Topic: New to the forum New to the SOHC/4's

[keaton_taylor]

Hows it going folks, I'm a proud new owner of a 1978 CB750K. HEr name is Stellam I'll be keeping her as original as possible and using her as a daily driver. She'll be a fall time transport and a winter time project. I'm working on her a bit now synching the carbs, adjustung the valves etc. I bought 2 Clymer's manuals and have been lurking the site all week. Any useful links or information or encouragement anyone can offer is much appreciated!

[pat english]

"cut it up"...jk...welcome to the site..

[KingCustomCycles.com]

Welcome, anything you need we are open 24/7.  As much of a pain as it is, fork seals and oil will improve most bikes dramatically and seems to be the most neglected.

[mrjack55]

Welcome to the mad house.  You'll find all the info you need in here, and some very colorful characters to boot.
Good luck with your new K8 750.  Original as possible eh?  We'll see how long that lasts.   
I think I said the same thing once...once. 

[MoMo]

Welcome, anything you need we are open 24/7.  As much of a pain as it is, fork seals and oil will improve most bikes dramatically and seems to be the most neglected.

Agree with that, and if the bike has been sitting for 5 years or more, the tires will provide a very harsh ride. Even though the tires may look good new ones would be in order..

Welcome to the forum...Larry

[keaton_taylor]

Thanks Guys!

It's been super chilly here so I've been more or less unable to do much to her. the guy who owned her rode her a bunch for a long time and then parked her. before i bought her he did some maintenance work and there, and in general kept pretty good care of her until his wife couldn't stand three bikes in the garage. My first orders of business are as follows (let me know if there is an order I should be thinking in)

change oil and filter
change spark plugs and potentially wires
sync carbs
set valve clearance/cam chain

and now fork seals apparently!

Thoughts or suggestions?

btw, here she is.

[Tews19]

Nice bike and welcome. Start off with the 3k tune up... http://www.sohc4.net/?page_id=2011
This link will assist you with the tune up and many other questions in the future

[Stev-o]

First off, welcome!

+1 on giving it a full "3000 mile tuneup". Then you will know exactly where you are at. If you have stock plug wires, they are attached to the coils and cannot be changed, and most likely won't need replacement. A good suggestion is to replace the plug caps, about $2 from your local Honda dealer (or check 'em with an ohmmeter)  And clip off a quarter inch of plug wire when you o ti ensure a good connection.

Have fun!

[BobbyR]

Welcome, I too own a 78K and we are truly blessed. We are also stepchildren since people love their funny looking early models. Now that I have pissed off a lot of my friends. That is a good looking bike and with some elbow grease and various polishes it can be be sweet.

The 77-78 have accelerator pumps to help eliminate the lag you get when you open the throttle quickly. The pump holds a tiny amount of gas and if it is laid up for a period of time the gas spoils and the pump stops working. You can check it easily by looking in the carb throat and twisting the throttle, you should see some gas spray up. If it doesn't it needs to be cleaned out. Other that that the advice you have gotten up to now is valid. The 77-78 have this one different feature.

[CycleRanger]

I'll be keeping her as original as possible

Excellent choice! 

Howdy!

I would suggest that you get the shop manual and Common Service manual here:
 http://www.honda4fun.com/man_officina/man_officina.html

And get the Parts List here: http://www.honda4fun.com/spaccati/spaccati.html

[ekpent]

As for the fork seals and oil you do not need to change the seals unless there is a visible leaking or weeping of oil on the tube sliders.Oil should be changed and is easy.One thing to look for when draining the oil is the presence of water,it will usually come out first or the oil can be contaminated with it and look like a grayish sludge. That would indicate also a bad set of fork seals.

[Danno]

that bike looks too nice to need fork seals yet
welcome to the forum

[slowjo]

Just a little tip. Don't get carried away. Take it one step at a time. These old bikes are addictive.

[KingCustomCycles.com]

I would agree with not changing the fork seals if no leaks were evident except for one exception..............sometimes, there is no oil to leak.  I'm just sayin'  :-) 

[Tews19]

Just a little tip. Don't get carried away. Take it one step at a time. These old bikes are addictive.

+1, I caught the disease this past summer......

[Danno]

what king says is correct check and change the fork oil to know for sure about the seals I had a 76 that was bone dry and thankfully did not leak after it was full never did figure out why may have weaped out and when the seals hardened up from being dry did not leak anymore but at leask check

[boatsdickson]

Welcome to the asylum keaton, straight jackets and medications are optional. Ill keep an eye out for ya when i ride. Maybe we'll cross paths. Hope yu survived the storm ok.....boats