Topic: CB750 K6 #@%$*!

[DHolbrook]

Here we go.  Last summer I had a whim to get on a motorcycle and ride north (from Los Angeles).  I did a lot of research and choose a  CB750!  I wanted to buy and ride right away, so I went to ebay and bought a K6 750 in fatastic condition.  While I waited for it to arrive, (from Illionois) I borrowed my sisters 50cc Honda scooter and busted down and got my moto. license from the DMV.  When the bike arrived I was extatic, this was my first motorcycle!  After filling it with gas it started right away and I was teaching myself to ride moments later.

I rode the bike for the first time to mechanic in the area who specialized in SOHC4 Hondas.  He replaced the chain, installed clubmans, and gave me a basic tune-up.  

A week later I began my trip north.  I'm not going to get into it too much, but the bottom line is that I put 3k miles on my bike in 33 days, while camping.  I traveled from LA to Vancouver, then hitched rides (I was too cold and wet to ride) to Alaska, then back.  I was so impressed because aside from chain lube, my bike was flawless and maintenance free!  

Anyway, I then began riding my mortorcycle exclusively when I returned home.  After three months of daily LA riding, I had to stop.  I tore my ACL playing soccer and underwent surgery.  I knew I wouldn't be able to ride my beloved bike, so I decided to tear it apart and perform some upgrades.

This is where the build begins, with a 1976 CB750.  I previously rebuilt the master cylinder and front brake caliper.  The bike has 14k mikes and runs great.  I don't plan too many mechanical upgrades right now.  Still, wanted to make some classy upgrades and so I embarked...


Bike when I started, about four weeks ago












Too much junk in the trunk here



Here is my inspiration





My favorite tool, a magnetic strip above my workbench.  I got it at IKEA for like $10.  It was supposed to hold knives.  I love it, it keeps my bench free and my parts visible.



Cafe seat mock up.  I'm not a fan of shiny bulbous things, so I'll be trying to clean her up.




I tore into her, replacing wheel bearings with All Balls.  The spokes will be replaced soon.



This nail got all my wheel bearings out!



Replaced steering head bearings too, again, with All Balls



Bearings in the freezer, parts in the oven, this job came together nicely



Chop Chop



Will need to replace these cush rubbers too

[KB02]

Good Lord! I guess they need replacement!!

[Toxic]

Wow beautiful bike to start with ... kind of made me cry a little so see such a prestine bike turned into a cafe.

Don't get me wrong my project is a cafe but it's three parts bikes being "reborn".

Best of luck with your project.  It's your bike and you have the right to do with it what you want .... but dang.

[andy750]

Wow beautiful bike to start with ... kind of made me cry a little so see such a prestine bike turned into a cafe.

+1. Another survivor of 35 yrs gone....

[SohRon]

Wow beautiful bike to start with ... kind of made me cry a little so see such a prestine bike turned into a cafe.

+1 Seems a shame to cut up a survivor of 34 years and with only 11,000 miles, no less... looks to be in pretty sharp condition...  on the other hand, there won't be much work involved in turning it into a right smart cafe. And all the other stock survivors just jumped a bit in value.

[Toxic]

Well then if you are doing a cafe from such a beauty then ya better make it a stunner.

The presure is on now.

[kap384@telus.net]

Here we go.  Last summer I had a whim to get on a motorcycle and ride north (from Los Angeles).  I did a lot of research and choose a  CB750!  I wanted to buy and ride right away, so I went to ebay and bought a K6 750 in fatastic condition.  While I waited for it to arrive, (from Illionois) I borrowed my sisters 50cc Honda scooter and busted down and got my moto. license from the DMV.  When the bike arrived I was extatic, this was my first motorcycle!  After filling it with gas it started right away and I was teaching myself to ride moments later.

I rode the bike for the first time to mechanic in the area who specialized in SOHC4 Hondas.  He replaced the chain, installed clubmans, and gave me a basic tune-up.  

