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Author Topic: Classic or custom?  (Read 2258 times)

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Offline craig5_12

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Classic or custom?
« on: July 18, 2011, 09:28:44 AM »
Howdy fellas,
I'm new to the forum and glad to join such knowledgeable folks.  I year or so ago I got my hands on a '78 CB750 that sat for about 7 years out in the snow and rain and everything else.  My dad (the previous owner) said that he parked it because he thought it had a transmission problem.  He had ran over a big rock that made the chain break and then double up around the front sprocket and crack the aluminum shield that covers it.  It also broke the upper rear left engine mount (on the motor).  I covered and garaged it, but haven't worked on it except right after I got it I was able to start it on some fresh gas and cleaning the points.    It started fine and ran through the gears fine, but there was no chain to put any load on the transmission.
I now have some time to work on it and just got the motor pulled.  I was going to take it to an aluminum welder and have them fix the mount and then put the bike back together to ride...but then I started looking at some cafe racer pics.  It just so happens that I have a spare CBR929rr motor...and now the gears are turning...
For now I think I'll put the stock bike back together and risk having a transmission problem rather than waste much more time and money trying to get the 929 motor in there...but hmm...I may have a helluv a project if it doesn't work!
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Offline Really?

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #1 on: July 18, 2011, 09:30:35 AM »
Pics will get you a better chance of getting an answer on which way to go. 
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I don't have a motorcycle, sold it ('85 Yamaha Venture Royale).  Haven't had a CB750 for over 40 years.

The Wife's Bike - 750K5
The Kid's Bike - 750K3

Offline craig5_12

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #2 on: July 18, 2011, 11:30:19 AM »
As requested...

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Offline Really?

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #3 on: July 18, 2011, 11:36:36 AM »
To me, you could go either way - custom or classic.  It is your bike, build what you want, you have my approval.  :) ;)

I would say that broken piece could be fixed but i won't know how strong it would be.  You might clean up that entire area to see if anything else has been damaged with the case.

If it were me, I would stay with the SOHC motor in the bike.  Adding the CBR motor might be kewl but you will need to really stiffen that frame to handle the forces of that motor.  Besides, the SOHC motor is just so darn sexy!

I am sure you will get other comments regarding all of this.
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I don't have a motorcycle, sold it ('85 Yamaha Venture Royale).  Haven't had a CB750 for over 40 years.

The Wife's Bike - 750K5
The Kid's Bike - 750K3

Offline brandEn

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #4 on: July 18, 2011, 11:43:43 AM »
I agree keep the SOHC motor. But your bike looks like a perfect candidate for some customizing. I would look into some cafe or brat/bobber inspired build. You can find engine cases rather cheap on ebay or maybe even your local craigslist.
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Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #5 on: July 18, 2011, 12:14:55 PM »
I would vote custom too. I am an advocate of keeping clean original bikes as original, and if you had a low serial number K0 it might be worth restoring to original condition.

But since you have a late model K that appears to need lots of $$ to bring back to original condition I would recommend that you not bother. You would end up spending way more than the bike would be worth when it was done. You can probably build a nice custom for much less than the cost of a full restoration and you will enjoy the bike just as much because it's exactly what you want.
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"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline craig5_12

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #6 on: July 18, 2011, 12:29:08 PM »
Thanks guys, I think custom bobber is the way to go, with the SOHC motor.  Especially since I just saw this...(I don't know why I didn't notice before)  Hmm...I think I may run into an electrical problem in the future too...
Maybe I ought to just start fresh with... http://sacramento.craigslist.org/mcy/2498054927.html
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Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #7 on: July 18, 2011, 12:34:59 PM »
Go buy that bike RIGHT NOW. A built 836 for $450? The rest of the bike is a bonus.
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"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline craig5_12

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #8 on: July 18, 2011, 01:08:57 PM »
I called the guy and he is going to save it until I can look at it.  Sounds pretty complete, but the frame he was going to use has a lien on it.  He's got a ton of extras too.  I think I may be filling up my garage with CB stuff...
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KingCustomCycles.com

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #9 on: July 18, 2011, 01:28:08 PM »
You could do worse than filling your garage with SOHC stuff.  ;)
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Offline craig5_12

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #10 on: July 19, 2011, 07:15:55 PM »
Well, here is the full garage...time to organize and start building...
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Offline Stev-o

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #11 on: July 19, 2011, 07:51:23 PM »
First off, welcome!  I too vote for the SOHC motor, no surprise there.

The CL ad was deleted did you go look at the 836?
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'74 "Big Bang" Honda 750K [836].....'76 Honda 550F.....K3 Park Racer!......and a Bomber!............plus plus plus.........

