Topic: Calling Members who owned a 750 NEW & anyone w/advice

[Tews19]

So I'm still pondering what to do with the 750.  I purchased fork seals and upon removing the boots I notice black markings. As if the factory workers marked the legs. Then I look around the engine and I notice another black mark on the bottom of the engine to the oil case. (DRAWING A COMPLETE BLANK ON THE PROPER NAME!)


Did these markings come from the factory? Also, I'm honestly stuck on how I should go about this bike. I love the 750's however something this clean and original freaks me out. I have 4 kids and I don't want anything to happen to it. Kids do things accidentally and I couldn't live with myself if a clean original bike of 44 yrs gets damaged in my possession. I've had some people throw me offers to sell and I never planned to sell it, at least not right away. I say this because I always say I'm keeping this forever, that forever, but I sell obviously. A lot of the enjoyment of these machines is taking them from rubbish to road worthy.


I guess my first  question is are the markings original?

Do I stop all cleaning the bike to preserve the originality? Leave it as is, fork seals leaking, leave the dent in the tank and fender if I decide to sell and allow the new owner to fix or decide what to do?


Do I dare ponder selling?


Thanks in advance

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[evinrude7]

i was born in 72 so no way i could have owned mine back then.  i vote clean it up and take good care of it.  there is plenty of joy in that.  proper maintenance, admiring it and most of all riding it.  post some more photos.
 

[Tews19]

i was born in 72 so no way i could have owned mine back then.  i vote clean it up and take good care of it.  there is plenty of joy in that.  proper maintenance, admiring it and most of all riding it.  post some more photos.
 

I have a PDR specialist doing the tank after the holiday but as stated I'm not sure what do to do.

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[joeyvans]

No idea on those marks, but for the love of Pete.... keep that thing and enjoy it!

Just put the fear of God into your kids about even coming near that thing. And  no playing ball within 500  feet of it..... unless it is safely in the garage with the doors closed. One of the cleanest survivor finds that I have seen hit this forum.


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[754]

You probably have to factor in family and cash flow/ profit..
But the best of both worlds..enjoy it a while,  then sell .... Way better deal than selling right now..
Or keep it.

[my name is nobody]

You have the unique opportunity to experience what a sohc4 750 was really like
back in the day. If that interests you, by all means, keep it or risk sever seller's
remorse. Store it in a controlled environment, covered up and out of the mainstream, away from shelves or walls where things can fall on it. And most of all, ride and enjoy it. ........jmo wonder about markings, dealer assembly notes? strange.
My 74 was nearly identical to yours, it had 735 miles.

[crazylarry]

new here

VA says I'm crazy... thus crazylarry

Bought new '78 CB750K, stored it 30 yrs, now trying to get it running.  some mech. experience, but mostly on cars.  pulled my engine out 4 times, now back in but it only starts, no power.

if-n i can be of any help, let me know

[ofreen]

Are you keeping it for yourself or are you keeping it for posterity? I can tell you right now that posterity could care less.

[MoMo]

entertain offers and if one is good enough sell it as I believe the market for them will dwindle(as ofreen inferred).   Especially as the 60 - 70 year olds start to die off

[ekpent]

 If you want to start a personnel collection then keep the good stuff and sell the junk.Good original bikes are where the money is at.If profit is a motivation then that one should do well. No fun having it around if its going to be worrisome with children,dangers of other types, etc..

[seanbarney41]

I hear ya...out of the 13 or 14 750's I've owned, only one was even a quarter that nice.  I realized I am hard on my machinery and I better get rid of this thing before I mess it up and sold it.  But plans go astray, especially when control is out of your hands, and I know exactly where that bike is rotting, unmaintained and unridden in an open unheated shed.  So don't take your mechanical skill and knowledge and passion for these bikes for granted.  You can be the best thing that happened to that bike.


That was some cheezy ass bull#$%*, huh. lol

[Tews19]

If you want to start a personnel collection then keep the good stuff and sell the junk.Good original bikes are where the money is at.If profit is a motivation then that one should do well. No fun having it around if its going to be worrisome with children,dangers of other types, etc..

Children are my worry. For instance, tonight we had my 2 girls, and the neighbors 4 kids running around. They were in my garage. I had to run and put a stop to that. If it were for profit,  I wouldn't be buying 750s. In WI bikes are not as valuable as other states. I had an addiction for these after my first 550. My wife is telling me to keep so I believe I will move forward with changing the fork seals and the dent removal attempt. I really appreciate everyone's opinions.

[Tews19]

I hear ya...out of the 13 or 14 750's I've owned, only one was even a quarter that nice.  I realized I am hard on my machinery and I better get rid of this thing before I mess it up and sold it.  But plans go astray, especially when control is out of your hands, and I know exactly where that bike is rotting, unmaintained and unridden in an open unheated shed.  So don't take your mechanical skill and knowledge and passion for these bikes for granted.  You can be the best thing that happened to that bike.


That was some cheezy ass bull#$%*, huh. lol

Not cheesy at all if I'm understanding what you said I'm taking that as a compliment. I'm fortunate enough to have a nice garage now so storage in a controlled climate isn't an issue.

Damn, I hope I'm reading it right Sean and your post means a lot to me.

[seanbarney41]

I am complimenting you.  The rest of the story can be taken at least a couple different ways...just food for thought..   ofreen has commented in this thread.  Think about his bike.  Just another tired old 750, except that it is possibly the tiredest 750 ever! And still getting more tireder all the time!

