Veloandy
CB750 Member
Hey Everyone,
Thought I'd post the story of my 1977 CB750F. All my moto-buddies have newer bikes, and all of my gearhead buddies are into 4-wheeled vehicles, so I'm hoping this forum will be a nice way to keep track of what I've done and maybe get some emotional support!
I bought my bike from my brother-in-law about a year ago. Back in college I had a completely thrashed and crashed 1982 Yamaha 550 Seca. I took a break for bikes for a couple of years and then rode around on a 1981 Yamaha XS400 for years, but I sold that and all of my moto gear about 7 years ago. I hadn't planned on getting another bike, but my brother-in-law got the opportunity to move out of the country and offered me a good deal on his totally amazing-seeming CB750 and I couldn't resist. Here's a pic of my CB750 as I got it:
He had done a lot of good work to it, but then it had mostly sat unused for many years:
It was definitely a cool bike and was kind of ridable...but its years of hibernation meant that it needed some attention. The brake lights didn't work (dead pressure switch). The tail light was cracked. The grab rail was cut in half and only held on by one bolt on each side so it was super-hard to get on the center stand (b/c you couldn't lift by the grab rail). The seat attachment was hokey. All of the packing had been blown out of the muffler. The carb balance tubes were uncapped so it had a massive vacuum leak. 3 of the pilot jets were blocked by crud, and the carb needle setting made it run super-lean (so it had flat spots and backfired through the carbs a lot). The fuel line was run strangely and kinked off. The tank had a quickie, flat-black rattle can paint job.
So, I started working on it. I fabricated a metal fuel line from brake line. I got a new pressure switch, bled the brakes after installing it and fixed the brake lights. Got a non-cut-up stock grab rail and non-cracked tail light lens from ebay. Tore down the carbs and raised the needles up one slot (which required me to buy genuine JIS screwdrivers -- those are THE BOMB)! Re-packed the muffler.
One day I knocked over a big piece of angle iron in my shed that struck the flat black tank and made a dent in it...so I decided to properly fix it up. I filled the dent in the tank with AllMetal filler, sanded/primed/wetsanded/primed over and over again. Then I sprayed the tank, side panels, and tail with gloss black Rustoleum from a rattle can that I heated up in a pot of hot tap water. It flowed out beautifully! After letting it cure for a couple of weeks I sprayed it with a coat of 2-part rattle can clear (for gasoline resistance). At this point it was looking pretty awesome and running great:
I liked owning it. I liked working on it. But...I hardly ever rode it. I decided the excuse I needed to get out on my bike was a solo moto-camping trip to Veedawu in Wyoming to see the Pleiades meteor shower. So I rigged up a saddle bag out of a Swiss army surplus M90 rucksack that I bought for $23 at Jax, a local army/navy/surplus/outdoor store (same pack as this), loaded it with backpacking gear...
Then I noticed that my rear tire was cracking at the tread. I looked at the tires' date codes and they were ancient and dangerous. I ordered some new cruiser-style tires in close-to-stock sizes from Revzilla, spent a few sweaty hours mounting them and rupturing the tubes, and ended taking them to Interstate Honda here in Fort Collins to get them mounted. The dudes at Interstate Honda were awesome, fast, and friendly. They got the job done and I hit the road!
The bike ran AMAZINGLY! It was so fast, and stable and smooth! My speedo needle was bouncing between 80 and 90 mph and the bike loved it. It was my first long (1.5 hours each way) ride in 20 years. My first ride ever with armored pants and earplugs. I loved it. The meteor shower was great. The stars were amazing. It's SO COOL when a meteor shower and a new moon and a clear sky all happen on the same *weekend*!
The one problem was...
<To Be Continued>
Thought I'd post the story of my 1977 CB750F. All my moto-buddies have newer bikes, and all of my gearhead buddies are into 4-wheeled vehicles, so I'm hoping this forum will be a nice way to keep track of what I've done and maybe get some emotional support!
