Topic: New Bike, Classic Sohc4 look?

[excellrec]

I recently rebuilt a '77 750 f2. While I love the way it looks it's seriously lacking in performance all around. I don't necessarily need more acceleration or power because I've already got more power than I've got handling. I've seen people left and right pouring their all into making these old things perform more like the newer sport bikes. Anything from tacking on newer parts, mono shock conversions, new front-ends.. etc. This all seems like a pretty wasteful endeavor to me as even if you do tack on modern parts you're still not benefiting from the engineering that was put into the complete bike as a whole that those parts came from.

So with that in mind. I figured I'd just get a GSXR and make it look like my honda, I feel like this is a much easier route to take as it's a lot simpler to mess with the aesthetics of a bike than it is to sit and try to re-engineer an old bikes performance completely. Has anyone attempted things like this? I know it's not a walk in the park but I feel like it's the easier of the two options in merging newer performance with older cosmetics. Interested to hear any thoughts or experience with this.

[Retro Rocket]

Gday excellrec, i would have to say that it isn't too hard or expensive to make these old bikes handle well, they should easily handle the standard power plus some with very little modification at all. There are a lot of guys on here that race these bikes and i have had nearly 20 of these bikes over the years {3 now} and i can guarantee you that my bikes have always handled well. Most of the bikes i have had, have been kitted {810 836 850 900}  and have all been ridden hard. I always use a steering damper, some gusseting and good springs and shocks, these days you can even buy emulators for the forks on these bikes. I had a very well set up 810 kitted K2 that used to eat my mates Z1000..... I am expecting my 1000cc build to do the same to some much newer bikes......Terry might chime in as well, he's got a couple of really nice examples that handle very well....

Mick

[Silverback]

I have a bike that has full Ohlins suspension and I have my CB750s. I will say that, once you get acclimated to the handling of the CB, you will find it handles quite well. Upgrades to the suspension, steering, tires and swing arm make for a bike that I can push just as hard as the full fledged sport bike. The best part is that I can rev the hell out of the CB, push it hard and I'm not doing 175 mph. I can feel the frame flex, but I find that flexy frames make for really fun road bikes and are a bit more manageable when a mistake is made.

For track use, I would add in a bit more frame support, if I was going for every last ounce of performance.

[mlinder]

Good luck making a gixxer look like an old bike :/

I mean, they are fundamentally different in design, thus, look completely different structurally.

There are plenty of people here who have made their CB's faster than you should ride on the road on any bike.

There are some who've made em plain ol' stupid fast.

Then again, I've ridden with people like Paulages and Prosolar on pretty stock, mostly stock, and sometimes falling-apart SOHC's and completely embarrassed sport-bike riders who were actually trying to go fast.

A well set up F should be able to get you around the canyons faster than anyone should legally go.

[excellrec]

Another factor I'm considering here as well is cost. The amount of money it would take to get my old cb750 running like a modern sport bike.. I feel like I'm going to go over double what the cost would be to fetch a used gsxr that already outperforms and do some cheaper cosmetic work. I do realize that there are huge fundamental design differences in the frames and general bike geometry that presents a challenge in making a modern bike look like an older one. This is the reason I think using a modern bike is a good idea performance wise. Also, when I say making it look like an older bike I do mean somewhat of an artistic interpretation of that rather than a full on recreation of a cb750 on a modern bike.

[wookie]

The cb750 was in many regards the first sportbike.  Part of the charms of these old things are the fact that you feel like you're riding a bike, not a rocket..

I love reinventng the wheel but i too could have bought a bike which was faster and better handling for a LOT less than what I have into mine.  Would i have done it differently? 

not a chance.

Build your 750, you won't look back and people won't stop looking at you either. 

[Silverback]

Another factor I'm considering here as well is cost. The amount of money it would take to get my old cb750 running like a modern sport bike.. I feel like I'm going to go over double what the cost would be to fetch a used gsxr that already outperforms and do some cheaper cosmetic work. I do realize that there are huge fundamental design differences in the frames and general bike geometry that presents a challenge in making a modern bike look like an older one. This is the reason I think using a modern bike is a good idea performance wise. Also, when I say making it look like an older bike I do mean somewhat of an artistic interpretation of that rather than a full on recreation of a cb750 on a modern bike.

A CB will never run and behave like a modern sport bike (period). I spent 1K on my last CB. It runs and handles like a dream. I guess that it is a bang for the buck issue and the desire to learn how to handle what you are riding. Why not spend 3K on an every day gixxer and have your CB to remind you of where it all started? I ride both types of bikes with equal enjoyment.

[Retro Rocket]

To be honest, there wouldn't be that many guys on this forum that could ride an old honda  to its limits. You would be surprised how well they handle when set up properly, {and i mean properly not just throw in some springs and expect miracles} granted that they are no where near modern but they handle very well when set up properly.

Mick

[DavePhipps]

I love riding my FZR which has more power and better handling than my CB. I also love riding my CB. It's a different exerience altogether. Both have more than enough power for the road that you would have to be well past all legal limits to go beyond thier capabilities.

My example is cb550 and zx6r on a backroad. He left me behind in the straights and I caught back up to him in every corner.
The lesson here, is that with street riding it's mostly the rider not the bike.

I would also say get a gsxr and a cb. Both are great bikes

[68grandprix]

+1 on it being mostly the rider. I went on a ride with my buddy, on a curvy stretch of road near Anamosa, IA. He was on his FZR600 and I was on my stock-suspended/engined '75  CB750. I beat him to town since the road didn't have many straights. In this case I was just crazier than him (and I almost crashed a couple times, which isn't suprising since after that ride I found out my right fork leg was rusted out underneath the headlight ear, and had pumped out all the fork oil!).

[MaaseyRacer]

Something like this?
http://hellforleathermagazine.com/2010/08/custom-honda-cb1100-four/

[68grandprix]

Pretty badass, but it needs three more pipes. And spoked wheels.

[MaaseyRacer]

Pretty badass, but it needs three more pipes. And spoked wheels.

Agreed.