Topic: CB750 K6 from USA imported in France : help !

[Aurelia B20]

I have to work on a K6 imported from USA and this model is a little different from the french K6, especially about electrical. So I need your advice about several points.

First a general view of the bike, you can see that the gas tank is not original (K1, K2 ?) as the cock is on the right side and that the Honda wings on the covers has been inverted. Other remarks ?










Were all the brake master-cylinders grey in USA, they were black in France ?




Do you think these are the right switch assy as the right seems new ?






Are the carbs OK for a K6 ?




Now the electrical problems :
- when I turn the key on the 1st position, contact is OK with oil and neutral lamps, headlight is on Low position and rear light is on but both with low intensity, front winkers are on but non flashing.
- when I turn the key on the 2nd position, contact is off, headlight is on Low position and rear light is on but both with high intensity, front winkers are off.

The switch on left hand for Low and Hight headlight is not operating, same for the winkers, maybe some earth problem ?

Thanks in advance for your help 

[andy750]

Nice looking K6!

To answer some of your questions:

"Were all the brake master-cylinders grey in USA, they were black in France ?"

Early K0 ones were black in the USA but at some point (K2?) they became grey.

"Do you think these are the right switch assy as the right seems new ?"

Looks like a Yamiya replacement - not new as the kill switch is different colour.

"Are the carbs OK for a K6 ?"

The band clamps for the airbox-car side are not original. There should be a number stamped on the carbs - 657A or 657B etc that will tell you if they are the correct carb or not.

"Now the electrical problems :
- when I turn the key on the 1st position, contact is OK with oil and neutral lamps, headlight is on Low position and rear light is on but both with low intensity, front winkers are on but non flashing."

Front winkers on means running lights - this was common in US models after 73?

"- when I turn the key on the 2nd position, contact is off, headlight is on Low position and rear light is on but both with high intensity, front winkers are off."

This is the parking light. In case you left your bike at the side of the road and wanted to make sure someone didnt run into it in the dark. I dont know how useful it really is if you leave it on all night

"The switch on left hand for Low and Hight headlight is not operating, same for the winkers, maybe some earth problem ?"

Check inside the headlighht bucket - colour-coded wires should match up but yes could be an earth issue.

Good luck!
Andy

[cb650PK]

I had K6 and it had petcock on the right. I believe that is correct for US K6.

[Sharpy]

On my 400f if I took the black cables on the indicators and wired them into the black cables in the loom I had running lights (they were on all the time), if I wired them to the green (I think will need to check) then the worked as normal indicators... might be something similar? 

[Jayelwin]

Ignition position two is the cruel battery killing setting designed to strand you out in odd places.

[andy750]

I had K6 and it had petcock on the right. I believe that is correct for US K6.

Petcock was on the left after 1974 for US CB750s.

cheers
Andy

[Aurelia B20]

Many thanks Andy and all for your answers !

I am astonished by the key parking position with headlight "on" !  In France we have a light position called "veilleuse" with a 5W lamp in the headlight. With key in parking position, you have only this lamp and the rear light for a total of 10W, a better way for the battery life !!!

And so it's normal to have the front winkers on when key in 1st position I don"t understand the real utility, but why not ? I think I'll change this for use in France 

[Terry in Australia]

G'Day Patrick, Andy's answered all of your questions, but I'm interested in what you mean by a "grey" master cylinder?

They were all anodised black (or perhaps dark grey, depending on your color perception) out of the factory, but the sun and time faded the anodising over time, and they ended up looking like yours.

If you look underneath it, it'll most likely reveal the original color. It looks like yours has a chunk out of it, what happened there? Cheers, Terry.

[Wobbly]

Many thanks Andy and all for your answers !

I am astonished by the key parking position with headlight "on" !  In France we have a light position called "veilleuse" with a 5W lamp in the headlight. With key in parking position, you have only this lamp and the rear light for a total of 10W, a better way for the battery life !!!

