Topic: 197? CB750F... The 'F' Stands For 'Found' In A 'Field'...

[DJKen]

My Son is collecting up the pieces of this bike he found while helping a friend clear some family property, I hope to ride home in a few months...

[seanbarney41]

by the turn signals, and indicator dash that is not a '74...no F model in'74 anyway...'75 or later, hard to tell from pics whether it is F model or not

[DJKen]

When he gets it all home, he can start finding all the markings... he was told it was a '74 so that's what we are going on til we actually get the bike in custody.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

From the gauges I'm saying 75 F. Depends on the serial numbers. Wrong headlight ears. Engine has been out to install the chrome cover. Usually means goodies inside (possible).

[CycleRanger]

Usually means goodies inside (possible).

Hopefully not water...
Was it covered while in the field?

[DJKen]

Hopefully not water...
Was it covered while in the field?

Only by weeds as far as I know... :p

[Retro Rocket]

by the turn signals, and indicator dash that is not a '74...no F model in'74 anyway...'75 or later, hard to tell from pics whether it is F model or not

Yep, no such thing as a 74 F model...

[calj737]

All the chrome and polished bits in that bike are awfully shiny and unfitted for being discarded in a field? Even the handlebars look to be unpitted. No debris on the rear inner fender either. Skeptical 

[Restoration Fan]

If the VIN plate is on the bike, you can find the year from that.  If the VIN plate is not on the bike, the VIN should be stamped in the left side of the steering stem and should also be on the horizontal cross member that connects the left & right sides under the seat. 

The engine will also have a serial # stamped on it and don't worry that the 2 #'s aren't the same; they never are on these bikes because the frames and the engines were made at different factories and married together later. 

Find the engine & frame serial #'s and post them on here and everyone will tell you what year your bike was made.  (You can actually find it out yourself on this site if you want to do so).

Regardless, welcome to the forum and good luck with the build.  Download the service manuals and parts lists for your bike from this site, print them out and use those as the starting point.  Take lots of photos, keep the build thread updated and post questions when you have them (note I didn't say if...you WILL have lots of questions).  But the good news is that there are guys on these forums who have done complete restorations several times and I can guarantee you that any question you have will be answered.  Good luck.  Look forward to following this one.

OH...and one more thing.  Take the time at night to find some complete restoration threads and read through those.  You'll be amazed at how much you will learn from reading through the threads of other builds.  A lot of the posters here will put their build threads in their signatures at the bottom of their posts, so just click on the links. 

[Tews19]

All the chrome and polished bits in that bike are awfully shiny and unfitted for being discarded in a field? Even the handlebars look to be unpitted. No debris on the rear inner fender either. Skeptical 

With ya. Never listen to PO! Also I think Cal has a great pic of a tree and a 500 together?

[DJKen]

Thanks Restoration Fan for the pointers, and to those who say it looks too good to be outside, do you honestly think we staged the photos with weeds growing up through them??? :p These are the first pics taken where he found the bike before he loaded it up...

I will post a pic of the numbers when he sends them and we can get to the bottom of what year it is soon after that, like I said; He was told it was a '74, (but the guy was obviously wrong).

[Restoration Fan]

Thanks Restoration Fan for the pointers, and to those who say it looks too good to be outside, do you honestly think we staged the photos with weeds growing up through them??? :p These are the first pics taken where he found the bike before he loaded it up...

I will post a pic of the numbers when he sends them and we can get to the bottom of what year it is soon after that, like I said; He was told it was a '74, (but the guy was obviously wrong).

FWIW, it could be that it's a K model instead of an F model.  If so, then it could very well be a 74.  The VIN # will tell you that.  The numbers on these bikes start with the model number...such as CB750K-xxxxxxxxx.

Ron

[DJKen]

The number started with "CB750F-xxxxxx", I just neglected to write the numbers down when he called me about it.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

The engine has definitely been out before, so as Jerry said, it may have some good stuff inside.  The oil tank looks like a 77-78 F or K model, which would be consistent with the F stamp on the frame.  The forks and the dash also appear to be from a 77-78 model of one kind or another.  My 750K2 had all kinds of different model parts on it so I am not surprised if yours has some from different models, either.  That said, it is definitely NOT a 1974 if it is a F frame bike.  Honda simply did not make the F until 1975, and the other bits seem to indicate it is likely a 77 or 78.

[Restoration Fan]

The good news if it is an F2 or F3 is that  those bikes had the most HP of any of the SOHC 750 stock engines, according to Bill Benton.  The head from that engine is very sought after by the guys trying to go big bore because the valves were larger.  At least that's what I was told.

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

There are pros and cons to the F2/F3 heads with reliability.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

And the F/F1 head is more desirable than the early K's. It was used on the 77/78 K also.

