Topic: Long range cb750 riders?

[Don R]

 We all knew they had long legs back when they were new, does anyone have any tips or tricks for riding cross country on a 40 plus year old cb750?  Favorite sprockets or suspension settings? What's the best seat not considering originality or looks, just comfort and longest stay in the saddle time.  Luggage rack? Backrest?  How about tires? Windjammer? Lowers or not? highway bars? 

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Back rest with a sleeping bag strapped to the front and a small beer cooler strapped to the rear. GOOD shocks. Easily removeable windshield not Jammer. And yeah, tires always help    especially when they are balanced.

[Don R]

 I'm partial to Michelins on my Goldwing but just because they say Michelin. I'd guess recent tires are best.  I used a car cover cable lock on my bags and gear but someone still nabbed my sunglasses off the bike at a rest stop.

[754]

I found the stock 750 seat not that comfy. I ran a chopper seat that had a narrower passenger part. Did not fit the frame perfect but comfy.. 16 hrs a day comfy.
 I found the sweet spot on some of mine at about 68 mph or so 4300 rpm I think ..stock gearing, with 16 inch wheel.
 Find the bikes sweet spot and use it, easy to ride for a long time.
 I hope when I fix my topend the bike runs smoother. I think it had a weak cylinder, it almost felt like it was not near as smooth as should be..
 Either that or I am just getting old... And that I cant fix...
 Another thing say you are planning a 750 mile day... I like to stop for gas around 110-130 ish mlles..gas up stretch ..short stops most of the time.. Now do that 6 times... Doesnt sound as scary as 750 miles.. At least that worked for me.
 Dont drink beer, if you do you got about an hour or two and you may be done for the day.. Makes you lazy and stop more. Carry water , keep some so you can get at it while riding if need be..

[pjlogue]

Jerry's comment of backrest and duffle bag is good and I would add ~8"-10"rise, ~8"-10" pullback bars.  Gets you more upright where you can use the duffle bag/backrest for support.  Highway speed riding for long stretches gets tiring with wind resistance unless you have a windscreen.

-P.

[Tsunami]

I rode this one all over the Western States in the late 70's.  Café racers are for fun in an urban area.  This one was a cruiser, Windjammer (windbreaker) a must or you will end most days thinking of turning back, I had something of a sissy bar that I could slide forward for just myself or slide to the rear for a passenger  as my back got messed up in the service.  I think I had fold up highway pegs which can be a god send to change position. Not saying you cant do it with out anything.  I rode blue CL450 just like one in the photo.  Al stock when I left the service in Oct. 1970 from Merced, CA to Mpls Mn. some 2000 miles. I had messed up my left leg doing wheelies drunk behind a bar at 2am for a couple of girls. Ended up on crutches which I dropped off at the base hospital and started my trip. Young and dumb, nearly killed me, followed a storm all across America until I hit Omaha and headed North.  No fairing no sissy bars nothing but the bike. So ya if your intend to travel make it your own to be comfortable 

[PeWe]

This is in north Italy, max 1 hour of  from Austrian border. 2200km from home. My ass felt OK depite cut and reshaped OEM seat I still have on the bike.
We had 1 week in Zell Am See before we continued to Italy and swiiming in the sea.
Riding too many hours is not fun. 08:00 AM to 6:00 PM is enough. This give time for making a tent or Hotel. Have a walking sightseeing, eating and drinking a little.
I have done 1900km without sleeping and not very fun.

Tank bag helped some for the wind. My friend sat as a king and drank small bottles of stuff found at the gas stations.
The bike looked the same during 4 long holidays 84,85, 87, 88. First one was horrible soundwise since I used the silent diffuser in my 4-1. The bike did not work when it was too choked. Problem to reach 130kmh. Had to remove it completely to be able to ride the Autobahnh tempo.
Completely open 4-1 rang in my ears a week after I came back home again from a trip to Jugoslavia and back, total 5000km in almost 3 weeks.

[Grabcon]

Keep in mind that it is 40 years old. Any point of failure, electrical (make sure all connections are in good repair, we have all heard the electric horror stories on bikes), wheel bearings (if original replace with new bearings), Tires make them new (check date code on side wall).

Creature features you are on your own. 754 hit it on the head find the running sweet spot. I would look for some type of throttle lock (just to give the old hand a break), bars, seats, highway pegs, etc. everyone has an opinion and everyone is different). A fairing is nice for those crappy weather days, but then so is good riding gear. Storage, where do you put all of you crap. There is a lot of good weather proof bags available today that can be put on, although typically not cheap.

