Topic: Seeking Opinions About Next Bike Purchase

[Geeto67]

Geeto sounds like you already got bent.
I am new to this and I am learning my way through. My statement about my budget was "tongue and cheek" and you sound like a sensitive person. I cannot afford an upfront cost of $4,000 at the moment. I should be able to scratch together $1,500 -$2,000 in a month or so. Is that enough of budgetary info for you Geeto?


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Hardly a sensitive person...but being stupid or coy about things only hurts you not me. I'm not the one seeking info on the internet I'm the guy who has owned dozens of the bikes you are looking for.

Regarding the KZ900/1000 you mentioned before: I don't think you are going to find a 1973-75 Z1 for your price range without a lot of issues to go with it. You might be able to find a 76 kz900 or a 77+ kz1000 in that range but by then the LTD models were out. The early ones aren't too bad, but later LTDs have too many different parts for you to convert them to anything other than the factory chopper/crusier without great expense. Try to get a 77 kz1000 if you can, they have rear disc brakes. Also consider the 1981 GPZ 1100 since that is the bike that Eddie Lawson made famous.

Considering you are new to this and with your budget (which to me is a little unrealistic - for a good clean bike with no issues I would budget $2500) I woud stay away from bad ideas. That 550 shop bike is a bad idea. Anything that isn't running, with a clean title, currently registered, and being actively ridden is a bad idea. It is more expensive to fix a cheap bike than it is to buy a nice one in the first place. These are old bikes, you are not going to run out of tasks or things to work on if you are using it as intended.

Regarding a CB750 - with your budget focus on a 77-78 K bike as they seem to be the best "value". You get all the good of a cb750 for less money than a 69-76. If you are going to cut it up anyway (and it seems like you might) then it doesn't matter that it doesn't look like a 69-76K. Someone alreafdy mentioned the big valve head valve guide issue.

Keep in mind, the purchase price of the bike is only the first bit of the expenditure. You still need to budget for insurance, proper riding gear (which is not a bell 500, a t shirt, and jeans), and the basic service items to give the bike a tune up once you have purchased it. Sock away another $500-$700 for it.

[ChrisP.]

Thank you for the info Geeto. Unfortunately (maybe fortunately) I never see classic bikes around my area in order to gain info face to face with the owner; nothing but modern crotch rockets and fancy new Harleys, so the internet is where I turned to (cautiously). I have made my mistakes on other people's "projects" in the car world and agree with you with regards to purchasing a running and titled bike. The '77-'78 KZ 1000 model comes to mind as an option because of my many years working for AJ Foyt cycles in Houston which is a Kawasaki dealer and being pretty familiar with its parts and build. I always really liked the Eddie Lawson that we sold on the sales floor and admired it often. At this point, I think my best bet is to stick with the SOHC CB line.

Now that I have learned that my budget for a good running and titled bike for $1000 is not reasonable. I know what I should change my budget to. I do know of the proper gear, service and wearable items costs (as mentioned before of my time at a parts counter) and have that budget. The unknown here was, what is considered a fair price for a bike and not some huge ego-inflated price that might be posted on ebay or craigslist? Now I know and "knowing is half the battle..."

Once again, thank you Geeto.

[ChrisP.]

ChrisP.  I almost wish I were in Texas, I'm putting a good running '77 750 back together after paint and cleanup and I hope to get $1000 for it in ready to ride condition.  But then I'm in Buffalo and bike prices seem to be depressed here.

On your request for opinions on size, I much prefer my 750 to the 550 for country riding and thruway use.  My suggestion is to keep looking for a 750.

Do you have your bike sale ad on this forum? I would like to see the pics if there are any.

[ChrisP.]

ChrisP  Welcome to the madness 
" So if you were in my boots, should I take on the CB550 or hold out for a running CB750. (Side note: I do have technical and mechanical know how to work on bikes in general)"
"riding in my area, more like open 2 lane highways into the countryside"

From the above remarks I think you would enjoy the 750. The other things to think about is YOUR size and if you ride two up. IMO that is where the 750 power will be noticed the most.

