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General Reliability for Daily Riding

TequilaSqueela

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I've got a 79 CB750K and the big question is if I can get the bike reliable enough to rely on for Texas commuting. I have several bikes, but I would like to sell them and roll with just the CB if it can be made dependable.

From those of you who have put serious time or money into keeping them running or to those of you who ride the piss out of it- how reliable can I reasonably expect a bike twice the age of my house to be? My oldest motorcycle is an 02 so this is definitely new territory. I do all of my own work and am slowly learning, so frequency of unexpected maintenance is huge.

 
Why yes, yes you can.

My personal opinion DOHC suck. Get a SOHC and say goodbye to those carbs that literally suck and the rockerless valve train that cost $35 to change a single clearance.

As for your question, I don't know what "you" are capable of but as for the bike, yes. Hondas, both auto and bike, are notorious for running forever with the proper care. (I ride a 74 bike and have a 96 Civic with over 350k on it)

If you get your hands on one that's still in good shape, you won't need to "put serious money" into it to keep it running dependably. If you get a basket case and rebuild it, you will spend serious money but you'll end up with a very dependable vehicle, assuming you do it all correctly.
 
That's very helpful Dave, thank you. I'm capable of anything if I take long enough. Some times a really, really long time ;) I just don't want to be stranded on a regular basis.

 
Picture this,

A friend of mine purchases a new 2000 Harley Davidson Softail Springer totally loaded with the leather extras package. The dealer delivers it to his house as he doesn't have his motorcycle license yet.

After getting his license (on some tiny rental bike) I ride over to his house on my 74 CB750k to go on his first ride with him, to the gas station to fill the bike. After filling his brand new Harley up with gas, it won't start. It won't do anything, no lights, nothing.

It turned out the battery cable had vibrated loose at the battery. So I pop open my seat and pull out my stock Honda toolkit (His bike didn't come with one) and tighten up the loose connection for him.

How I wish someone had been filming it! LMFAO
 
That tells me a lot. Thanks! I'm between diving into this machine or saving up for a 2014 CB1100. Either way, the style really resonates with me and the seat and handlebar position feel so much better than my Vstrom or rebel 500.

 
I love my 82 nighthawk 750 but i am not sure about highway. Shorts stints ok. But 5000+ rpm in 5th gear doing 120 km is uncomfortable for me. I ma get a 2nd bike in a year. I dont like the new cb650f, it is fugly.

 
I love my 82 nighthawk 750 but i am not sure about highway. Shorts stints ok. But 5000+ rpm in 5th gear doing 120 km is uncomfortable for me. I ma get a 2nd bike in a year. I dont like the new cb650f, it is fugly.

I once rode my 79 CB750f from SoCal to CenCal, about a 300 mile trip going over the grapevine. I'll never do that again. Give me a full dress GL1100 for that stuff.

I've done the Reno Cathouse Poker Run on my 74 and it was fine.

As a daily, 20-30 (one way) miles max would be my limit if I had a choice.
 
Shim-and-bucket is what Honda chose for the GL1800. I've changed four out once on my '06 with 113000 miles on it. I see no problem with that. As far as the cabs go, the '79 CB750 carbs seem very similar to the carbs on the GL1100, which are still running strong for many. Yes, they are trying different single carb setups. And they continue to try to get them right. The folks that run the original setup adjusted and maintained properly just keep running. I'm just learning the CB750, but it seems to me that Honda is known for reliability. I know many decry the charging system on the CB750, but I find it simpler to understand than the GL1000/1100/1200 systems that use permanent magnet alternators that dump excess current to ground. Controlling the field coil is the way automotive systems have done it for years. A '79K K should be as reliable as a '79 GL1000 except for the water cooling and shaft drive - both much better for long distance hot weather. That is where the air-cooled chain drive CB750 is weaker IMHO.
 
My 74CB750 dumps excess current into the freaking battery!

Every time I've had to replace a battery it's because all the fluid had boiled out. (I know this and should check it more often :()
 
I wanted to follow up that the bike is almost finished. I got an Africa Twin as my daily.

So far on the cb750 learning as I go:
Rebuilt carbs
Sync'd and adjusted
Cleaned the points and adjusted
Fixed the charging system and replaced the battery
Cleaned the tank and added an inline filter
Replaced the exhaust with one that wasn't crumbling to pieces

Last two steps are to rebuild the forks and learn to replace the tires. I'm about 900 bucks in to the bike with an extra skill or two under my belt (and a LOT of help from a friend).

Maiden voyage is this weekend. It still has the original tires ;)
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