Bought myself a K0 today. If y'all saw it, it was posted by RJ in the "for sale" section on C-list. I owe RJ a beer for the heads-up, BTW. Swung by this evening, paid and loaded it, and it's now safe and sound (but not warm) in my garage. Candy Blue Green diecast K0. I have so many questions now. First of all, I need to figure out what correct parts I have and what I'm missing. I believe I have the correct ignition switch (there's a black plastic disc on the key) and I've got all 3 spare keys. They look like they've hardly even been used. I have the original tank, and it should be a wrinkle tank but it was dark and I couldn't see. The frame number and engine number are both in the low 16,000's. Makes it a pretty early '70 I think. It's got the original gauges, good sidecovers, HM300 pipes (but one is pretty badly rusted). Also has a cut front fender, but it's wrinkled at the front from something falling on it. Has the right airbox, carbs, rear fender/taillight. Engine has a large chunk of fins missing on the jugs, so I'm going to replace them when I get a chance. Other than that it's in good shape. Headlight is missing 'cause it used to have a fairing, but I've got the ears for it. I've got all the turnsignals (short stalks). Ducktail seat with no rips, though it is pretty well loved. All in all it was surprisingly complete. The throttle and kill switch are missing, so I'll have to source new ones for that. Fork tubes are fairly rusty, but that's an easy fix. 25,000 original miles, and I bought it from the original owner. He bought it in 1971 in Canada. I've got copies of his original bill of sale, the import paperwork in 1989, and a letter he sent to Honda in 1971 asking why he couldn't find a CB750 in Canada. Also got tons of receipts over the years. A lot of really cool documentation. He got disheartened a few months ago when he took it somewhere to be worked on and they "lost" his throttle/kill switch and then told him that they couldn't get it running after charging him $1,000 in work. They didn't even drain the gas tank, cause it smells of 20 year-old gas. I'll have pics for you guys in a day or two when I get some light around here.
Now, I do have one question. There are stamped frame numbers in the left of the neck, but there is no VIN plate with the manufacture date or anything. Is that a K0 thing? Maybe it's because it was a Canada import? Like I said, this dude's owned it it's whole life and he said it never had the tag on it. He had to remove a 1976 Ontario license plate when I bought it. I was gonna scoop it up if the price was right and part the K0 stuff and chop the leftovers. However, this bike is so complete with so much history that I have to restore it. It doesn't need paint, although there's a dent in the tank and some wear on the sidecovers. I'm gonna leave the paint as is. I've got cylinders and good HM300 pipes I can remove from my late '70 K1 donor bike, along with a headlight and a throttle. I need the correct kill switch, and I need to refinish the heatshields. It's got correct dull heatshields, but unfortunately they're rusty. Bike hasn't been on the road since 1989. Turns over, but the compression feels a bit low. And the carbs DEFINITELY need rebuilding and syncing. Ok, if you've been reading this post all the way to the end you're probably asking "what did it cost to own such a bike?". Well, it was 20 minutes from my house, and I picked 'er up for $1000. I didn't even try and haggle at that price. I'm pretty psyched. My own K0. This is getting kinda addicting...