I have several bikes, older and newer, somehow I have set them up all to be similar in riding position. So going from one to another is an easy transition. Seats are always an issue even on new bikes. Maybe look at a strap on type, Airhawk or some type of gel pad.

[madmtnmotors]

All good suggestions so far. My personal observations after what my wife dubbed my "mid life crisis tour" from Central Florida to Northern Ohio and back in 2014:

>Forward, or "highway pegs" really help a lot when I need to stretch out my worn out knees. I'll even alternate between the passenger pegs, standard pegs, and forward pegs during a long spell in the saddle. Moving my feet to the passenger pegs actually rotates the pelvis and changes the pressure points. Every now and then I will stand up on the driver pegs as well.
>Fairing of some sort for sure takes the wind blast off your torso. Test ride with whatever fairing you intend to use. The fairing I had would generate pronounced buffeting at 80mph and up. While this can be tolerable for a few hours, after four or five hours it felt like my eyeballs were rattling around in their sockets. So make sure the fairing you chose does not induce excessive buffeting. If the angle of the screen can be adjusted up or down you may be able to reduce or eliminate this buffeting. I think a Windjammer would work well, although I have no personal long haul experience with one.
>Quality rear shocks. They need to be adjusted to carry the load without bottoming out and still have enough travel to be compliant. My experience has been that if the rear is set too stiff my neck and shoulders end up stiff as well. After 600 miles of this it occurred to me to back off the rear spring preload from full preload to half of that. The next 600 miles were much more comfortable.
>A throttle stop of some sort just to give the throttle hand a break from time to time.
>The stock seat worked well for me especially when combined with multiple footrest positions, and due to the fact that I did not have any other seat to choose from. I have been wanting to try one of these though: http://craigvetter.com/pages/Other_Designs/Magic-seatboard.html

Hope your trip goes well.

[przjohn]

I've ridden cross country a few times and would recommend staying well hydrated. My routine would be to gas up about every 150 miles and buy 1 or 2 bottles of water. I had holders on the bikes and would drink them as I rode. After about 2 hrs. and 150 miles it was my bladder that needed to stop more than anything else, and that is a good thing. If you are peeing regularly you are staying hydrated, especially in the Summer as the wind over time will evaporate a good amount of water from your body.

[Airborne 82nd]

I like to do a full 3K service just before the trip. As I do the service I put the tools I used in a bag and take ever tool with me. Plus a head strap led flash lite,6 foot of 16 gauge wire for a jumper with alligator clamps on both ends. I use my old military canteen ( one quart) with gas in it for those all night rides when you don't see a gas station and I'm on reserve in unknown territory. I could go on and on but you have to keep it small. You could say screw this and just take a credit card and cell phone

[754]

They are 40 year old bikes... I will rely on my wits a, logic, map,  and a few spares..rather than GPS, cell phones..and all that..



 Till I break down somewhere and am truly stuck, then I will start screaming like a little girl..

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Frank, the COLD beer is for the end of the day!

[PeWe]

A CB750 will work fine on long trips. I had always fresh tires, rear new, front survived 2-3 rear.
Fresh ignition point plate, plugs, chain with sprockets. Coils with wiring OK and working ignition switch that can suddenly fail if very old.
Good ignition wires. Checked the electrical for obvious short circuits.
Tank no dirt inside, fresh fuel lines.

My K6 is like a new bike.

[przjohn]

Frank, the COLD beer is for the end of the day!

+2 End of Day Cold Beer is the way to go.

[ofreen]

We all knew they had long legs back when they were new, does anyone have any tips or tricks for riding cross country on a 40 plus year old cb750?  Favorite sprockets or suspension settings? What's the best seat not considering originality or looks, just comfort and longest stay in the saddle time.  Luggage rack? Backrest?  How about tires? Windjammer? Lowers or not? highway bars?

First of all, take it easy on the poor old thing and keep it light.  I camp when I ride cross country because I am cheap and I enjoy not shelling out 80 bucks a night just for a place to flop.  I use my backpacking gear.  The Ortlieb dry bag on the seat holds a tent, Woods sleeping bag, Klymit air mattress, a chunk of visqueen for a ground cloth, either a backpacking stove or sometimes a few MRE's with heaters if I am feeling extravagant.  It makes a fine support for the lower back when placed in the right spot on the seat.  The dry saddlebags have some tools, spare tubes, whatever clothes I think I need, rain gear, and other odds and ends.  The tank bag mainly holds the maps, but also camera, a hat, riding gloves, Wet Wipes, and other items that are handy to have at hand.  I could ride indefinitely with the set up in the photo. 

