Topic: Re: Bigsam302's 76 CB750F (915cc): Project Helen – Running Report!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Me too!
Sam: when you get close, let me know.  I'd love to see it run.

[Bigsam302]

Me too!
Sam: when you get close, let me know.  I'd love to see it run.

Don, no problem.  I'll let you know when I'm about a week out.

Sam

[brandEn]

That engine looks great!

[Bigsam302]

That engine looks great!

Thanks, I appreciate it.  You should see it with the carbs on it.  I put them on last night just to get an idea on how they would look, and they look awesome!  I hope to have the engine finished off this weekend.  It all depends on how frustrated I get dialing in my cam.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Sam,

Mikuni RS34s?  If so, did they go on without a fight?

Don

[Bigsam302]

Sam,

Mikuni RS34s?  If so, did they go on without a fight?

Don

Don,

Yes, I have the RS34s.  They went on a lot easier than I thought.  I did have to put a little pressure on them, but they slipped on just fine.  I didn't have to soak or heat up the boots at all.  I did add some WD-40 as it says in the manual and it worked.  When I spoke with Ken at Cycle X, he told me that the trick is to get a set of new boots from a 78 CB750K.  They are really hard to find, but there is a company in Canada called Vintage750 that reproduce the boots.  They worked perfectly! 

Sam

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Interesting about the K8 boots.  I wonder if that trick will also work with a K2 head??

[Bigsam302]

That's a good question.  I don't see why they wouldn't.  I thought that the heads (K0-K6, and F) were the same size, just different internals, gaskets, cam towers, etc.  Plus, they have to be spaced properly to fit on a CB750.  So the boots should still line up just fine.  Give Ken a call.  He will know better than I do.

Sam

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

The K8 boots are larger at the carb than all the predecessors but same at the head. The F2/F3 are larger at both. Both these use the newer carbs.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Thanks, Sam. I will keep this in mind for my 750K2, as I am leaning heavily in favor of the RS34s.

[mkoski]

Hey Sam, I have been trying to track down an F tank, just like the one you have! And it looks like you aren't using it! 

Any way we can cut a deal?

Thanks,

Matt

[Bigsam302]

Thanks, Sam. I will keep this in mind for my 750K2, as I am leaning heavily in favor of the RS34s.

From everything that I have heard about them, I think that you will be happy with them.  Of course I'll give you a review of them as soon as I test them out.

[Bigsam302]

Hey Sam, I have been trying to track down an F tank, just like the one you have! And it looks like you aren't using it! 

Any way we can cut a deal?

Thanks,

Matt

Matt,

Unfortunately, someone took that tank off of me as soon as I got my new tank.

Sam

[mkoski]

Hey Sam, I have been trying to track down an F tank, just like the one you have! And it looks like you aren't using it! 

Any way we can cut a deal?

Thanks,

Matt

Matt,

Unfortunately, someone took that tank off of me as soon as I got my new tank.

Sam

Ah, thats terrible news. The damned things go for like $600+, it's crazy. Thanks anyways!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

I've purchased 2 for about $200 a piece.

[Bigsam302]

I got my Mikuni RS34 carburetors mounted last night and they are beautiful!  I was really worried about having to struggle to install them, but it actually went pretty smooth.  I spoke with Ken at Cycle X and he suggested using K8 boots on my bike.  So I contacted Vintage750 in Canada and purchased a set of their reproduced K8 boots.  Good luck trying to find them anywhere else.  The only thing that I ended up doing was spraying a little WD40 in the boots and the carbs popped on without any drama, no heat, and no soaking.













I used Motion Pro’s throttle cable assemble for Mikuni carbs.  I greased the lines and they work flawlessly.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Sam,

HOLY COW! THOSE RS34s look cool!!!  Are you using clamps with the carb boots?

Is that throttle specifically made for use with the RS24s? 

I have one of the Motion Pro Variable Rate Throttles (Model 01-2657) that I was planning to use on my 750 with either RS34s or CRs:
http://www.motionpro.com/motorcycle/tools/featured/revolver/
It has push-pull cables like yours.  I wonder if I will have any issues mating it to RS34s if I go there.

[Bigsam302]

Sam,

HOLY COW! THOSE RS34s look cool!!!  Are you using clamps with the carb boots?

Is that throttle specifically made for use with the RS24s? 

I have one of the Motion Pro Variable Rate Throttles (Model 01-2657) that I was planning to use on my 750 with either RS34s or CRs:
http://www.motionpro.com/motorcycle/tools/featured/revolver/
It has push-pull cables like yours.  I wonder if I will have any issues mating it to RS34s if I go there.

