Just bought my first bike, happens to be a cb750!

[jcurtis21]

Hey all l just wanted your opinion on a bike I just bought the other day. Its an 82 cb750 super sport that's been turned into a cafe. I got it from a shop in Leesburg fl. And when I first looked at her she had knobby wheels and was in decent shape. I took the dive because I felt she had potential. So far they have slapped on new seats, new tires, changed the handle bars and headlights(stock) and right now I'm waiting for new carbs for it. They've also replaced most gaskets and have rewired the electrical. What really bugs me is they don't have the mileage of it because someone took off the odometer. What do you guys think about it so far? Does it sound sketchy or am I getting a good deal here. I paid 1100 down and I'm paying 150 bucks a month until its all paid off (3k) no interest. I'll post pics later

[motogrady]

Sounds sketchy.
No pic, hard to tell.
3k should get you a pretty nice runner, but then again, some places 750cbs are hard to find.
There's a few guys here from Canada, they seem to have a hard time getting them.
and I've noticed, there's not a ton of them down there, Florida,  on CList that is.


They paying for the carbs and all that it needs for you to get it going?


Look on ebay, just type in "cb 750s".

Fact is, it's a great bike, 'specially if you're going café, the SS has the disc's all around,
a bit more hp with slightly taller gearing.

Try and get a pic up, some good guys here that will help you thru.  much luck my friend.

[jcurtis21]

Thanks for the response. I will definitely post some pics up when I get home. Also everything in the price is included. Tires, seat, aftermarket exhaust borla I think, new suspension in the back..dont know what its called but its gold trimmed. As far as I know all the seals and gaskets were replaced and the compression is good. This is my first time buying a bike and I researched as much as possible but I couldn't find a cb750 around my area for my price range.

[shinyribs]

Hey bud, welcome to the forum!

$3k sounds like a lot for a bike that needs work. Any amount of work IMO. BUT!...it sounds like you are getting a bike that will be pretty much 100% gone through by the time its all said and done.

At least they knew it had good compression and it was worth spending some money on it. Hopefully the.charging system (Achilles heel for these models) and the rest of the power plant are good to go.

Good luck! Hope to see you around the board.

[motogrady]

knobbies eh?, a dirt drag bike, maybe?

[jcurtis21]

hopefully I got a good deal here! I just cant wait to get out on the road. Its taking them awhile to get everything perfect but at least i know they are putting the time into to make sure everything is good to go. thanks for all the opinions! and yeah they were weird, made the bike look like a dirt bike..hopefully they didn't try to go muddin with it. now for pics!

[shinyribs]

Racy looking bike,for sure!

What is the name on those rear shocks? The reason I ask is because the look like the "Ebay specials" you hear stories about. Supposedly they are known for coming apart. Sometimes the eyelets come unscrewed from the piston and sometimes the mounts have cracked. But I have ZERO personal experience with them,only read the horror stories online about them. And you know how the interwebs can be....

[jcurtis21]

not sure what they are called will update when I find out. I sure hope they are not! the guy said they were expensive.

[seestheday]

Pricey rear shocks can easily be $1K.  If they're a really good set then that makes the $3K a lot easier to swallow.

[jcurtis21]

Hopefully they are, I'll let you know when I go to pick her up on Thursday. As for the aesthetics what would add to the beauty of this thing? I was going to paint the red part of the engine all black. What do you guys think of the handlebars? I know its hard to tell by the pics. Just work with me here!

[TOOLS1]

I really hate to say this, but that is one botched up bike. The workmanship is shoddy at best. Please do not let anyone ride on that passenger seat!!!! For $3000.00 you can find a better bike. You should have seen a red flag when you agreed upon a price for a bike that was a work in progress. The more shortcuts they can take, the more money they can make.
TOOLS

[tcazes]

Heck the way the master cylinder is mounted should have been red flag one. The passenge seat seems to simply be on the red fender ie no real support. It has pods.... That's a no no so you know it had to be jetted. What jets were used? Did he just run it lean the whole time? Check the plugs while you are there. It's a laundry list of things really. I would definitely not go 3k by any means. Hate to break it to you but you will feel screwed if you spend 3k then get it home and start fi ding all kinds of corners cut ans things that need a proper fixing. Also he just slid the forks up in the tree leaving almost no room for travel and garbage handling if the back is not the same height also when do lowered bikes handle better? Almost never unless straight lines are all that matter

[jcurtis21]

Wow thanks for the responses guys, appreciate it. The passenger seat I noticed wasn't supported and when I asked him he said he had welded supports to it. But when I do go I will see if they can support it further. The brake master cylinder is the circular blue container at the top of the bike correct? I'll look at where to position it. The only reason I went for this is because it was 150 a month and I didn't think it looked all that bad. Thanks for letting me know what's not right with it. What should I say to this guy?

