freshly certified

[heff86]

hi all,

first post, got my motorcycle certification today, and now im starting the more serious hunt for my own bike.  ive found a 76 cb750 super sport that looks to be in great condition and fairly reasonable. id like to begin making some slight modifications to both performance and aesthetic but id love to hear your stories. performance differences between years of older cb750s, do's and dont's, best memories or good places to start modifications, ill take it all.

thanks in advance.

[motogrady]

Modding a bike, that's usually rider preference.
It's all about what you  like.

Myself, I keep them kinda stock, and set them up for the backroads.
I like the twisties, and rarely am more than 200 miles from home.
For this, look up "cafe'" racers.

Some guys like the long haul, visiting different cities and states.
For this, look up cruisers or touring bikes.  
They're big on seat comfort, storage for gear and some kind of fairing or windshiled.

A totally restored, but good running bike in original form is cool also.

It's what you want.

As for good memories, or things to do with them, yeah, I work on them,
but for me, it's about the ride really.  

I find myself thinking about the longer hauls lately, got some friends in far off places
I havn;t seen in ages.  We'll see.

But, for now, this is where one guy is.........

http://www.cyclebytes.com/forums/index.php?topic=1404.0

[shinyribs]

Welcome to the forum and congrats on the cert.!

I just sold a '76 CB750F.  It had 36k miles on it when i got it. I put another 13-14k miles on it after I got it going. I ran that bike hard and put it up wet. Every time. I honestly don't think you can hurt one of these bikes as long as it still has a decent amount of oil in it.

Parts are cheap and plentiful for these bikes. They handle well. They run strong and reliable. They do have a few of their own quirks,but if you have any reliability concerns I'd dismiss them. If you even halfway take care of a SOHC CB750 like this it'll run forever. My Dad put 100,000 miles on one he bought new in less than 2 years time. Never had to work on it.

They are not to be compared to modern sport bikes at all. They have good power and fairly decent brakes. They can handle curves well enough to drag the pegs, which as far over as you can expect any bike to go. They dont have a super plush comfy suspension, but they are not at all uncomfortable.You can update the suspension for a few hundred bucks and have a really nice riding bike that handles well.  

They are what they are: 70's era Japanese motorcycles. Easy to work on and maintain. Nice to look at. Fun to ride. They'll go as fast as you dare to push one. And they'll do it every day with minimal maintenance. Or you can cruise along with a silky smooth engine that can handle hilly backroads or 70 mph interstates with no strain whatsoever.

As far as aftermarket performance parts, your wallet is the limit. I've seen kits to take one all the way to 1,036 cc's producing 125hp at the back tire for a few thousand bucks. Or you can go with an 836cc kit and a good cam and get 75-80 hp at the rear tire for easily well under a grand. There are definitely parts out there.

Concerning performance differences between models my experience is limited there. That '76 F I just sold ran good and strong. I got an honest 135 mph out if it with only aftermarket exhaust. I had a chopper with a '74 K engine in it. The F would eat that thing alive and the chopper was 50 lbs lighter!