And so it's normal to have the front winkers on when key in 1st position I don"t understand the real utility, but why not ? I think I'll change this for use in France 

That's the difference between U.S. specs vs. European specs on almost all older bikes. In the U.S., you were supposed to drive with your headlights on. So, you couldn't turn them off--even if it would have been nice when you are synchronizing your carbs for example. The front signals are always on for the same reason--better visibility. The U.S. specs signals have an extra wire that the European model lacks. The bikes are still 99% identical though. If in doubt, just compare part numbers here: http://www.cmsnl.com/honda-cb750four_model14344/

[Aurelia B20]

You're right Terry, the master cylinder was anodized in black :




We have the same problem here in France but it's very rare to obtain a so clear appearance ! For example the one from my 500 Four when bought :

[bryanj]

You need to check your local laws as the "Running" lights can not be used in the UK

[Terry in Australia]

You need to check your local laws as the "Running" lights can not be used in the UK

Or the dirty Rozzers will drag you off to the Old Bailey, lock you in the Tower of London and then transport you to Oz Bryan? Could be worse, methinks...........

[Wobbly]

You need to check your local laws as the "Running" lights can not be used in the UK

Or the dirty Rozzers will drag you off to the Old Bailey, lock you in the Tower of London and then transport you to Oz Bryan? Could be worse, methinks...........

Nope, he is France. They are a lot tougher there. I don't know of any other county that has a 100-horsepower limit for motorcycles. Remember the movie Papillon? He will be send to French Guiana.

[Terry in Australia]

You need to check your local laws as the "Running" lights can not be used in the UK

Or the dirty Rozzers will drag you off to the Old Bailey, lock you in the Tower of London and then transport you to Oz Bryan? Could be worse, methinks...........

Nope, he is France. They are a lot tougher there. I don't know of any other county that has a 100-horsepower limit for motorcycles. Remember the movie Papillon? He will be send to French Guiana.

You're correct of course Wobbly, but Bryan is in Britain, and he was talking about the laws there.

I think that back in the late 1980's, much of Western Europe adopted a BHP limiting policy? I'm guessing that some countries have dropped it by now, and the French government are pretty slow at giving back anything good, so that might be why they still have the 100 BHP law?

Patrick will be safe with his K6 though, he could probably install a blower and still be legal........

[PeWe]

I ordered a new right switch from ebay.de to get as my original lamp switch. Off-parking- headlight on (. P H )
I had ordered another new with US standard with on-off only from vintagecb750.com
Note! This is newer HONDA repl. switch with cables outside the bar.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Honda-CB-500-K2-750-Four-K6-F1-Lenkerschalter-rechts-Neu-switch-right-side-new-/360743745175?pt=DE_Motorradteile&hash=item53fe00b697

Compare the parts with the charts at www.cmsnl.com where you can see differencies between US K6 and European model or French as well. http://www.cmsnl.com/honda-cb750four_model14344/

The clutch is an important difference. US K6 have deeper hub with a double metal disk in the middle. European has not. The outer mechanism different too if I remember right.

My K6 has 6 fiber plates of same kind BUT the outer one has wider ears. Make sure to get correct. My engine had got wrong twice with clutch particles in the engine as result when one ear broke off.

I'm thinking about to order new tank painted exactly as my bike was delivered, the bad difference is that they only sell tanks with petcock on right side which is wrong for my bike. Only a CB750 guy will notice that.
I ordered a chain case from Yamiya750.com delivered within 5 days!
New tanks here and all other parts, some very pricy though...
http://www.yamiya750.com/index.php?main_page=index&language=en

[lrutt]

My K6, which i'm the original owner, has petcock on left. But the paint on yours looks original so someone did a good job.

Master cyl, they start off black but turn gray with age. Mine did.

carbies look right although they need the rubber boots on top.

Pipes look to have been gutted.

Pretty nice bike, less than half the miles of mine.




so what are they worth over on that side of the pond anyhow??

[Wobbly]

@ Terry

You're correct of course Wobbly, but Bryan is in Britain, and he was talking about the laws there.

