!978 CB750 build

[Lucky 1]

I just used my small home hobby band saw.
I knocked out the box in two afternoons.

3/4 ply with PL Premium glue in a caulking gun from any big box store or hardware store.

[Lucky 1]

Slid the box down these 8 ft 2x4 ramps.
To get the box on the truck I lifted the box with my hydraulic lift table 20 inches then
used 2x4s to slide the box into the truck.

When I got to the trucking company they used a fork lift to take
the box and a fork lift to put the box back on the truck when it returned.

[Lucky 1]

I found a right hand switch housing that I liked today.

It had some melted wires and it needed some work.
About 3 hours in surgery.

Very basic. a start button 1 wire to ground.
And it has a light switch with ON, LO, and HB. Perfect.



Had to separate a clump of melted wires.
I just cut the lever pivot mount off.
Then painted it all black.

[TOOLS1]

Do, you know what it came off of?
TOOLS

[Lucky 1]

No. I do not know.
The wires looked stock but the wire colors did not match K1.K2,K3-K7

The switch had a pivot point for a cable operated front brake. Maybe a CB450,CB350?
It would be nice to know where to get more of them.
I will try to find out.

OK...I found out it is just like a 1969 CB450. There could be others too.
New source people!!! This is a good style switch.
The 1974 Honda CB450 switch DOES have a kill switch. You can get those on Ebay for about $50.
If you get a 1974 right switch there is no lever mount to cut off.

[sgtslag]

It's amazing how a fresh coat of paint will really dress a part up.  That switch housing looks great in black.  Nice work, Donald!  Cheers!

[Lucky 1]

Thanks sgyslag.

My wiring system is a 1975 OEM new harness, Ricks Motosports Regulator, rectifier, and 1978 starter solenoid with yellow/red and green/yellow wire.
NO Starter motor safety unit. Just a jumper wire from green to green/yellow.
A 1978 left hand switch that only operates the signals and the horn.
No clutch switch.
Dynatech iginition, wires, and coils.
Right hand CB450 switch with start switch and headlights Lo/Hi beam. and cruise knob 1969. No kill switch.
Oil pressure light AND oil pressure gauge.
Neutral light indicator.
All warning lights are part of the speedometer from Cycle Exchange.

[TOOLS1]

I was working on a 71 CB 100 today, and it has a right hand switch that looks just like yours. However the throttle cable in inside the switch housing, and goes through the handlebars. It was really slick looking. Does yours have the two cable system, or just one? Also, how did, you do the red in the letters?
TOOLS

[Lucky 1]

To put the paint in the letters just use a tooth pick and if there is too much paint or it spills over the groove just swipe over it right away with a cloth, and it will look perfect.
Obviously the black paint must already be completely dry.

One throttle cable. Thats all you need.

I remember the days ( dealership mechanic days and those handlebars with the wires going through them.
What a nightmare!! They were very tight inside the handle bar and after 2-3 years one of the wires inside the handlebar would short out against the rough cut oval hole in the handlebar.

If you were inexperienced you would look all over the bike for a shorted wire but we knew it was always the handlebar problem. I do not like wires inside of handlebars.

A throttle cable inside of a handlebar is usually a aftermarket throttle. Not a standard Honda practice.
There may have been some but NOT on a CB750.

[TOOLS1]

This was original Honda, but it was on a CB 100. I all most wanted to take it apart just to see how it operated. I know the little Monkey bikes (the 50, and 70 that had fold down handlebars) had internal throttles in the handle bars. I'm glad I never had to change a cable on one of them.
TOOLS

[Lucky 1]

TOOLS 1 you have enough motorycles to start your own motorcycle museum.
twenty five cents, per person?  Free pop corn. LOL....lol..lol

[Retcol]

Beautiful work, alot of hard work, but what exceptional results. Do you mind sharing what the motor rebuild cost you? Did they refinish the case also? The motor looks fabulous. I just bought a 1980 750K about as rough as yours was. I plan on pretty much doing the same, total strip down, but repainting the frame. My bike is missing alot of parts, especially electrical and fasterners, but I guess all that is available some place. Good luck with the rest of your project and keep the photos coming on your progress.

