Vintage Speed Part Mashup - 1976 CB750F

slikwilli420

Been Around the Block
Hi all, I have been documenting my build over on the SOHC 4 Honda forum for the last year and a half or so and had been meaning to post it over here as well. There are a ton of great projects that have high attention to detail and I have really enjoyed lurking over here but its time to post.

I will essentially be posting all the content from there to here so you will get it will seem like a lot at once but its almost 2 years of work.
 
I have finally decided it is time to start my project thread. I have been doing a lot of reading on certain topics to get a decent knowledge base before I dive in. I don't have a ton of pics but am really trying to make sure I document everything both for me and for others to reference. There are things I am doing that I don't think have been done before but then again, I have not seen everything quite yet. I have tried to assemble a great collection of vintage speed parts to create something that has a really old school feel. Here is a rundown of my intentions.

1976 Honda CB750F Super Sport
Front end components:
Betor 35mm forks with Race Tech springs/emulators
Ceriani-type 17mm axle
Lester mag wheels
Thinned and drilled rotors (thanks Godffrey!) assembled with ARP 12pt bolts/nuts
Betor upper/lower aluminum triple clamps
AP Lockheed CP2696 calipers bolted to custom brackets with SS brake lines
Manx-style fiberglass fender with aluminum stays
Gauges/controls:
Speedhut 10K RPM/140MPH GPS Speedo/Tach combo
0-100PSI Speedhut oil pressure gauge - signal fed from oil galley hole
Tomaselli adjustable clipons
Ceriani style headlight ears
Stock hand controls
Rearsets - undecided
Tank/body:
Rickman steel inner tank with fiberglass cover - being converted to oil/gas tank combo
Rickman tail piece with battery tray underneath
Rear end:
Dresda-style swingarm (thanks Voxonda!)
Lester 18" disc rear wheel
Thinned and drilled rotor (same as fronts)
Original AP Lockheed CP2195 caliper with custom aluminum mount
Frame:
Frame splice kits to remove top rails for head removal
Detab
Gussets at key corners and X bracing over swingarm
Finish all welds
Relocate electronics from left side to a cover tucked under seat frame
Stock oil tank - GONE!
Engine:
??? - Anywhere from stock to totally insane
CB900 oil cooler with custom plumbing to new oil tank
Weber 40DCOE sidedraft carbs with custom manifold/linkage/mounts

That is the rough plan for now. This has been an ongoing project for about 10 years and has taken many forms but I think I have the vision and finances to make this happen.

Here are a couple of pics including the bike as it sits now, the oil/gas tank combo, the front brakes, and the Weber manifold.
 

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I was playing with my new Hobart Handler 190 MIG welder today and got some gussets made up and welded in. I just need to clean up the welds a bit and they will be a done deal. The frame splice kit was basically finished as well.
 

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I did some additional work on the gas/oil tank combo last night. I wanted something different and this also gave me the opportunity to open up the triangle to lighten the look of the bike. The tank was cut in half and I also removed a 1/2" strip so there is air gap between the two to keep heat transfer at bay. I will probably have some thermal tiles between them as well. The two halves will be be finished up then have tabs of some sort to connect them back together so the cover will fit properly.

The oil tank will be plumbed with -10AN lines feeding through an oil thermostat and to an oil cooler and return on the other side of the tank. The filler cap will also come up through the cover and I will make a gas cap that is similar in style.

A few goodies arrived today, including my Dresda swingarm copy from Voxonda, my SpeedHut gauges (speedo/tach combo and oil pressure), and the linkage kit for my 40DCOE Weber carbs.
 

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I recieved the Race Tech emulators and springs for the Betor forks I will be using. This was another great learning experience this project has given me. I had never even replaced fork seals before, and now I have done a whole set of forks. They are buttoned up and I have guesstimated on preload spacers based on the RT instructions. Now all that is left is to clean up the lower legs and decide on anodizing/powdercoat/polish/paint.

The rear axle on the new Dresda swing arm is too short and Voxonda suggested the axle from a DOHC 900F model which I found basically NOS on eBay.

I also added a few other things to mix it up a bit. There was an NOS Tommaselli Super Pratic throttle on eBay that needed to be on my bike. I will either just remove the throttle tube and keep the right hand control or find a new control altogether. If I go hydraulic clutch I will have to change both.

As to mounting the Weber carbs, I will have the manifold plate waterjetted this week and then start mounting the linkage. Here is a pic of it mocked up.
 

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I'm working on relocating the electronics to under the seat. My idea uses the threaded holes already in the frame for the battery/tool tray. The new plate in the pictures will have four posts that will raise the panel up higher under the seat so less is visible in the triangle. I will also make a cover that has perforated/screen/louvers for look and air flow. The reason I mounted them facing down instead of up as others do is so it's easy to access the fuse block in the event of a blown fuse. The battery will go into a tray under the tail hump.

