pods.  Yes they look great but I knew it would require rejetting and sisnce the carbs are likely rejetted for the 836 kit I didn't want to make it any more complicated or difficult to tune.
"An ounce of perception, a pound of obscure"

Offline tweakin

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Re: Bay Area CB750F Transformation
« Reply #10 on: December 19, 2012, 07:50:38 PM »
Love seeing another F get taken care of.

Offline Spike

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Re: Bay Area CB750F Transformation
« Reply #11 on: December 19, 2012, 08:20:58 PM »
Hey, that one looks nice! I'm up in Berkeley.

Good to hear from another bay area owner.  I'll meet you at Alice's once It's done!   ;D
There's a bunch of us out there.  Stay tuned for a Northern California Bay Area event that is in the planning stages!!
Any road...anytime
IBA# 6154
'73 CB 500
Concours C14
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Offline highgear

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Re: Bay Area CB750F Transformation
« Reply #12 on: December 20, 2012, 06:14:29 AM »
Hey, that one looks nice! I'm up in Berkeley.

Good to hear from another bay area owner.  I'll meet you at Alice's once It's done!   ;D
There's a bunch of us out there.  Stay tuned for a Northern California Bay Area event that is in the planning stages!!
Can't wait!
"An ounce of perception, a pound of obscure"

Offline superbike

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Re: Bay Area CB750F Transformation
« Reply #13 on: December 27, 2012, 07:13:34 PM »
I am working on an F3 as well, so it will be good to see how we progress.  The only thing that has slowed me the last two years is the bike is so much fun to ride as is.

Offline highgear

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Re: Bay Area CB750F Transformation
« Reply #14 on: June 02, 2013, 08:20:12 AM »
Hey, that one looks nice! I'm up in Berkeley.

Good to hear from another bay area owner.  I'll meet you at Alice's once It's done!   ;D
There's a bunch of us out there.  Stay tuned for a Northern California Bay Area event that is in the planning stages!!

Hey Spike, Did the nor Cal event ever happen?  I haven't been able to find any info here about it.  Thx
"An ounce of perception, a pound of obscure"

Offline 1BadCB750

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Re: Bay Area CB750F Transformation
« Reply #15 on: June 04, 2013, 11:07:56 AM »
Pretty sweet! You have plans for the fairing, or are you interested in selling it?

Offline Spike

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Re: Bay Area CB750F Transformation
« Reply #16 on: June 05, 2013, 06:50:51 AM »

[/quote]
There's a bunch of us out there.  Stay tuned for a Northern California Bay Area event that is in the planning stages!!
[/quote]

Hey Spike, Did the nor Cal event ever happen?  I haven't been able to find any info here about it.  Thx
[/quote]

That particular event didn't materialize yet.  I'm working on a meet up, ride in, show n shine, swap based in the North Bay Area.  Need to gauge interest before I go too far (and try to get some assistance from the locals). It would be great to get some vintage Hondas and their owners together in one place.

There is an event coming up at the end of the month in Auburn that is put on by CJMC.  It's a classic Japanese swap and show that has been very good in past years.  All brands of classic Japanese bikes and cafe's, brats and modified bikes are welcomed as well.  I will be going again this year.
Any road...anytime
IBA# 6154
'73 CB 500
Concours C14
BMW R100/7