Hey Everyone,
I've been lurking on and off for quite a while now. This is a great forum with a lot of great information. I've been between bikes for a few years now, but a short ride on someone else's bike got me looking for something of my own. The amount of tech information here certainly influenced my decision to choose my old Honda. I picked up my CB750k8 about three weeks ago, and since I'll no doubt be asking a lot of questions, it was finally time to join.
I was considering some more modern bikes, but eventually decided that something I could tinker with a little would be more fun. That has been the right attitude because it has required some tinkering. This one wasn't running when I picked it up. It had been parked a couple years ago with fuel leaking from the carbs. Now the battery was dead (and missing). I was told that, otherwise, the bike ran well. It has some cosmetic issues, a groovy 4-1 pipe, and a decent red respray. So, I brought it home. Here's a pic from the night we brought her home. Forgive the garage lighting and imagine my wife trying to take a picture while I stand just off camera beaming like a kid on Christmas morning:
Next night we got a new battery installed, topped up the oil (or overtopped as the case may be) and cracked the petcock. Sure enough, the overflow tube of one carb made a puddle on the floor, and it leaked around the top of that bowl. We had a fire extinguisher nearby and decided to crank it up anyway. She fired pretty quickly. We grinned a lot and then shut it off before we made a fire. And the clutch cable seemed completely frozen in place.
You all know the drill on the leaking carb. The float in the far right carb was stuck. It was pretty easy to drop the bowl, clean it up as best we could and put it back together. The bowl gasket looked pretty knackered, but I didn't have any new parts. We crossed our fingers, turned the petcock, and the thing seemed fuel-tight (is that a word? never heard it but it should be). Punched the starter, and it cranked up again. It still wasn't leaking anymore fuel. Not exactly purring, but chuffing right along with all four pipes getting warm.
Then it died and wouldn't restart.
I was thinking "Great job, we fixed the carbs so well it won't run at all now." Then, we turned the petcock over to reserve, punched the button, and it cranked right up again. (nothing but crack mechanics in my garage, heh?) I added some fuel with a little Sea Foam and called it a night. I was really anticipating having to have carbs off. There was some old sealant in the bowl from the last guy who thought the gaskets looked pretty knackered. I ordered some gaskets and resolved to get a new clutch cable at my local Honda dealer.
Couple nights later, I switched out the clutch cable and decided to take it for a short ride to really get it warmed up. I wasn't expecting much, but I was itching for a ride. I did just a mile or few and parked it in the garage. It was actually running pretty darn decent. When warm, the idle was too low, but it was definitely ride-able. I stood there smiling at the thing for ten minutes until I couldn't stand it and had to go for another ride. Whether it was the Sea Foam, getting thoroughly warm, or just some time back in action after sitting, it buzzed right along. Somewhere along the way, my tach cable broke and when I pulled in the driveway, it died for lack of idle.
Fast forward to today and the tach cable I ordered still hasn't arrived. It is, however, a holiday, and I wanted to go for a ride. I decided to change the oil and bump the idle a little. I figured adjusting the idle couldn't be that hard, right? There is a knurled screw and everything, right? So I cranked it up, turned the idle knob the wrong way, and realized that my front brake caliper was frozen solid to the disc.
So, I eventually figured out which way to turn the idle adjustment and got it to run long enough to warm itself up for an oil change. In the meantime, I did some more reading here about what might cause the caliper to freeze up, and decided to rebuild the caliper. Got the oil changed, broke the caliper apart and cleaned and lubed it as best I could (didn't have any new parts[this is becoming a pattern]) put it all back together and crossed my fingers. Whaddaya know, it brakes when I pull the lever and doesn't when I don't--amazing.
Finally it was time for a ride. It was windy as could be, but the 750 purred right along. I grinned so hard I thought I was gonna pop my helmet.
Reality--the tach still needs that cable, the wacky idle is all over the place, and on my way home it seemed like the front wheel was way out of balance. Be that as it may, this bike is seriously fun. I'm loving it. Thanks to everyone for the tech help I've already used, and thanks to the community for keeping these bikes alive.
This has turned awfully long. I just meant to say hello.
