imabass, you beat me too it, I was thinking the same thing.
There used to be an old mechanics rule of thumb, and that was to estimate whatever you thought it would take you to finish the job, then multiply it by 2.4, and thats how long it would realistically take.
I.e. Estimate 1 day, and it would take ~ 2.4 days give or take.
I think the same could be said about resto costs. Whatever you think, then x $2.4
In the end would i do it again??? Absolutely yes. There is something sweet for the soul when your tinkering in the shed putting it together & getting in the 'zone' (away from screeming kids), polishing up a part, watching something come to life, starting up a freshly rebuilt motor for the first time, smelling new gaskets bedding in, rebuilding gunky brakes that never worked and seeing them work for the first time. You guys know what i'm talking about. The return is more satisfaction than monetary, and if your not driven by money, then you enjoy it all the more. Not just that, but knowing you saved another CB from the scrap heap maked it feel all the better, because your've put it back on the road, where it belongs. One bike on the road is worth 2 in the shed.
Throw away those depressing receipts and enjoy the bike. There are much worst things one could waste money on. Furthermore, the bike returns all that back to you everytime you ride, because you built it.
As most would probably agree. I think these machines are worth it, and the beauty of it is, they are a peice of history and are not going anywhere, so you can improve them 'over time'. The longer you keep them, do a bit here, do a bit there, and its gets better and better, like fine wine. Why rush...
Did heaps myself, all the motor & all bike assy, rebuilt brakes, all electrics, rebuilt the gauges, etc. The only thing I outsourced was frame for powdercoating and tank and sidecovers for professional painting & extremely happy with those outcomes. New HM341's were a killer, but there on now.
In Oz, we get ripped off for a lot of things. Largely because most just accept paying for what the seller wants. I've been watching the cost of these parts continue to climb, mainly NOS stuff. I think sellers see a hidden goldmine in old CB's resto's and certainly taken advantage of it. On the road, these bikes do turn heads though, so perhaps there is some value in that.
I see CB750's on ebay for ~$3K in the USA, for the same bike here double it, then add some. Get the picture??? Not sure what makes us Australian's so special. Maybe our CB's have some more gold in them or something. Ever thought about getting into the lucrative import business .....?.
If your taking on such a project, start up an excell spreadsheet from the beginning. Every time you spend, add it to the sheet. The total column of the speadsheet doesn't lie. After the project, delete the spreadsheet
Chroming here costs heaps too.
