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Question before I buy

eddas

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Hi all.

I've come for some input before I make this purchase.

I found a local fellow that is selling a 1982 CB750, that cosmetically looks to be in excellent shape.

The price is great, and I am looking for a project, I just want to know if I'm biting off more than I can chew.

This bike has been parked in a garage for the past decade. Hasn't been started in that long as well. So it does not start.

From a brief phone conversation with the current owner, I know the following:
The carbs need rebuilt. The throttle cable is stuck so needs replaced or lots of TLC and oil.
The gas tank had some fuel in it when parked, so has some interior rust that will need to be cleaned.
Needs a new battery.


A little background on my mechanical abilities:
I am not a mechanic, but I am okay with working on older vehicles.
I grew up riding dirtbikes, and spent plenty of time when I was younger (15+ years ago) rebuilding dirtbike carbs.


What else should I keep in mind, or look at before deciding to buy?
 
Compression test, the dohc motors are notorious for burning valves from lack of valve adjustments and they are tight from the factory. These carbs suck, they probably still wont run right after a rebuild, I've talked to old honda techs that said these things didnt run perfect from the factory, people always complaining about running issues and they could never get them perfect. I wouldnt buy if the compression isnt 150psi or better.
 
DD, all carbs suck :D

As for the bike, as DD said, check compression 1st. Buy or borrow a screw in compression tester, pull all the plugs, you can jump start it off a car battery, test all 4 cylinders, not only are you looking for at least 130+ they should all read the same +/- 5%. PS Squirting motor oil in them will give you higher readings as the oil isn't hot like it would be with the engine running.

If you get past that....

Someone telling me right off "The carbs need rebuilt" is scary. You should do a ton of googling on rebuilding these carbs. Read manuals, watch videos, read others posts, get shop estimates. There are not only a pain in the ass, they require special tools to setup, assuming you get the bike running as they must be synced while it's running. I am a mechanic and I let the shop tune my bike. Make sure this is something you want to deal with.

Throttle cables, (there's 2, open and close) buy new ones, they are cheap and the dealer still carries them. Stuck throttles often lead to death, no shortcuts here!

I had an 82 and it ran great but, it had modified carbs and exhaust on it all done by a shop before I got it.
 
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