Topic: Project Back in black (75 CB750K)

[Old75_ratafe]

The brake light indicator lets you know if your brake light is on in case it gets stuck on. Some of those old rear brake switches get stuck open and your brake light will be on all the time. When you activate either one of the brakes you should have a light next to the neutral and oil pressure indicator lights come on. As for the third switch position I believe that it is a park position in case you are on the side of the road somewhere your tail light will stay on so people can see you.

Hmm my bike doesn't have that light... left to right goes turn signal, high beam, oil pressure, and neutral.  That would make sense except mine the buzzer stays on too when in that third position.  I suppose the harness has the provision for it just doesn't use it.

[Old75_ratafe]

Hey man, just wanted to say hello and that your bike's looking great.  I'm right down the road in Ferndale.  I just bought my first bike in September (a '77 cb750) and I'm enjoying watching your build while I work on my own.  I've only ridden my down the road once yet, had to rebuild my carbs and frankenstein them with another set I found on craigslist; not to mention my bike's still at my folks house in Auburn Hills.    Anyway, keep up the good work, I'll see ya on the road!

Awesome finally someone near me into these bikes!  I used to work in Ferndale doing around 8 mile and Woodward (right on the boarder of Detroit) doing commercial deliveries for Murray's.  I also lived in auburn hills for awhile great area I still need to get back out that way and cruise some of the 50mph back roads.  If you ever need some help or advice let me know man.

[nmarshall87]

Thanks man.  I'm not sure if you've heard of him yet, but just to put it out there check out Phil's cycle shop in Waterford if you need any parts. He's known as "The Honda Doctor" and has all sorts of OEM, used, NOS, and aftermarket stuff for old Hondas. Just wanted to share that with you, as I've gone to his shop a few times now. Let me know if you need anything and we can pool our resources. We should ride once we both get our bikes rolling next spring.

[Old75_ratafe]

Really cool hadn't heard of him prices decent?  And yea definitely should go for a ride sometime, my buddy has a 76 750F he rides and my cousin a 86 sportster 883. 

Oh yea a little update I picked up a set of dual piston calipers off a 82 I am gonna try and work into my dual disc setup.  And one other thing kinda ironic I was coming home from work turned down my street and decided I wanted to ride around a bit before I put her up for the night.... so passed my house stopped at the stop sign... went to take off and she decided she didn't want to go for a ride.... Whole bike quit no lights power NOTHING.  Pushed it half a block to my house got a flashlight and sure enough the 35 year old main fuse decided it wanted no part of this world and committed suicide! LOL  Popped a new fuse in and she fired right up and we went ridding for another 20 minutes.  Just found it ironic that the bike decided to break down basically in front of my house... at least she waited till I got home 

Oh question for anyone watching I've been hearing / feeling this kinda clank when I hit my rear brake lately feels like its coming from the pedal any ideas? Just started doing it and the shoes are new.  I'm just worried something is loose.

[HedNut]

Wow...another testament to why these hondas are so great!  They wait till you're close to the homestead to poop the bed!! Excellent!! 

A clank in the rear brakes...and feeling it in the pedal!?....unless you can find a loose spot or interferance within the linkage....it's worth a rear wheel removal for some brake investigation....maybe one of the shoes are able to twist or roll forward when they start to clamp?? ...that's a good one! Let us know what it is when you find the culprit!!

[unitedguitar]

The brake light indicator lets you know if your brake light is on in case it gets stuck on. Some of those old rear brake switches get stuck open and your brake light will be on all the time. When you activate either one of the brakes you should have a light next to the neutral and oil pressure indicator lights come on. As for the third switch position I believe that it is a park position in case you are on the side of the road somewhere your tail light will stay on so people can see you.

Hmm my bike doesn't have that light... left to right goes turn signal, high beam, oil pressure, and neutral.  That would make sense except mine the buzzer stays on too when in that third position.  I suppose the harness has the provision for it just doesn't use it.

Well, I guess I was wrong about the taillight indicator. Some bikes have them but apparently these don't. You could always hook up a light bulb to it and see if it does anything. That is how I test to see if wires are hot. Not too sure about the buzzer either. I took mine off and haven't put it back on. It would make sense that it buzzes when the switch is in park mode so you don't forget to turn it off at some point in time. Saves your battery.

