Worth the resto, or mod it?

[Wingus]

Hello,
I just joined this forum but I’m not new to bikes nor vintage Hondas. That being said, I picked up a non running, low miles (7,610) 1979 CB750KLTD for a steal ($700). The bike is complete with all of its badges side covers, and had a Vetter Vindicator along with a set of detachable Vetter saddlebags.
The bike sat since 1989 but with just a little bit of gas she ran for a few seconds. Took the carbs off and used about 3 cans of brake cleaner and 0000 steel wool to clean all the metal pieces and any sliding components. After that it ran well enough for me to heat up the oil and clean itself out. Changed the oil, put new spark plugs in and gapped them. After I got the clutch freed up and working I bled the brakes and was able to give it a test ride within a week of owning it.
I’ve always liked doing mods and creating a one of a kind bike, however this 750 is so complete I’m torn between doing a strict resto and flip or go all in on mods. I haven’t bothered to do a resto at all so I’m not sure what the value of it would be. I’ve seen some on marketplace for this exact bike in the ballpark of 10-15k but that seems excessive. I’d love to hear any input yall might have on it.

 

[dirtdigger]

The dohc bikes dont have the collectable factor of the sohc so unless you really like the dohc bikes its not going to gain you anything to restore it to stock. If someone is asking 10-15k they are going to be waiting a long time for someone to pick it up unless its very low mileage perfect condition in my opinion. I have never seen one go for more than couple thousand around here.

 

[Wingus]

That’s kind of what I figured. Didn’t know if the anniversary edition meant anything towards the value but the paint is in rough shape from gas. I know I can make a little bit on the fairing and bags since I’ve got keys for them all. With less than 10k on the odo this bike is just barely broken in, I can’t wait to see what the insides look like when I polish the cases

 

[dirtdigger]

with 10k miles it probably has the valves worn tight already. I about guarantee it needs valve adjust. They can burn valves at less than 10k

 

[Wingus]

I’ll go ahead and adjust those tonight. I got some used tires from work that I’ve got to slap on as well. Since these bikes do not have restoration value I’ve got to look into a general direction for styling. I heard putting gsxr inverted forks and a dual disc wheel on the front is a common mod for the cb

 

[Old_Crow]

Depiite what Digger said (becasue he dosn't much care for the DOHC bikes), that is the anniversary edition, and they only made 5000 of them. To people who like the DOHC bikes they're worth more. I've seen nice ones going for $7500.

 

[grewth]

I generally don't like to see standard, original bikes mutilated for no apparent reason.
There are thousands of bikes out there that have already been molested and hacked about by previous owners, and they would all make excellent donor bikes for a cafe racer or whatever you want.
Look at it this way, that bike has already become a survivor bike by remaining in original condition for 46 years.
I'd be inclined to just fix it up and ride it some.

 

[Wingus]

With that being said, would any reliability mods like an electronic ignition or led lighting affect the value?

 

[grewth]

I'm pretty sure that the ignition on the DOHC bikes was breakerless right from the start.
As for LED lighting, I'm not keen on it myself, but it's easy enough to reverse and go back to old fashioned bulbs if required

 

[Old_Crow]

I'm pretty sure that the ignition on the DOHC bikes was breakerless right from the start.
As for LED lighting, I'm not keen on it myself, but it's easy enough to reverse and go back to old fashioned bulbs if required

Yes, the '79 Ltd bike is electronic ignition from the factory. Also has the CV carbs, so unless you want to be constantly messing with the carbs, stay away from "pod" filters. I wouldn't mind replacement LEDs in the headlight and taillight, but I've never seen a set of LED turn signals that I liked. The direct replacement bulbs are sometimes finicky to get working and I absolutely hate the stupid miniature replacement ones. I want lights that are big enough to be seen by the people in the cars around me.
I had a different Anniversary edition bike back in the day and it had the Windjammer on it. Loved it. At the time I would have killed for that set of luggage to go with it, but now-a-days I only putt around locally so a luggage rack is enough.

 

[Wingus]

I’m not fond of the small universal led ones either. The way that Honda likes to wire their turn signals requires both a led flasher unit and an inline diode to allow for led bulbs to work properly. On my Valkyrie I was able to get around using a diode by simply disconnecting the indicator on my bezel, but not I forget they’re on. As for pod filters, I know to stay away from those. The Honda airbox is sacred and shall not be tampered with without heavy modifications to the carbs. It will be interesting to see what I can get for this bike.

 

[Bo82CB]

On my 82CB750F, I replaced all of blinker bulbs with LED bulbs, also installed LED flasher. No need for diode, everything is working like a charm!

 

[Wingus]

Interesting, I’ll have to try it out. Haven’t had a Honda that’s worked so easily with led bulbs. For now the turn signals are actually pretty bright, but the headlight definitely needs to change