OK, so this was never gonna be a project. A couple of weeks ago I saw a CB750 on Ebay Oz that was supposedly a K0 frame, with K1/2 parts, and a K2 engine. I contacted the dealer, who gave me the frame number (1015XXXX) so I took him at his word, and offered him 600 bucks less than his asking price, which he accepted. Bonus!
I'd dealt with him before when I bought the F2, and while he hadn't mentioned some of the more glaring faults, it was cheap enough, so I bought it. By sheer coincidence, James H here contacted me and said that he had a set of 1016XXXX K0 cases he'd sell me cheap, plus a head and some cylinders. Brilliant! I'd intended to use a cheap transport company who moved my rolling K0 chassis from Brisbane to Melbourne for only $160, but the seller rang me to say he' put it on a trailer (even though I didn't ask him to) and the cost would be $350. Oh well, it saved me a job, I suppose.....
A week later, on my 61st birthday a sh1tty old truck arrived outside my house with a trailer in tow. The driver was probably the most disorganised person I'd ever met, and I had to help him completely unload his rented trailer to get my bike out, that had a new dent on top of the tank, probably from where he'd been walking on it. Anyway, I gave him his 350 bucks and helped him repack his trailer, and as it was my birthday, he gave me a can of beer that looked like he'd driven over it in his truck, but as I was already drunk (he was 2 hours late) I gratefully received it, and drank it in one swig. It was dark, so I wheeled it into the patio and had a quick look before retiring for the night.
K0 Bitsa K2 Bitsa Friday 12 Mar 2021 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
Next morning I wheeled it out into the sun and took a closer look. The seat wasn't actually attached, it appears to be a NOS "Saddlemen" seat, as ugly as a Rottweiler sucking on a lemon, but surprisingly comfy.
K0 Bitsa K2 Bitsa Friday 12 Mar 2021 6 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
Regardless, it wasn't staying. When I lifted it off and looked at the frame, my heart sank. One of the easiest "Telltales" on a K0 is that the cross brace on the frame behind the battery box is solid, it doesn't have a hole stamped in it like every other CB750. This frame had the hole.
Dodgy K0 frame number 1 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
Fcuk. I double checked the frame number, and although it was the correct K0 number and the correct Honda script, it was sitting too low on the steering head.
Dodgy K0 frame number by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
By comparison, here's the number on my K2, in the same position as my real K0.
Dodgy K0 frame number 2 by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr
I sent the seller a text, and a couple of days later he replied saying that he'd accept my judgement, and offered me a 500 dollar refund. Hmmnn, well, better than nothing I guess. I contacted a guy I knew here to see if he had a K2 frame and told him the story. He's a K0 guy, and he laughed and told me that he'd told the seller that the "K0" was a fake a couple of days before he sold it to me. What a turd...... Anyway, my mate sold me a good frame for 500 bucks, plus the shipping from Brisbane. ($115) The intent was to put the K2 engine in the dodgy frame in a K2 frame and use the bike I build out of it to do a part trade for a Harley Heritage Softail with another mate.
That night, my mate Fred who was also aware I was looking for a K2 frame rang me to say a guy in far north Queensland (1400 miles away) had a K2 for sale for $1500. I found the ad, contacted him and said I'd transfer the money now, and organise transport. He rang me right back and said, "Sold! So now I have 2 K2 frames, 2 K2 engines, and enough parts to build 2 K2's, plus my K1. Sweet. Bottom line is, I didn't want to strip this bike for parts, but rather, build another 1970's themed "Rat" using as many of the parts as I can. I can't use the frame because, well, it's bogus, but I'll transfer everything across to another frame, and build something interesting out of it, once I've built the K2 for Dion, so I can have his Harley.
Funds are getting tight (I've just bought a set of K0 carbs from James for my K2 bitsa, because I love the light throttle pull of my K0) plus a new Kokusan ignition and K&N filter, but luckily Spotty came along with a cunning plan to buy his K7 back from me, which will free up some cash for more parts buying. I also sold Clay, the guy I bought the K2 frame from, my wrinkle tank, which pretty much paid for the transport of the newest K2 and the K2 frame, so things are kind of looking up. More tomorrow.
K0 Bitsa K2 Bitsa Friday 12 Mar 2021 9b by
Terry Prendergast, on Flickr