So last fall I bought a pretty mediocre 1975 CB750 off of craig's list to restore, as I had a lot of fun restoring a 1973 CB350 twin for my wife earlier.
It ran on anywhere from 2-3 cylinders. Sputtered and backfired horribly. I took it for one short terrible ride. The original paint was really dull and faded and rusted around the emblems. The side covers were rattle canned flat matte orange. It did have an OEM brand new seat from the PO. That was nice.
So I totally dismantled it down to the bare frame and had the frame powder coated. I replaced every engine cover with shiny remade ones that people on ebay sold me. I bought new rims and laced new spokes. Got a polished front hub. Got a really nice front brake caliper. Rebuilt the front forks with new oil and seals and progressive springs. Had CB750Faces in Netherlands rebuild my gauges. Polished all my shiny metal parts and did a derusting bath on the pipes. Totally disassembled the carbs and ultrasonically cleaned them. I had Ryzart in NJ repaint the tank and side covers in a full 5 coat process (silver primer, silver base, the smallest silver and black flake, tangerine candy, clear all from House of Kolor paints). The stripes are painted on (not decals). Rebuilt the back brake, new rear rim and spokes. New rear bearings. New tires, sprockets and chain. New handlebars and switches. New rear shocks.
All of this was only possible because of the tremendously generous help and advice I received being a part of this community.
I actually rode the bike for real for the first time today. I've ridden many motorcycles, but never a 4 cylinder. And I am extremely impressed. It's a big powerful bike but smooth as silk. And nimble like a small bike. I've been on Harleys. 800cc twins, 1300 cc twins, many dirt bikes, two strokes, big 650 thumpers, but this is my first 4 cylinder and I'm hooked. And heads really do turn on this thing.
