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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Lacey, WA. USA
Posts: 25,310
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'70's Honda CB 750
My first several vehicles were motorcycles, and today I am 52. I haven't ridden in decades, but hold a special place in my motoring heart for the old SOHC Honda 750.
I'm shopping, and have a chance to buy one. It's rough, but the price is right. I think. I'm not hoping for a mint example. Just a properly-functioning one. What can you guys tell me about the values and desirability of these bikes, and availability of parts?
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Man of Carbon Fiber (stronger than steel) Mocha 1978 911SC. "Coco" |
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03-11-2010, 12:32 PM
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03-11-2010, 12:39 PM
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Location: North Vancouver bc
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Get a 1969. If you can.
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03-11-2010, 12:50 PM
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Location: France
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Get a sand cast '69.
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Who Dares, Wins! |
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03-11-2010, 12:52 PM
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Senior Member
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Location: Lacey, WA. USA
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What's the deal with "sand cast" units? WTF?
Again, I am noticing that parts seem to be fairly available, and fairly cheap, at places like ebay. Except for good-condition oil tank covers, for some reason. Wow!
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Man of Carbon Fiber (stronger than steel) Mocha 1978 911SC. "Coco" |
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03-11-2010, 01:03 PM
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Quote:
JR |
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03-11-2010, 01:17 PM
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Early production CB750's had sand cast engine cases. These units are worth over $75K in decent shape. What is wrong with knowing that and keeping an eye out for the preminum stuff instead of what is common. How do you think you will ever find high value at low cost without this knowledge?
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Who Dares, Wins! |
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03-11-2010, 01:19 PM
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Here - only $ 30,000 - a deal!
World Motorcycles: Sandcast CB750 Restorations |
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03-11-2010, 01:20 PM
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Lacey, WA. USA
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Is there a performance difference, or a cosmetic difference?
I knew that "sand cast" engines are desirable, and I had to laugh when I visited ebay to check prices and availability of various motorcycle parts. Apparently, there are "sand cast" seats, cables, mirrors, turn signals, etc.
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Man of Carbon Fiber (stronger than steel) Mocha 1978 911SC. "Coco" |
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03-11-2010, 01:24 PM
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HUGE difference in price. The engine cases have a rough texture to them because they were sandcast. Unlikely you will find one of these anyway.
Values vary as much as condition. Look to spend anywhere betwen $500 for a project and $5000 for a pristine example. These bikes will always be desireable to a point. Pretty much the first superbike and they made a lot of them so there is quite the cult following. Parts are very abundant and pretty cheap. Tons of parts on ebay. Join the sohc4.net forum for the largest wealth of info on these bike available anywhere. Lots of parts and bikes for sale there too. I recently built a cafe from a cb550. Heres what I started with:  ..and heres what I ended up with:  You can go here to see some pictures of the progress: CB550 Cafe-----"Retro Documentation" for Instant Gratification |
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03-11-2010, 01:29 PM
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The sandcast bikes are doubly rare. The high horsepower (for the day) coupled with poor quality chains resulted in many broken cases.
Best friend had one in 1970. That is what happened to his bike. |
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03-11-2010, 01:34 PM
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Lacey, WA. USA
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Thanks, Brian. That's very good information.
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Man of Carbon Fiber (stronger than steel) Mocha 1978 911SC. "Coco" |
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03-11-2010, 01:39 PM
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abides.
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Great. So you can park the sand cast '69 right next to your mid-year 2.7 liter 911.
Next decade's collector vehicles: Ford Pinto!
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Graham 1984 Carrera Targa |
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03-11-2010, 01:43 PM
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B58/732
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Hot as Hell, AZ
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Supe, for the cost of shipping you can have my '78 CB750K4. Hasn't run in a few years.
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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ I don't always talk to vegetarians--but when I do, it's with a mouthful of bacon. |
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03-11-2010, 06:58 PM
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Great bikes---the best web resource is SOHC.Net--there is tons of info there, including forums, parts vendors, etc. Sort of the Pelican for SOHC.
The prices are all over the place, but you should be able to get a great example for 1,500-2,000. SOHC has a year-by-year model difference/comparison section. Parts are not a problem. If you want to CAFE it, there are planty of resources as well. Here is the 76 that I did a mild Cafe on and my 78 Super Sport that is currently undergoing some mild conversion as well.   The 78 before and current condition:   
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Eric 83 911SC/83 944 bunch of Honda 750s 69 Chevrolet C-20 Longhorn (family heirloom) |
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03-12-2010, 05:54 AM
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Nice bikes- definately a must for any collection!
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Chuck ------- 70 & 75 911S 96 993 C4S '10 F-150 |
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03-12-2010, 06:03 AM
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Cars & Coffee Killer
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: State of Failure
Posts: 32,246
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My dream bike is a mid-70's CB750K with a kick-start.
I've seen running example for sale for between $1,000 - $2,000. And yes, it's kind of funny that my dream bike costs less than my current bike.
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Some Porsches long ago...then a wankle... 5 liters of VVT fury now -Chris "There is freedom in risk, just as there is oppression in security." |
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03-12-2010, 06:20 AM
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my good friend in college had one...maybe a 76. we dropped the motor, with a gerber multitool, and some random things i had in my truck. all in the USF underground parking lot. he could ride that beater FAST. he caned that thing. he got to the point where he was so good and so confident, he could smoke me on my 500 intercepter. he dragged his motor and cracked it regularly.
i read an magazine article where some dude bought up all the extra parts..NOS stuff..and was building "new" bikes. expensive for sure.
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poof! gone |
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03-12-2010, 06:27 AM
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Friend of Warren
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Lincoln, NE
Posts: 16,484
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Supe, the "right price" for a rough 750 better be less than $500 because as stated above, you can get a nice one for $2000. It may cost you over $1000 to get that rough bike looking decent. I rode a 750 SS for a few years and it was a fun bike, even by today's standards. And 52 certainly is not too old for a sport bike. I am 54 and this is what I am currently riding:
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Kurt V No more Porsches, but a revolving number of motorcycles. |
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03-12-2010, 10:32 AM
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For being "collectible", If you can't do "Sand-cast", at least get the 4-muffler model from the early '70's and make sure it has the stock exhaust, tank and paint....
Take your time to find a good one, check Craigslist nationally, ebay, etc...... I had 22 bikes at one time, was down to 13 last Oct, now back to 16.....It's a sickness...... T
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Bob S. 73.5 911T 1969 911T Coo' pay (one owner) 1960 Mercedes 190SL 1962 XKE Roadster (sold) - 13 motorcycles |
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03-12-2010, 01:36 PM
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1984 Porsche Carrera Targa
