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I snagged me a set of new sidecovers, and as of a week ago I sent them and my nice purple tank off to Tennessee. A local painter never returned my call, and a larger shop wanted $1200 minimum for a one-color paint job. There's a guy down south that will do the whole set, plus graphics, a new gas cap and tank trim for $600, out the door. Best part, he's already got another set to do in the same color, so the 6-8 week turnaround time is down to 2-3.

In the meantime, I replaced the sub-harness for the idiot lights on the handlebar clamp because my old set had a melted/gakked neutral light. And while I was at it I gave the "dash" a new coat of black, at took a photo of the first time all 4 lights actually worked.
So, what's left? After I get my tins back, I still need new front fork seals and gaitors, bleed the front brake, new mirrors (gonna keep an eye out at Mid-Ohio) and.... new tires? And that's it. Motor still runs great, so this is getting exciting.

Got this photo in an e-mail this morning:
It's still going to be a couple days for decals and clearcoat, but it supposedly should be done by next week. Either way, I think it looks great.

Nice Lucien. Kinda jealous. I wish I had one of my old SOHC 750s back. Lotta miles and memories on those things. I (and many of us) will always have a soft spot for them.

Funny enough, a CB750 was never one of those bikes I HAD to have. I mean, it would've been nice, and the lines of it are pleasant enough, but bikes that were "iconic" never really struck my fancy. My tastes run more toward the unusual, and I was never going to be able to afford the asking price of an early SOHC.

Even considering my extremely stupid way of putting it together (donor frame and two parts bikes), I figure I spent close to what a clean one of these go for anyway. And truth be told, I'm still not sure how long I'm going to keep it. But I'll get it together, ride it a bit, and see if I fall in love. Even if I do sell it, and even though it's 100% a frankenbike, I figure I could still get a decent price out of it. But we'll see.

New update from the painter. Final clear should go on Monday, and ready to be shipped back to me on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Maybe it's because my very first bicycle (a Huffy with a 'drag slick,' shorty chrome flared fenders, banana seat, tall sissy bar, and ape hangers) was that orange metallic, but I'm really digging that color! So far it looks like you found a really good deal on the paint work!

You mean this? I had that same bike. Pretty sure I had those pants too...

A Huffy? Oh, my Schwinn-loving older brother would've liked to have a word.... In any case....

Of all the things I wanted to keep from the original bike, the paint job was number 1. Nothing screams "70s Honda" like that obnoxious flake orange. I'm a fan of the smaller stripes, too- the larger full-side panel black areas that the 750 gained almost the next year seem a bit much to me. Even considering every paint job the early SOHC models had, I think this is my overall favorite.

It's a shame I wasn't able to keep the original equipment, but I'm also going to end up with something as good, if not better than new. And I'll reserve judgement on the quality until I see it in person, but (not counting the $40 Priority shipping to send out the parts in the first place) the final price ended up coming to $610. This included paint, decals, new chrome trim on the bottom of the tank, and a new reproduction gas cap (the only difference being that the pivot pins have a removable stop, vs. being mushroomed/riveted on the factory originals). Without the gas cap and trim it was $525, but the cost to get them installed was identical to the cost of my buying them separately and installing them myself.

In any case, by the end of next week I should have all of this stuff back and maybe take the bike for a bit of a longer ride than up and down the street.

Sugs wrote:You mean this? I had that same bike. Pretty sure I had those pants too...

Almost! Mine actually had a real slick, not the 'cheater', and chrome fenders. I probably had the pants, too, lol!
Lucien, everyone wanted that obnoxious, huge metal flake paint job back in the day. I kinda cringe when I see an example now!

Parts got shipped today.

Got some presents in the mail today.
I managed a ride around the block, but would have gone longer if my tires weren't SHOT. I'll get a better ride report later, along with a short video, but suffice to say it's delightfully old school, and just fun to ride a small(er) bike.

I'll leave it with a neat(ish) photo of a bit of "70s Japanese Standard Motorcycle" bookends.

Absolutely gorgeous bikes, something to be proud of thats for sure, Ken

Nice, nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKvDUU_E_hE

As promised, here's a short video of it running about about a 15 minute flogging. Idles a bit high, but considering that I've done minimal tuning and the plug wires are the consistency of cottage cheese, I think it's doing okay.

And continuing on the "not judging yet" track, the front end is a bit bouncy, but it's also probably missing 90% of the fork oil. New seals have been ordered. So we'll see.

Apart from that? It's the smallest bike I own, so it's a nice change to hop on something that's not a tank. The 4-into-4 exhaust sounds absolutely DELIGHTFUL. It's nice to have something with a loud(er) exhaust note. The 4k on the tach at 55 is something to get used to, along with the decelleration pops that come with no air cutoff valve, but that's part of the fun. The low handlebars are also a bit lowER than I expected, but not horrible- not too much weight on my wrists, but I'll have to see how my back holds up on longer trips. Oh, and I'm fairly certain the tires are old enough to be running the original mis-matched tread pattterns between the front and rear, so while they do hold air, I'm not going to be taking them very far.

There's still a bit to do- fork seals, tires, the brake line from the MC to the rear brake pressure switch needs to be about 3 inches shorter, along with the throttle cable (and the addition of a push cable), a bit of wire repair... but apart from that we're nearing a roadable motorcycle.

Now you have done it!! I need one of those bikes. Nice paint job on the tank and side covers, really like the color combo.