Some of you have been following my quest for the correct paint colors for a '79 CB750L 10th Anniversary Edition. All that is past now and the bike is back on the road. I'm finally ready to admit my mistakes.
I bought the bike in Sept of '22 from a shop in Albuquerque, NM. I found it on the internet and had an acquaintance off another forum stop by the shop and look at it for me. His opinion after looking at, listening to, and a short ride around the parking lot was that the bike was an 8.5-9 out of 10. Sent the shop a check and told them I'd be there in Dec. This is the bike when I picked it up.
The bike was just as advertised and ran/runs outstanding. All was well for '22 and '23, up to April of '24. I should mention that I live and travel in a 37' motor home. I travel between Arkansas in the winter and California in the summer, where I spend the summer managing Forest Service campgrounds. So in April of '24 I loaded the bike and the Jeep on the trailer, hooked onto the motor home and made the trek to Cali. The morning after I arrived I decided to unload the Jeep and the bike. Have to unload the Jeep first so I have room to walk beside the bike . Untied the Jeep, got into it, started it and before I could move the shifter, my foot slipped off the clutch pedal and disaster struck. This is what happens when you smack the side of the bike with the front bumper and winch fairlead of a Jeep Wrangler.
Took me another couple of days to get the gumption up to unload the bike and the search for a replacement tank started. Took almost a month to find a correct tank that I was happy with. Several on Ebay that even had the correct paint job but they either had exterior damage or too much rust. Finally found a doo-doo brown one that fit the bill. Installed it and rode the bike through the summer of '24 with a brown tank.
Also, before I moved into the motor home I had a hot rod and restoration shop. Unfortunately, I sold everything when I retired so I don't have a place to paint, nor do I have the equipment to paint anymore, even though I have the skills required. I found somebody I trusted to do a good job and the search for the correct colors begain. The stripe kit was no big deal, VintageCB750.com carries the kit. The kit includes everything needed except the "wear a helmet" sticker on the tank. Told my painter that since that one decal is on top of the paint on the factory paint job that if I bought the bike new, that sticker wouldn't have lasted the week before I got a heat gun and pulled it off. The colors themselves were harder because no one seemed to know exactly what the darker color is. After spending about $200 on samples and spray-outs we decided that the paint store could do a better match than what we were finding. Turns out we were right about that. The tank and covers were dropped at the painter and the wait began.
![IMG_7624[1].jpg](https://www.cb750.com/attachments/img_7624-1-jpg.21463/ "IMG_7624[1].jpg")
Due to all the wasted time, the guy didn't get the bike done before I had to leave for California in April of '25 so I missed a summer of riding while the bike slept. No big deal, you say, but at 74 years old I don't have all that many summers left to ride. Oh well, such is life.
Anyway, in mid-November I returned to Arkansas. After settling in, catching up on all my doctor appointments and such I picked the tank and covers up from the painter.
Hint, the new tank has the emblems installed and you can see the "wear a helmet" sticker on the old tank.
Anyway, got the bike together, woke it up from its year-long nap and actually got a couple of nice rides in before the weather went to crap. Sorry, too old to ride when the high temps drop into the 40's now.
Anyway, that's my story. Sorry the post was so long, hopefully the pics made it worth scrolling through. Oh, and in the last year, I've picked up the habit of taking the Jeep out of gear before I start it...every time, not just on the trailer. Hopefully that will keep me from making the same mistake again down the road.
I bought the bike in Sept of '22 from a shop in Albuquerque, NM. I found it on the internet and had an acquaintance off another forum stop by the shop and look at it for me. His opinion after looking at, listening to, and a short ride around the parking lot was that the bike was an 8.5-9 out of 10. Sent the shop a check and told them I'd be there in Dec. This is the bike when I picked it up.
The bike was just as advertised and ran/runs outstanding. All was well for '22 and '23, up to April of '24. I should mention that I live and travel in a 37' motor home. I travel between Arkansas in the winter and California in the summer, where I spend the summer managing Forest Service campgrounds. So in April of '24 I loaded the bike and the Jeep on the trailer, hooked onto the motor home and made the trek to Cali. The morning after I arrived I decided to unload the Jeep and the bike. Have to unload the Jeep first so I have room to walk beside the bike . Untied the Jeep, got into it, started it and before I could move the shifter, my foot slipped off the clutch pedal and disaster struck. This is what happens when you smack the side of the bike with the front bumper and winch fairlead of a Jeep Wrangler.
Took me another couple of days to get the gumption up to unload the bike and the search for a replacement tank started. Took almost a month to find a correct tank that I was happy with. Several on Ebay that even had the correct paint job but they either had exterior damage or too much rust. Finally found a doo-doo brown one that fit the bill. Installed it and rode the bike through the summer of '24 with a brown tank.
Also, before I moved into the motor home I had a hot rod and restoration shop. Unfortunately, I sold everything when I retired so I don't have a place to paint, nor do I have the equipment to paint anymore, even though I have the skills required. I found somebody I trusted to do a good job and the search for the correct colors begain. The stripe kit was no big deal, VintageCB750.com carries the kit. The kit includes everything needed except the "wear a helmet" sticker on the tank. Told my painter that since that one decal is on top of the paint on the factory paint job that if I bought the bike new, that sticker wouldn't have lasted the week before I got a heat gun and pulled it off. The colors themselves were harder because no one seemed to know exactly what the darker color is. After spending about $200 on samples and spray-outs we decided that the paint store could do a better match than what we were finding. Turns out we were right about that. The tank and covers were dropped at the painter and the wait began.
Due to all the wasted time, the guy didn't get the bike done before I had to leave for California in April of '25 so I missed a summer of riding while the bike slept. No big deal, you say, but at 74 years old I don't have all that many summers left to ride. Oh well, such is life.
Anyway, in mid-November I returned to Arkansas. After settling in, catching up on all my doctor appointments and such I picked the tank and covers up from the painter.
Hint, the new tank has the emblems installed and you can see the "wear a helmet" sticker on the old tank.
Anyway, got the bike together, woke it up from its year-long nap and actually got a couple of nice rides in before the weather went to crap. Sorry, too old to ride when the high temps drop into the 40's now.
Anyway, that's my story. Sorry the post was so long, hopefully the pics made it worth scrolling through. Oh, and in the last year, I've picked up the habit of taking the Jeep out of gear before I start it...every time, not just on the trailer. Hopefully that will keep me from making the same mistake again down the road.
