Author Topic: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1  (Read 2843 times)

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Offline Bankerdanny

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Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« on: July 16, 2021, 09:44:45 am »
Since my bike has been re-nominated for BOTM 2 years after it's first nomination I thought that I would do a summary of the project and it's current status here.

I picked up this bike 10/15/17 (Which I know because I finally went to transfer title and get a plate this morning before I even knew about the nomination. I had been running on a plate registered to my 550F that I sold in 2018 but the state apparently finally found out the bike was sold and wouldn't let me renew, so I got to drop almost $400 on taxes, title fees, and registration. The rego is about $75 more than usual because I got a White Sox specialty plate that reads SOHC).

It was in a town near where my sister lives, convenient since at the time I had to use her garage as my shop because I didn't have one. Today I have 2 bays in the garage behind my apartment.

The title I turned in had been issued in 2003, and the bike had been sitting longer than that as the plate expired in March 1999. The seller acquired it from a neighbor, but never got it going. Along with the bike I got a brand new battery that still hadn't had the acid put in and a Clymer manual.

It didn't look too bad. A poor rattle can paint job, and a rusted out Kerker muffler on the stock header, but it was complete with 30,547 indicated miles.

I had just completed a 4700 mile trip on my 550F a couple months earlier and was really thinking that stepping up to the 750 would make for a much more comfortable ride as I am a large guy.

I think he was asking $1k, but he agreed on $850. I paid him and the next week went back with a trailer and picked up the bike.

Here's a couple pictures from the night I went to see it.
"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #1 on: July 16, 2021, 09:57:23 am »
The next weekend after the pickup I pulled it out into the driveway for a wash and inspection in good light.

Overall not too bad. Obviously it had cheap pods, which didn't thrill me, and someone had removed the side cover badges and filled the holes with bondo before painting. The side trim for the seats was missing. But the covers weren't cracked, and the seat had no tears. So it looked like I had a solid base to get a rideable bike without too much trouble or cash.

Sadly that didn't turn out to be an accurate assessment.
"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #2 on: July 16, 2021, 10:03:04 am »
Now that the dust was rinsed off I pulled it into the garage to check the condition of the carbs. One of the big plusses of the K0-K6 and F0/F1 bikes is that the carb bowls are held on by a clip and so dropping the bowls for a quick look at the condition of the jets and floats is a snap compared to the 500/550 and the PD equipped K7/8 and F2/3.

In my bike's case the carbs had been drained and so the bowls and floats looked good.
"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #3 on: July 16, 2021, 10:07:28 am »
Now it was time to inspect the tank, and here is where DPO issue #1 raised it's ugly head. I had looked in it before the purchase, including shining a light, and it looked nice and clean. However when I pulled the tank and looked at the underside, I noticed that on the left side, the U channel that runs along the outside edge of the tank bottom had been filled in. My stomach dropped at this point, but I owned the bike, so I could do was investigate. A couple minutes with an angle grinder and flap disk revealed the bike had originally been Sulfer Yellow, and that the channel was filled with body filler.
"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #4 on: July 16, 2021, 10:12:28 am »
More sanding and the true extent of the damage was apparent.
"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #5 on: July 16, 2021, 10:23:06 am »
Some paint removal on the side of the tank revealed a couple more small holes.

At this point I though I would try my hand at brazing. My brother-in-law is a mechanic for a trucking company, so between us we have set up a very nice shop including a decent MIG and an Oxy Acetylene setups.

So some brazing and grinding later I had this.

Messy looking, but I thought I had all the holes covered.
"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #6 on: July 16, 2021, 12:13:34 pm »
Sadly when I put fuel in the tank there were still a couple of holes that I missed. At that point I tried sealing with POR15, but my prep was clearly lacking and it just didn't work.

It was late 2017/early 2018 at this point and I started looking for a tank and pretty much stopped working on the bike.
"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline Stev-o

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #7 on: July 16, 2021, 01:13:04 pm »
Hey Danny...subscribed...
'74 "Big Bang" Honda 750K [836].....'76 Honda 550F.....K3 Park Racer!......and a Bomber!............plus plus plus.........

Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #8 on: July 16, 2021, 02:24:48 pm »
I picked it up again in January. My post purchase inspection in October also revealed significant damage to the plastic housing on the underside of the ignition switch, the tail piece had some damage that needed repair, and the muffler was complete junk, rusted though and not repairable. I also discovered that someone had broken off the bleeder for the rear caliper and screwed a sheet metal screw into it.
"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #9 on: July 16, 2021, 02:30:29 pm »
I didn't do more work until March, which included the brazing in the earlier photos and repair of the tail piece. I also replaced the tail light assembly with a spare from my parts stash because the lens was cracked and the reflector corroded.
"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline MauiK3

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #10 on: July 16, 2021, 02:42:04 pm »
Tanks are a pain!!
1973 CB 750 K3
10/72 build Z1 Kawasaki

Offline seanbarney41

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #11 on: July 16, 2021, 03:06:38 pm »
Tanks are a pain!!
you don't know the half of it unless you have owned a cb750f
If it works good, it looks good...

Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #12 on: July 16, 2021, 03:35:47 pm »
Later in March I loaded it onto a trailer to haul down to Moto Guild, a do-it-yourself shop where I was a member (sadly closed later in 2018 after a freak fire). It was 20-30 minutes from home rather than an hour (and 15 min from my office at the time) and had hydraulic lifts and lots of specialty tools.

Once there I installed a new ignition switch and seat lock assembly I picked up from 4into1, and a factory airbox that I sourced locally, installed new plugs and plug caps, gave the carbs a good clean, bumped the main jets slightly from 105 to 108 and installed new float bowl gaskets. Then I chased down some electrical problems but finally got it to turn over. I hooked up a remote fuel tank and eventually it fired up for the first time in probably 14 years at that point.