What reason(s) that you left out the later ('77-'79) K model from your suggestion? Is there something inherently wrong with them?
Other than the heads the looks is up to what you like I like both and have a 78 750K The 79 has to many cams

You might want to post here for what you want
http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?board=34.0

Thanks for that info Black 750K8

[Geeto67]

Texas is a bit of a tough one to crack. You are near Killeen, Waco, and Dallas so I would consider those your markets for searching as well. Wife is from Austin and my inlaws live in Allen now and from my own personal experience of lone star bike hunting is you have to do things the old fashioned way. This means visiting old shops, getting to know people, hitting up the local bike dealers and junkyards, and reading real life bulliten boards (in addition to ones like this one). Could be some cattle farmer 10 miles has a dozen CBs on his property but you won't know about it unless you run into him. Attend shows as well and get in the local hot rod/motorcycle guy loop. The "old boy" network is where the best deals and the good leads live.

Get the money together and be ready to buy when the deal comes along (if it looks like a deal). Cash talks and nobody wants to hold a deposit more than a day. If that means dumping your VW bus project so be it - those things bring good money these days anyway. it takes years to do a car right, but a bike can be torn down and rebuild in about 2 weeks if it was the only thing you were doing for 40 hours a week. 

[christopherk]

550s are solid! 750s are a blast too, I would love to get my hands on one eventually.

I weight around 150lbs so size wise, my 550 is ideal. I can throw it around and it has a pretty good amount of pep. Highway riding can be a little sketchy, especially near semis, but around town it can't be beat.


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[Stev-o]

Chris - I bought this 1975 K5 about a year and a half ago. Found it on the internet for about $1000. It wasn't registered, barely ran at all and was filthy and kinda ugly.
Cleaned it up, changed out a few parts, tuned it and then it ran great, even with pods! [I always mention how well it ran with pods to the non-believers]
Sold it about a year ago to fund the purchase of my Z1.



Search for your new bike daily like a job and look at all avenues.

[ChrisP.]

Chris - I bought this 1975 K5 about a year and a half ago. Found it on the internet for about $1000. It wasn't registered, barely ran at all and was filthy and kinda ugly.
Cleaned it up, changed out a few parts, tuned it and then it ran great, even with pods! [I always mention how well it ran with pods to the non-believers]
Sold it about a year ago to fund the purchase of my Z1.



Search for your new bike daily like a job and look at all avenues.

Now that's what I am talking about!!! I want something like that!

[Geeto67]

What stev-o is leaving out is that was a huge gamble that paid off. They don't always. I have a similar story about a $500 1973 cb750 but for every one of those I have a story about a $1000 cb750 that had a major issue and ended up being a parts bike. Do good deals happen like that? Yeah. Is it common? More like winning the lottery.

[70CB750]

Seems Eric ekpent is a multiple times winner 

I got mine for the cost of DMV transfer from a friend who got it free from his neighbor.  Yes, I put money into it and it is still rough looking bike, but the Honda platform is solid enough to build and rebuild on.  Unless the bike has some major issue, it really can get back on road for few hundred dollars.

The PO is not really a newbie, he says somewhere that he works(ed) on motorcycles.  Let's just wish him luck and keep eyes open for him, on the end there will be one more salvaged CB750.   

[Geeto67]

There are multiple lottery winners out there too.

I think he said somewhere earlier he was new to old bikes.

The first one is always the hardest one, after that they can follow you home sometimes. I have had people see me riding my 75k and offer me other 750s for sale. It's when you aren't really looking that deals pop up and then you are so happy you got it you don't realize that they are sometimes years apart from the last one.

[ChrisP.]

The first one is always the hardest one, after that they can follow you home sometimes. I have had people see me riding my 75k and offer me other 750s for sale. It's when you aren't really looking that deals pop up and then you are so happy you got it you don't realize that they are sometimes years apart from the last one.

Couldn't agree more with that statement; same way I met my wife

[kerryb]

 

Do you have your bike sale ad on this forum? I would like to see the pics if there are any.
[/quote]

ChrisP...My bike isn't ready for sale yet,  we got a foot of snow at my house last week!  I hope to have it ready for spring but no promises.  I have a pic of the engine almost finished and the bike before teardown.

[Terry in Australia]

If you're a skinny little guy or girl buy a 550, but if you're tall and powerful, buy a 750. The F's are all ugly (but the F2/3 is prettier than the F/F1) and are only worth around half what you'll pay for a K1-K6.