Don,

Yes, I am using clamps on my boots.  Vintage750 sells a set of black clamps that go on their boots.  They look nice and you can barely see them, unless you are really looking for them.  I am very happy with them.

The set of Motion Pro that you have are way better than the set that I am using.  Mine is a universal kit that works with Mikuni.  I will try to find out which one I actually have.  I ordered them a while ago when I first started to wrap my grips.  You should not have a problem using them at all.  The set up is pretty simple with the push/pull cables.

Sam

[Bigsam302]

Don,

Here is the actual set that I got. http://old.dimecitycycles.com/motion-pro-push-pull-throttle-assembly-kit-for-mikuni-racing-carburetors.html 



Like I said, yours is a lot better than mine. 

Sam

[Bigsam302]

The setback that I faced with the cylinder head stud will hopefully come to an end soon.  The stud that I ordered off of ebay turned out to be the wrong one/size.  I was very close to ordering another cylinder head off of ebay just to get the studs, but luckily MRieck was able to help me out.   He saved my butt and some more money that I didn’t want to spend.  He sent me a few studs and I should have them in a couple of days.  Then I can continue installing my camshaft and degree it.

Since I couldn’t work on my engine, I decided that it was time for me to go ahead and tackle my oil cooler.  Most of it was already assembled and all I had to do was just fit the hoses and connect it.  I have the Cycle X spin-on oil filter adapter.  I ordered my lines from Jaggs Oil Coolers.  The kit came with hoses and clamps.  If you look at the picture below, in the center of my setup is an automatic by-pass valve (also by Jagg).  I like the way it turned out.   Part of me wished that I had gotten the manual valve only because once I go to fill my bike with oil, none of it is going to make it to the cooler until the engine temperature rises.  On the other hand, I would only need the manual valve once.



Here it is installed.  I also installed the exhaust temporally just to check the clearance and everything works great.



Here is my oil filter(s).  The black filter is the one that came with Cycle X’s spin-on kit.  I am going to use this one first until I do the first break-in oil change.  Then I will switch to the aluminum oil filter.  The aluminum oil filter is also from Jagg.  It is their Hyperflow Lifetime Oil Filter, meaning that it is reusable.  It’s a pretty good quality setup and I can’t wait to try it out.



Here is a picture of it installed (only a test fit).







More updates to follow!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Sam, is there a specific Jagg filter model that is compatible with the Cycle X housing? I know that the Cycle X uses a Harley filter PN22 or something like that.

[Bigsam302]

Sam, is there a specific Jagg filter model that is compatible with the Cycle X housing? I know that the Cycle X uses a Harley filter PN22 or something like that.

Don,

That's a first for me.  I didn't know that the Cycle X adapter uses a Harley filter.  I guess that I was just lucky.  Jagg only has one reusable oil filter and that one works just fine with the Cycle X adapter.

Sam

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

Thanks. Always good to know about options. I have the adapter on 3 bikes.

[Bigsam302]

Many thanks goes out to MRieck who was able to get me 3 cam tower studs and really saved me from having to pick up another block on ebay just to get one bolt.



I cleaned my cam towers and finally installed them.  It is finally coming together.





Here is my new CX-7 camshaft from Cycle X.  It is supposed to work great with my 915cc Kit and it is beautiful!





Here is my new APE adjustable cam sprocket

[Bigsam302]

All lubed up and ready to receive my new cam.



I had to take a break after installing the cam and sprocket.  Installing this really worked my nerve.  I couldn’t get the cam chain to fit on the sprocket.  It took about 4 attempts and I couldn’t figure it out for nothing in the world.  Luckily, fellow member Dino put together videos of his 750 that he is assembling on YouTube.  I’ve watched them before and it turned out to be a lifesaver.  I made a stupid mistake by installing the sprocket and then the chain when I was sliding the camshaft through the towers.  After re-watching Dino’s video I saw that I was doing it backwards.  Problem solved!



Finally got it seated!



My APE degree wheel installed





My APE piston stop tool worked out nicely.



After I tightened down my cam sprocket correctly aligned, I went to install my camshaft caps, only to realize that I misplaced my bolts for it.  I tore my garage apart looking for them and I think that I accidentally through them away when I was cleaning off my work bench.  Once again, I’m stopping for the day and ordering a new set of bolts.  It’s probably better to use new bolts here anyway.

Stay tuned for more updates!