I still didn't have a muffler, tank, or viable rear brake caliper.
"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #13 on: July 16, 2021, 03:37:07 pm »
Tanks are a pain!!

F models extra so. They rust much worse than K tanks and since fewer F's were sold the tanks are FAR harder to find. I was lucky to find mine, which I will get to next.
"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #14 on: July 16, 2021, 03:56:13 pm »
During April and early May 2018 I was able to source a rear disk brake assembly from later model F that used a 2 piece bracket and single piston caliper rather than the monoblock dual piston setup used on the F0/F1. The bracket and caliper are a direct bolt on and only required a longer brake hose to work. I cleaned up the both calipers and installed new pistons and seals and gave them a coat of nice shiny caliper paint. I also installed fork seals and gave the lowers a polish.
"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #15 on: July 16, 2021, 04:08:52 pm »
During May I also ordered a set of new side covers from Frankenstuff as the old ones weren't in great shape and aren't very sturdy anyway, as well as front and rear braided hoses. I also got lucky and scored an OEM muffler from a guy in North Carolina. It was off a 750A and only required minor bracket mods to bolt up.

I had also ordered a superbike bar, so that got drilled and installed, the F0/1 only headlight/turn signal bracket was broken and tweaked. I put my poor welding skills to work repairing that and gave it a coat of my favorite SOHC frame paint, Iron Armor Chassis and Grill paint from Harbor Freight, its a perfect match for the factory frame paint.

It also got a tapered bearing conversion and the triples painted with the same paint.

Unfortunately time was running out on me a Moto Guild, the owner was moving it to a new space and closing for a month in June, so I had limited time to try and get it on the road or at least mostly done before it went back down to my sister's where I could only work on it on weekends.

As you can see, the headlight/turnsignal bracket remained tweaked.
« Last Edit: July 16, 2021, 04:17:07 pm by Bankerdanny »
"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #16 on: July 16, 2021, 04:23:08 pm »
On may 30th I loaded my 550 and 750 onto a trailer and said goodbye to Moto Guild for the last time. Sadly Tony completed his move to a new freshly rehabbed space a couple miles west. I visited him a couple times pre-opening. Then about a week before the opening car thieves dumped a stolen car outside the alley garage door entrance to the shop and set the car on fire. It spread to the building and a good portion of the shop was destroyed. Some Vespa guys that subleased space had their stuff destroyed, Tony lost about 1/2 his tools. Fortunately the bikes that were stored there were at the back and were spared.

He talked about reopening after repairs, but ultimately did not. I visited the day after the fire, but didn't take photos for some reason.
"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #17 on: July 16, 2021, 04:43:11 pm »
I did some small amount of work in June, but nothing worth documenting. But in late June I got lucky. A guy in the Facebook SOHC750 group advertised that he had an F3 tank and I got to him first. We agreed on a very fair price ($125 I believe) based on a couple dents and I agreed to meet up with him at Mid Ohio in July to pick it up. While I was there I noticed he had a Kerker muffler that looked like it would work with my header, so I snapped that up too.

I also had my best score of since I bought my first CB550 back in 2011, even better than my running titled 550F with Lesters for $1300. I had sold my 550, but kept the wheels. I had been searching for the matching 18"  750F rear wheel, but they are rare as hens teeth. While I was at my sister's working on it, I got a notice from eBay that a search I had saved for 18" Lester had new items. Typically they were BMW wheels, but this was a single rear wheel. The seller thought that maybe it was for a Yamaha, but the bolt patter for the rotor was right, and a quick search of the model # returned that is was in fact the extra rare 18x3 750F wheel. More than that, it was a never used display model.

I saw the price, $50, and thought, that is a nice starting point, I'll follow the listing and see how high it goes. Then I looked closer and it was $50 buy it now + $50 shipping, so $100 all-in. I couldn't hit buy fast enough. Fortunately nobody else caught the BIN before me and the wheel was mine.

Here's the bike with the new tank and sidecovers and OEM exhaust. Then a picture of the installed Kerker I bought with the tank. It is likely made to work with the Kerker header and/or the K, so I had to rotate it 90 degrees to work. It sounded so much better than the super quiet stock muffler it was worth it. I also attached is it side-by-side with the junk Kerker than cam on the bike and was made to work with the OEM header. You can see the difference in the angle.

The Lester had a sweet 1970's vintage tire mounted on it that still held air.
"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline desertrefugee

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #18 on: July 17, 2021, 07:12:15 am »
Excellent narrative.  (..and the nice work/parts bird-dogging/and good luck are entertaining as well!)
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Offline Shtonecb500

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #19 on: July 18, 2021, 07:48:24 am »
nice work.
73/74'' CB500/550 resto-mod - sold
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Offline dave the welder

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #20 on: July 31, 2021, 02:55:38 pm »
welcome to the 750 world
don't buy it build it

Offline Don R

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #21 on: August 01, 2021, 06:20:59 pm »
 Nice finds.
No matter how many times you paint over a shadow, it's still there.
 CEO at the no kill motorcycle shop.
 You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.

Offline grcamna2

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #22 on: August 01, 2021, 07:51:45 pm »
Danny,I'm glad you found a good F tank(that red one in an above pic?)as trying to chase all those pinholes with careful brazing is a big pain,no matter how careful you are.That rear 18" Lester was a God-send to you.
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Offline BenelliSEI

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #23 on: August 04, 2021, 07:28:39 am »
Nice read. Thanks!

Offline Old Scrambler

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Re: Bankerdanny's 1976 750F1
« Reply #24 on: August 04, 2021, 08:07:26 am »
Great Work..........its more than a hobby ;)
Dennis in Wisconsin
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