[DJKen]

Okay, so... He got it all collected up and brought home. He did find out that it had only been outside for about eight months and he took this pic, (it's not very good, I'll get him to take some better ones soon)

[Wobbly]

The engine has definitely been out before, so as Jerry said, it may have some good stuff inside.  The oil tank looks like a 77-78 F or K model, which would be consistent with the F stamp on the frame.  The forks and the dash also appear to be from a 77-78 model of one kind or another.  My 750K2 had all kinds of different model parts on it so I am not surprised if yours has some from different models, either.  That said, it is definitely NOT a 1974 if it is a F frame bike.  Honda simply did not make the F until 1975, and the other bits seem to indicate it is likely a 77 or 78.

I agree. It's all slapped together. The instruments look like K7 to me--the F2 model has a higher red line. Pilot light and signals could be either K7 or F2. Wheels are Comstar type which would make them F2. Carbs are definitely pre 1977 which makes them K-Model up to K6 or F1 model. The headlight ears are probably aftermarket--nothing I recognize. The engine painted black doesn't mean a thing either. You just will have to look up the numbers. 

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Headlight ears aren't stock. 'Fork brace' thing is not stock. From what I see including the speedo and tach if they are original it is a 1975 F.

[DJKen]

Thanks everybody for your evaluations of the photos, it's all going to help in the rebuild if we know where to look for certain things (instead of being locked into thinking it's all the same model year).

[Wobbly]

Headlight ears aren't stock. 'Fork brace' thing is not stock. From what I see including the speedo and tach if they are original it is a 1975 F.

Before I bought my K7 back in 77, I had the F1. My memory might fail me, but I believe that the instruments were green not blue. That is why I think that these here match my K7.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

You are correct Wobbly. The F1 had the light green faced instruments with the 8500 redline. The 75 F'0' had the dark green faced instruments with a 8500 redline.

Isn't this NOS instrument cluster a thing of beauty    Looks even better on the bike. The ignition switch has since been replaced with NOS too and the protective plastic on the panel has been removed. All individually pieced together. tell me this wasn't expensive to do 



Also note no KPH ring on the speedo.

I'd REALLY love to go riding with you to some of your favorites!!

[SOHC4 Cafe Racer Fan]

You are correct Wobbly. The F1 had the light green faced instruments with the 8500 redline. The 75 F'0' had the dark green faced instruments with a 8500 redline.

Isn't this NOS instrument cluster a thing of beauty    Looks even better on the bike. The ignition switch has since been replaced with NOS too and the protective plastic on the panel has been removed. All individually pieced together. tell me this wasn't expensive to do 



Also note no KPH ring on the speedo.

I'd REALLY love to go riding with you to some of your favorites!!

Cha-ching.  Nice!

[Wobbly]

Isn't this NOS instrument cluster a thing of beauty

Tell Me About It.

I'd REALLY love to go riding with you to some of your favorites!!

You'd have to come to Europe--and I show you motorcycle heaven. I live spacious and very nice (with compliments of the U.S. Army), and I can offer you an entire floor in the house to yourself and spot in my garage for the bike. And I know the most awesome places in the Alps. Seriously.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

 

[DJKen]

Spoke with my son today in a video chat, he showed me the bike, the frame is a nice shade of blue. He's going to take some better, clearer pics soon, but here's the numbers:

Frame CB750F-1011698
Engine CB750E-2511750


Cheers!

[Wobbly]

Spoke with my son today in a video chat, he showed me the bike, the frame is a nice shade of blue. He's going to take some better, clearer pics soon, but here's the numbers:

Frame CB750F-1011698
Engine CB750E-2511750


Cheers!

I believe CB 750 F -January/February 1975, with lots of parts from newer bikes apparently.

[70CB750]

http://www.hondachopper.com/engine/engine_timeline/timeline.html

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Spoke with my son today in a video chat, he showed me the bike, the frame is a nice shade of blue. He's going to take some better, clearer pics soon, but here's the numbers:

Frame CB750F-1011698
Engine CB750E-2511750


Cheers!

Yep, good numbers! She's definitely a 75 CB750F. Late Feb or early March. 1015054 was an early April bike before they switched to 76.

Gotta watch HondaChopper numbers. I'm thinking they are the ones that have perpetuated the erroneous CB750FE numbers.

[DJKen]

Is there a place where I can get the complete gasket sets for the engine?

[knottedknickers]

Is there a place where I can get the complete gasket sets for the engine?

I seen a number of warnings to stay away from Vesrah gaskets. I bought the following set from CycleX:
  Cycle X Complete Gasket Set and Oil Seal Combo
  This combo includes our complete gasket set with all necessary gaskets and "O" rings. Now sold with our oil seal kits also. Everything you need for a complete rebuild.

  ENG-024 1969-1976  Gasket Set and Oil Seal Combo 

  Our Price: $89.95
  Sale Price: $80.95

I had a few issues with it, for example: the starter cover rubber seal was too small [had to glue one side in, stretch and glue the opposite site, etc., etc.]; I got an oddball 'cylinder stud bolt gasket' [story here]; and a few of the 'paper' gaskets didn't line up exactly [they worked, but the holes were definitely 'off' and required a bit of lovin' to get lined up]. I'm just left to wonder if any of the more expensive options fit better. Like I said, it all worked, but...

[DJKen]

Update: Slogging along... Son got a new job so the rebuild has stalled! :p