Topic: Paddy - '78 CB750 - Version 3.0 Coming Soon!

[theofam]

Hi, I'm Sean, and I'm a craigslist addict. I'm neck deep working on Seamus, my CB550, and, all the sudden, I had to have this:





His name is Paddy. He's a 32-year-old 1978 CB750K. I don't have room for him, so he'll go live with my buddy Bob for awhile.

He's a pretty good lookin' kid. He's not plagued with the rust of his brother Seamus, which'll save some bucks.  I'm thinking he'll be close to stock, but i want to have a flat, two-up seat and lower bars.

At first blush, I think Paddy'll need:
Carbs rebuilt
Head gasket
Seat
Side covers
Headlight and bucket
Rear turn signal lenses
Tires
Chain
Handlebars
Clutch adjustment

I decided I want to unveil Seamus on St. Patrick's Day, so while Paddy is hanging out for awhile, I'll be collecting the above parts in hopes of finishing Paddy quickly.

If you have some of the above parts, please let me know!

[brandEn]

Congrats on your new family member. The first step in recovery is to admit you have a problem. LOL

[SOHC Digger]

Nice find!  I too am a CL addict.  I also just picked up a 78K on CL Friday.  And people say the bikes aren't out there.  They are!  You just have to keep a weathered eye out!

[MoMo]

CL addict?  Every bike I own has come from there, so I guess I'm an addict too, but not recovering as I plan to continue.  Larry

[theofam]

I'm in good company, then!   Glad to know several of us have no intention of kicking the CL addiction!  If I had space, my place would look like a salvage yard! 

I was just in my garage trying to figure out a way to shoehorn Paddy in there.  It's gonna kill me having him 45 minutes away at my buddy's place while working on Seamus, because I don't think it'll take much to get him going, and parts are already on the way . . . ARGHH!

[Stev-o]

CL addict here too! [it's better than the hard stuff!]

Guess what? I picked up a '77 K too! [it's the same as a '78]

Yours looks better, I paid $300, you?



I already threw the seat away! Found a great one for $75 from a member.

[SOHC Digger]

Everything is money on these bikes, Stev-O!  I had a seat worse than yours on another bike that I didn't think was worth anything.  A guy who came over to look at some other parts gave me $20 for it.  After that, I don't throw anything away.  Somebody somewhere wants it and every two bucks you get from selling something old will be two bucks you can spend on something you want.

[Stev-o]

Everything is money on these bikes, Stev-O!  I had a seat worse than yours on another bike that I didn't think was worth anything.  A guy who came over to look at some other parts gave me $20 for it.  After that, I don't throw anything away.  Somebody somewhere wants it and every two bucks you get from selling something old will be two bucks you can spend on something you want.

Yeah, but when storage space is at a premium, it's time to toss!
I had another like it, sold it for shipping charges.

[theofam]

Stev-o, I paid $290 for it, but mine isn't titled. That'll cost about $120 and eight hours of running around to various government offices. I'm jinxing myself, but I don't think it'll take too much to get it going (fingers crossed)!  Very cool that you picked up a '77, too.

SOHC Digger, good advice on keeping extra parts. How does it go?  One man's junk is another man's treasure?  Just hope I didn't buy the junk today!

[Little_Horse]

Im subscribing!

[SOHC Digger]

You didn't by junk.  Even if you had to part it out, the engine and carbs will get you your $290 back alone!

[theofam]

Paddy made his trip to his new home yesterday!  I'd read on others' builds they wished they'd washed their bikes before starting the tear down.  I wish I'd done the same on Seamus, so Paddy got his first bath in quite a while.  He cleaned up pretty well:




The booty shot - his pipes weren't level, so I've since straightened them out:


The gauges are super nice, and no dings:


Although the area around the opening looks a bit junky, the tank inside is dang near perfect (bad shot):


I dig seeing old stuff still in tact:




The top end has a leak, but the bottom end looks like it has never leaked a drop of oil.  And, AND, the clutch cover, ignition cover, etc., are all in GREAT shape!  No dings/dents.

I even wondered if the chrome would clean up some.  After a couple minutes on the fender and a 12" strip of the front rim, I got these pics:



I think Paddy'll clean up very nicely.  So, all I have to do is the minor issue of getting it running.  I pulled the battery last night, added distilled, high quality H2O, and have it on the battery tender. No luck yet, but here's to hoping it'll establish a charge.

I also pulled off the #1 carb bowl and cleaned it out.  I then pulled the air filter box (PITA) in hopes of just cleaning out each of the bowls and jets I could get to.  #2 was not happy.  It had a bunch of the white, corrosive looking powder in it.  So, off came the tank, throttle and choke cables, and carbs.  I started to disassemble the #2 carb, but I can't get the dang float arm pin out.  ANY IDEAS?  On Seamus, they all slid out fairly easily.  So, I tried the #1 float arm pin, no luck, either.  HMMMM.

Also on the to do list, order a new clutch cable.  I think the PO used a shorter one, because it's routed through the pipes and has melted the coating in spots.  It won't engage the clutch.  You can see how it's routed here:


I also need to figure out the front brake.  It has fluid in the MC, but the lever has no resistance and pulls to the throttle grip.  My 550 has a brake switch down by the headlight, so it has two brake lines.  One from the lever to the switch.  A second from the switch to the caliper.  Paddy only has a single line from the MC to the caliper.  Is this how the 750s are set up?  I haven't even looked to see how the front brake would trigger an electrical signal to the tail light.  Any 750 knowledge would be great!

