Hello all,
I've been lurking here on the edge of the community for a couple of years, reading and trying to absorb info, but never entering the conversation until now. I had always been a fan of the early CB750 - OK, more than a fan, I was in love, but that's another story for another day - but during the 90's I started reading about the CR750 and decided it was one of the coolest things I ever saw. I collected articles and pictures, and bought the Tamiya 1/6 scale model of the bike. At some point I decided I would eventually build one for myself, and make it so it could be ridden on the street. In about 2005 I came upon a shop called Garage Company here in Los Angeles, and in the window was an actual CR750. Yoshi, the owner, was kind enough to let me take about a million pictures and actually sit on the bike. Well, that was like a drug dealer letting someone have a free heroin sample. I started looking up the various businesses that made CR replica parts, making parts lists and drawings, and thinking of ways to raise the money for my project. The first thing I did - in 2007 - was to sell my excellent condition stock original '75 CB750, thinking that would give me a good start in the funding department. Hah! I had no idea. As it turns out, the sale of the CB covered the purchase, shipping, and installation of the exhaust system.
In forty-two years of riding motorcycles, going to motorcycle shows, and hanging around at places like The Rock Store, I've only seen one CR750 in person, and it was Yoshi's. And it was strictly a race bike. I've seen custom bikes on the street that had one or two elements of the CR, like the bum-stop solo seat or the big gas tank, but I had a very specific picture of what I wanted. My concept for the bike was this: Imagine that a Honda executive calls up the race shop and says "I want you to build me a road-going replica of the CR750 that Dick Mann rode to victory at Daytona, but do it in our classic racing paint scheme. Use high performance parts wherever possible. Make a custom wiring harness, use stainless nuts and bolts, trim off all the unnecessary brackets, add alloy rims and a second disc brake, and blueprint the engine. But make it civilized like a street bike. Keep the electric starter and the side stand. Use a cam and carburetors that will boost the midrange but still allow the bike to idle at a stop light. Integrate a headlight, taillight, and some nice horns. Finish it to a very high level. And throw in some neat little custom touches, so when people come in for a closer look they'll find nice details. And build just one."
For my donor bike, I bought a mildly customized '73 CB750 from a buddy, and proceeded to strip it down to a rolling chassis with engine. I cut off the hangers for the passenger pegs, oil tank, seat, chain guard, air box, and everything else that held the stock parts, and started ordering new parts. Here's a partial list:
29mm Keihin CR carbs from CycleX
Aluminum CR gas tank and oil tank from Meadspeed
Rearset mounts from M3 Racing
Fork tubes from Frank's
Clip-ons, velocity stacks, and mirrors from Disco Volante
Wiseco 836 kit, Barnett clutch, Dyna ignition and coils, stainless valves, KW valve springs, heavy-duty cylinder studs, cam chain, primary chains, guides, tensioners, and Webcam cam from Dynoman
Four-into-four exhaust system from our own Lord Moonpie
CR fairing, seat, and fender from Air Tech
18-inch aluminum rims and stainless spokes from Buchanan's
I guess it's too late to say "to make a long story short", but I should move on to the present day. I don't know how to weld and fabricate parts, so I've had to struggle to afford having the bike worked on by a couple of very talented people. After a long time in the shop, the bike is back with me for the next phase. I have to disassemble it, rebuild the motor, make a wiring harness, make a tail light, have the frame powder coated, switch out all the nuts and bolts, paint the body parts, and put it all back together again. In the meantime, I've taken some pictures, and if I can figure out how to upload them, I'd like to show them here.
Thanks for listening,
Vincent
