Topic: What are my chances?

[m goodwin]

The project is now officially "in the house".  This weekend I picked up my father's 74 750 that he bought new and has "stored" in the garage untouched for the last 22 years.  When I rolled the bike of the trailer and into my driveway I had that feeling of excitement and anticipation that was akin to my son opening up his presents on xmas morning.  One problem though.   I am not a fantastic mechanic, in fact to use the word mechanic would be a gross overstatement of my abilities.  On the plus side however, I do have good attention to detail and follow instructions well.  On to the question at hand.  Does this board feel that a man armed with a shop manual, parts book and some patience have a chance to restore this bike before going broke or insane?

Also, what has the general experience been when forced to take a bike of this age to the local dealer for repairs?

[MikeDeB]

The project is now officially "in the house".  This weekend I picked up my father's 74 750 that he bought new and has "stored" in the garage untouched for the last 22 years.  When I rolled the bike of the trailer and into my driveway I had that feeling of excitement and anticipation that was akin to my son opening up his presents on xmas morning.  One problem though.   I am not a fantastic mechanic, in fact to use the word mechanic would be a gross overstatement of my abilities.  On the plus side however, I do have good attention to detail and follow instructions well.  On to the question at hand.  Does this board feel that a man armed with a shop manual, parts book and some patience have a chance to restore this bike before going broke or insane?

Also, what has the general experience been when forced to take a bike of this age to the local dealer for repairs?

If you have good attention to detail and can follow instructions well then you probably have a good mechanical aptitude.  No harm in giving it a try.  I can't say for taking an old bike to the dealer but I've heard others say that they've been turned down as some dealers refuse to work on old bikes.  Some of the guys here can attest that sometimes when working on older bikes you go to fix something and one repair leads to another which is why some dealers won't work on them.  It's just the nature of the beast.

[Bob Wessner]

m goodwin,

I was in exactly your position in terms of wrenching experience, that is, none to speak of. I don't think you will have any trouble. You will gain a tremendous amount of knowledge as well as satisfaction. Get as much info as you can, copy of Honda shop manual would be great and if possible, a copy of a parts list. I found the latter to be of great value.

[seaweb11]

I did it with no previouse experience. Takes time and patience.

Read my web site for what your up against.

http://www.world-playground.com/Bike/bike1.html

[78_SaltLick]

i knew nothing of fixing a bike when i first got mine couple months ago. Get a good manual and read it alot....i havent had to do anything like replace a head gasket or tear the engine apart yet, but i have at least learned enough to keep my bike out of the hands of the dealerships, and keep it on the road by myself. The help you will get here is tremendous, and using the "search" function on this board will really help alot too. Alot of things are just adjustments, or knowing how to replace the relay flasher so your signals work, or how to tighten your chain, or adjust your clutch, or adjust the timing ect...

[pmpski_1]

While you do not have much if any experience working on these bikes you do have a huge advantage: You know the entire history of the bike. You know what the previous owner did (or didn't do) to it over it's lifespan.

If you pay close attention to what you are doing and have patience then you'll be fine. I think patience is probably the most important. I've had plenty of late nights where I tell myself I'm going to get a modern bike  as soon as possible, just so I can ride

Luckily I haven't had the money for that so I've been forced to be persistant with getting mine to run right. This was my first real project, so I started from scratch too. I'm almost there, and even though riding season will soon be over I'm extremely happy with what I've accomplished.

[Kevin D]

 M, your bike looks complete and in real good shape. The biggest ? would be if the engine turns over - and even if it's frozen there are many posts here from guys who have freed a frozen engine. Don't expect to go riding tomorrow - you need new tires, battery, clean fuel system, check/rebuild brakes - fluid, lines, shoes, master cyl.
 This is a GREAT site and the net in general will be lots of help in finding parts and accessories. You should go directly to Bob Wessners site and read for a couple of hours. You'll learn plenty here by just reading and searching the tech forum.
 My CB was parked for 15 years, kicked over once in a while, started twice in that time. It's amazing what a little bit of fresh gas and a charged battery will do.

[egar]

I'm like some of the others here. I didn't know anything about these bikes 2 months ago and now mine is running. What surprises me is this is one of the most satisfying accomplishments of my life. Not that there weren't trying times in the process. I can't say I would have continued without this Web site. This is one of the up sides of the Internet. Manuals help, but this site was invaluable.

[grumburg]

The secret is to organize, know what you are going to do before you begin, have a good manual and understand the repair before you start. Have a clean, orderly place to work. Arrange items when you remove them and store in baggies by component (carbs with boots and cables,etc) , AND COMPLETE ONE REPAIR BEFORE YOU START ANOTHER.  Nothing goes back together as easy as it comes apart. When I tear a bike down, I like to clean and paint the items before I package them.  Nothing is more fun than to start to reassemble and open packages of clean, shiny parts. With clean parts and everything organized, I put my first 550 back together (motor and wiring were not removed) and had it started in 8 hours. This sounds like common sense, but we all have the temptation to just start ripping thins apart. That is what makes basket cases.

[Uncle Ernie]

If my dealers shop supervisor sees me coming, he stands by the door with a baseball bat.

Read Murphy's Law before starting. It's good to hone rationalizing skills first- especially if you're married.


           
You'll find that one of the really satisfying aspects of restoring- or even just getting one running- is that it really doesn't take hardly any money at all.

                                                                   HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH>whew!<AHAHAHAHAHA

[grumburg]

One more thng>>>>>Keep SOHC4 up through the entire process!!!!!!!!!!