Author Topic: A Walk in the Woods (Read 1016 times)

Just John · « **on:** March 22, 2025, 04:10:47 PM »

You never know what you'll find on an old farm. Somewhere between 1969 and 1970 (meant to be 72!), I couldn't read the VIN. Leaning against a tree, the gas tank sitting across the farm road and the exhaust hanging in a workshop. Yes, I did bring it home with me.

Just John · « **Reply #1 on:** March 22, 2025, 04:11:36 PM »

Unicorn

Just John · « **Reply #2 on:** March 22, 2025, 04:12:42 PM »

Switch mount under the tank

Don R · « **Reply #3 on:** March 22, 2025, 04:32:09 PM »

The fork tubes were just long enough to keep the frame out of the dirt! Nice find. The headlight ears look like a 72 but anything is possible after all this time.

BenelliSEI · « **Reply #4 on:** March 22, 2025, 05:09:41 PM »

Nice find. Frame number?

seanbarney41 · « **Reply #5 on:** March 22, 2025, 07:31:48 PM »

Quote from: Don R on March 22, 2025, 04:32:09 PM

The fork tubes were just long enough to keep the frame out of the dirt! Nice find. The headlight ears look like a 72 but anything is possible after all this time.

yeah, that is the K2 only indicator dash as well....so if it is 69,70 it is likely missing all correct front fork parts

...and of course that is K2 or later tail light also

newday777 · « **Reply #6 on:** March 23, 2025, 02:07:16 AM »

Quote from: seanbarney41 on March 22, 2025, 07:31:48 PM

Quote from: Don R on March 22, 2025, 04:32:09 PM
The fork tubes were just long enough to keep the frame out of the dirt! Nice find. The headlight ears look like a 72 but anything is possible after all this time.
yeah, that is the K2 only indicator dash as well....so if it is 69,70 it is likely missing all correct front fork parts

...and of course that is K2 or later tail light also

The K2 that I have has the unicorn top tree and the indicator dash handlebar mount also, so yes frame numbers are necessary to verify the year it is.
Still a good find.
Did you get the motor for it John?

seanbarney41 · « **Reply #7 on:** March 23, 2025, 09:11:52 AM »

The K2 indicator dash light labeling is unique to the K2. Only the K2 called the neutral light "neut" and the high beam just says "beam". Also, the order of the lights may be different from left to right. K3-k6 was all the same but different from K2.

Now I am curious if the lh control has the K2 only button to cancel the turn signal buzzer.

Just John · « **Reply #8 on:** March 23, 2025, 09:53:14 AM »

Quote from: BenelliSEI on March 22, 2025, 05:09:41 PM

Nice find. Frame number?

I meant 69-72 and very likely it is a 72. Don't know why I said 70, probably counting in my head 69, 70. LOL! I need to clean the frame to get the VIN.
It's a pile but not nearly as bad as the one in my profile.

The soil in this part of Georgia is very acidic and anything that touches the ground gets eaten away in a very short time. I was glad to see the long forks and the center stand had kept this pile fairly safe.

Just John · « **Reply #9 on:** March 23, 2025, 09:57:13 AM »

Quote from: newday777 on March 23, 2025, 02:07:16 AM

Quote from: seanbarney41 on March 22, 2025, 07:31:48 PM
Quote from: Don R on March 22, 2025, 04:32:09 PM
The fork tubes were just long enough to keep the frame out of the dirt! Nice find. The headlight ears look like a 72 but anything is possible after all this time.
yeah, that is the K2 only indicator dash as well....so if it is 69,70 it is likely missing all correct front fork parts

...and of course that is K2 or later tail light also
The K2 that I have has the unicorn top tree and the indicator dash handlebar mount also, so yes frame numbers are necessary to verify the year it is.
Still a good find.
Did you get the motor for it John?

Didn't find the engine but it may be there. The exhaust was hanging in a workshop and the gas tank was across the road. Ten acres of woods, there were 3 rotted Model As and a 49 Ford coupe nearby and you couldn't see them until you cut a clearing. I have a 72 engine on the bench if needed.

newday777 · « **Reply #10 on:** March 23, 2025, 12:34:06 PM »

Quote from: Just John on March 23, 2025, 09:57:13 AM

Quote from: newday777 on March 23, 2025, 02:07:16 AM
Quote from: seanbarney41 on March 22, 2025, 07:31:48 PM
Quote from: Don R on March 22, 2025, 04:32:09 PM
The fork tubes were just long enough to keep the frame out of the dirt! Nice find. The headlight ears look like a 72 but anything is possible after all this time.
yeah, that is the K2 only indicator dash as well....so if it is 69,70 it is likely missing all correct front fork parts

...and of course that is K2 or later tail light also
The K2 that I have has the unicorn top tree and the indicator dash handlebar mount also, so yes frame numbers are necessary to verify the year it is.
Still a good find.
Did you get the motor for it John?
Didn't find the engine but it may be there. The exhaust was hanging in a workshop and the gas tank was across the road. Ten acres of woods, there were 3 rotted Model As and a 49 Ford coupe nearby and you couldn't see them until you cut a clearing. I have a 72 engine on the bench if needed.

It's always fun going through places like this to find things you want

Just John · « **Reply #11 on:** March 25, 2025, 03:08:28 PM »

We spent the morning picking up 30 bags of mulch at Lowes then unloading at the house. A note from the Lowes associates - most short bed pickups will hold a maximum of 25 bags. The Ram 1500 managed the other 5 bags but it was tight. I didn't want to make two trips to Lowes and I had waffled between 20 and the 30 bags.

