Topic: Bought my first CB750 - Advice Needed

[BSAKat]

Couple of tins of Heinz and some wire and that exhaust will be fine😂

You're a man after my own heart. And, yeah, I'm gonna have a hell of a time sourcing rear brake parts for this thing. Thankfully, I can buy every piece of the front brake system new for not a lot of money, so that's on the list.

It's incredible the owner's manual survived that long outdoors.  Cool stuff.

It really is. I was flabbergasted when I found it. It's not waterlogged or anything, just a little dogeared and totally readable. I didn't look under the roller's seat yet, so there may be more treasure there.

[ekpent]

 How many miles is the blue bike showing ? Looks like the typical kind I used to find that were one owner bikes from older guys who put the fairings etc. on.

[BSAKat]

How many miles is the blue bike showing ? Looks like the typical kind I used to find that were one owner bikes from older guys who put the fairings etc. on.

About 17,000. I'm this bike's third owner. And, yeah, the owner was in his 60s somewhere. Around my dad's age, I reckon.

[HondaMan]

Hah! I knew what you meant, I was just being facetious. I'm bringing them home tomorrow, so once I get 'em off the trailer I'll shoot a bunch of photos and post them here. Until then, enjoy these shots of the parts and accessories pile I brought home already:

Wow, that's a nice 'Jammer, and with the Lowers! Those are hard to find now.

If you try to unstick the engine, DO NOT use the big, thin nuts by the points to try to turn it. Use the alternator side. If you try it with the points side you can shear off the spark advancer's locating pegs. Thne you'll be searching for a spark advancer...

[Alan F.]

+1 on those Lowers. Please PM me if you're looking to move them out.

[69cb750]

Okay! I got the supersports home this morning and did some more shooting for you all. The blue '75 is, in the words of a late Soviet nuclear technician, "Not great, not terrible." The roller, a formerly sulphur yellow '76, is all terrible. I've decided to rescue the blue bike and use the other as a donor. The blue bike is shockingly complete, as you'll see in the following photos. The exhaust is obviously beyond saving (well, the silencer is, at least), every piece of rubber needs replaced, the engine is currently stuck, the brakes are shot, and there's lots of surface rust, but I'm in love. So, enjoy these pictures and feel free to laugh at my ridiculous hubris.

Nice photos !

You're finally home, friends. No more suffering.

You or the motorcycles ?

Surprise! There's 3/4 of a tank of 35-year-old gas in there! You can imagine how this smelled when I opened it, and the top of the inside of the tank is rusty as hell. That's gonna be a real issue going forward, but at least I know the tank isn't rusted through/doesn't leak!

My 75 Z1 came with 4 gallows of vintage gasoline.

[bryanj]

Had been well hung had it?

[BSAKat]

Had been well hung had it?

They said you was hung!

+1 on those Lowers. Please PM me if you're looking to move them out.

PM Incoming

You're finally home, friends. No more suffering.

You or the motorcycles ?
[/quote]

Oh, my suffering has just begun.

Wow, that's a nice 'Jammer, and with the Lowers! Those are hard to find now.

If you try to unstick the engine, DO NOT use the big, thin nuts by the points to try to turn it. Use the alternator side. If you try it with the points side you can shear off the spark advancer's locating pegs. Thne you'll be searching for a spark advancer...

Yeah, it's in phenomenal shape considering its age. Thankfully it was in the back of the garage all this time, not exposed to the weather and sun for 30 years. And, thanks for the heads up. I'll keep that in mind.

[HondaMan]

Mmmmmmm, scotch locks. The sign of quality. You know you're in for a real good time when you find those things in your loom. Whoever installed the fairing is responsible for that.

That was state-of-the art when the Vetter was sold in the 1970s! That's how it was done.
I might have a decent header for you, will look around.

[ekpent]

 Every Vetter I have removed always had those same blue splice blocks. Maybe they supplied a splice kit or something with the fairing.

[Alan F.]

