Modern Vespa

I've been a fan of the Honda CB750 ever since they came out when I was 8 years old. My new girlfriend has one that has been sitting in a hedgerow for over 20 years. It supposedly has a good motor but various parts are missing from the front end. Turning over the motor with the kick starter seems to indicate that it has at least decent compression. I placed an ad on CL and found someone that has one that is in good shape except the motor is seized. He wants $600 for it. I will get more information and pictures. What do you think my chances are? Does anyone know a good CB750 forum that might help? Thanks.

These are my favorite bike and brings back great memories when I owned one.......or two.......or three.

Do you know what year it is?

Pics too please.

I had talked myself out of it but went to go look at it anyway. When I got there we jumped it and it started so I bought it on the spot for $600. What a deal. It's a 1976. Pictures tomorrow.

My Dad left one of these baby's behind... First moto ride as a kid. I got into riding not to long after my mom sold it.

(This is a Google photo of and exact to his ride.)

They are great bikes... well built.

That is one nice looking bike....

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php

The only place you need to be.

Oh, and if a guy named Lucky offers any advice, don't take it.

Hondaman (check out his electronic ignition, it is the BEST), Dave500, 754 and a few others are almost always on target.

Hondaman is ALWAYS on target.

I have a 75 cb550, a lot of time and money was saved by listening to those guys.

DON'T EVER PUT PODS ON! EVER!


Trawl the Tips and Tricks forum and the sub forums for advice.

and this post:

http://forums.sohc4.net/index.php?topic=7401.0 for the best general advice and a list of weaknesses and how to fix them. I have gotten half the mods done, some I just can't afford.

Long list of suppliers can be found on the site.

But your Honda dealer still carries a lot of the spare parts.

So does Bike Bandit

Old Hondas rock .. pics please

Got it running and rode it to work outlaw style. No insurance. Tag borrowed from another bike. No turn signals. No mirrors. Brake light only on the rear brake. Stupid cafe bars. I could go on. Died a mile away from home and I thought "Oh, shit." but I just forgot to turn the fuel on. I love it. I'm going to go back to as stock as practical without spending any more than I have to.

Bike looks solid ... with a bit of elbow grease, you could easily get it back to original condition. Great score matthew

I had a CB650

This was mine, good luck with your new ride.

Wow, nice bike Matthew! Have fun with it!

That's a steal Mathew. Well done

Looks like you got a great deal. No front fender though. Maybe the seller still has it?

It came with most of the removed parts. Front fender (slightly dented), mirrors (pitted), front turn signals, handlebars and tach. Doesn't need much except fiddling.

Then even a better deal. Would love to have a project like that. I had a honda cb550 back in the early eighties. Loved that bike.

Great deal. Always loved the 4 into 4 pipes. You're lucky they are still on there. Most people threw them away and put a 4 into 1 pipe on them.

Good luck with it Mathew. Was that $550? I counted $550.

I gave him a $50 down payment on Sunday and you saw me give him the remaining $550 on Monday. I'm surprised he didn't jack the price up when he found out it was running. I've ridden it about 5 miles so far and it seems basically fine. I hope so. I've been busy putting the stock fender, turn signals and handlebars back on. I'll post more pictures when it's roadworthy.

Awesome, you are inspiring me to dig out my 84 CB750 custom out of the back garage, where its been in a deep slumber for many years

Great bikes

Nice bike. My son in law has one and has really customized his into a cut down cafe racer sort of thing. I look forward to seeing yours sometime soon.

Great bike Matt. Have fun fixing it up and riding.

Broken cam. Running on two cylinders. I hope I can change it without pulling the head. Stay tuned.

I want to be you so bad right now.

Harv

Just a slight bit of sarcasm, perhaps?

uh, no?

I love the Honda CB line. Always have. You've got one to work on. My wife recently sold hers. I miss it. Hell, if I could get a Dream or a Hawk or a Super Hawk... CT70 or 90...

You have a CB. One of the coolest model lines ever. Spanning a generation and more. There is no sarcasm and I honestly don't understand how there would be.

I'm happy for ya man. A proverbial congratulatory pat on the back.

Harv

I just pulled the 82(not 84- geriatric memory) CB750C out of the bowels of the garage, man I really have clean up this pit. I am pretty sure I still have the plastic side panels somewhere. Need the shove the carbs back in, new battery, mirror, tires, oil change and she should be ready to go.

Matthew, that was a steal at $600. The fact that it runs is a cherry on top. I love the dual exhaust pipe. Please keep us updated.

Wait, your new girlfriend came with a vintage CB750?

Marry her.



SDG

^^^This. +1

I'm working on it now. Grease up to my elbows. Loving it. I still don't know if I have to pull the engine and/or the head to get the cam out. Anybody? Going to get a service manual tomorrow.

Clymer's will be good to you.

Harv

I went and looked at my library, but I only have Honda 750 books for the 4V DOHC models (K2), not useful to you.

Sorry.

P.

Update:

The girlfriend didn't work out but I was sure to get the bike.

I bought another parts bike and got the good motor mounted in the good chassis.

Got it running.

Just one problem. Number three cylinder is not firing and i can't get the spark plug out because the points are rounded over. It's down in a recessed well and I can't get ahold of it. I thought about breaking off the ceramic insulator and chiseling it out until I can get an easy out in there. Sure don't want to have to pull the motor and the head when the motor is basically sound. Any ideas on how to get that dang plug out of there?

Any ideas?

I would spray some WD down in there and let it sit for awhile.

The problem is that I can't get a grip on it because the hex points are rounded over.

You may have to drill it out very carefully.

Get a pin socket.worth a try.Theres other strip sockets too.

mathew, you could try finding a slightly undersized metric deep well, (12 point) and tap it on with a hammer, then try and remove the plug. good luck, mike

Good luck with the plug issue. i love these bikes but i would go for custom cafe racer, if it were me. regardless, If you are still stuck and wondering about forums with a ton of knowledge in the CB, you could jump to the cafe racer sites and you likely will tap into a wealth of knowledge. The cb750 is one of the most popular platforms for those builds and there are several cb750 bikes in the works at cafe racer.net under projects.

http://www.caferacer.net/

Good luck.