A great lunch at a mom & pop catfish place before we headed to the woods. A beautiful day, perfect for rural archaeology. The bike had not moved from it's resting place despite my hope that it had somehow made it to closer spot to the road.

My lovely wife and I had to take the dang thing apart to get it into the truck. I almost expected (hoped) the front wheel would roll (it wouldn't) and had brought a complete rear wheel for a simple push up a small hill. So that idea fluttered off with the breeze. It looked like someone had put in new disc pads prior to parking it. They were stuck! Despite my expert planning, I didn't bring the needed tools (allen wrenches) to remove the caliper. A bit of chipping away at the pad with a Klein screwdriver managed to get the front wheel off. Followed by the forks. There was plenty of grease on the bearing! We (me) hustled those parts up the hill and through the woods to the truck. At this moment, SWMBO said "Why don't you back the truck down closer?". Hmm despite being a well known glutton for punishment I decided that would be an excellent idea. I do have 4WD and almost never use it. The frame was pretty bare when we loaded it into the truck and headed home.

Once nestled in the drive way a wire brush fitted to a Craftsman grinder revealed that this is in fact a 1972. The VIN begins 205. The data plate was missing.
I'm satisfied the frame is useable for a rider quality bike and that's about all I'm interested in building these days. The rack/sissy bar combo was all I really needed/wanted on this pile. Some gloss powder and it will look fine on my AMCA road run 74 CB750.

BenelliSEI · « **Reply #12 on:** March 25, 2025, 03:27:40 PM »

John….. great find/effort! If you are going to powder coat, get the shop to blast it clean and hit with “chrome”, then clear. The results are impressive. Coating ends up being a bit “thick” but would be fine on the rack.

Stev-o · « **Reply #13 on:** March 26, 2025, 08:52:49 AM »

Great story except the part about the mulch - it reminded me that is what I need to do soon! I wait 'till the Live Oak trees stop shedding their leaves which just started at my house.

HondaMan · « **Reply #14 on:** March 26, 2025, 12:04:02 PM »

What a fun puzzle!

Just John · « **Reply #15 on:** March 27, 2025, 12:20:29 PM »

Parts are being removed. It is almost but not entirely a bare frame at the moment. I hope I can save the early style fork lowers. They look decent and would benefit from a good cleaning/vapor blasting, etc. I am not that familiar with the early 750 forks but I've got plenty of reference material including HondaMan's fine book. I've had to grind some rusty bolts. Note - the Harbor Freight Bauer flex file works good when it works. It is nearly new, never used and I had to take it apart to get the belt to adjust. The license plate was issued in 1976 and has 80 and 81 year stickers on it. I'm guessing 81 or 82 was the bikes last year on the road. The VIN is stamped very lightly. I am starting to think this was a replacement frame which also may be the reason it was chopped. Tip to the readers - buy stock in Break Free! I'm using a lot of it.

Just John · « **Reply #16 on:** April 02, 2025, 04:05:06 PM »

The swing arm spindle, axle, bolt thing was stuck. Despite my best efforts I ended up cutting the swingarm and then grinding the offending bushing until I could drive out the spindle. Not a major issue as I have 6 swingarms in the garage. Pictures attached of the carnage.

After recovering from the cutting, grinding, pounding I made a mock up of what I think it will eventually look like. I wanted to get it on wheels before the next round of storms blow through Georgia. Warning if you don't like chopbobblers...do not proceed. More pictures attached.

MauiK3 · « **Reply #17 on:** April 04, 2025, 07:41:41 AM »

Nice project!
Amazing find, farms tend to collect stuff and hide it.

BenelliSEI · « **Reply #18 on:** April 04, 2025, 02:30:33 PM »

……”something from nothing”. Nice!

Just John · « **Reply #19 on:** April 05, 2025, 12:52:12 PM »

Quote from: BenelliSEI on April 04, 2025, 02:30:33 PM

……”something from nothing”. Nice!

I'm trying to use left over parts. It only takes one trip to the internet to blow the budget. LOL!

HondaMan · « **Reply #20 on:** April 05, 2025, 07:31:00 PM »

Quote from: Just John on April 05, 2025, 12:52:12 PM

It only takes one trip to the internet to blow the budget. LOL!

Boy, you ain't kidding!

MauiK3 · « **Reply #21 on:** April 06, 2025, 07:47:04 AM »

Internet, budget? We've all been down that rabbit hole!!

grcamna2 · « **Reply #22 on:** April 06, 2025, 09:11:51 AM »

I have the same brand vintage luggage rack(CCA)on two of my bikes and I like the 3-piece design.
My CCA rack,along with being 4-point frame mounted(I had a welder add more to it also)is very good,strong vintage quality steel,Made in Connecticut,USA.
I had my mounts reinforced and have carried over 50 lbs. w/o any bending.

Just John · « **Reply #23 on:** April 23, 2025, 12:44:42 PM »

We've been out of town when combined with nice weather for yard work and/or motorcycle riding has stalled this project a bit.

I have the frame stripped which is good news. The bad news is I found some rot under one of the seat rails. Enough rot to require major repairs. A perfect candidate for a hardtail conversion but I also have a good stock frame section from a wrecked bike. Decisions? I've moved this from the quick and easy spring project list to the next winter project list. The garage storage side is currently full of bikes that need attention which are moving to the get em done side of the garage.

The rack is cleaning up decently. It will always have some pitting. A good sand blasting and some powder will make it presentable. It is going on this bike which is a 74 frame/75 engine built from spare parts left over from other projects. I've tried to sell it (cheap) twice with no luck so it will become a keeper.

News:

Author Topic: A Walk in the Woods (Read 1016 times)