Topic: HELP! Where to start? Gameplan/To Do List? (LONG)

[HackNslashCustoms]

Help, I need a gameplan!

Hello all. My first bike. Just bought a 1976 Honda CB750? (don't know which yet) rattle can black all over everything! Think MadMAX! Runs strong until battery dies.

Known problems are: Charging problems and oil leak at stater/regulater (will check if it is the hole the wires go through), and crazy lights (signals/headlight work intermittently). Holes in the pipes. I can't afford to go to the "stealer" so I'll be doing everything until it gets out of my scope or requires special equipment.

Question: What should be on my "TO DO LIST" to get this road ready? To my untrained eye all I can see is asthetics, cleaning parts, polishing aluminum, getting tanks painted, swapping H. Bars, changing wheels....Please, I'm trying to make a to do list and without past knowlege to draw on I'm clueless for this build. My worries are that I will spend all the budget on asthetics and there will be some unseen gremlins lurking that should have been addressed.

Goal: I want to build/restore a mild Cafe racer for under $2000 (I have $1450 left). I'm pulling a ton of favors for the paint, pinstriping and body work. They said they will paint the frame for free too, although I wanted to powder coat it. But on my beer budget with a champagne taste...

THINGS DONE SO FAR:
1 Carbs were cleaned and adjusted.
2 Air box was removed and 42mm K&N Style filters installed.
3 NGK Spark Plugs
4 New Battery
5 Oil change, New filter, replaced drain plug.
6 Front Brake Checked

Any tips, advice, or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance, Joel

[KB02]

My suggested list is this:

1.) Fix the charging system.
   It's great that it will run while you have a good battery, but that will only get you a dozen miles or so (ask me how I know). That should be your first priority.
2.) The oil leak.
   Are you going to rebuild the engine as part of the build? If so, this should fix the leak as long as you use new gaskets and such. If not, it might be just a matter of changing that left side gasket.
3.) The crazy Lights.
   Check the wiring harness for bare, stripped, pinched wires. Any one of those could be causing the lights to go crazy.

After that you're really onto asthetics. Sounds like you;re going to have to replace your eghaust anyway, so let the look you want guide you in that direction.

That's my suggestion anyway. That's basically the route I have takem with my Bike (still in progress as it may be.)

[Buffo]

Stop worring about anything but that charging system...if you need parts it can geat a large hole in that 1400...

I am not good with Electronics...my K8 is in the shop for blowing fuses right now.   

Buffo The Magnificent

[Einyodeler]

Checked out your website and it looks like you`re not a newbie at working on vehicles.
  Man I love that Continental with the suicide doors

Go to the FAQ`s section on this site and scroll down to Manuals and you can download a shop manual with the wiring diagram.If it`s a `76 then it`s a K6

 Get your trusty multimeter out and click on "fault finding" below to download the trouble shooting chart then follow this chart to track down your charging problem.



Also here`s a simplified wiring diagram to let you see what color wires go where.

   

[HackNslashCustoms]

Awesome guys thanks!

KBO2: I don't think I'm going to do a rebuild since the mechanic said I really didn't need it at this time as it all checked out good and said it runs strong. Thanks for the tip on checking for bare wires.

Yeah...the exhaust...I think your right there isn't really any way of saving it aside of cutting and welding up some pipes then Hi temping it black. Which could look trendy, or fugly.

Buffo the Magnificent: You are right. I can't argue with you. This does have me worried so I will be tearing into it tomorrow to see if I can fix the leak, clean the electronics and get it charging.

Einyodeler: Hehe, yeah...I've had my hands in one or two vehicles.  . I too love the Continental (Land yacht), Originally I was buying it and my told my brother and he beat me to it. Oh well, kept me outta trouble. Now I get to enjoy it and leave him with the headeaches when a problem arises.

Cool thanks for the tip on the manuals. I bought a Claymers? but a lot isn't covered. Now I've gotta dig out the multimeter.

Thanks you guys, if anyone else has anything to offer keep it up.
Thanks, Joel

[Buffo]

In my ever so humble opinion the Cymer manual stinks. 

[HackNslashCustoms]

In my ever so humble opinion the Cymer manual stinks. 

My thoughts exactly. It leaves out sooo much and is cumbersome to navigate. Which ones have you guys found that are good. I will definitely be checking out the tech docs on this site also.

[Terry in Australia]

Which ones have you guys found that are good. I will definitely be checking out the tech docs on this site also.

Get yourself a copy of the factory manual mate, written by the guys who built your bike. Get your wiring and oil leaks sorted so it's a reliable "daily rider", then use it for awhile to ensure that it's really what you want, then look at Ebay for a spare tank and sidecovers so you can get them painted while you're still riding it, once you're happy with the bike and the look with the fresh paint, wait until winter and strip it down for the frame repaint (make sure they use "2K" paint, it looks great, and is tough) and "Cafe Conversion". Most important though, make sure it's really what you want, or else you're just p*ssing your money away on something you'll never really enjoy. Cheers, Terry.

[dusterdude]

buffo,have you asked the k8 god for help on your wiring?

[HackNslashCustoms]

OK, this is nuts! My brother and I have been driving it around town to work and all over for about a week now. It seems to be charging. Although...after riding it around, it won't electric start, but starts right up on a light Kick.

We thought it might be draining when parked so we have been disconnecting the battery for periods longer than 8 hrs. But then got lazy and the last 2 days we haven't been disconnecting it at all. Damnit! Where is my Mulitimeter?  To make things crazier it isn't leaking oil anymore either. (YES IT HAS OIL IN IT) 
All I have done so far is check for frayed wires at the fuse block (which broke btw). Where can I buy another? Gunked/degreased and washed the whole bike. Wow thats a purty turd! Soo much potential!

[Geeto67]

Start by checking every lead on the harness. I had a charging problem on a bike once that turned out to be a short at the voltage regualtor, not the stator. These bikes don't really charge below 1500 rpm and even then they don't charge all that much. What numbers are you getting off your multimeter below 1500 and above? If you have the old cap style VR you can pop the cap off and adjust them, but it is much better for your system to clean all the contacts first.

As for the oil, if the bike was sitting then the gasket may ahve dried up, and use may be swelling it again. Of course you should replace ti eventually, when it starts to leak again.

[KB02]

Check the water level in your battery. My brother had a Suzuki Katana once that had a simular problem. It would start, albeighit a little weak, when cold, run great, but then would not start once it was warm. The problem got progressively worse untill we stopped by a shop to have them check the charging system. It was charging just fine. The problem was that the battery was bone dry. (and he even went to college for Automotive Tech!) It's a simple thing to overlook.
It might be worth getting a new battery anyway. Sometimes they just wear out.

[HackNslashCustoms]

suprisingly I'm usually the one on the soapbox with this one with my friends. But sadly I forgot to check it. I'll check in the morning. LOL    OOPS.

[Killer Canary]

The Canary was doing the same thing electrically and it turned out that one of the five leads on the rectifier had maybe a two millimetre long slit inthe insulation that allowed water in, which rotted the individual strands.
Sometimes they would contact and life was good , other times it would stop charging.
Good for me since the reason I got the bike so cheap was the electrical problem and that was easy to fix.
Eye-ball everything closely; what gave it away was ahint of green copper rot on the insulation.
Good luck.

[HackNslashCustoms]

Good for me since the reason I got the bike so cheap

Me too.[/color] $450. I thought it was a good deal considering prices of em here.