1971 CB750 - Reliable Rat

I bought this 71 CB750 last spring in Fairmont WV and have worked on it here and there when time allows.

When I got it, it didn't run, front brake didn't work, 16 inch rear wheel, lots of blue paint, header smashed, no baffle, wiring was in bad shape, Lynyrd Skynyrd sticker on the tank

Re: 1971 CB750

Since then I have replaced the wiring harness and key switch, removed the lowering links and put on shocks from a 750F, put on a lined tank from a 350F, built a custom grab bar and headlight/turn signal brackets, found a 4 to 2 exhaust and built mufflers out of some old hot tub heater housings and ebay baffles, put on some KTM tapered bars and 7/8 to 1 1/8 adapters, made a rear fender out of a Vulcan 750 front fender, moved the seat slightly forward, rebuilt the front forks and brakes and drilled the rotor, found an 18 inch rear wheel and mounted a tire I had, bought a tail light and turn signals, cleaned the K&N filters, cleaned the carbs, changed the oil and filter, relocated the passenger pegs to make room for mufflers and possibly be rearset mounts in the future and probably some other stuff I am forgetting about. It starts, idles and revs up good. It is getting close to a road test.

Re: 1971 CB750

wow that is fantastic !! very well done sir
it is so refreshing to see somebody actually have some class and leave the perfectly done stock seat and side covers on

Re: 1971 CB750

Thanks, yeah I'm not straying to far from stock on this. Just tweaking here and there and mainly getting it back on the road.

Thought I would do an update on this bike. I have been putting some miles on it. Right now I would call it a reliable rat. Paint can wait until winter.

Since I first posted I have installed a Pamco ignition, laced up some aluminum shouldered rims (18x2.50 rear 19x2.15 front), found a larger set of 4 to 2 headers (first ones I had were small OD from a 750A I think) that I modded to fit the mufflers I built. I put all new brass floats in the carbs. I bought an old set of Koni shocks with adjustable damping and rebuilt them. Mounted up new Dunlop K70's with new tubes. Vented the rear brake just a bit. Made some jetting adjustments. Adjusted the valves and general tune up stuff. Modded a kickstand from a Kaw S2 to fit the CB mount, it was about 2 inches longer so the bike bike sits nicely on the side stand now. The headers were in pretty good shape, had some dings but nothing bad but there was one scrape on the outside left pipe that was the deciding factor in wrapping vs painting.

I recently bought an old Giuliari seat. It had a tailpiece built that was longer and would require cutting the fender support off the frame. I liked the fender and taillight setup I had so I built a tail for the seat that would allow it to all work together.

I rode it for the first time last night with the seat and its way comfortable!

Anyhow the bike is running great and everything is working well together. It sounds awesome, it's not loud, makes some noise if I am getting on it but pretty darn quiet cruising through a town, I got lucky with the mufflers I made, they are fabbed up from baffles from ebay, various parts I made to fit everything together and packed with mineral wool.

Here are some pictures

Very nice. Two questions...

1. Did you clear coat the tank?

2. Do you have an example of the baffles you purchased for the mufflers? I'm thinking of doing a shorty muffler off of my 2.5" header.

Jonny_C said:

Very nice. Two questions...

1. Did you clear coat the tank?

2. Do you have an example of the baffles you purchased for the mufflers? I'm thinking of doing a shorty muffler off of my 2.5" header.

Click to expand...

Thanks , no clear coat, it was just stripped and wire wheeled last summer, then a little WD40.

Here is a picture of the pieces that made up the baffles and end caps. The baffles were for a specific brand of drag pipes, these were 1 3/4. They were just the right length I needed. I ended up taking them apart twice after I made them and pressed sockets through them to make the louvers less aggressive and flow a little less restricted. Disregard the packing, that is what came with the baffles, I used better stuff.

The last picture is what the mufflers started as.

Its such a relief when you see someone build a bike that has a bit of style but still retains a level of comfort and function.

Thanks! Yeah, I've been enjoying this ride. I just put on an 18 tooth front sprocket and it's a big improvement over the 17. The lightened up bike pulls the taller gearing easily. I could probably drop a tooth or two on the rear still.