Topic: My K8 re-conditioning

[denward17]

I purchased this 1978 CB750K in September, and slowly began working on things.  It needs a lot of cleaning up and new parts.  I started with a carb rebuild.
They were removed and broken apart and cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner.  I used the original brass and new accelerator pump, along with new gaskets.

I removed the center stand, rear turn signal brackets, foot pegs, side stand and cleaned and painted.  Removed the rear wheel, torn it down to the hub, installed new spokes, bearings and cleaned it up with a little polishing.  I then moved to the front wheel and, new rim, new spokes and bearings.  Cleaned up the hub and polished, cleaned and polished the front forks.

New brake caliper and rebuilding the master cylinder are next on the agenda.  A few pics along the journey.

[denward17]

not long after purchase

[denward17]

Was lucky to find to nice looking rear shocks and an OEM 4 into 4 exhaust system. Pics of the exhaust system will come later.

As it sits today, with new tires and etc., lots more work to come.  Engine will come out to fix a couple of oil leaks.  Bike has 22k miles and ran ok (not perfect) when I purchased.

[Stev-o]

Looks like a nice project and you seem to have a good handle on it. 

I had one just like it a few years ago...

[BenelliSEI]

Nice work..... I’ve said this many times before; The K7/8 bikes are underrated. I think they look great and are a wonderful ride. Do you have the original pipes? Well done.

[denward17]

Nice work..... I’ve said this many times before; The K7/8 bikes are underrated. I think they look great and are a wonderful ride. Do you have the original pipes? Well done.

Thanks and I do have a set of the original pipes.  I got lucky and saw some on FB marketplace about ~2 months ago and snagged them quickly.  They are almost flawless, but do have a couple of dings, but not too bad.

[BenelliSEI]

Great! They do make the bike look best!

[HondaMan]

Subscribing.
Nice work!

[Alan F.]

+1 and +1

[bek1966]

Nice project!  Thanks for sharing your progress.

Brad

[denward17]

Front brake installation complete (except for bleeding):
Rebuilt master cylinder (Honda Kit)
New hydraulic hoses
New 4into1 caliper with brake pads

Will try to bleed early next week, busy until after Thanksgiving.

[Alan F.]

If you've filled your master cylinder it may be advantageous to give that brake lever a squeeze and secure it in the 'squeezed' position by wrapping some electrical tape, old inner tube, tightly wrapped t-shirt or whatever holding that lever squeezed. This will allow bubbles of air to rise and surface in your master cylinder. Letting this?sit a few days, like over Thanksgiving weekend will be a good move and will save most of the hassle of bleeding the air out later on.

[denward17]

If you've filled your master cylinder it may be advantageous to give that brake lever a squeeze and secure it in the 'squeezed' position by wrapping some electrical tape, old inner tube, tightly wrapped t-shirt or whatever holding that lever squeezed. This will allow bubbles of air to rise and surface in your master cylinder. Letting this?sit a few days, like over Thanksgiving weekend will be a good move and will save most of the hassle of bleeding the air out later on.

Thanks Alan, I should have enough time to do this tomorrow.  I left it dry today.

[BenelliSEI]

Careful squeezing the lever with the cap off. It can squirt back through the small hole and spray all over! I am a big fan of using a Mity Vac pump to bleed my brakes. Fasten a small hose to the bleed nipple and the pump manually vacuums fluid down through the system. Check out their smallest, manual pump kit. I’ve had mine forever and use it on everything.

[Don R]

 Try to not pull the lever all the way back to the handlebars, on some Honda  M/C's fluid may get past the seal and fill behind the dust cover. Then it leaks out later on your paint. I've been known to tape a shim in between them.

[denward17]

Thanks for the tips, really appreciate them.

[denward17]

I taped a 15mm spacer on the throttle and proceeded to bleed, started with the Mity Vac, finished off by hand.

Brake feels pretty firm, but will check again next week.

Thanks Guys..

[BenelliSEI]

Nice.... I do find going back a few days later,for a second round, usually firms up the lever.

FYI..... “Andy.Cepoc” is selling reproduction exhaust for K7/6 on EBay. Not cheap, but way less than the older style! My buddy has a set on his K8 (we restored all three several years ago) and they are lovely. His only criticism: “they are quiet”.

[denward17]

Nice.... I do find going back a few days later,for a second round, usually firms up the lever.

FYI..... “Andy.Cepoc” is selling reproduction exhaust for K7/6 on EBay. Not cheap, but way less than the older style! My buddy has a set on his K8 (we restored all three several years ago) and they are lovely. His only criticism: “they are quiet”.

Could you share a link, I can't find them.

[BenelliSEI]

Nice.... I do find going back a few days later,for a second round, usually firms up the lever.

FYI..... “Andy.Cepoc” is selling reproduction exhaust for K7/6 on EBay. Not cheap, but way less than the older style! My buddy has a set on his K8 (we restored all three several years ago) and they are lovely. His only criticism: “they are quiet”.

Could you share a link, I can't find them.

Can’t seem to paste the link..... here’s a screen shot.

[grcamna2]

Try to not pull the lever all the way back to the handlebars, on some Honda  M/C's fluid may get past the seal and fill behind the dust cover. Then it leaks out later on your paint. I've been known to tape a shim in between them.

Yes,I take a wooden paint stirring stick and break-off two 'square' pieces to shim the lever out around 1/2" + or -.

[denward17]

Purchased a small dolly to set the engine on when it comes out.

The dolly was modified (lifted with a 2"x8") so that I could roll my jack under it and lift it up some to work on it.  All I will be doing is cleaning, polishing, maybe some paint. 
Before that will fit a new neutral switch, and take off valve cover and install new pucks.

 

[BenelliSEI]

Smart. It will save your back! A lot of folks on here use a cheap engine stand to good effect.

[denward17]

Smart. It will save your back! A lot of folks on here use a cheap engine stand to good effect.

I like that....

[denward17]

Engine out