To Cafe or not to Cafe

[mcuozzo]

I know there are a bunch of cafe threads already but I just picked up a 77 Honda cb750. It needs a lot of work. Like a total rebuild...

So I'm waffling between creating a cafe racer out of it or just restoring it to its prior glory.

The good:

I've got a lot of time on my hands.
I can read repair manuals.
I've got a sand\soda blasting cabinet
I've got powder coating equipment.

The bad:
I'm on a very limited budget.
I have no fabrication skills.
I have minimal mechanical skills.
I'm generally lazy.

Any input or advice (like send it to Tim Hancock and let him do it all) is welcome!

Anyway here are some pics...







Hopefully next spring it will look something like this (but in a flat black paint scheme)...

[Danny_Ocean]

Yours is pretty stock. I'd restore it and sell it, then buy a cafe conversion already finished (or close to it). There are tons on E-Bay selling in the $2k range. You're going to easily spend that on your conversion project.

Here's a nice one (although over-done) that just sold for $2550:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-CB-1975-HONDA-CB-750-CAFE-RACER_W0QQitemZ290256065305QQihZ019QQcategoryZ8064 7QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

And another so-so 750 that sold for $2684:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-CB-1973-CB750-Cafe-Racer-CB-750-Turn-heads-everywhere-U-go_W0QQitemZ270264656346QQihZ017QQcategoryZ80647QQ ssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I know you already have the raw stock, but your two disclaimers (cheap & lazy) would be enough discouragement to motivate me to buy someone else's "dream".

[mcuozzo]

Hey Danny, I said LIMITED BUDGET not cheap .

I'm gonna work on getting it running before I do anything. I'm gonna remove the carbs tomorrow and start cleaning them. I'll bid on some ebay carb rebuild kits also.

You've actually encouraged me. I only paid $100 for the bike so even if I sink $2k into it, I should be able to break even. I'm thinking with a few nice touches, and actually completeing the bike (why are so many put on ebay 90% done??), I should be able to break $3K. I'm actually into the project for the learning experience, so if I could break even that would be awesome. Plus living in a densely populated area, there are more potential suck..er I mean buyers.

Stay tuned!

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally Posted by mcuozzo

Hey Danny, I said LIMITED BUDGET not cheap .

You say "to-may-to", I say "to-mah-to"...

[LakeCleElum]

Well, you have a "diamond in the rough" there....You have the stock exhaust, seat, handlebars, etc.....At 1st glance, it looks like a rust bucket, but it's mainly the rear shocks, (replace those)....If the exhaust is solid and can be cleaned up, it's worth keeping stock. Just like a 911, it will be worth much more in the long run.

IF you want to keep it and go the cafe route, just change the bars, exhaust and seat....Keep the stock items to replace later....U won't be sorry......Keep us posted....

[djmcmath]

We just about need a new tech forum, what with everyone buying old Honda bikes these days. Anyone else think it's time for Pelican to add a "Vintage Honda Motorcycle" tech forum?

[Tim Hancock]

FWIW, those shocks and maybe even the pipes should clean up with super fine steel wool and or some buffing compound.

One of mine after a quick cleanup just to see if it as worth doing.

[creaturecat]

The CB 750 - not much of a cafe racer. You may get it to look like a cafe racer, pretty difficult to have it act like a cafe racer.

[peppy]

Are bikes like this worth a lot? My FIL has one sitting under the shed.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by creaturecat

The CB 750 - not much of a cafe racer. You may get it to look like a cafe racer, pretty difficult to have it act like a cafe racer.

A guy I knew back in the 70's chopped one....looked pretty damned cool with those 4 pipes curving down.

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally Posted by peppy

Are bikes like this worth a lot? My FIL has one sitting under the shed.

The very early CB 750's could be worth $$$. For the most part, in good condition, later CB's can be had $2k ~ $3k.

[mcuozzo]

OK, didn't get the carbs off today. And no Danny it wasn't laziness. It was stupidity. I forgot the key. Therefore I couldn't flip up the seat, couldn't pull the tank. So I decided to do a few other things...

- Removed gnarly old engine crash bars. I don't want them. Might sand blast them and see what they look like, right now they are rusty with patches of peeling chrome. Surprisingly they were easy to unbolt. Probably the last easy bolts of this whole crazy project.

- Checked out the exhaust. Not good. Multiple holes rusted through. Looks like I'll need an new exhaust. Probably the most expensive part to replace. Unless the engine is totally shot.

- removed honda badges on tank, no rust underneath. Tank inside looks nice and clean. Clean gas comes out of the tank. No sign of rust. Fuel line to carbs needs to be replaced.

- Spread all rusty exposed bolts with wd40 in hopes some of them will loosen without inducing hernias

- came to the realization that I'm probably going to take the whole bike apart. Picked up zip lock bags to keep parts in with labels. Tomorrow I get part tags and a label maker. Gotta remember where\how things go back together.

- Took off the ignition cover. Not pretty but not horrible. Will be ordering a new condensor plate, points, etc. I don't want to switch to electronic ignition yet.

Tim, thanks for the advice, I acutually picked up some steel wool and other polishing supplys today in hopes that I don't have to replace every nut, bolt or piece that is supposed to be shiny. Thanks for chiming in on this thread! I might drop you some pms rather than post ALL my dumb questions.

And Danny, if this project works out a chopper based on a cb750 is next. I've seen a bunch of them in my internet travels and I'm tempted but want to get my feet wet just getting one running!

Bob, well the stock exhaust is shot. The seat is a aftermarket - made by Travelcade. So I guess staying stock is out the window. I'll keep all the parts I take off though. If I sell it, no telling what the next owner will want to do to it.

I hope to have some progress this week, but I also promised some people I'd powdercoat their parts this week. DOH!!!

[Macroni]

Restore to former glory.

[Jagshund]

Learn to fabricate. It will serve you well throughout all of your future projects.

[Chocaholic]

Originally Posted by Danny_Ocean

There are amazing things you can do with a plain 'ole CB750:

How do you stop the thing? No front brakes what-so-ever....and a non-apparent drum in the rear. Perhaps best kept in a glass case. Easy on the eyes, that's for sure.

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

How do you stop the thing? No front brakes what-so-ever....and a non-apparent drum in the rear. Perhaps best kept in a glass case. Easy on the eyes, that's for sure.

Rear drum.

[mcuozzo]

Progress for tonight,

Removed seat, battery, grab bar, air box and carbs. Maybe a few other things too. Like the fuel tank, duh.





carbs look so-so. At least I can reuse the air filter

[Hugh R]

No front brake on that chopped 750. IIRC, about 70% of your braking force is in the front brake.

[Tim Hancock]

FWIW, you probably should leave the carbs attached to one another when working on them.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

FWIW, you probably should leave the carbs attached to one another when working on them.

I'd usually agree with that but the throttle plates appear to be stuck wide open, so those carbs are gonna need a little work...

JR

PS: If you don't already own a digital camera, now would be a good time to buy one.