79 "Boat Tail" 750K

[rich]

Here's my 79 750K.

I like it because it has the body work by the tail light. Gives it that sporty look like a 750F. As far as I know it's the only year they made the K's with the body work like that. I just picked it up last Saturday for $500. It's still in the truck because: 1) I fell out of the truck when I was loading the bike and banged my leg up real good and, 2) The tranny in the truck blew and I had to have the truck and the bike towed the last 15 miles home. So maybe this bike is cursed and should just stay in the truck for a while until the spell wears off.







It's got a really nasty dent from getting knocked down during some bad weather we had her not long ago.


And I put these dents in when I fell out of the truck! I've already got another tank on the way from ebay ($61). The bike does look better than my leg though. So I think she won this round.


She does run but misses and pops a bit. The charging system doesn't appear to be working so that could be a contributing factor. I'll get that sorted along with new plugs and timing before I start on the carbs.

Also, for any of you in Kansas (TOOLS that means you bro), I have the leading bid on a 1978 750K that's on a local auction site. But since my truck's broke I won't be able to go get it (it's 150 miles from my home). So if you bid more than $325 it's yours. LOL. I might be able to take it apart and stuff it in my wife's minivan if I have to (she'll love that since it was actually her truck I blew the tranny out of).

[TOOLS1]

Hey Rich Welcome to the forum.
I think that bike just might be too much, for you. Tell you what. I'll save, you from another beating, and take it off your hands
Thanks, for the tip on the other bike. Now I wish I had not just spent my bike money this month. Just bought two 81 CB 750s. A custom with a good engine, but no title, and a K with a bad engine, but a good title.
TOOLS

[rich]

I think it is too much for me. I sold two dirt bikes (Kawi KDX 200s), which together didn't weigh as much as the CB, to buy a street bike. I had a 750K just like this back in the late eighties but I don't remember it being such a beast to move around. I rode those dirt bikes like a mad man and never got hurt but this beast almost killed me just getting it in the truck.

I' guess I'll just have to take the seats out of the minivan and go get that 78 this Friday. I can't cancel the bid and it looks like it's gonna be mine. I think it'll fit in there without the wheels and fairing on it. So I'll have one of each (DOHC & SOHC) for a while. I think I'll sell the 79 once I get the new tank on and fix the alternator. I should be able to get a least 1000 for it if it's running smooth and looking good. Then, I'll just rebuild the 78. Or maybe I should start with something smaller, like a CB350 (I had one of those too back in high school, great bike) and work my way back up the big boy's bike.

[TOOLS1]

I also had a CB 350, but I did not go to high school
If, you win that bike, and do not want it, let me know.
TOOLS

[rich]

I just got outbid on the the '78. Whew, close call. I really didn't want to deal with it right now with everything else I've got going on. It's up to $375 now. Too much to pay without looking at first.

[rich]

I finally had a chance to get the beast out of the truck today. Charged up the battery and went for a couple of brief runs in front of the house. It runs really well (with a charged battery).

The charging system is not working, so I couldn't ride it much. I just wanted to run it through all the gears to be sure they all worked, which is tough when you live on a dirt road. I zipped it up to about the red line in 1st, 2nd, and had to back off in 3rd because I was doing close to 70 by then. You can tell when the battery starts to get weak because the high-rpm performance just goes away. Also, I believe I saw the oil light glow (very dim, not bright like when you turn the key on) just a bit a couple of times while I was checking it out. It may have just been the way the sun was hitting it or maybe it was caused by the  low voltage too. I was about a half quart low on oil though.

If we ever get a break in this weather, I'll get to inspecting the wiring and testing the alternator components. I'm going to leave it on the battery charger for at least 8 hours too before testing it. It was 106 here today (at least according to the thermometer on my front porch, it was). I've never seen it that hot and I lived in Vegas for 5 years.    

The truck's transmission appears to be OK. Last weekend, when I was bringing the bike home, I stopped to get gas and noticed a huge puddle of fluid so I had the truck towed home. I read where others had the same thing occur on their F150's with the same E40D transmission. Common factors were, heat, load, and a transmission that was well past due for a fluid and filter change. It just got so hot the fluid, for lack of a better term, "boiled over" and exited via the front seal. After they were allowed to cool down and the fluid topped off (mine took about 2 quarts) the seals seemed to hold again. We don't use the truck that often, only about 1000 miles a year, if that. I need to drain and flush all the fluids. I don't even remember the last time I changed the coolant. Just like bikes, letting a vehicle sit is the worse thing for it.

