Topic: hey all

[neu]

hello, im new here .. recently started a restoration project on a 77 cb750k  aside from all the mechanical problems, im having trouble finding a seat for this damn thing! only one i found was 200$ and im looking for a junk seat that i can re-cover... anyone know a good parts site for these old bikes?

[Terry in Australia]

G'Day Mate, have a look at eBay, if you can't find it there, it never existed! Seriously, I pretty much restored my beautiful F2 with parts bought exclusively from eBay (I'm still paying back the credit card bill, boo hoo) but seats are common, and if you just want one with good foam and a solid pan, you should be able to pick one up for $20.00 or so, I bought a great seat for my F2 only $50.00 plus shipping. Do a seller search for "Hondaraider" on eBay, John is a great guy, very honest, and sells really good quality used parts. Cheers, Terry.

[neu]

yeah, theres one on ebay but it's already up to 90$!!! im not paying that much for a used seat! lol
also is there a good trick to get these motors un-hydrolocked

[Dennis]

Why do you say it is hydrolocked?
Are you sure that it just didn't sieze from sitting?
Has happened to many good running engines!!

[neu]

either way... how can i get it unseized/locked? any tips? im new to these things.. im a rotary engine mechanic if that lets you know anything about my piston engine knowledge = NONE

[Sandcast 2356]

basically, if the engine is locked, it's in about as bad of shape as it can get. I have never unlocked one myself, but I know enough about it to tell you it's gonna be a lot of work, and probably new parts.

[Terry in Australia]

G'Day Mate, keep looking at eBay for a seat and you'll find one, no problemo. Re: unseizing your engine, assuming that it is seized from sitting for a while and not seized from terminal engine failure, remove your spark plugs (be careful, I've removed spark plug threads on one engine that sat with the plugs in it for many years) and tip some penetrating oil, or diesel fuel, (or both) into the plug holes and leave it overnight, or even a few days if you can.

Put the bike up on the centre stand and put the engine in gear and try to turn the back wheel forward, or rock it back and forth. Better than trying to stand on the kick starter, that can put undue strain on the gearbox components and do more damage. Don't try turning the big alloy "nut" on the ignition end of the crank, you'll just bugger it, but you can remove the alternator cover and put a bit of pressure on the rotor retaining bolt head with a spanner and a big "Jimmy Bar" for extra leverage, if you'd prefer.

Failing all the above, remove the headlight, speedo, tach and turn signals, then either point the bike down a very steep hill or get your best buddy to tow you behind his pickup, and when you get to a suitable speed, (under 60 MPH is a good idea) pop it into gear and dump the clutch! It'll either a. un-sieze itself, or b. you'll have the most spectacular "endo" and your buddy will wish he'd had the presence of mind to bring his cam-corder!

If option b occurs, I need a headlight, speedo, tach, and turn signals............... Ha ha, Cheers, Terry. 

[neu]

thanks guys, i really appreciate it... this bike is becoming quite an obsession of mine now.. it's in such good shape except for the engine being seized, i just wish i had a little more money to fix it up right... im planning on rebuilding it soon, but now im just wanting to get it running... or try... then i've started sanding the frame, cant wait to paint it and have it on the road...

[neu]

this is such a great bike, lol.. im proud of the story so i have to tell it although it is kind of sad... well this is a one owner bike, was bought by a friend of my fathers that in the 70's had a bike shop, he never had the chance to take it out of the crate to sell it, he was killed in an accident and his family kept all the crates of bikes/parts in storage untill 1988 when one of his sons picked this one out and started riding it, after a while he had children and his wife made him quit riding so he left the bike in his barn, and well years and years of weather took it's tole on the bike externally... he eventually gave it to my brother this past year, and my brother started to fix it, but never finished it, and left the carb assembly and exhaust off, along with one spark plug... but he did have it running at some point before this... but now i've got it, and plan on completing it.. the bike at this point has only 7659 miles on it, not rolled over, but the seat is missing in action. everything else is tiptop, needs some sanding and painting here and there but we'll manage! im glad to be a part of this forum now, should be helpfull

[carsholduptraffic]

it sounds like its broken seized, not sitting around too long siezed. filling the cylinders with possum piss(wd40 etc) and leaving it for a week may work if the rings are rusted to the bores. otherwise......clear a workspace, remove motor........have fun.

[neu]

any estimate on how much it would cost to rebuild the engine? if it is in need of a rebuild that is?

[ducmonza]

if the seat pan is still good, blast it and send it to Corbin.  They will create an awesome seat that you will not regret. OR look at the old bike barn website.  OR there are several places that you can get a seat cover, even jc whitney.  Go to the fabric store get foam and rebuild it yourself.