[tcazes]

the brake master cylinder reservoir is indeed the blue thing, A- its not the one for the bike so you will need to see that it has a diameter appropriate to single or dual discs up front (didnt look at the pics close enough to tell) the stamp for size should be on the underside of the master cylinder (part with the brake lever on it) the res should be mounted by a res mount on the bars not just band clamped to the forks.

as far as the rear fender it better be some awesome supports. sit on it, bounce up and down, if it gives any tell him you don't like it or want anything to do with that.

whats up with the rear brake light just hanging on there? is there a license plate mount on the bike anywhere? thats important too

the front headlight is aftermarket as it is quite a bit smaller than normal for the bike...check that out

for 3k he could have atleast put an AGM battery (maintenance free glass matt) in the thing instead of a water filled batt

the tires look ok but check the dates on them

the handlebars, are they dimpled? if not they may slide in the stock mounts under enough pressure

check the chain, how does it appear as far as the little sticker on the tensioners on the back? is it stretched? does it need replacing? with the back tire off the ground spin it, notice any spots that kink? if so it may need replacing

check the fork travel, does it move without leaking everywhere out of the dust seals? how much air does he have in the front end? should be somewhere in the range of 6-17psi

does the tranny shift smoothly from 1-5? does it slip out of any gears when you take it for a test ride? (it better be rideable for 3k)

hows the oil look? how often was it changed? what oil filter did they use?

bring a flashlight and look inside the tank..any rust that you can see? does it have an inline fuel filter? can you see any particles in it? check the petcock in all positions, any leakage?

the exhaust looks good from what i can see, any rust? any cracks? any leaks around the flanges at the head?

check for any rust or painted over spots on the frame. paint generally means there was rust, if so was it repaired or painted over

on the tank see if there are any signs of rust repair on the tank as well before they painted it

check the brakes, do they stick? any leaks or swollen lines?

how do the gaskets look as far as you can see around the head, rotor cover etc?

bring a multimeter and put the pos on the pos terminal and black on black, what does the voltage read? run the bike up to 5k what does it read then? check to make sure the charging system works this way.

visually inspect bushings in the swingarm if you can see them, do they looked cracked or have chunks missing?

definitely check sparkplugs and look down in the spark plug holes with a flashlight if you can to see the piston head.

sorry im so anal but here is just a kind of guidline for things to check......im always leary of buying used and if you are thorough it tends to scare the dishonest sellers into either coming off the price a good bit or atleast admitting they are wrong....

[jcurtis21]

Thanks man that is alot of useful info! When I first saw the bike with a friend everything looked good. Like the chain had no rust no kinks or holes. They told me they changed all the gaskets like vcg etc. And gave me new carburetors. So it seems to me that they've gone through everything. But I will be bringing a mechanic with me when I go to pick it up. I will definitely check out the passenger seat. It just looks like its floating. I think they were trying to make a bobber out of this thing at one point.

[jcurtis21]

So I was just scouring CL and found my exact same bike on there (the one I'm buying) for 1000..i just got scammed. I understand they have to make money but I feel like they barely put a grand into to make it run. Which means they are getting 2200 dollars from me. I'd be happy paying that price but this bike better be perfect.

[tcazes]

Damn well we are here to help out

[Truck]

Nothing wrong with buying a bike that is still getting worked on. I just hope you got everything in writing and most importantly that you don't owe a dime untill the bike is finished to YOUR STANDARDS that you agreed upon. A time frame they have to complete the build in should also be included. For 3 grand you should be getting a hell of a ride. You can buy a new bike for around $150 a month, but then again we are all a litle cracked in the head for everything we go through with these great bikes! Good luck!

[jcurtis21]

Trust me I'm being very cautious with this. All I've given them is the 1100 down and when I pick up the bike if it fits my criteria then I will be giving the shop 400 for the work. Because the bike was 2800 and the work was 400. I'm not worrying to much because this shop looks very reputable.

[tcazes]

let us know how it goes. you can finance an 07 and up new bike for (in my case a vt750c) for 49 bucks a month. its all about credit. for 3k it better be one hell of a bike with a freshly powder coated frame, rebuilt pistons etc imo