Yup, the installation kits came with them. Here's a screenshot of a NOS OEM install kit from eBay:

[72 yellow]

Hopefully the turn signal bracket is still under that windjammer and unmodified if you're planning on pulling it, but at least it looks like it's intact on the other one.  Unfortunately, the unique F model parts are getting slightly harder to find, but they're out there.  I must have missed these, as I usually search the Detroit Craigslist pretty regularly especially for F models. 

Oh, these weren't on CL or Marketplace. They weren't even for sale. I spotted them in the guy's yard because said yard backs up to an alley in Ferndale I was driving through. I walked up, rang his bell, and offered him $800 for the whole shebang. He took it and here we are. The stock turn signal bracket was included in the parts pile, thankfully. There's also a Windjammer IV with a sound system and a security system that was on the stripped bike and an OG Hondalite vacuum set for syncing the carbs.

Is the engine turning free right now on the blue bike or froze up.

The blue bike's engine is stuck and the other bike's engine is in pieces. Once I get the bikes home Saturday I'm gonna pour some juice down the bores in the blue bike and see what happens.

Thanks for all the info, fellas. I appreciate it.

I often wonder how many bikes are found this way.  Mine was also found in a backyard chained to a clothes pole.  Next door to a drug house. 

[BSAKat]

I often wonder how many bikes are found this way.  Mine was also found in a backyard chained to a clothes pole.  Next door to a drug house.

Lots of 'em, I reckon. I walk a few miles around my neighborhood every day, and since I started I've spotted at least six bikes languishing away in various backyards or alleys. I'll own all of 'em someday...

[HondaMan]

Yup, the installation kits came with them. Here's a screenshot of a NOS OEM install kit from eBay:

Ah, just like the floor of my old bike shop!

[Hoosier Honda]

Nice, I bought the same bike last fall, same color also and about the same condition except the seat and inside of tank on mine are great. Did a total teardown over the winter, started it for the first time last weekend. Just deciding now if I want to try to match the paint or just go with something close.

[754]

I heard about two early Katanas very near to me , the other day... stored indoors..

[PeWe]

Those bikes needs to be dissambled totally.

Starting an old engine without taking it apart will most likely cost more.
Careful when rotating the crank to see if pistons are stuck. Crank can be OK.
If turning it too much, dried up internals will wear, rust will make it worse.

[Alan F.]

I heard about two early Katanas very near to me , the other day... stored indoors..

Are you thinking about it Frank?

[PeWe]

Katana looked ugly back in the 80's but became a not that common classic bike not that many years after.

A guy here had a very modified one (a very beautiful special painted show winner) in the 80's, smashed  flat by a heavy multi wheeler truck that flipped over it during bad weather on a boat heading to England on a vacation trip.

One in stock prestine condition must be interesting for many, right?

[754]

I dislike them, but I know guys are keen on them..
 When the guy mentioned  it, there was 3 of us talking, he first talked to the fellow I was with, as he knew him.  If that guy is uninterested,  then I may look into it, not to keep one.
The guy sounds  like he knew what he had, and how to sell them.
 There is a nice example about 3 blocks from here.. 

[BigJimG]

When you remove the silencer from the exhaust, don't lose the clamp.  They're NLA and I haven't seen one available on ePay for a while now.  The last one I bid on the seller couldn't find it and returned my money. 

I'm running the MAC silencer on the stock header, not a huge fan of the upswept outlet, but there's not too many options available.  Luckily the fit is tight enough that I don't necessarily need the clamp, as the rest of the bracketry is holding it just fine, and there is only minimal exhaust leakage at the joint.

If the other bike has a clamp, I may be interested in it for my '75. 

[Magpie]

Great find and good work in buying them. I think there's tons of old bikes just waiting to be rescued out there. I got a complete 1977 CB750F by asking a guy if he had any old bikes in his garage. Turns out he did and the restored bike is now in my garage. 4into1.com is a good source for parts. Cliff.

[BSAKat]

Are F/Supersport cylinders different than regular old K-model cylinders? Specifically for a '76 Supersport engine.

[newday777]

Are F/Supersport cylinders different than regular old K-model cylinders? Specifically for a '76 Supersport engine.

The 76 SS/F and the K models use the same cylinders.

[MauiK3]

Update?
How’s the project going?