A week later I began my trip north.  I'm not going to get into it too much, but the bottom line is that I put 3k miles on my bike in 33 days, while camping.  I traveled from LA to Vancouver, then hitched rides (I was too cold and wet to ride) to Alaska, then back.  I was so impressed because aside from chain lube, my bike was flawless and maintenance free!  

Great story to kick off the ownership of your first SOHC!

[DHolbrook]

I hear ya, I hear ya. I just felt like I have too much creativity and ideas to be able to rebuild something the way it's already been done.  I knew from the get go that the rebuild would be a slippery slope. First I was just putting on braided steel lines, and electronic ignition. Then before I know it, I'm using the cutting wheel....

If it helps you guys any, all the stocker parts that aren't on the bike are going into a box which I'll give away to the forum here, except the seat and pipes.

[andy750]

How about the orange tank? Is that destined for a bashed in look and repaint?

[Johnie]

How about the orange tank? Is that destined for a bashed in look and repaint?

I think that is a red tank andy...

[DHolbrook]

Tank is a keeper, I will fix two dents then paint.

When I get this box-full-o-parts I'll put it on another thread.  I don't want members calling dibs all over my bike.

[dhall57]

I was going to keep my mouth shut, and keep my personal opinion to me, myself, and I, but I just can't. I think most of us on this forum buy these classic bikes to preserve them and to keep them from going extinct. I love the stockers, the CB750's 69-76 especially. I hate to see a beautiful original K6 dismantled. In my opinion in stock trim even if there 30 plus in years they still look better than allot of the new bikes out on the road today. Your a stronger man than me dholbrook, I wouldn't be able to do what you are doing, but WTH its your bike and your money so your entitled to do what ever you want to with it. I have a strange feeling though that your going to kick youself later for this.
 


















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[Ogri]

Amen.

Sick and tired of people coming to motorcycling with more money than sense or respect & tearing up original bikes when there are 1000s of bikes out there that are incomplete/damaged/unoriginal.

Yeah I know, we're all supposed to get along and welcome the new guys but last I heard a forum was a place where ideas were exchanged and debated. Not a place where people shook their heads in disbelief and remained diplomatically silent.

[Magpie]

I know it's his bike and he can do with it what he wants but I too am one of the guys that asks "why do that to such a gorgous bike?"
Cliff.

[Zpack]

  Hey don't be discouraged by these guys DHolbrook. When I got my '75 CB550F, everyone told me I should restore it to stock (even though it was in rough shape). "It'll be worth way more stock!" they said, well guess what; I didn't buy my bike for an investment opportunity, I didn't buy my bike to turn around and sell it, and I sure as heck didn't buy my bike to please the masses. When I cafe'd it, I did it because I wanted to build a bike that I wanted to ride, not because that was the hot thing. I get the feeling that some of these guys want to have these bikes regulated and put in museums so they will stay stock forever. At the end of the day, this is YOUR bike, make it look the way you want. And while I usually recommend that you start with a more wore out bike if you plan on making a bunch of changes, I wish you all the luck in the world

[75cb550 (kyle)]

i agree with Zpack. it's your bike, you are the one that has to enjoy it. i did cringe just a bit when i saw that fender cut up though. i would probably have held on to it and picked up another to cut on, but thats me...
again. good luck.
and by the way, hell of a way to pop your cherry on a bike you just bought... bigger balls than me.

[Bonafide]

Keep rockin it your own way DHolbrook and *middle finger* to all the haters for showing up in someone's project thread for no other reason than to criticize.

 

[Magpie]

Hater? I don't think so. I like all SOHC4's I just cringe a bit when I see a project bike like this one. And thanks for the middle finger, I haven't had one of those from a forum member for some time.
Cliff.