I bought my bike from my brother-in-law about a year ago. Back in college I had a completely thrashed and crashed 1982 Yamaha 550 Seca. I took a break for bikes for a couple of years and then rode around on a 1981 Yamaha XS400 for years, but I sold that and all of my moto gear about 7 years ago. I hadn't planned on getting another bike, but my brother-in-law got the opportunity to move out of the country and offered me a good deal on his totally amazing-seeming CB750 and I couldn't resist. Here's a pic of my CB750 as I got it:
He had done a lot of good work to it, but then it had mostly sat unused for many years:
- Bike was stripped and frame and misc parts were powder coated black.
- Upgraded front master cylinder (brembo) with braided brake line
- Fresh brake pads all around
- Front and rear brake calipers rebuilt
- New Progressive suspension shocks
- New (13-years-ago) Avon Tires
- New chain & sprockets
- Custom Engine & valve Covers
- Pod Air filters
- New unpainted, custom-made side covers
- New battery
- Forks just serviced
- New steering bearings
- Napoleon bar end mirrors
- New custom front & rear turn signals
- Reupholstered seat
It was definitely a cool bike and was kind of ridable...but its years of hibernation meant that it needed some attention. The brake lights didn't work (dead pressure switch). The tail light was cracked. The grab rail was cut in half and only held on by one bolt on each side so it was super-hard to get on the center stand (b/c you couldn't lift by the grab rail). The seat attachment was hokey. All of the packing had been blown out of the muffler. The carb balance tubes were uncapped so it had a massive vacuum leak. 3 of the pilot jets were blocked by crud, and the carb needle setting made it run super-lean (so it had flat spots and backfired through the carbs a lot). The fuel line was run strangely and kinked off. The tank had a quickie, flat-black rattle can paint job.
So, I started working on it. I fabricated a metal fuel line from brake line. I got a new pressure switch, bled the brakes after installing it and fixed the brake lights. Got a non-cut-up stock grab rail and non-cracked tail light lens from ebay. Tore down the carbs and raised the needles up one slot (which required me to buy genuine JIS screwdrivers -- those are THE BOMB)! Re-packed the muffler.
One day I knocked over a big piece of angle iron in my shed that struck the flat black tank and made a dent in it...so I decided to properly fix it up. I filled the dent in the tank with AllMetal filler, sanded/primed/wetsanded/primed over and over again. Then I sprayed the tank, side panels, and tail with gloss black Rustoleum from a rattle can that I heated up in a pot of hot tap water. It flowed out beautifully! After letting it cure for a couple of weeks I sprayed it with a coat of 2-part rattle can clear (for gasoline resistance). At this point it was looking pretty awesome and running great:
I liked owning it. I liked working on it. But...I hardly ever rode it. I decided the excuse I needed to get out on my bike was a solo moto-camping trip to Veedawu in Wyoming to see the Pleiades meteor shower. So I rigged up a saddle bag out of a Swiss army surplus M90 rucksack that I bought for $23 at Jax, a local army/navy/surplus/outdoor store (same pack as this), loaded it with backpacking gear...
Then I noticed that my rear tire was cracking at the tread. I looked at the tires' date codes and they were ancient and dangerous. I ordered some new cruiser-style tires in close-to-stock sizes from Revzilla, spent a few sweaty hours mounting them and rupturing the tubes, and ended taking them to Interstate Honda here in Fort Collins to get them mounted. The dudes at Interstate Honda were awesome, fast, and friendly. They got the job done and I hit the road!
The bike ran AMAZINGLY! It was so fast, and stable and smooth! My speedo needle was bouncing between 80 and 90 mph and the bike loved it. It was my first long (1.5 hours each way) ride in 20 years. My first ride ever with armored pants and earplugs. I loved it. The meteor shower was great. The stars were amazing. It's SO COOL when a meteor shower and a new moon and a clear sky all happen on the same *weekend*!
The one problem was...
<To Be Continued>
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