The last thing is adding baffles and the appropriate breather attachments to the oil tank, which I will need some help with. Im thinking 1 or 2 baffles that span across the whole tank vertically separating the feed and return sides and have 6-8 holes around 1" each. As for breathers, I need one for the crank and one for the valve cover.
 

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For the electrical relocation project, I wanted to share what I came up with. You can see that I wanted to raise the panel as far up as I could without interfering with the seat subframe (Im 6'1" so I need legroom) that will be there shortly so as little of it hangs into the triangle as possible. For a guy who has all of a month of welding skill I think it will look great after some powedercoat and some finish work.
 

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Just finished getting the manifold plates cut for the Weber's at a local waterjet place. As soon as I can get the spigots machined they will be laser welded on and then the holes tapped for 8mm studs.
 

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On the rear end, I am still waiting to get the Marzocchi Strada bodies powdercoated, then they can go back together. I picked up a VFR axle in great shape that will work with the wider swingarm. I also have the caliper bracket for the rear that I just got back from the waterjet shop.

The front is coming along well too. The waterjet shop made the brackets for the front calipers in two pieces so I can play with spacing to the rotor. If you find pictures of Dholda CB750 endurance bikes, you will see my inspiration for the front.

Im also working on rearset brackets, which cam from the waterjet as well. These are similar in style to the ones brandEn has on his bike that FunJimmy made. I still need to cut the passenger triangles so they fit flush. I have also picked up some 1045 TGP shaft to make longer bolts for the brackets to bolt to.

Last update is the triple trees. I have been staring at the originals for a while and am really put off by the porosity of the aluminum and I thought that since Im trying my hand at CAD, I would draw some up. The pics are the two designs I like the best.
 

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The Weber DCOE carbs have finally been mated to the engine! Its been a long road of designing, machining, welding, and fitting to get them to work. I still need to rig up a plate to support them from the top so the boots don’t need to do any work. I picked up Venhill clutch and throttle cable kits so I could build cables to the length I need for my bars. I also need to get some additional hardware for the throttle linkage as well as some nicer stainless clamps for the boots.

Swingarm pivot and lower engine bolts have been made from 1045 TGP shaft, threaded on each end for SS nuts. One end has the nut threaded on then pinned with a roll pin to create a bolt. The additional length will allow me to have plenty of space to mount the rearset brackets correctly and solidly, finished off with Tarrozzi pegs/levers.

Instead of the RC header, Im going to run the Kerker for the time being. I picked up a 2” comp baffle for it off Amazon for $112 shipped which should sound great.

Im going with a 7-row Earl’s cooler. I know there have been complaints but it seems well made to me and Im going to give it a shot. The cooler will be routed through the relocated oil tank that is under the gas tank cover.

I finally have a design for my triple trees that I love, after designing about 15 different iterations. I will have a 1.25” top and 1.5” bottom, tapered bearings and an NOS Ceriani stem, with dampening knob. The only thing that might change is the pinch for the stem, since the Ceriani is notched on the bottom to take a bolt that captures it instead of pinching it. The top will also end up without a pinch and simply be a close fit to the stem.
 

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Front wheel bearings are changed out to accommodate the Ceriani style axle so I decided to mock up the front brake system. The calipers fit perfectly with my 3/16” spacers between the top and bottom brackets. The ARP bolts really make the whole thing pop and are as strong as anything available.

I also finished the rear wheel spacers, all aluminum, and got that fitted up using a VFR axle. The only thing left for the rear is getting the Marzocchi Strata shocks powder coated and reassembled. I also need a new chain and sprocket set. Sprocket Specialists seems to be a good outfit to get a set from unless someone says otherwise?

The rearset brackets are also nearing completion. I need to adjust the spacers top and bottom so the brackets sit nice and square to the frame. I sat on the bit tonight and the position of the pegs feels really nice but only time will tell if it works with my 6’1” body.

Major items left:

1. Triple tree set – top/bottom cut, drilled/tapped, stem fitted, smoothed/polished/anodized
2. Plumb oil cooler lines and mount cooler
3. Design/waterjet cut gauge mount for SpeedHut gauges, tach/speedo combo and oil pressure with oil line run from galley plug to sending unit and wire all gauges
4. Mount seat – still totally in the dark on how I want to do this
5. Battery mount, probably waterjetted somehow and mounted under seat
6. Tons of details that add up to lot of extra stuff

I also picked up a new toy today from my dad. It’s a CB500 (not sure of year) with bags and fairing, German spec that was brought home by a guy stationed there in the 70’s. He brought it home and has since passed away. His wife sold it to my dad a few years ago, and I bought it from him for what he paid, $50! This one will get its own thread but I thought I would share my excitement.
 

