New Honda owner- 81' CB750F

[jrb87]

New guy here, I ust bought this little gem last night, self birthday present. I have had a few bikes, kept them all stock, but this one I bought specifically to turn into a soft tail bobber. Looking around the forums here, there is a lot of great info, and great looking builds.

A little about its current state: runs good, rides well, in pretty good shape for its age. Choke is stuck, and someone broke the lever off of its mount yankimg on it. So I will have to follow it down and locate why its stuck. (Feel free to advise if you know of any issues) minor oil leak somewhere on the #1cylinder, noticed it on the flanges higher up, assuming its seeping somewhere around the head. Had a light rattle at low rpm, not sure what the cause is, sound seems to come from the front of the bike. (Again advice always appreciated) it looks like someone painted the exhaust at some point, but other than that its  all original.

Reading a few other builds on here I haven't seen any specifics on the stock electronics. Is it best to keep stock electronics and just cut the wires for what you don't use, or is it easier in the long run to just buy all new wiring harnesses. All I will need is blinkers head and tail lights and speedo/odo.  For the most part I plan on keeping it relatively drivable while I work on it until I actually cut the frame and modify the rear end. Though I will keep it a soft tail, mostly bc Idaho roads are rough as hell if not dirt. The front I will likely keep stock, except removing unnecessary gauges and adding a drag bar.

I'll keep this as a build thread as I go, any advice and comments appreciated. I've never had a Honda, and the only one I road was a friends cbr1100 a few years ago, but I like the bike already and look forward to playing with it.

[motogrady]

In my opinion, that bike is too nice to bob or chop.

Therefore, I will refrain with any advice or help with it.

[Re-run]

Well, I would remove the fairing and get a nice round 7 inch headlight for it. That will change the look a lot on its own. You will need it off for some work anyways.

With the choke, you will need a new cable. So remove it but note its position. Now, where it connects to the carbs, try to move the part, if it moves then the choke in the carbs should be ok and it is just a stuck cable.
If the carbs themselves are stuck, it will be time to pull them off and clean them so you would drink through them, then clean them again. If you dip, make sure to remove every single rubber and plastic piece.

The minor oil leak would be hard to say. Is it just a weep where it slowly appears and is dirty? I have that on the left since of my bike, it is a low pressure side and is no big deal, BUT I have an sohc so this may not apply to you. It is just a thought and someone else might be able to back it up.

The rattle at low rpm, was the bike in motion or in neutral and just idling? If just neutral and idling, pull in the clutch ad see if it goes away. It is likely just a bit out of sync on the carbs, but it may be cam chain rattle so check those 2 things.

If you are keeping all that, there really isn't anything you can get rid of, so keep all the wiring. You COULD replace the connectors with new connectors, or cut them off and solder the wires. Those old connectors can raise a bunch of hell on a bike. Or get a new harness if you can find 1.

As for cutting anything up, wait till the fairing is off and you might have a whole different opinion of the bike.

[shinyribs]

Welcome to the forum!

If it were me (which it's not!)I'd rather cut up a K than an F model. But hey, it's your bike!

Looking forward to what you come up with in this.

Keep me in mind if you ever decide to sell that exhaust. You know... to help fund the build...

[shinyribs]

Re-run wrote

As for cutting anything up, wait till the fairing is off and you might have a whole different opinion of the bike.

This is very true!

http://honda-cb750-s.456789.n3.nabble.com/1981-CB750F-td2882058.html