New Project

[Colt Winchester]

Hey Everyone! I just bought a 1971 CB750 Four. (New to motorcycles, so any history on these models would be greatly appreciated. I'm trying to learn all I can.)

The bike ran, but the fuel lines are dry rotted so I can start the engine yet. I'm familiar with working on old cars and I'm wanting to get it running. Besides replacing the fuel lines, siphoning the old gas and doing an oil change, are there any other things I should do before trying to start the bike?

It's been garage kept for the past 15 years and was running last year until one of the gas lines broke.

A couple easy general questions too:

Should I be running a old formula Zinc oil like VR1 or is there a specific brand of oil I should use? I'm not sure if these have flat tappets or not so I wasn't sure about the zinc.

Should I run non-ethanol fuel? I tend to do this on any of my vehicles older than the 80s. I assume is translates to bikes too.

Any tips in general for a someone new to bikes would also be appreciated.

 

[brettp]

Personally, I would check the oil level, but wouldn't change the oil until I got it running. You want the oil warmed up so it flows out better. Inspect the petcock (take it out), open the carbs and clean them according to the literature on this site, fuel rails and all.

 

[dirtdigger]

Run a motorcycle specific oil, I use valvoline motorcycle oil and amsoil. Try to use only non ethanol, ethanol has a tendency to really eat away at the aluminum in these carbs especially in moist climates and when sitting for extended amounts of time. It also has a higher tendency to vapor lock in hot temps.