The Windjammer is a thing of beauty after 12-14 hours in the saddle.  Suspension settings on a stock 750?  ha ha, good one .  Gearing is 18/48 with an RK x-ring chain.  I like Maxima chain wax.  The seat is the original, recovered and foam rejuvenated by Sargent back in 1995 or so.  Not exactly cushy anymore (never was now that I think of it) but bearable.  I've thought about trying a sheepskin for long trips, I know many who swear by them.  Haven't gotten around to it though.  I need to get the seat redone again as the cover is about half Shoo Goo at the moment.  Was going to do it over the winter, but too late now, back to riding it every day.  I am still pretty spry for an old fart, so stock pegs and bars are fine for me.  I wouldn't want the pegs any lower as they drag too easily already, and highway pegs are just a bad idea IMO.  As for tires, I've cried the blues about the demise of the ME88 rear tire enough on the forum in other threads, but the Metzeler Lazertec front can't be beat.

[Desert-SOHC]

I am a highway distance rider 90% of the time.  I have the rear lowered 1", 17/40 gearing for 75 mph at 4400 rpm and get 48 mpg.  She leaks a bit of oil but never lets me down, I would ride Mayble anywhere!  I still need highway pegs but she's getting there.....

[PeWe]

That's a cruiser, or 2! All around the entire continent, no problem, right?!

EDIT: I forgot to mention how important it is to lubricate the chain. When raining, at each gas stop spray the chain.
I talked to a guy here that use a thin lithium spray of a cheap brand he has in a small refill spray can. He spray at every gas stop with very good result. That is easy with a working center stand.

I have noticed that a chain lube often is too sticky and make chain to look lubed but it is not. The chain must have lube where it has contact with the sprockets. If it look like lubed on the outer sides of the links, no help. I have used very sticky lubes and got a very short lived chain with sprockets that quickly will get wave formed teeth.

[754]

 I love Ofreens bike, hope i get to ride with him this summer. But I notice you dont have a sissy bar.
 I find it much easier to pack stuff on or behind a bar, and much less sliding to the back. What do you think about that Ofreen.?

[ofreen]

Thanks Frank, we should get the opportunity this summer at long last. The guy I bought the bike from way back when had a sissy bar on it, and I kept it on there for awhile. They do have some utility, but I never cared for the way it looked.  It is still hanging out in the shop, in perfect shape after 40 years. I use tiedowns to hold the dry bag down, not bungees, and it doesn't slide. Bungees are not dependable for main load securement for the long haul in my experience. I've seen a few narrowly averted disasrers because of bungees slipping or failing, or going limp in the heat.

[Don R]

 The things I've learned to avoid are a bad aftermarket seat, it was slick, angled toward the tank and peaked in the middle so my weight was carried in the center not by my thighs or legs at all. My boy parts paid a price on that trip. I peeled the seat and trimmed the foam with a hacksaw blade and it was much better on the return trip.
  My 76F ran about 5200 rpm at my preferred cruising speed, that set me on edge, an 18/48 made that much better. It got it down in to 4700 to 4800 range.
  I agree on the backrest with a bedroll/soft bag on it to lean on and front pegs of some sort just to move my legs for a few minutes at a time. The throttle lock is a must too for my old job worn hands.

[754]

A bag firmly against the lower back, seems to make a huge difference to me.
 I had that on my rigid rear 836 riding to the Salt Flats in 07. I did over 700 miles in the first 26 hrs, first ride of that year.. Dont think my back will let me ride that long now.
On the rigid, I had to get off and walk around for a few minutes every 50-60 minutes, then I was good.  Having mid pegs, allowed me to get off the seat slightly on the bumps and bridge joints.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

Throttle stops can be useful but when in hilly country they can be a PITA. With traffic and speeds constantly up and down I find them useless. Doesn't hurt to have one mounted though.

That's a MUCH smaller load on Ofreen's bike than what I saw! Did he mention the kitchen sink? LOL Where's the mileage at now Greg? I need to show you what a NOS old foam seat feels like sometime with a pair of low mileage NOS Koni shocks.

[Don R]

 Agreed on the throttle stops, there's a time and a place where they can give a few moments of relief. How about the paddle that goes on the grip? I had one on a bike but it somehow got away from my possession.
 

 Those grip assists are around a buck shipped from china on ebay  jeez.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

That throttle rocker paddle makes it easier on your wrist which may be a good thing with 4 carbs at the end of the day.