I'm getting ready to start tearing down my stock (for the most part) '76 750K. I wanted to post a kind of before and after, make a brief list of modifications that I'd like to make, and get some feedback/tips from you guys. What I want to end up with is a comfortable, dependable bike that I can take long trips on, and something I don't have to be polishing every weekend... something between stock and cafe. I kind of want to combine all the features that I like about the bikes I've seen in this forum, that kind of thing. So anyways, here's the shortlist of cosmetic changes that I want to make:
1) Paint: Strip and powder coat the frame, swing arm, etc. in black. Repaint the tank with the Garnet Brown color. It wasn't a color option in '76 but whatever. I'd like to keep the '76 decal, though. I also like the look of the black side covers. I'm on the fence about engine paint, maybe blacking out the non-aluminum parts of the engine and shining the rest. I saw a post where he used a sort of gun metal paint that I thought looked pretty slick, but I'm not sure how it would look with my color scheme.
2) Seat: I like the look of the rear end of the F models, and I'd paint it to match the tank. Does anyone know if a lot of modifications are necessary for swapping these seats?
3) Exhaust: I'm thinking about doing a 4 into 2, I like that symmetrical look, and wrapping the pipes. I've accepted the fact that I'm not going to keep this bike in pristine condition, so I don't want to be shining the exhaust all the time. And supposedly it cuts down on the heat and all that. Then go black or chrome on the muffler. Is there a huge performance difference between the 4-2 vs the 4-1 though?
4) Handlebars: I'd like to lower them a bit, but not too much as I'd like it to be comfortable on long rides. I've never tried the lower bars though, are they brutal? I want to mess with the gauge/dummy light setup too, maybe move the ignition switch and push button between the speedo/tach so I don't keep draining batteries. I'm also thinking about getting the older tach/spedo combo with the dummy lights in them so I don't have to mount them on the handlebar clamp where I can't see them and so I leave my blinker on for miles.
5) Headlight: I'm split between visor/no visor. I guess I can always get it and take it off if I don't like it.
And as far as the mechanical side of things:
6) Carbs: I think I'm going to leave the airbox alone, just clean them up and re-jet for the 4-2 pipes.
7) Engine: Complete tear down (my uncle builds hot rods, that should come in handy!). Fix whatever needs to be fixed. From what I gather doing a big bore on these isn't the best idea ever, but I'm not completely against it either. I'm not looking to do any racing or wheelies, but again, not completely against it!
Electronics: Completely re-wire the bike. I've already updated almost all of the electronics (rectifier, regulator, fusebox, Hondaman ignition)... I'm going to keep the points, though. I'm sure I'll have to get a little creative with the changes I want to make to the gauge cluster, but I'm thinking it should actually make things easier since I'm not routing all that stuff into the handlebars (at least on the right hand side). I saw a post on here with the cleanest headlight bucket ever, I'm sure I'll be bugging him about how he did that!
9) Rebuild the brake caliper, put some stainless steel hoses on... No dual disk or anything like that. And I'm going to keep the rear drum, just get everything cleaned up back there.
10) Oil Cooler: Pretty much just that, throw one on there.
I've attached a before/after Photoshop disaster... I'm working on a mockup for the handlebar configuration. Thanks in advance for any opinions you guys have, I've gotten so much inspiration (and so little sleep) from trolling through the other projects. Wish me luck!
