Re: '81 CB750F trying to get it road ready.

Posted by Chicago Ted on
URL: http://vintage-and-classic-hondas.81.s1.nabble.com/81-CB750F-trying-to-get-it-road-ready-tp4042282p4045186.html

Well, you see, now I am learning things. It makes sense, now that I think about it, that bad head gaskets are mainly a problem for liquid cooled bikes.

None of my plugs were oily. I even tried to swap out the plug on the bad cylinder with one from the #1 cylinder, with no success. I really don't think I am up to the task of replacing my valve stems or piston rings. From what I have gathered, those seem like difficult tasks for a layman without advanced tools. I was thinking of borrowing or renting a compression tester, and then doing a leak down test, which, from what I read, will at least let me know if I have bad piston rings, or bad seals. Either way, I am going to be taking the bike to a professional, I expect. My main question is how much you expect it ought to cost me to get it repaired.

My main concern is this. I knew that I would be fixing the bike up some when I bought it. That is why I was not too upset when I realized that the carbs needed major work. I thought, "Okay, I will just take it to a professional, they will get it done all the way, correctly, and then I won't need to worry about it." Now, less than a week after getting the bike back, I am now facing another major repair. My question is, how often am I going to have to do this? Can I reasonably expect to be able to rely on this bike at any point? Is it going to be unreasonably expensive to own if I am not a mechanic? I realized that vintage bikes would probably not be as good of a value as getting a modern one. I was willing to accept that cost in exchange for the history and retro feel. But if it is going to have breakdowns like this all the time, I would consider swapping it for a more modern bike.

So, what do you think guys? Should I press on with this adventure, or should I stop digging myself into this money pit?