[Ridem32]

That dent can be removed.  I would find another front fender and keep the old one stored.  Fix the fork seals and clean bike up and leave the black marks on it.  Ride it and keep all moving parts moving.  Go to YouTube and watch them remove bad dent creases. Amazing what some can do.


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[CycleRanger]

You found the bike I'm still looking for....
Kudos to you for trying to keep stock.
Keep it as original as you can while making it runnable.

I found these markings when I was changing my clutch.
Obviously they meant something to workers on the line but that information is lost to history.
There's probably some expensive Japanese books that might have more information about the Honda motorcycle assembly process but they'll never get translated for us.

[Tews19]

Cycleranger, she runs flawlessly. Literally! Carbs were drained properly, tank tank correctly. Here is the first start up after only giving some fuel and making sure the oil was at proper level.

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[Tews19]

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[Can550]

Wow
It's a beautiful bike. I have same colour 1974 cb550k

Upon removal of oil filter, I found similar sharpie writing and markings on the engine surface behind oil filter and under the valve cover too. Haven't removed rubber boots on front forks to see.


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[pjlogue]

The mars look like someone put them there as a check off of what service has been done as the bike was worked on over a period of time.  Kind of like "I better mark this fork leg so I don't forget I replaced the seal already"

Real nice bike!  I would keep it as these bikes in good stock or close to stock condition are getting hard to find. 

What is the coating on the upper frame rails/valve cover?  Almost looks like paint overspray.  Hopefully it comes off easily. 

-P.

[Terry in Australia]

All the markings on my shiny new CB750 were marked with yellow paint that pretty much falls off as soon as you put a spanner on it. I'm trying to understand what's so special about that bike though, it looks like it's done 11000 miles? Apart from the dents it looks clean, but I've seen a lot of bikes on Ebay in the same condition? (in the US, we don't have "riding seasons" here, so it's rare to find an old CB750 in Oz that hasn't been flogged) What am I missing? Cheers, Terry.

[Tews19]

All the markings on my shiny new CB750 were marked with yellow paint that pretty much falls off as soon as you put a spanner on it. I'm trying to understand what's so special about that bike though, it looks like it's done 11000 miles? Apart from the dents it looks clean, but I've seen a lot of bikes on Ebay in the same condition? (in the US, we don't have "riding seasons" here, so it's rare to find an old CB750 in Oz that hasn't been flogged) What am I missing? Cheers, Terry.

Nothing special about it Terry. This is the first bike that I purchased with true history. Not from someone flipping a bike. I have the original paperwork from the sale in 1973 to include the Honda warranty card. The P.O. drained all fluids minus oil. I gave it some gas and started right up. No tinkering nothing. It's a really neat bike in great shape that's all.

[evinrude7]

All the markings on my shiny new CB750 were marked with yellow paint that pretty much falls off as soon as you put a spanner on it. I'm trying to understand what's so special about that bike though, it looks like it's done 11000 miles? Apart from the dents it looks clean, but I've seen a lot of bikes on Ebay in the same condition? (in the US, we don't have "riding seasons" here, so it's rare to find an old CB750 in Oz that hasn't been flogged) What am I missing? Cheers, Terry.

Nothing special about it Terry. This is the first bike that I purchased with true history. Not from someone flipping a bike. I have the original paperwork from the sale in 1973 to include the Honda warranty card. The P.O. drained all fluids minus oil. I gave it some gas and started right up. No tinkering nothing. It's a really neat bike in great shape that's all.

i'd say it's something special.  it's a 40+ year old bike in nearly mint condition. 

[evinrude7]

If you want to start a personnel collection then keep the good stuff and sell the junk.Good original bikes are where the money is at.If profit is a motivation then that one should do well. No fun having it around if its going to be worrisome with children,dangers of other types, etc..

Children are my worry. For instance, tonight we had my 2 girls, and the neighbors 4 kids running around. They were in my garage. I had to run and put a stop to that. If it were for profit,  I wouldn't be buying 750s. In WI bikes are not as valuable as other states. I had an addiction for these after my first 550. My wife is telling me to keep so I believe I will move forward with changing the fork seals and the dent removal attempt. I really appreciate everyone's opinions.

what if you got some 2x's and built a garage within a your garage?  more like a crate you can roll it into when the kids are running wild.  build it in a back corner and you'll only have to build one wall and a gate/door.  throw down a 2x4x10 pt for a bottom plate, 2x4x8's for the wall studs, fence boards horizontally to keep the bike safely out of reach. 

[Tews19]

If you want to start a personnel collection then keep the good stuff and sell the junk.Good original bikes are where the money is at.If profit is a motivation then that one should do well. No fun having it around if its going to be worrisome with children,dangers of other types, etc..

Children are my worry. For instance, tonight we had my 2 girls, and the neighbors 4 kids running around. They were in my garage. I had to run and put a stop to that. If it were for profit,  I wouldn't be buying 750s. In WI bikes are not as valuable as other states. I had an addiction for these after my first 550. My wife is telling me to keep so I believe I will move forward with changing the fork seals and the dent removal attempt. I really appreciate everyone's opinions.

what if you got some 2x's and built a garage within a your garage?  more like a crate you can roll it into when the kids are running wild.  build it in a back corner and you'll only have to build one wall and a gate/door.  throw down a 2x4x10 pt for a bottom plate, 2x4x8's for the wall studs, fence boards horizontally to keep the bike safely out of reach.

Hmm. That could be easily made. I also have a nice size shed that is wired however no heat. I may have to consider making a wooden safe for it!