Topic: CB 750 Fix-Up & Cleaning

[David B]

I'm not quite this far along but I'll ask now:  What are people using for fork oil?  I know good old fashoned ATF is what's specified but is there a regular fork oil that's better to use?

[Tews19]

I pick up Honda fork fluid from my local bike shop. I used Walmart ATF before but removed it.

[David B]

Still plugging away, I'll post some additional pics directly.  By the way, anyone have a recommendation for a product to use on fork gators?  Mine look pretty good but if someone has a recommendation to treat them with I'm all ears.

[Tews19]

Use as in soften or to help mount? Mounting is very easy but can cause a few cuts on the fingers tips. If you they are hard and crusty try wintergreen or buy new ones for 50 bucks on eBay.

[David B]

Once again it's been a while since I updated.  The forks are now rebuilt and back on the bike.  The gators cleaned up pretty well and didn't really warrant replacement.  The forks were in good shape and cleaned up ok, the fork oil was another matter.  The PO had used motor oil in the forks and one of the seals had leaked allowing water in at some point.  What a mess. 

[David B]

new bearings installed in the front wheel.  Check out the cool tool a coworker made for me for installing/removing the inner locking rings.  One set of pins fits the front rim, the other fits the rear.  I know there's a third one in the rear wheel brake assembly as well.  It's easy enough to add a third set of pins to the other end of the metal bar if necessary.  Very helpful to work with a guy with a machine shop in his basement!

[deafcaferacer]

No kidding! Pretty nifty!

[David B]

A few parts going back on.  Painted warning lights, master brake cylinder has been rebuild and is back on.  One of the new stainless steel brake lines.

[David B]

I read an article in a recent Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club magazine about using milkstone remover to remove rust.  This was my first attempt with it.  One gallon of product and 10 gallons of water.  My front fender was the guinea pig.  It wasn't that bad as I'd already gotten most of the rust off with a wire wheel.  I put it in last night, looked great this morning.  Great stuff and safe to use.  Inexpensive as well.  You can reuse it for years of course, apparently you just dump it on the lawn when you're done with it.  The grass likes it.   

[David B]

Once the inside of the fender is cleaned up, do people prime and paint it to prevent the rust from coming back or just reinstall?

[Tews19]

I've used a wire wheel on the inside if the fender and left as is. Then again I never ride in the rain so I'm not worried about rust.

Where did you getter milk thing? I wonder how it would work for a tank.

[Vinhead1957]

How inexpensive is it?

[David B]

It's cheap! $13 a gallon at Tractor Supply where I picked it up.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/dairyland-milkstone-remover--acid-rinse

It's perfect for tanks. That's what they used it on in the VJMC article.  Soak it in milkstone remover then rinse with water (in the article they rinse with water but I'm planning on using baking soda to neutralize the acid still on the metal, then plain water, then let dry). 

By the way, check these guys out!  I joined this spring at the International Motorcycle Show in NYC this year. They had a booth & I started talking CB 750s with a guy there who has a couple K0s. One thing led to another.....

http://vjmc.org/

[Vinhead1957]

Thanks sound like a new experiment

[David B]

Haven't updated this in a looooong time.  The milkstone remover worked great on the fenders and interior of the tank.  As I recall I let everything soak for about 24 hours or so.  Just for good measure I primed and put a quick coat of aluminum paint on the inside surface of the fender.

I bought myself a soda blaster and cleaned up the carbs.  I also picked up Mike Nixon's book (CB750carbs.com) and rebuilt the carbs for the first time with new components as necessary.

[David B]

Here's the carbs being cleaned & going back together along with new dust caps:

[David B]

The bike was taken outside and the engine given a quick, relatively thorough cleaned up:

[David B]

I'd had the tank repainted along with a set of aftermarket side covers.  Everything went back together relatively easily.

You'll also notice it isn't even a Honda color.  As you can see, it's not a 71 scheme.  It's something close that the painter was familiar with and preferred to use.  As the bike isn't really a 71 (75 engine, non 71 fork ears, forks, fender, rear light, grab bar, etc., etc.) I wasn't too worried about it.  Besides, other than the people on this site, who's really even gonna know? 

[Tews19]

The carbs look great... Any pics of the tins?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

[Tews19]

Oops you posted right before I did..

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2

[David B]

Here it is ALMOST back together.  I think at this point all it was missing was the tank emblems.  I think this photo was about the first of July.

[David B]

For the record, it looks better in the photos than it actually is!  The camera seems to have rose colored glasses.

[Tews19]

So to be clear, she is on the road right?

If so, BOTM nomination here..

[David B]

Here it is in the garage with the tank badges installed.  Those I did myself.  Twice.  What a pain.  I ended up painting the whole emblem white, rubbing the paint off the raised borders of the letters, and letting it dry.  After it was fully dry, I used a liquid mask to fill in the letters and sprayed on the black.

[David B]

Yep!  She's on the road for about a month now.  I think I've put about 500 miles on.  I must have done a good job on the carbs because they didn't really need much tweaking and they don't seem to leak, run dry, etc. 

I took it to a local mechanic who's worked on them since they came out in 1969 to fix a few mickey mouse bugs and sync the carbs but other than that, I did it by myself with a LOT of help from the guys on the site Tews19, MWVachon, and more than a few emails to Hondaman himself in particular.  It's been a real learning experience, the knowledge that's been passed to me is invaluable.  Thanks a million, guys!