Offline craig5_12

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #12 on: July 19, 2011, 08:24:59 PM »
Thanks Stev-o.  He deleted the ad after I picked up the bike/parts  ;)
It's the bike in the foreground and the 836 is the motor that's sitting on the tires.  The boxes are full of misc. stuff and the original quad exhaust is hanging in the background over the kegs. There is also another frame between the bikes that he already bobbed, that will end up being the complete cafe bike.  Back to the 836 though...I'm new to these bikes and didn't know the "836" existed until yesterday...how can I tell it's the actual thing?  Can you say noob...lol...
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Offline Stev-o

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #13 on: July 19, 2011, 08:40:59 PM »
Actually that is a good question. The only way I know of is to measure the pistons, but you'd have to pull the head.
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'74 "Big Bang" Honda 750K [836].....'76 Honda 550F.....K3 Park Racer!......and a Bomber!............plus plus plus.........

Offline craig5_12

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #14 on: July 19, 2011, 09:22:03 PM »
Lucky (hopefully) me, it's already pulled, he never put it back together after he "cleaned" it.  This is definitely a motor I want to tear down and rebuild.  It's been setting for awhile and has dog hair all over it.  The cylinder bore appears to be about 67mm...
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Offline Retro Rocket

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #15 on: July 20, 2011, 12:43:47 AM »
67mm is 888 or commonly reffered to as a 900 kit, 836 kits are 65mm.... ;)
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If You can't fix it with a hammer, You've got an electrical problem.

Offline Bankerdanny

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #16 on: July 20, 2011, 09:23:44 AM »
You got the pipes too for your $450? That's like getting the engine for free as a bonus.
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"The problem with quotes on the Internet is that you never know if they're true" - Abraham Lincoln

Current: '76 CB750F. Previous:  '75 CB550F, 2007 Yamaha Vino 125 Scooter, '75 Harley FXE Superglide, '77 GL1000, '77 CB550k, '68 Suzuki K10 80, '68 Yamaha YR2, '69 BMW R69S, '71 Honda SL175, '02 Royal Enfield Bullet 500, '89 Yamaha FJ1200

Offline the technological J

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #17 on: July 20, 2011, 10:31:19 AM »
nice finds! if your not planning on using that exaust and its in good shape sell it dont chop it!  take your time with this  i would have evrything bead blasted and then painted  i have seen people take short cuts here and in 3 or 4 years it looks like crap....
 but your off too a great start
cyclex is a great resource for some custom parts bobbed chopped or high performance...
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70 KO...sold to fund the ST http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=88800.0(Alpha)
74 Kaw 250 Enduro http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=124278.0
K4 added to collection! http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=104784.0
78 750K... http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=60257.0 (Omega)sold to fund the K4
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Offline craig5_12

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #18 on: July 20, 2011, 05:19:01 PM »
Thanks guys, I'm stoked that I found all that stuff for so cheap and I can't wait to start building.  I'll definitely take it slow and do it right, getting it bead-blasted and powdercoated will be on the "to-do" list.  I'll be leaning a lot on you guys since this will be my first tear down and build up.  I'm looking forward to the challenge and learning experience.
What do you guys think about putting the motor with the broken mount back in the bike?  I was thinking I could just run it like that, I'm not going to be hot-rodding or anything, just commuting to work...
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Offline the technological J

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #19 on: July 20, 2011, 09:36:06 PM »
where are u located? i know a guy who has a few bottom ends he might be willing to part with cheap
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70 KO...sold to fund the ST http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=88800.0(Alpha)
74 Kaw 250 Enduro http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=124278.0
K4 added to collection! http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=104784.0
78 750K... http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=60257.0 (Omega)sold to fund the K4
94 ST1100..Gone
72 750 K2 Stay tuned!

Offline Stev-o

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #20 on: July 21, 2011, 03:09:49 PM »
Post a pic of the broken motor mount. Obviously, it would be better to have it repaired first, maybe you could have it welded?
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'74 "Big Bang" Honda 750K [836].....'76 Honda 550F.....K3 Park Racer!......and a Bomber!............plus plus plus.........

Offline Really?

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #21 on: July 21, 2011, 03:36:58 PM »
I think he did, look up.
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I don't have a motorcycle, sold it ('85 Yamaha Venture Royale).  Haven't had a CB750 for over 40 years.

The Wife's Bike - 750K5
The Kid's Bike - 750K3

Offline wrenchmuch

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Re: Classic or custom?
« Reply #22 on: July 21, 2011, 04:04:25 PM »
I think you will need to fix that case if you use it . There will be nothing for the upper rear mounting bolt to tighten against . It could distort the frame where the swingarm mounts .
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