In reality, I don't really know anymore about the wiring on these than you do. I replaced the harness on mine and it took forever to figure out how to make it work properly. One wire was not the correct color according to the diagram and caused the whole system to not work. It's all a matter of trail and error and popping fuses to see what is what on these. Especially if the previous owner did some shoddy "repair" work.

[Old75_ratafe]

The brake light indicator lets you know if your brake light is on in case it gets stuck on. Some of those old rear brake switches get stuck open and your brake light will be on all the time. When you activate either one of the brakes you should have a light next to the neutral and oil pressure indicator lights come on. As for the third switch position I believe that it is a park position in case you are on the side of the road somewhere your tail light will stay on so people can see you.

Hmm my bike doesn't have that light... left to right goes turn signal, high beam, oil pressure, and neutral.  That would make sense except mine the buzzer stays on too when in that third position.  I suppose the harness has the provision for it just doesn't use it.

Well, I guess I was wrong about the taillight indicator. Some bikes have them but apparently these don't. You could always hook up a light bulb to it and see if it does anything. That is how I test to see if wires are hot. Not too sure about the buzzer either. I took mine off and haven't put it back on. It would make sense that it buzzes when the switch is in park mode so you don't forget to turn it off at some point in time. Saves your battery.

In reality, I don't really know anymore about the wiring on these than you do. I replaced the harness on mine and it took forever to figure out how to make it work properly. One wire was not the correct color according to the diagram and caused the whole system to not work. It's all a matter of trail and error and popping fuses to see what is what on these. Especially if the previous owner did some shoddy "repair" work.

Yea I took my buzzer off too    wiring is all 100% original no screwing around with it.  And mine from the factory had a main wire like that, they used a diff colored wire then like painted a ring around it the same color 

The pressure warning never went off before I cleaned the wiring and took the headlight and gauges apart and the gauge says pressure is good. Still 50~up when hot.

[Old75_ratafe]

Well in case anyone was wondering why no posts... Been to busy ridding    But that's pretty much done for the season.  So expect some updates!

[Old75_ratafe]

Yea so I haven't made any updates been to damn cold around here to work in the garage.  So a few things going on.  I got my all balls bearings, a new petcock, and the seals to rebuild the leaking forks (well they were leaking I think the oil ran out....). 

I'm really kinda on the fence between a sparto (limp dick, sausage ect) or a lucas style tail light. Tell me what you guys think.


I think I am also going to buy a cafeish seat and switch to superbike bars. 


I'm a big guy and my wrists can't take clubmans but I want something just a little lower too. 

Also looks like a deal I've been working on is about to go through so there should be two gold wings (one naked) and another 750 joining the fold soon.  And possibly a 550 if my friend ever gets his #$%* together.

[Old75_ratafe]

Just incase anyone was wondering about the oil warning light its still on.  I pulled the bucket again and retraced everything and also double checked the connections at the sender.  still nothing.  I've ridden the bike well over 100 miles now and not a single hickup I'm pretty sure if I had no pressure in one part of the engine it would have exploded by now.  I am thinking maybe the hole where the sensor picks up pressure is clogged with sludge.  It did sit for 3 years unrunning with the same oil in it and its at the top of the oil passages maybe its just gunky or stuck.

[Really?]

Momma's bike has the bars and the lucas style.  Two pics in sig.

[seanbarney41]

Yea so I haven't made any updates been to damn cold around here to work in the garage.  So a few things going on.  I got my all balls bearings, a new petcock, and the seals to rebuild the leaking forks (well they were leaking I think the oil ran out....). 

I'm really kinda on the fence between a sparto (limp dick, sausage ect) or a lucas style tail light. Tell me what you guys think.


I think I am also going to buy a cafeish seat and switch to superbike bars. 


I'm a big guy and my wrists can't take clubmans but I want something just a little lower too. 

Also looks like a deal I've been working on is about to go through so there should be two gold wings (one naked) and another 750 joining the fold soon.  And possibly a 550 if my friend ever gets his #$%* together.

Yeah Old 75...it's been  a brutal winter here in Michigan and now we gotta get our stuff together quick cuz spring is coming!  Hope to see ya around.

[Old75_ratafe]

Momma's bike has the bars and the lucas style.  Two pics in sig.

