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Track T 2411 wrote: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!

That's awesome looking and it's funny how things like your bike color sticks with you. My first bike was an old junker but my Mom gave me a pint of mountain green paint and a brush. To this day, that's my favorite color which makes Candy blue Green more special to me.

Just went through this entire thread. Too bad some of the early photos are lost. I had forgotten my comment in post #123 about having one of my old SOHC's back. Now I do! (Recall the two basket cases I recently acquired)

Going through this is giving me a serious itch to see what I've got!

Soon. Soon.

Yeah, photobucket was a fantastic idea right up until it wasn't.

Trust me, I've been itching to get this thing registered and on the road all winter.

The last major hangups are steering head bearings (the current ones are SUPER-indexed) and tires/tubes. My cheap tire guy just went out of business, and while I may have found another place who can install them, I also want specific period equivalent tires, because reasons.

It may be one of those thing I get piece by piece as I can afford them. But I want to get at least a couple hundred miles under this bike this year for sure.

....I'm making a hoverbike.
(Wheels are actually off to the shop, getting some new rubber. Decided to go with an Avon Speedmaster on the front and a Dunlop K70 on the rear- period-correct(ish) tread patterns on tires that aren't 40 years old. New coils are in the mail, and then I think this bike is 100% road worthy. The steering head bearings are still SUPER-indexed, but that's a next-year problem. I'm allowing myself to get excited.)

I wouldn't turn it over without cleaning the rodent debris out of the intake - and be prepared for a shower of nut hulls and rat's nests out the exhaust when it starts. Wish my finds were in as nice a shape as that appears.

Oh, don't let appearances deceive you- that's three separate bikes (with parts sprinkled in from a possible 4th, 5th, and probable 6th). It started as a '73, but now has the frame of a '75 and is laid out like a '72. The only parts from the original bike I started with is the motor and I'm PRETTY sure the wiring harness.

To all you kids out there- don't build a bike like this. It's the absolute worst way to do so. Even a SOHC CB750.

You are making me want to dive into one of my 750s.

But, I can't. My hands are full with this Motley Menagerie. At least it's nice knowing that something fun is waiting in the wings.

I just realized you've had that thing for 4 years now... time sure flies.

I have a mostly original 77 750 that needs some love....wishing I could get to work on that one as well...

I'm sure I'm not the first one to be vocal about some of the stupid decisions Honda made with this particular bike, but I do have to give them credit for one thing-

Because the giant stock exhaust would otherwise get in the way, the ability to remove the rear wheel straight out of the back of the swingarm is absolute GENIUS. Definitely the quickest I've ever pulled a wheel off.

Got my tires back from the shop. Thankfully popping them back on has been as painless as it ever has been (I may be getting better at this!), and a few double-checks and adjustments later, I took my maiden not-fearing-for-my-life-this-time voyage.
As always, my thoughts: Man, this thing is a hoot. A bit buzzy and rather loud (I want to double-check to make sure my exhaust has baffles), but also I've been spoiled by my Goldwing(s). It goes, stops, and turns surprisingly well, considering the older than dirt electrics and funky head bearings. The leaning-forward riding position will take some getting used to- I'm not accustomed to the braking forces going directly into my wrists yet, but at speed it's rather pleasant. And speaking of the sound- it sounds GREAT. My GL1000 has a bit of a roar over 6 grand, and my GL1200 is just... there. The KZ1300 is frantic, but not overly "loud". The 4-into-4 of the CB750? It's like... 4 anxious toddlers, all trying to yell over each other at the same time. I love it. And being a lighter bikes, there's less pageantry than there is getting on even a GL1000. Riding a Goldwing is an event. Hopping on a CB750 is just on, done, and go.

(It also has this strange noise while decelerating. Chain or shaft noise, I don't know. Either way, it sounds EXACTLY like an ambulance or fire truck siren, coming up from behind you. Freaked me RIGHT out the first time it happened!)

That being said- there's still areas to address. Coils are already coming, but I'll also be replacing the wiring harness sooner than I expected- backing out of the garage I turned hard left and heard a MASSIVE amount of plastic cracking. I thought I somehow ruined my headlight bucket, but no- it was the outer sheath of the main wiring harness (going into the headlight bucket), absolutely SHATTERED. The wires are still find, but it's so old I now have a bunch of sharp edges right next to them. Next paycheck, I think.

And yes, there are a couple leaks. In order of severity:

-I'm fairly certain it has the standard "slow oil leak around the head gasket". There are rubber pucks under the cam towers that sometimes cause this, which I replaced. So mine may be the head gasket itself. Unless it gets REAL bad, it's not worth pulling the motor (again) to fix.

-There's a rather gnarly oil leak around the tach cable drive. Thankfully the seal looks easy to replace, but it's also one of those "You screw this up, you have to pull the motor" situations. Isn't being unable to remove the valve cover with the engine in the frame grand?

-Last, but far from least, at SOME point the float valve for carb 2 got stuck open. Thankfully Honda provided carb overflows, so I don't hydrolock the motor. They drain into small hoses that route to the rear of the engine case. UNfortunately, I hadn't fitted mine yet. So, there was a LOT of gas dumping directly on to the starter motor cover. I'm hoping I can jimmy the valve without having to remove the carb rack- the fact the carb bowls are only held on by spring clips makes is possible. So we'll see.

Still- I'm SUPER happy this one finally got road time. I'm excited for more.

Really a pretty machine. I'm thinking many hours of fun in that one. I already got my monies worth just looking at it!

That is a super good looking SOHC, Lucien. I hang on every word of your exploits, literally. The tach drives leaked when they rolled off the assembly line I think. But, the bottom line is that I think you are realizing exactly why these motorcycles were and are so fabulously popular…then and now. Enjoy it and I hate you.

(Joking of course, and only because I simply don’t have time this season to get to one of my 750s. But you have me Jonesing badly.)

This 78 ‘F’ Will be first since it’s the closest. If you can get the results you’ve shown above with what you started with, this one should…(should) be a bit easier. My disclaimer here is that it was horribly neglected and then aged on a back porch for 15 years With southern exposure in Phoenix! Literally everything plastic on the left side of the bike is absolutely wasted, including wiring insulation. Time will tell.

That actually looks like a pretty solid project- like you said, I gotta imagine a LOT less work than what I subjected myself to. I DID notice the pic is of the good side, though...

My new coils arrived yesterday, so I pulled the tank to pop those on real quick. I'm still not used to only having to pull fuel lines- no overflow, no fuel gauge sender, heck no mounting hardware on the rear- just a rubber strap. While I was in there I figured I'd check a few other things-

--I sent MotionPro an e-mail, looking into getting some shorter throttle cables made up. I'm only running a pull cable, and it's about 5 inches too long. It works, but only just.

--Because I decided "hemorrhaging money" wasn't the greatest of ideas, while messing with the coils I took a look at the rest of my wiring harness, and while it's not perfect, I think it's usable if I can replace the vinyl sheathing for the 12-or-so inches that runs from the tank to the headlight bucket. The wires themselves seem to flex okay, it's just the outer bit that trashed. If I can replace that rather than spend 100 bucks to replace everything, all the better.

--There's a few cosmetic things I'd like to hit eventually, but I think I'm down to front blinkers and stems (very rusty) and possibly the rear footpegs. Those I may be able to repaint, depending on the stock finish. The engine sidecovers need a polish too, but those are easy enough to pop off once everything else is 100%.

when you're finished, you could take a page from this guy's book.



https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/mcy/ ... 53318.html

< $7,000, 34000 mile, 1974 CB750 >