My mistake. Then he might end up "Waltzing Matilda" after all.

http://unionsong.com/u369.html

[PeWe]

A bike like that should be advertised in the $5000-9000US range here. If engine has been restored completely, the higher range.
(Restored engine might be repainted block, valve/seat job, new clutch parts, new rings + honed cyl, all gasket and seals. Cleaned carbs with hopefully new carb boots. Polished alu parts.  NOT much spent to call it restored engine)

I saw CB750 bikes like that pass for $3000-5000US for only 5 years ago.
Is it all American TV shows repairing/restoring/café-ing that have made so many aware of the old good bikes again? I have had mine since 1979 when I bought it 2,5 years old, used 2 summers.

Yes, the TV shows and this forum have encouraged me to bring my bike back to life. Soo many old new stock, new produced parts to purchase. Just put in basket,  PayPal pay within seconds with name address and everything automatically!

[lrutt]

Man,

I need to rent a container and ship all my bikes over to Europe to sell. They are worth double over there than they are hear. The brit bikes are really in demand in GB. The Guzzi Lemans will sell itself anywhere. Not sure the dream would bring much over there but  both the 750's would.

[bryanj]

Dunno about Oz Terry, seems that every thing over there can kill you with one bite(does that include you?) and i am too damn lazy to shake my boots out before putting them on, plus having spent years in the Merchant Navy you tend to sit on the bog for everything as it saves cleaning up the puddles  when you miss  nearly got to Darwin once but they heard I was maybe on the way and diverted us to Saigon again--This was in 75 when they were still shooting , and when the ship has 400 tons of liquid propane in a kin big tank on the foredeck you discover that adrenalin is runny and brown----back to the bog aagain!!!

All the best mate and dont get sunburnt at christmas

[Terry in Australia]

Ha ha, thanks Bryan, and yep, I haven't mentioned it in the "Gun Control" thread, but bad guys with guns are the least of our concerns here.

I still remember battling a 6 foot Tiger Snake in the middle of my street at around 9pm one hot Sunday night, I was sitting on the Bog reading a copy of Motorcycle Mechanics when the wife told me that the neighbours wanted to borrow my shovel, and half way across the road, I met the snake. It was epic, but I had a shovel and he didn't, so I prevailed.

Mick in Darwin has to circumnavigate deadly snakes, spiders, sharks and crocodiles on his daily commute though, so I don't have too much to worry about really. I always buy brown undies though, just in case.........

[PeWe]

Ha ha, thanks Bryan, and yep, I haven't mentioned it in the "Gun Control" thread, but bad guys with guns are the least of our concerns here.

I still remember battling a 6 foot Tiger Snake in the middle of my street at around 9pm one hot Sunday night, I was sitting on the Bog reading a copy of Motorcycle Mechanics when the wife told me that the neighbours wanted to borrow my shovel, and half way across the road, I met the snake. It was epic, but I had a shovel and he didn't, so I prevailed.

Mick in Darwin has to circumnavigate deadly snakes, spiders, sharks and crocodiles on his daily commute though, so I don't have too much to worry about really. I always buy brown undies though, just in case.........

You have dangerous stuff in the sea as well.
Irukandji jellyfish, Box jellyfish, Blue-ringed octopus, Cone Shells. If you have survived these the great white is waiting out that for a snack. One bite and the thigh is gone...Maybe they learn jumping up to the beach as the Killer whales can...?
Killer Whale...Really...Whale Grabs-Eats man off Beach

[strynboen]

yes sweden only have russian subs...in the sea...or are they from us..of a..   .we are off topic...damed..back to france...

[PeWe]

yes sweden only have russian subs...in the sea...or are they from us..of a..   .we are off topic...damed..back to france...

That will change in next spring.
A CB750 K6-76 back on the streets, now with more hp than ever and same loud 4-1! I have to remember that there are plenty speed bumps to force the speed down. 30 years ago no bumps, 150km/h no problem on the city streets where 50 was max !!

[bryanj]

This is turning into an old fogies those were the days post----but then thats about all i am good at now, just don't tell my wife!!!