Yea I know Tipper thanks for the PM response   Definatly going with the super bike bars and different mirrors.  I think that, the seat and a new light will change the look of the bike.

Yeah Old 75...it's been  a brutal winter here in Michigan and now we gotta get our stuff together quick cuz spring is coming!  Hope to see ya around.

I hear you man and you just might my gf's mom lives out in Homer not to far from you we are out there about once a month or so.

[Really?]

I still have to eventually redo the seat.  Almost finished deciding what to do.  I am currently trying to figure out if I should cut the foam first or let the upholsterer do it.  I think I have decided on an upholsterer too.

[kpier883]

Great read.  I just discovered this thread this morning and read from start to finish.  Nice to see that you got it back on the road and enjoyed the summer riding. 

I don't know if you changed the bars yet, but I like Flanders bars.  They are a bit expensive, but made in the USA and have good chrome.  Specifically, I have the ST1100 bend on my '74 and it leans me into the wind a very slight amount but doesn't put pressure on my wrists.  They are pretty low rise compared to stock.  However, I did have to drill and dremel holes to run the wires through the bar.   I also feel that Randakk's has the best bar grips (Randakk's Amazing Grips) if you can't get yours to come off the old bars.  This setup was good enough for a one day longest ride of 1004 miles a couple of years ago.

Also thought I'd comment on the bike starting without choke.  My '74 doesn't need much choke either.  If I use it in warm weather I have to immediately turn it off after the bike starts or it will sound like it is loading up.  In cooler weather, I might leave it on for 20 or 30 seconds particularly if it has been a while since it was last run. 

I did notice Keyster rebuild kits in the background on one of your pictures.  Some people say that Keysters cause the carbs to behave differently.  I will leave that to others to debate. 

My bike would soot up the plugs when I first got it so I changed to smaller idle jets and mains.  I believe I went from #40 idle jets to #35 and from #110 to #105 mains.  I only made one change at a time.  First I changed the idle jets and went from 29 - 32 mpg up to 31-35 mpg.  This stopped the plugs from fouling, but they were still showing rich.  Later I put in the 105 mains and the plugs run real clean now and I can get 40+-4 mpg.  I also recommend a new air filter before making any major changes. 

Overall, I picked up 8 to 10 mpg and no longer foul plugs.  The old setup wouldn't last two weeks before a plug would stop firing. 

Best of luck.  With Spring just around the corner I am looking forward to the next update.

[Old75_ratafe]

I still have to eventually redo the seat.  Almost finished deciding what to do.  I am currently trying to figure out if I should cut the foam first or let the upholsterer do it.  I think I have decided on an upholsterer too.

The one I was looking at tipper was off ebay one of the vietnam ones.  150 shipped all u do is attach the new foam and crimp the seat down along the original crimps.

[Old75_ratafe]

Great read.  I just discovered this thread this morning and read from start to finish.  Nice to see that you got it back on the road and enjoyed the summer riding. 

I don't know if you changed the bars yet, but I like Flanders bars.  They are a bit expensive, but made in the USA and have good chrome.  Specifically, I have the ST1100 bend on my '74 and it leans me into the wind a very slight amount but doesn't put pressure on my wrists.  They are pretty low rise compared to stock.  However, I did have to drill and dremel holes to run the wires through the bar.   I also feel that Randakk's has the best bar grips (Randakk's Amazing Grips) if you can't get yours to come off the old bars.  This setup was good enough for a one day longest ride of 1004 miles a couple of years ago.

Also thought I'd comment on the bike starting without choke.  My '74 doesn't need much choke either.  If I use it in warm weather I have to immediately turn it off after the bike starts or it will sound like it is loading up.  In cooler weather, I might leave it on for 20 or 30 seconds particularly if it has been a while since it was last run. 

I did notice Keyster rebuild kits in the background on one of your pictures.  Some people say that Keysters cause the carbs to behave differently.  I will leave that to others to debate. 

My bike would soot up the plugs when I first got it so I changed to smaller idle jets and mains.  I believe I went from #40 idle jets to #35 and from #110 to #105 mains.  I only made one change at a time.  First I changed the idle jets and went from 29 - 32 mpg up to 31-35 mpg.  This stopped the plugs from fouling, but they were still showing rich.  Later I put in the 105 mains and the plugs run real clean now and I can get 40+-4 mpg.  I also recommend a new air filter before making any major changes. 

