Topic: Pouring molten aluminum into sand forms is a cheapskate way to make engine parts

[69cb750]

"Pouring molten aluminum into sand forms is a cheapskate way to make engine parts when companies aren’t ready or able to write the checks for durable high-pressure casting dies. By 1968, Honda had become the house of small cycles characterized by deep fenders, color palettes of black and chrome, and other naked hijackings of European design. But the company wasn’t sure that its new big-bore sports scoot, the CB750 Four—with its silky motor turned sideways in a bobtail bike that was lacquered for the hippie generation in candy blues and reds—could bust open the upper echelons of a market dominated by Euro-thumpers."

Hagerty estimates are wildly optimistic but here ya go - https://www.hagerty.com/media/magazine-features/bull-market-2021/

[seanbarney41]

Pretty obvious who ever wrote that article is a "car guy" and does not stay current with the motorcycle market.

[MauiK3]

I agree, however, it does seem that the CB750 is acquiring some pretty credible cache. I'm hanging on to mine if only just to look at it!!  When Vic World sold his pre-production candy blue green for north of $200k (I think) it sort of set a standard for these.

[seanbarney41]

Maui, don't get me wrong, you did a beautiful job on your K3 and used an awesome selection of quality repro and restored parts.  These are great bikes and you should keep it because you love it...but that has literally nothing to do with the pre-production Vic World bike, or even a legit unrestored K0 die cast for that matter.

Over the last 10 or 15 years we have watched selling prices of these double or triple.  I think we are near the plateau.  Hopefully, the drop off on the other side is not very steep.  This little snippet from Hagerty is 3 or 4 years late, imo.

[Don R]

 A guy on FB recently had a K0 engine with good numbers for a bike I have. I asked about price and he got excited and started quoting numbers related to the prototypes. I stopped there.  Too bad, I would have happily overpaid by a reasonable amount and showed up in his driveway with cash.   
 I agree the reason for sandcasting or gravity casting or whatever was driven by the need to test sales before Honda hit the brink of financial distress.

[69cb750]

A guy on FB recently had a K0 engine with good numbers for a bike I have.

69 diecast or 70 diecast engine ?
50k sounds reasonable to me.
I needed some engine parts in 2019.  I bought an engine for $75 from a guy in Hammond Indiana.

[seanbarney41]

A guy on FB recently had a K0 engine with good numbers for a bike I have.

69 diecast or 70 diecast engine ?
50k sounds reasonable to me.
I needed some engine parts in 2019.  I bought an engine for $75 from a guy in Hammond Indiana.

lol, he knew he couldnt charge more as few would dare a trip to hammond!

[69cb750]

Harry Molenaar's Harley shop was in Hammond from 1924 to 1992 (58 years).
Harley took the franchise cause Harry would not update to a "boutique".
Dave worked with Harry for years and tells stories how it was in the old days.

lol, he knew he could not charge more as few would dare a trip to hammond!

The guy was very nice, say yes sir, no sir, don't mention black lives matter, and get the hell out of there.

[Don R]

 The engine was for an 11/69 frame date to be precise in the 14,000 range. I have a blank one anyway.

[Terry in Australia]

The engine was for an 11/69 frame date to be precise in the 14,000 range. I have a blank one anyway.

Yeah, I've got a set of blank "Replacement cases" here too Don, but the Honda Font is so unique, you'll never be able to stamp it to look like OEM, and "Collectors" won't touch it with a ten foot pole.

[bryanj]

So leave it blank as a warantee replacement, a lot of US dealers never stamped new cases

[69cb750]

A guy on FB recently had a K0 engine with good numbers for a bike I have. I asked about price and he got excited and started quoting numbers related to the prototypes. I stopped there.  Too bad, I would have happily overpaid by a reasonable amount and showed up in his driveway with cash.   

What is a reasonable price for a 14k vin engine ?

lol, he knew he could not charge more as few would dare a trip to Hammond!

After the dust settles from the current crisis I'm returning to Hammond to search for abandoned sandcasts.

[MauiK3]

Of course nothing will match a low number K0 sand cast for value but it's nice to know the CB750 early bikes seem to have secured a good place of honor and they will retain some value. I know mine is not stock, only "stockish" due to the look I was after. A collector would turn a nose up for that. It is, however, a good example of what they are all about. I really like it.
I've thought about finding another and doing a weight loss resto. No radical appearance changes (except for exhaust), just subtle changes to reduce weight such as rims, maybe some sort of fork and brake upgrade etc.

[PeWe]

... weight loss. I think the loss of weight made the change to 4-1 felt as increased power.