tinkering with my 82 CB750 SS

[MTDewX8]

First post here, so be easy on me. I have MANY questions, but will try and refrain and pace my self.

So my situation has left me bikeless for 5 years and had to get something. ended up buying a bike that i can tinker on and eventually start some sort of mild cafe build. plus its the bike my dad bought way back when he bought me my first bike. And my thought was to fix it up and ride to see him for a visit just to see the look on his face.

but as i tinker I get deeper into things that need attention when I would rather get the things that need fixing so I can ride it this summer. then come winter I can get a little more involved. well I feel I am now to a point that is getting deeper to where, since I am in there I might as well fix this, this , this and so forth.

I have been trying to get the rubber boots from the carbs to the air box on so I can at least ride it to the shop to get new tires. well needless to say after many attempts and lots of frustration I now have the air box out and carbs hanging by the throttle cable. it needed cleaning anyway.

so my question is shall I plan on re-using the stock air box and I buy new boots. OR go with the cone type filters that will open up that area. I have heard you need to reJet if you go that route though and I am not the greatest mech. so I would plan on pay someone to do that. and the boots are a pain in the arse for sure.

while the carbs are out should I have them rebuilt/cleaned? I test drove the bike with no air filters and in that condition it was a very short ride because I didn't want to ruin anything. ran good up to about 4500rpm then bogged down and my guess was because there was no air filter.

I am new to the site and dont get on here that often to give me time before I can post pics etc.

my list of things I want to do are. in no particular order as I would prefer them all addressed before I get riding it.
-tires
-rear brake attention
-fork seals
-air filters
front brake resevoir (very chalky and old)

I plan on getting a manual to help with my learning of the bike and know what is what. all it has for a seat is the plasitic, but i can deal with rags for now for around town riding once I fix and get things running. will do a cheap foam seat soon enough.

thanks for any help and finger points in a direction that can help me. one issue I have is my bike is in my storage unit, so no power or internet when tinkering.

[motogrady]

man, you are on the verge of turning that bike into a pile of parts.
forget the café thing for now, screw the pods and the rejetting, concentrate on
fixing what you have.  there's guys here that can do a complete rebuild like you're talking,
tools, shineyribs come to mind, but they are an exception.
no offense, but you want to take small, complete steps at this point.

you might want to do the carb clean up, but even that is a touchy thing.

there's plenty of threads here on guys doing it, it's not all that, just take pics as you go,
it's real easy to forget or misinstall all those small things.

reinstall the throttle and choke cables before the rack of carbs goes back on,
mark them so you don't get them mixed up, I use different shots of spray paint
while they're still on to tell them apart.

and getting the rack back into the rubber boots, only way I can get them is to take
an nylon tiedown, the 6 foot ones that atr maybe an inch wide, the ratchet kind,
wrap it around the front of the frame and behind the carbs, crank them in slowly
whilt tapping them with a rubber mallet or something, watch breaking a fin with the tiedown,
and put the airbox back on, that bike is plenty fast enough, and those CV carbs
most agree need the vacuum the box creates.

get it rideable, get to know it first, how it feels, a baseline for the mods to come if you insist
on the never ending quest for more hp and handleing.

good luck dude

[TOOLS1]

You can download the Factory Service Manual for free from the link in the "Manuals" thread at the top of the home page here.
TOOLS

[MTDewX8]

thanks for the replies.

yes TOOLS I found the manual link and will look more at it when I have time.

as for the other reply, yeah the build will be slow as funds are tight. recovering from going back to school and working part time for two years. so yeah, it will be slow. I dont plan to going crazy on any kind of build. mostly simple stuff that dont affect the over all bike.

i just hate to do things twice. so if I have something apart and can fix it while I am in there I will fix it now than take it apart again.

I will buy new boots because I need them anyway. hopefully it goes back together easier than what i have been dealing with.

I still need fork seals and at least a new front tire with rear brake pads. then I should be running good for now.


thanks again for all the replies, I am new to the site and as forums go they can be scary sometimes. not such feeling here. cheers

[shinyribs]

The stock air boxes are absolutely horrible to deal with. No doubt about that. But getting pods to work can be even worse. I had one rack of carbs that I tuned on for months trying to make pods work and never had any success. I bought another rack off a buddy that had already been working with pods and they still work flawlessly. So pods are possible,but it's a crapshoot getting them to work,it seems.

The beauty of the stock air box is that it works all the time,every time and it never fails. Once you get your carbs good and clean (this is a MUST,but also very easy to get right) you only have to fight that airbox once. Keep a good,high quality fuel filter on the bike ( nothing but paper elements for me-mesh element filters don't filter ell enough) and use fuel stabilizer as needed. You won;t have to pull the carbs again.

Since there is 4 of everything it can seem like a lot to do,but these are simple machines. You can do this.But you'll need the right tools.

Carb kits can be expensive. Especially if you need all4 air cut-off valves. Those little dudes retail for about $35...each! Yo could easily drop $10+ rebuilding the carbs yourself. But it's sooo easy.

Then you'll need to synch them. Used to be able to buy a synch tool ( a rack of four individual vacuum gauges) for around $60. Might be more now. Gotta be done though or it'll never run even close to right. But again,this is super easy to do. Just takes a willingness to ask and learn.

They're simple,but buying four of everything can get pricey,so be prepared. maybe shop prices first. But once up and running they are silly reliable. So it's money well spent IMO.

Welcome in and good luck on your project. See ya around the forum.

[LukeM]

Moved this thread to a more appropriate section.

I concur: get the bike running, then focus on modifying it to suit your needs. You may find that the stock configuration works well enough to enjoy the ride.  I understand the need for personalization, but going back to a base line (like a system restore point on your computer) gives you a starting point.

Luke M

[MTDewX8]

So as I get things taken apart and deciding to add new parts while its apart was a good thought till I broke something.
frustrated and had to step away.

since I had the carbs out and access to the throttle cables and choke. I figured I would replace them so I would'nt have to bother down the road.
well as I took apart the handle bar/throttle piece. the the little metal nub that prevents the housing from rotating broke. part of it is left in the housing and the other two pieces came out.

Soooo, now I come to the choice of finding a replacement, but risk braking the housing trying to get the part that was left in out. or say heck with it and replace the whole mount area, which will give me the fix for all that ales that end. i need a new resovoir anyway.

suggestions are welcome. I am afraid if I try and pry out the left over piece out of the grip housing it will break the housing and still back at square one. or do I just find a whole replcement to include master cylinder resevoir which I need anyway?

[TOOLS1]

Are you talking about the "nub" that goes into the hole in the handlebar?
TOOLS

[MTDewX8]

yes, the nub that goes into handle bar to keep the kill switch/starter housing from spinning.

its a small metal piece that slides into  plastic groves to hold it in place.

i now have three pieces with one piece still in the housing.

[TOOLS1]

A lot of people just grind those off when changing handle bars, so as long as the housing tightens onto the handle bar don't worry about it.
TOOLS

[MTDewX8]

So i finally got my carbs back in and was able to take the bike for  a short ride. dont run great, but will at least fun up to red line where as before it didn't with no air filter on my test ride when I bought it.

so now I can get it to the shop and get new tires as mine are cracking and the last thing I want to do it blow a tire while riding. fork seals. and I will do the rear brakes.

I did notice more oil coming from the head casket area. I hear this is normal, but if its fixable I would like to do this. my qustion is can I just replace the gasket and put it back together. or is there more to check while the heads are off????

mind you this wont happen right away as I want to ride a little bit before i tear into it again. just have to figure out a seat fix. all I have is the plasic pan.