Overall, I picked up 8 to 10 mpg and no longer foul plugs.  The old setup wouldn't last two weeks before a plug would stop firing. 

Best of luck.  With Spring just around the corner I am looking forward to the next update.

Thanks man I appreciate the compliment. 

I was doing superbike bars baised on another members recomendation.  I love the looks of clubmans but I am a big guy and they are just two low for my wrists.  Yea I have heard of Randakk he's over on my Naked Goldwing forum.  Didn't know he did grips though I'll check it out the ones on there are cheap ebay HD knockoffs.  They are comphy but cheap. 

Yep I used Keysters cause its what I could find for reasonable prices.  Didn't know the drawbacks till later.  What I found after I rebuilt them from another thread is that the idle screws have holes drilled in them to get the kit back to stock u need to fill them with epoxy (like jb weld) and then carefully sand them down.  other than that my carbs were dead stock and I could not tell the difference between the honda factory parts and the keysters... For the price I am happy with them.  I think I paid 60 shipped for all 4.

I am running a little rich but not enough to foul the plugs after 100+ miles.  I also have a few other issues that I haven't delt with causing some lack in performance and weird start ups (and no response after 3/4 throttle).  My petcock leaks a very tiny bit and my float I set 1 to 2 mm to low so my bowls leak on the side stand if I let the bike sit long.  I also never went back and dialed in my timing when I installed my dyna or adjusted my valves.  Also when I rebuilt my carbs I didn't know about the bench sync using a drill bit so I just did it by eye.  And to top all that off I have a little bit of a exhaust leak on one pipe and decided to use iridium plugs and not retune.   Oh and a K&N filter lol.... So yea my bike needs a lot of tuning still. 

I did up the mileage once and it was something like 30 to 35.  All of that has been stop and go around town, most of it pretty heavy into the throttle and the rest a lot of idling.

[Really?]

I still have to eventually redo the seat.  Almost finished deciding what to do.  I am currently trying to figure out if I should cut the foam first or let the upholsterer do it.  I think I have decided on an upholsterer too.

The one I was looking at tipper was off ebay one of the vietnam ones.  150 shipped all u do is attach the new foam and crimp the seat down along the original crimps.

I have looked at them a few times.  I did read somewhere on here that the cover was basically crrap though.  Even with that, i would have to cut the foam down to meet the purpose of the build.  I would prolly make a mess of it.

Basically, I need the seat lowered a bit more for the driver.  I want it to look a little cafe'ish in that aspect but also have the stock look or at least somewhat like that.  I do not know if I really want any piping but the stock one has it...

[Old75_ratafe]

I was talking to someone on here (might have been industrial could be wrong) and they said it was ok quality and decently comfy.  I mean #$%* my stock is made of vynle and held together with black duct tape and chunks of the foam missing... Can't imagine this would be worse lol

[Old75_ratafe]

Well the seat should be here any day... What they don't tell you is that the seat is shipped to the US in 3 days, but the US customs can delay it up to 18 day...    Would have been nice to know that before I did the buy it now lol.  I also could not decide on the Lucas or the limp sausage style tail light... So I got both.  Figured I'm gonna be building two more bikes in the next year or so and I could use whatever one I don't use on mine on one of them.  Also I just ordered the drag bars in (gasp) chrome, new mirrors (half black half chrome), and new black machine turned grips.  I have a set of (GSXR?? nighthawk??) controls laying around and am planing on using them plus the new grips and mirrors on the drag bars and then just mounting the whole thing together and see how I like it.  After I bought the drag bar I of course looked at someones bike again (glares at TipperT accusingly   ) I'm already wishing I had bought the super bike bars instead.  Oh well if I don't like the drags maybe they'll end up on the goldwing.

OK keep in mind I have a set of polished hex head bolts waiting to go on the bike.  What do you all think about painting the engine and carb bodies in crinkle black, then polishing the bowls, valve caps and the edges of the engine fins with the hex set to set it off.  

I've also come to the conclusion that my stock pipes are gonna need some repair work soon and the header pipes are rusting pretty bad.  I think I can add some metal and weld them decent again... But the chrome will be shot.  I was thinking of cleaning up the header pipes, ceramic painting them and then using header wrap on them.  Then painting the tailpipes semigloss black like the tank and side panels and polishing the heat shields leaving the center inserts on them flat black.