[RDRF3]

 Do a web search for motorcycle salvage yards for your town or state

[n9viw]

Picked up a great tip from a Yammy website on unsticking stuck engines- get an old spark plug and bash the porcelain out of it, take the ground electrode off too. Now, go find a pneumatic quick-disconnect at the hardware store that's just a scoche larger than the inner bore of the empty plug body, and tap the plug body out to fit the QD. Once that's done, take out all the spark plugs, juice up the cylinders with your poison of choice (I've always had good luck with P'Blaster) and thread your custom jobbie into one of them (preferably the one that's closest to TDC). Take off all the tappet covers and loosen them all so all valves are closed. You'll have to reset your valves after all these years anyway, so no worries.
Connect a blow gun or air chuck to the QD plug and give it a little blast. Now unthread it and thread it into the next cylinder. Keep working back and forth between the cylinders until you can blow one or the other down to BDC. At that point you should have enough crud scraped off to rotate the engine with the kicker, but bear in mind this is brutal on the rings/sleeves, so your engine's TTR (time to rebuild) is much reduced.
I heard another method similar to the above, but involved making a spark plug with a Zerk fitting on it and threading it into the cylinder closest to TDC and jacking the cylinder full of grease. Hydraulic pressure, pneumatic pressure, your call.
The best solution, IMO, would be to tip out the engine, strip it, and take the head WITH PISTONS in to a machine shop. They've got the tools to get them unstuck right, and maybe get you a bore hone and new rings while you're at it. While it's gutted, get the valves reground and the ports honed, and when your engine is all back together, it'll breathe fire!
Nick

[Quail "Owner of the comfortable k8"]

I HAVE A SEAT, GOOD PAN, COVER IS SHOT,   

[BarryKelly]

Regarding how much it costs to rebuild the bike:

Unfortunately, it seems these bikes are somewhat expensive for parts.   Fortunately, they are EXTREMELY simple to work on (get a manual, I have no experience with engines and have had no trouble taking it all apart), and with minimal tools and a clean workspace you can get everything going.  This is very satisfying, I'd recommend you try.

You can still get parts for these bikes (check ebay, find if you have a local shop that has people who know these old bikes).  I constantly am running into people who have had old SOCH4 Hondas or still have them, almost weekly.  However, parts seem to be pretty expensive, but at least they're still available.

What you might want to do is get an old engine as a scrapper or something.  You can sometimes get one for abotu $500, and to rebuild it would cost you at least that much (to just do the top end it's C$100 for gaskets, C$200 for pistons and rings etc).

However, all that being said I'd recommend you try - they're really pretty simple if you're not afraid to take things apart.

Cheers

Barry

[eldar]

Well first off, even a junk seat is going to cost you up to $100. Reason is that the 77 - 78 K models opened on the LEFT side. These style of seats were only made for 2 years. So unless you can actually look at it in person, make sure you go for a seat from between 77 - 78 A, K, or F model I dont think it matters.
As for parts, this depends on where you live. If you live in the northern part of the US, pickings will be much slimmer. The harsher weather will have done in more bikes.
Do a rebuild on the engine. With decent maintenance, the bike will go 100,000 probably. If you do the rebuild, check out doing a 836cc conversion. If you have to rebore, you may want to think about that.

[Dragman836]

Regarding how much it costs to rebuild the bike:

Unfortunately, it seems these bikes are somewhat expensive for parts.   Fortunately, they are EXTREMELY simple to work on (get a manual, I have no experience with engines and have had no trouble taking it all apart), and with minimal tools and a clean workspace you can get everything going.  This is very satisfying, I'd recommend you try.

You can still get parts for these bikes (check ebay, find if you have a local shop that has people who know these old bikes).  I constantly am running into people who have had old SOCH4 Hondas or still have them, almost weekly.  However, parts seem to be pretty expensive, but at least they're still available.

What you might want to do is get an old engine as a scrapper or something.  You can sometimes get one for abotu $500, and to rebuild it would cost you at least that much (to just do the top end it's C$100 for gaskets, C$200 for pistons and rings etc).

However, all that being said I'd recommend you try - they're really pretty simple if you're not afraid to take things apart.

Cheers

Barry

I so agree about the satisfaction you get and also urge you to go for it as for expense on parts I barter trade and sell and buy right here get a list of what you would need and post it in the wanted and I will go through my parts and try to help with low low sohc4 parts this forum has a bunch of great guys on it I have had nothing but great transactions on this site I recommend putting up the list of needed parts and give us a try.
Dennis