[Lucky 1]

You can go to Cycle Exchange website and look at the engine rebuilds and hot rod engines.
You have a 1980 and that is DOHC.

You will need to ask Cycle Exchange if they will do that type of engine.

Cycle Exchange rebuilds are priced according to what they do to the engine.
I made an agreement that I had a budget and I could not exceed that budget.
It was $2500.00 That did not include shipping. I did not have any polishing done on any of the parts.
Many of their rebuilds are $3,400.00
I gave the engine to them cleaned up. Not a filthy engine.

What I got was a rebuild with .040 over pistons and a road race cam.

They painted the cases and cleaned all the parts. They measured things and assembled
all of the parts. They also ran the engine on a test stand.

I would say make a clear agreement about what you want.
Have them inform you if there are any problems as they come up.
Like I said I do not know if they do DOHC engines.

I would call them and ask to talk to Ken.

[Lucky 1]

Just take it one step at a time.

First take the motorcycle all apart.
Make sure to have a safe place with a work bench to do the project.
Do not take apart small parts and leave them on the floor. They will get kicked all over the place.
Do not let children in the area. They like to play with stuff.
One member on one of these forums took apart a set of carbs and the kids got into the parts.
He lost a irreplacable part. (his own fault)

Then Clean the engine.
After that strip the frame and get it painted.
Put the frame over the engine before you put the wheels on.

Take photos of everything so that later on you have a reference if the books
 and online things have information or photo gaps.

If you have a computer it will save time because you will need to shop for parts.
I liked Bike Bandit for bolts and nuts and OEM parts. They ship parts out fast.
Be careful of any website that you cannot call. Some do not take calls or emails. A real problem.
Bike Bandit.com
Parts-N-More.com
Many others.
Most of these companies including Cycle Exchange do business on Ebay.

Your mantra should be....Do not put any item on the bike that is rust or in bad condition.
Corrosion treat all parts. That means buy a gallon of phosphoric acid. Buy WD40.

[Lucky 1]

I got the carbs on and the throttle cable put together
during this 2011 Christmas holiday.
It had to be a special cable.
1975 housing, 1978 throttle sleeve, and 1978 cable
housing from the return side, switched to the pull side.


Carbs are 1978 with accelerator pump.
Slides have been cut down by Cycle Exchange.
Larger main jets.
New idle jets.
.022 thousandths shims under the slide needles.
Will use Velocity stacks with screens.
4 into 2 into 1 Cycle Exchange exhaust with muffler.

[shinyribs]

I wasn't sure if I was gonna like this bike or not...but the bow just set it off!

Lookin' good Donald

[Retcol]

Thanks for the great advice and encouraging words. When I look at it, I get overwhelmed how much work needs to be done. I plan on removing the engine, stripping down the frame, cleaning years of dirt, grease and grime and lots of rust off everything. Then I'll paint the frame. Then clean and polish the engine and reinstall. Next comes the forks and trailing arms, wheels and brakes. That should look alot better than she does now! Next comes the hardest part for me - the electrical, which I have no experience with. This bike didn't come with any electrical parts, so I have to rewire everything from scratch. Thats what really scares me the most, so many wires and connectors and switches, etc! UGH! I've got the shop manual and all the wiring diagrams, but its all Greek to me! Pray for me brothers!

[Retcol]

Holy Smokes, you are so talented! I don't think I could even maker that good a box! Did you build your own house too? I wish I lived close to you so I could watch you in action and learn a thing or two or hundred. You are building a super beautiful bike!

[Retcol]

Another quick question. When I get through polishing my engine, I don't want to put the same old bolys back in. Does anybody know a source for polished or chrome or stainless steel engine bolts for the covers, cases, etc that sell them all in one package?

[donald branscom]

You can get some bolt sets on
ebay.

Remember...One thing at a time.
First take it all apart and put things in boxes.
Keep bolts and nuts with the assemblies.

Every person that builds anything has to do cleaning etc.,.
But it helps to familiarize you with the parts.