Topic: Finally Back in the Saddle

[redrider969]

After 6 years on 4 wheels, I'm finally back where I belong.  I got my first bike in 1960, and rode continuously until a few years ago when I sold my CBR 1000 to put a supercharger on my Mazda Miata.  In 1971 I bought a used CB750K0.  That I rode for over 25 years.  When the transmission went out (at about 70,000 miles)  I pulled it apart, and never rebuilt it.  About 10 (i.e. pre-ebay) years ago, We moved to a smaller house,  and I gave the parts away never dreaming how much they'd be worth.  I owned several newer bikes after the 750, but never enjoyed working on them... too much plastic to get past and too much complication once you get there.

A few months ago, while looking through cycletrader.com I came across this 1975 CB750 for $1,500, and I couldn't resist.  It isn't the classic K0, but I could afford it, and, anyway, I wanted a bike I could ride, not just admire and worry about.  Sent a money order off for the bike, hooked up my trusty 4X8' folding trailer to my Miata and headed off to work.  Did I mention I hadn't said anything to my wife about the bike?  After teaching my last class at about 8:00 PM (college professor), I headed off for Chicago from Atlanta.  Arriving early the next morning, I loaded the bike in the pouring rain and headed back home. 

The bike remained hidden under a cover in the garage for almost 5 months before the wife discovered it.  In the meantime, I began fixing it up, ordering parts from ebay, other website vendors and the local Honda shop.  In early March, I headed off to Daytona, about 1000 miles round trip with no problems.  Drove down main street surrounded by Harleys and got a fair amount of attention... I think the Harley riders had their feelings hurt,  But (at least from my standpoint) when you've seen one Harley, you've seen them all.

I working to replace as many nuts, bolts and washers as possible with stainless steel (most Allen heads) and have been polishing aluminum whenever I have spare time.  I'm getting ready to have the bike repainted in the "old" style"... with the gold stripe instead of the black side panels.  When I can afford it,  I'll add alloy rims and stainless steel spokes.  My goal is to build it the way I want it... a mildly modified bike that still looks stock to the casual observer.

I was delighted to discover this web site, and hope to take advantage of the technical expertise that so many of you have to help me address the many issues I will be addressing.  Some of my current challenges include:

1) a charging system that is not charging in around town driving
2) a clutch that seems to be headed south
3) some "interesting" modifications to the wiring harness
4) finding some either very expensive or hard to find parts
5) replacing versus re-chroming
6) polishing in all those awkward pieces of aluminum and what (if anything) to coat them with after I get them polished.

Well, that's probably more than enough for now.  I'm looking forward to our association.

Dick Grover,  "Redrider969"

[Bob Wessner]

Welcome to the group and welcome back to the SOHC/4 clan.

[burmashave]

I was delighted to discover this web site, and hope to take advantage of the technical expertise that so many of you have to help me address the many issues I will be addressing.  Some of my current challenges include:

1) a charging system that is not charging in around town driving
2) a clutch that seems to be headed south
3) some "interesting" modifications to the wiring harness
4) finding some either very expensive or hard to find parts
5) replacing versus re-chroming
6) polishing in all those awkward pieces of aluminum and what (if anything) to coat them with after I get them polished.

Well, that's probably more than enough for now.  I'm looking forward to our association.

Dick Grover,  "Redrider969"

Hey Dick, welcome!  I'm no expert; however, there's a good FAQ for charging systems (look under "Electrics").  Some of the gents here have done an excellent job of putting together and collecting troubleshooting procedures.  From what I've seen, it pays to be as methodical as possible when troubleshooting electrical issues.  There are also a number of relevant threads if you do some searching.  Look especially for posts by TwoTired and Hondaman.  Given item number 3 above, the problem may not lie with the charging system; however, you can test it and rule it out.  Given the age of your bike it would likely pay to pull every connector and clean each with something like an emory file, blow them with air and then put a bit of dielectric grease on the terminals.  You can get significant voltage loss from oxidized terminals.  Definitely clean the fuse terminals -- oxidation of the fuse terminals has been the cause of many a meltdown.

As for parts, have you seen the suppliers list in the FAQ?  Also, many folks here have found cheap ways of doing and restoring; do some searching for specifics, and post a question if nothing suits.  You've prolly seen that ebay has lots of CB750 parts; however, it seems that the prices are going up. 

[mrbreeze]

I was delighted to discover this web site, and hope to take advantage of the technical expertise that so many of you have to help me address the many issues I will be addressing.  Some of my current challenges include:

1) a charging system that is not charging in around town driving
2) a clutch that seems to be headed south
3) some "interesting" modifications to the wiring harness
4) finding some either very expensive or hard to find parts
5) replacing versus re-chroming
6) polishing in all those awkward pieces of aluminum and what (if anything) to coat them with after I get them polished.

Well, that's probably more than enough for now.  I'm looking forward to our association.

Dick Grover,  "Redrider969"

Hey Dick, welcome!  I'm no expert; however, there's a good FAQ for charging systems (look under "Electrics").  Some of the gents here have done an excellent job of putting together and collecting troubleshooting procedures.  From what I've seen, it pays to be as methodical as possible when troubleshooting electrical issues.  There are also a number of relevant threads if you do some searching.  Look especially for posts by TwoTired and Hondaman.  Given item number 3 above, the problem may not lie with the charging system; however, you can test it and rule it out.  Given the age of your bike it would likely pay to pull every connector and clean each with something like an emory file, blow them with air and then put a bit of dielectric grease on the terminals.  You can get significant voltage loss from oxidized terminals.  Definitely clean the fuse terminals -- oxidation of the fuse terminals has been the cause of many a meltdown.

As for parts, have you seen the suppliers list in the FAQ?  Also, many folks here have found cheap ways of doing and restoring; do some searching for specifics, and post a question if nothing suits.  You've prolly seen that ebay has lots of CB750 parts; however, it seems that the prices are going up. 

Burma........if you look under your handle.......it says you are an expert!!!!!!!!!.....Don't start your posts with....."I'm no expert"