[rich]

Checked the stator and rotor today. The rotor is bad. I thought the stator was bad too but I guess I wasn't getting a good connection with my meter. After removing it and testing it again it was fine so I put it back on and it still tests fine. I ordered a used rotor of ebay and I'm going to send mine and have it rewound so I'll always have a spare. It wasn't too hard to remove the nut from the crankshaft so I'm wondering if mine hasn't been replaced before. I'm waiting on the puller to come in before I remove the rotor. Hopefully the rotor and the tool will both arrive next week and I can actually ride the thing for a bit. I also have another gas tank coming. It looks to be in really good shape but it is burgundy and my bike is brown so I'll have to decide whether want to paint the tank or my side covers and seat fairing to match. I'll probably just try to find some color that's close to the tank's color and spray bomb the brown pieces.

[TOOLS1]

If you do not mind me asking? What did the the rotor cost? I have an 81 K model with a bad engine I am going to part out.
TOOLS

[rich]

It was $120 for the rotor. I know you can get rebuilt ones for a little more than that but also hear they don't last as long as a good OEM rotor. So I thought I'd take a chance on the used one. They're over $400 new from Honda.

[TOOLS1]

Thanks. I did not know they were gold plated I would have sold mine, for $25.00
TOOLS

[rich]

Darn, I knew I should have emailed first to see if you had one. Even with the gas to drive to KC from here I'd would have been money ahead.

People are always looking for the covers (alternator and clutch, etc.) too. They go for good money if they're not scratched up.

[TOOLS1]

I have those. I was thinking of buffing them up (I do aluminum polishing), and putting them on E-bay. Do not have ant idea of their worth.
TOOLS

[rich]

I'm just starting out with trying to sell one ebay. I'm listing all the extra parts I had for the Kawasaki KDX 200s I sold. I have a gas tank, wheel bearings, brake pads, fork seals and bunch of other bits and pieces to get rid of.

I just hit the limit of 10 items to sell for the month. It's taken me a few hours to take the pictures and do the postings. We'll see if it was worth the effort.

[TOOLS1]

I did not know they had a limit. I have a lot of parts I need to put up, for sale.
TOOLS

[rich]

Turns out it's a limit of 100, not 10. I had to verify my phone number and it let me post more. I got all the KDX parts listed. Now I'm looking at my pile of Chilton's manuals for all my old cars and bikes that I no longer own and thinking about listing them too.

[TOOLS1]

What manuals do you have? I am always interested in manuals.
TOOLS

[rich]

Can't locate any bike manuals. Just cars and trucks. Mostly Chilton's. Ford Pick Ups 65-86, Chevrolet full size 68-83, VW New Beetle, Subaru 85-96, Suzuki Samrai/Sidekick/Tracker 86-98, Ford Ranger Bronco II 83-92, Chevy S10/Blazer 94-04, Nissan Pickups 80-97, Toyota Pickups 79-85.

It's funny, I got manuals for all these old cars that I no longer own but I don't have any manuals for the cars I currently own.

[rich]

My alternator rotor and puller arrived today. What luck, they both arrived on the same day. Despite the fact that it was 108 degrees outside,  I went ahead and pulled the rotor and installed the new one and buttoned everything up. I was having a difficult time getting the rotor off. The puller tool is just a bolt, not the kind with hollow inside that you thread another bolt into. I could have just used the rear axle, it's the same thread. I put the bike in 5th gear and stood on the back break while tightening the puller, but eventually went for the big hammer. Two taps on the end of the puller and the rotor just fell off! What a relief.

With the new rotor on, it was only putting out about 13 volts @3000rpm so I checked my stator wires again for continuity. Found one that didn't have continuity between the other two. I pulled of the stator cover and pulled out the stator. I poked around with my meter to see if I could find where the dead wire stopped and after fiddling with it for a while I got all three wires working again. It's putting out 14.7 volts now. I'm sure it won't last, there's obviously a broken connection in there somewhere so I ebay'ed up another one. I could only get it working by rotating the stator slightly which put a little tension on the wires.

Last night I put some lower bars on. I had them left over from my dirt bikes. The cross brace was removable so I thought I'd try them out. There not quite drag bars but they only have about a 2 1/2" rise and very little pull back. They look slick but I'm not sure I'll keep them on. My wrists started to hurt after only a few minutes of riding. Of course I was wrestling the beast on a dirt/gravel road so maybe I was a little tense. I'll have to try them out on the highway and see how they feel.

[TOOLS1]

Are, you planning on entering it in Vintage Motorcross?
TOOLS

[rich]

Well I've yet to ride it on pavement so it is primarily an off-road bike at this time. !

I did order some bars for it tonight though. They should be about an inch higher with 3" of pull back.