That was it for Day One!

[Little_Horse]

for tail light activation check the lever and master cylinder assembly for a mechanical switch. Seamus most likely uses a inline pressure switch instead. I believe this is normal. Expect that if the front brake has issues now that it will need to be rebuilt. The master cylinder should be rebuilt and so should the caliper. I have pulled a lot of hair out trying to resist have to do this and in the end I still had to so don't fight it save your hair 

[Stev-o]

Looks like she cleaned up good. I did the same thing whenI first bought mine, Gunk Foamy engine cleaner worked well.

Mine came with a similar seat as yours, so 70's! I tossed mine and found a stock from a member for $75.

What is your plan for a seat?

[theofam]

cornandp, I can't afford to lose more hair!  I was hoping to minimize costs on Paddy, which means not rebuilding a bunch of stuff.  But, you're right, I should rebuild the MC and caliper.  Thusfar, the only time I've feared for my life was when I was applying compressed air to Seamus' caliper to remove the frozen piston.  It blew out of there so forcefully and quickly, I couldn't even find the piston for awhile!  I was hoping to avoid that process, but I don't think I'll be that lucky.  I'll probably wear my Shoei this time, though!

Stev-O, as for a seat, I've paid shipping on another member's well-worn seat pan.  So, once it gets here, I'll have it blasted, PC'd and then I'll get to the foam/cover work. I'm going to keep Paddy stock looking, so it'll be a two-up seat.  However, I'd like to go with some thin, dense foam in hopes of not building up a thick, king/queen-type seat.

I've been excited to think I shouldn't have too much time in to Paddy before he's running again.  Then, I just went to my dad's to check out a bike he bought yesterday from a buddy.  Turns out it's a PRISTINE 1990 CBR1000F with, get this, 3,291 miles!  There are two light scratches (will likely wax out), and it needs a battery and an allen bolt on the fairing - that's it!  $2K.  You guys would load your drawers if you saw it.  Twenty years old, and it looks like it just came off the showroom floor.  He'll be riding this afternoon while I'm ordering stuff of the 'net and tinkering.

[Little_Horse]

next time you blast out the piston with air wedge a towel in there to catch it before it rockets through walls or windows... I have done the same thing myself so...

we need pics of that pristine cb1000f

[theofam]

Crappy, crappy day.  I spent it running a trailered Paddy around to various government buildings and a dealership to get all the necessary paperwork in preparation for titling him.  Turns out the title is in a suspended (or surrendered) status in Montana, and I now have to notify the person of record with my intent to title.  Wish me luck!

Then, the bad news.  I have a road by my house that makes the moon look smooth.  I was noodling my title woes and paying less attention to my choice of roads home.  You guessed it. . . with horror I watched in the rear view as Paddy toppled on his right side.      Just earlier today, it was a PRISTINE, 32-year-old tank and now - a big #$%^ing dent in the right side.  I'm just shy of vomiting.  I need a drink.

[BruceDeuce]

Sucks Bro, well, turn the dent into knee pad and go Cafe

[theofam]

 BruceDeuce, I thought the same thing, but that's not within the budget of Paddy.  He's going to be your heavy buddy who burps, smokes and is a little rough around the edges while my 550 Seamus will be the lithe, short-tempered cafe.

Good to know someone out there feels for me!  BTW, I'm getting out on the FatBoy tomorrow for a lunch run with my dad on his new (to him) CBR1000F.  Of course, his newest acquisition is dent free and running like a top!

[Little_Horse]

sorry about the topple over.

I am impressed you even mess with title issues. Those make me look the other way with bikes. No title no deal... it seems it is hit and miss some though some turn out pretty easy others become a real pain.

[theofam]

The 550 couldn't have been easier. The 750 is proving painful. Today I decided only to buy titled bikes from here on.

[BruceDeuce]

BruceDeuce, I thought the same thing, but that's not within the budget of Paddy.  He's going to be your heavy buddy who burps, smokes and is a little rough around the edges while my 550 Seamus will be the lithe, tempered cafe.

Good to know someone out there feels for me!  BTW, I'm getting out on the FatBoy tomorrow for a lunch run with my dad on his new (to him) CBR1000F.  Of course, his newest acquisition is dent free and running like a top!

the Ol Lady and I went riding yesterday, wasn't bad out about 53 degrees and caught a little rain on the way home, but it was nice riding with my gal!

[knowsnothing]

Sorry to hear about the tank   But on the plus side, since everyone thinks these big old tanks are so ugly, they aren't that hard to come by  

I have 2 k8s myself.  I just got my "Paddy" running and registered.  My "Seamus" is still in boxes with good intentions and a small bank account 

[SOHC Digger]

Look on the bright side, you could put this tank on Ebay and advertise it as having one of the knee dents already installed for a cafe!  Seriously though, sorry to hear about that.

[theofam]

Digger, you must be in sales!  Thanks for the condolences.  The tank was too good to be true. Now I just added some character.