The K7/8 are ugly too, and like the F's the prices people ask reflect the fact that they're the least desirable. If you can find a K0 (69/70 model) within your budget you've done extremely well. Cheers, Terry.

[dave500]

if you want to ride fast through twisties and hassle late model larger bikes get a 550,if you want an ill handling heavy lump get a 750.

[kerryb]

OK let me see if I've got this right...at 135lbs I Should be riding a 550, which I do, but I like the extra power of my UGLY '78k , which could use a lot of polishing and paint, but I just wanna ride it, because it is so damn reliable, even though the short handlebars make me feel like a guest instead of the operator.  I guess what makes me really absurd is that when I want to hassle bigger bikes and chase (lead) them through the twisties (like the 'tail of the Dragon') I take this one, all loaded down with my gear and make it work as hard as I can...that really makes me grin!

That's the best part about opinions, there're free, unless they're yours from experience which makes them valuable!

[dave500]

im just stirring the 750 guys up.

[Stev-o]

im just stirring the 750 guys up.

What about us guys that have both a 550 & 750, Dave?!

[wjustinleigh]

I don't know how anyone can own just one CB, you need at least two one always seems to be disassembled you need something to ride.  My 750 was way better for trips, but the 500 is fun in town, easy to move around the garage, and it's a lot easier to get the engine in and out of the frame.

In full disclosure I did just sell the 750 and got a 1250 Bandit.  I was sad about that but quickly felt better once I fired up the fuel injected, 104 hp monster and watched the digital speedometer fly by 100 with three gears to go.  I love my remaining 1.5 cb500s, but technology is pretty cool too.

[Terry in Australia]

Yep, no matter how much you like your old bikes, you can't beat modern technology.

I'm old enough to remember when CB750's were considered "High Tech" and the old farts "poo-poo'd" them as being "Character-deprived sewing machines", but compared to the old bikes of the era (mostly British and American) the CB750 was light years ahead.

While I've done many thousands of miles on CB750's over the last 37 years that I've owned them, I'd much rather ride my Triumph Rocket III, Honda GL1200 Interstate, BMW K100RS SE or Yamaha FJ1200 on longer rides. Cheers, Terry.    

[dave500]

im just stirring the 750 guys up.

What about us guys that have both a 550 & 750, Dave?!

thats just the guys that cant make up their mind.

[ChrisP.]

All great opinions, thanks!

[Dave Voss]

It is more expensive to fix a cheap bike than it is to buy a nice one in the first place. These are old bikes, you are not going to run out of tasks or things to work on if you are using it as intended.

This is a hugely important thought to keep in mind, same goes with old cars, trucks, lawnmowers, etc.  Be careful not to dive in until you know, and with a non-running machine, you really can't know in advance, so the price for admission needs to be low, lower than that non-running CB550, especially with a title problem.  I was once GIVEN a Honda CJ360T, it was complete but needed everything, and although I restored it back to near new condition, it was undoubtedly the most expensive used motorcycle that I've owned.

I must say, however, that I find the CB550 a lot more fun to ride than the CB750, but I'm partial to back roads in lieu of straight slabs.  I'm almost 6 feet tall and 180 pounds, and it doesn't feel too small for me.  I will agree that if you take a passenger more than very occasionally, the CB750 would be a better choice.

[greenjeans]

I agree with budgeting a bit more for a good clean running one.  I'm just more of a gamble/cheapskate.   The last 4 or 5 bikes I've found and bought
were in the $500 range, but looked like $10 bucks.   As long as the motor isn't stuck, and most of the other parts are there, you can almost bet it will
fire.  Bike are hard to find down here in Texas, so it pays to have money in your pocket just in case one pops up.   I've run an add on CL for at least 5 years and I look on CL twice a day.  They rarely, rarely turn up on the interweb anymore.   However - that is where I found my sandcast that I sold a couple years back.  Get to know people, and get some feelers out.   I pay finders fees in beer or cash.   Still, haven't found a decent one in over a year.

[Stev-o]

Here you go, Chris, call now!


http://altoona.craigslist.org/mpo/4386846608.html

Huge potential, this can be a valuable bike.