I've also decided to tal strip my tank, fill the emblem spots, repaint it, and if possible re-polishing or getting a new chrome gas cap.  I think I am also going to do some sort of Honda graphic or smaller more streamlined badge on the tank and maybe some 750 graphic on the side covers.

Also on the list is rebuilding the forks, replacing the rear shocks with 1" lower ones and lowering the forks a tad.  Still want to do the dual disc and air cap conversion I talked about.  Replace the front bearings. Changing my fuse box over to the blade style box I made last year.   Shorten the rear fender 1 to 2 inches.  I'm sure I'm forgetting things.  But damn if this weather doesn't need to warm up!

Oh I almost forgot (looks around for spiky to see if he's watching)... I think its time to add a few chamfered holes... 

[Old75_ratafe]

Little mini update.  Decided to mount my the "limp sausage" tail light.  That worked out good and you can see in the pics the the old holes but with the plate on they are covered.  I still need to get a light for the plate so the cops don't bug me though, the light didn't come with one. 

I also decided to mock up my drag bars with the GSXR controls, new grips and lower profile nighthawk master cylinder.... Yea few issues there.  In order to mock it up properly I had to completely remove my current controls and undo my main harness.... every connection in the rats nest...grimces...

SO I get it all mocked and realize the gsxr controls have no provisions for mirrors... Duh they would be mounted on the fairing. Or provisions for a clutch.  But a bonus is they are designed to run their wires on the outside of the bars... Annnd they are a older model that their fittings are sideways for the throttle linkage.  So they're not gonna be usable.  At least not without custom cables.

[Old75_ratafe]

Another little setback was when I mocked everything up I realized the new mirrors although now even with the bar ends were still not providing any better viewing... Which lead to a measurement and a little research.  Our stock bars are a little over 32" wide.  Drag bars are only 28" at least all the mass produced ones floating around.  So I've come up with a solution.  I ordered some bar end mirrors and am thinking about using another set of stock controls and cutting the mirror tabs off and polishing some parts.  I've also been looking at making some knee dents on my spare tank as I've noticed with the new position my knees really hug the tank and I am thinking once I get the new slimmer seat its just gonna be worse.

I also decided to dress up some parts on the bike here and there and bought some stainless acorns and allen heads.  If you look close you will see them on the bar mounting clamp / dummy lights, and the gauge mounts.  After looking at the pics a little harder I am considering bending a spare gauge mount to lower their angle a bit.

One last thing I think I have settled on crinkle black for my engine casing.

[Really?]

It's coming along perty good.  Rear viewing is a feat with the ones I have.  I have heard the cheapies will blur a bit at speed.  They are right.

[MasterChief750]

nice looking bike you got going there keep it up

[Old75_ratafe]

It's coming along perty good.  Rear viewing is a feat with the ones I have.  I have heard the cheapies will blur a bit at speed.  They are right.

Yea Tipper I tried to buy a set that looked a little nicer than most of the cheaper ones.  The ones I got the mirrors are mounted to the frames with chrome allens Vs. the glues on ones so we'll see.  I'm gonna try the drag bars for a bit and if I don't like them well O well then I'll change to super bike.  Now I'm just worried the cables will be to long.  Custom cables are $$ and I'm basically at the limit of what I was gonna spend on it this year.

nice looking bike you got going there keep it up

Thanks I just was gonna go out and change a headlight...... and kinda got on a roll lol.  The light worked great.... To bad I took it off and "untangled" the wire harness


Oh a little side note my GF signed up for her bike safety cert class and if you all recall I was gonna get a 79 cb650 rolling frame for her.  Well I talked the guy out of the engine, carbs and exhaust and everything else he had for the bike too... Its a basket case like mine was but I'm picking the whole bike up with title for under $80  So I got her a surprise B-day present (later this month) lol.  She was already geeked about getting just the frame now she's gonna have a complete bike minus the gauges and front brakes... O wait that's right I already have those in spare parts I've been scrounging.   She wants to do a semi gloss pink and black paint scheme..... I think I'm gonna call it "Project Pretty in Pink" (one of her favorite movies).   I'm gonna hide the engine and spare parts till her b-day and surprise her with it.   I'll Post some pics later.