[dhall57]

I agree bikes are for riding, but I think what most members don't understand the logic behind is why track down a beautiful close to mint condition original K6 that needed nothing other than general maintenance and took DHolbrook on a 3k trip right out of the gates without even a whimper and than strip her down and redesign her. Was this his plan all along, if so why not just buy one that's still in good shape but has already been modified to some extent by the PO. There's alot of those type bikes out there I know because I bought one, but my goal is to get her back in stock trim not the other way around.
Its like buying a original Hemi Cuda taking it apart and making a kit car out of it. That's all I have to say.

[Magpie]

Well said - thank you.
Cliff.

[sangyo soichiro]

DHolbrook, don't take anything here personally.  It's just that the folks here have seen this happen over and over. 

I agree with the majority here, for what it's worth.  If someone really wants to test their skills and creativity, it takes a lot more skill and creativity to start with a $200 junk CB.  And everyone would praise this person as a hero. 

I'll admit... one of my pet peeves is bobbed front fenders. 

Once you dent the tank, there's no bringing it back to original.  If you really want to test your skills and creativity, how about welding up an aluminum tank from scratch?  Plus, you'll never have to worry about it rusting.   


So are you planning on doing any engine work?

[SohRon]

everyone told me I should restore it to stock (even though it was in rough shape). "It'll be worth way more stock!"

I think the point is that this bike is stock and apparently in near pristine condition that folks are a little chagrined to see this project proceed.  I certainly haven't seen this type of reaction to any of the  myriads of other cafe builds on this forum where bikes are being updated using major surgery; it's just that bikes in this kind of original condition are getting harder and harder to find, and anything in good original condition will always be more valuable than a restoration or modification, no matter how well it has been performed. It has (obviously) been well taken care of with pride and respect by someone during the last thirty-odd years and, in my opinion, it deserved to retain the lifestyle to which it had become accustomed, as they say. This is not what I would have done with this bike...

That said, it's a freakin' motorcycle and was made to be ridden, not stored away in a garage. If you're looking for a museum piece, they're still around; it's not the last CB750 in this condition out there. If this is what it takes to get this bike out on the road where it should be, then I say go for it. Starting with such a cherry bike should provide the basis for a killer cafe build. Ignore all of us grumbly old bastids; we'll get over it, eventually.

And, as I've pointed out before, the value of every other stock 750 just jumped up a notch...

*middle finger* to all the haters

Some people's children!  

[75cb550 (kyle)]

and welcome to the forum...


p.s. you should take the ends of the fender and weld them together and sell it as a one off custom cafe fender. wish i could weld.

[Muneio]

 

it's just that bikes in this kind of original condition are getting harder and harder to find.

(Start of slight thread hijack)
Hell in my area it seems like it's harder to find a CB that would fall into the acceptable project bike category then it is to find one in either excellent original condition, excellent restored condition or excellent modified condition. I haven't been able to find anything under $1000. within a 200 mile radius of me. But I'm not giving up, and will most likely have to expand that radius some. (End of thread hijack)

[DHolbrook]

Thanks Zpack, SohRon, Bonafide, and others.

Wow, lots of emotions here, and since I've been lurking around for a while so I respect your opinions.

Maybe my story is different from yours but tracking my bike down was as simple as going to ebay and being the highest bidder.  You should have seen me when it arrived, stock, I was ecstatic.  Gas in the tank and she started right up.  You couldn't have found a happier guy.  For 33 days i sat on her and rode her as far as I could with the time I had.  When my trip was over, the next day, I rode her to work.  I love this bike.  Bottom line is, I bought the best bike I could within my budget.  When I bought her she had 9k on the clock, that's why I wanted her so bad.  I know this is where we differ and maybe I have something to learn but I've always put value in mechanics, and I knew this bike was mechanically sound and able to take me on a long road trip.  I'm not trying to rub salt in the wound but the fact she had all her orig. parts is a side effect of a bike that has been kept in very great shape all her life.

I know I'm taking something classic and iconic, and tearing it up, but as crazy as it sounds to the majority of you, I'm making the bike more valuable to me, and that's what I care about.