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Small update on some parts for the front end and other mini-projects. Its so true when guys say the list gets longer as you get closer to being done. I try to take really small bites and do one thing but I still have a tendency to bounce around based on what I feel like doing that day.

First is the oil pressure line. I have taken a line from the oil galley plug and will run it behind the headlight were it will hook to the sending unit for the Speedhut oil pressure gauge. I think it will look cooler than the low mounted gauges and will be just as functional, but with less likelihood of damage from a carelessly placed boot or accidental tip over.

I also got the raw triple trees back from the waterjet shop. They still need to have sharp edges rounded, as well as drilled for the pinch bolts and final bored for the stem and forks. I have also been doing some polishing work on the fork lowers to get them looking decent. Im trying to be sympathetic with them so every ding and dent will not be removed but they will definitely be better than before. If aluminum wheels on a Ferrari grade a 10 on the polish scale, I would call these 5-6 which is good enough for now.
 

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I have made some good progress on the front end. As it sits now, the bottom triple clamp is smoothed/polished, the stem pressed in and the forks fitted. I still need spacers for the wheel but wanted to see how it all looked together. The only thing left to buy for the front is brake lines/fittings. Here is what I have on the front end so far:

Betor forks - rebuilt with seals/dust covers/caps and original Menani boot clamps
AP Lockheed dual calipers on custom mounts
Ceriani axle
Custom triple clamps with NOS Ceriani stem/damper knob
NOS Tommaselli Super Pratic throttle
NOS AP Lockheed classic master cylinder ($500 new, found at Mid-Ohio for $40)
Tommaselli clipons
 

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Just finished my new deck and now that the weather is more and more unpredictable, its time to get back to working on the bike. Still working through the front end, now working on mocking up the Manx fender/mounts. I will wait to get whatever front tire before I finalize the mounting.

Really struggling with a solid mounting system for the seat. Im a big guy so I want it to be rock solid and I don't want to have to worry about when I roll on and off the seat cracking the tailpiece. I will be reinforcing it with a few more layers of fiberglass but have yet to come up to an idea Im ready to commit to. I would like to keep it mounted off the frame rails for sake of leg room. The widest part of the tail is about 2" wider than the frame so I will need to take that into account. I would appreciate any ideas (especially pictures) that will help me tackle this project.
 

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Based on Tintop's recommendation to look at bwaller's mounting system, I have come up with a sub-frame mounted the top rails in order to raise the seat a bit as well as add structure to the fiberglass tail. I welded tabs on the side for alignment and to reduce and side play. The sub-frame will then have the steel seat pan/tailpiece mounted over top. After that, my upholstery pan will attach to that. The hoop will serve to help add strength to the rear of the tailpiece as well as help house the battery box and another mounting tab for the rear of the tailpiece above the tail light.
 

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Got a small CB tail light so I will need come up with a way to mount it securely.

Also finished up making a rear caliper torque arm out of some square tube and a few pieces of strap steel. Should look the part sitting over my box section swing arm after its powdercoated.

The last thing is my new kickstand. I probably could have come up with a replacement from another bike, but I love one-off parts. I started with some 1/4" strap steel for the fork that goes around the frame, with one side drilled and the back tapped like the stock one. That is attached to a 3/4" solid bar that was notched to take the two tabs up top, welded together and shaped with a grinder. The bottom foot is a take on the stock one, shaped from 7/8" round bar with a flat bottom. I may or may not put a foot plate on the bottom for a larger area to keep from sinking in. The overall length is about 3/4" longer than stock to keep my bike from leaning too far over from longer forks up front and shocks out back.
 

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I have gone back and forth a bunch lately trying to decide on how far to take my engine build. I have decided to go for a 915 build similar to one others have done on the forum. I really want something that rips but will be working toward a reliable engine as well. Here are my thoughts, but please let me know if I forget anything.

From top to bottom:
Head will be stage 3 from JMR with oversized valves, new guides, spring kit, seals, cam/chain/roller/tensioner
915 kit with new sleeves and cylinder fitting/boring by Cycle X
Balanced/lightened crank with Cycle X rods all fitted together by them with lightened alternator
New primary chains
Undercut tranny
New fiber clutch plates, steel ones if needed
All new gaskets/seals, and any bearings that are suspect
This will be breathing through Weber DCOE 40’s as well as a Kerker with comp baffle.

My question to those in the know is how do you recommend attacking this? I don’t have the cash right now to do everything so what makes sense to do first? It seems that sub-assemblies would make sense, so Im thinking head or crank first, then tranny/bottom end, and all they cylinder/piston stuff. This is my first 750 build but I have done basic rebuilds on dirt bike engines in the past.
 
I'm still in the midst of designing parts to mount all the pieces and parts that will go on this project. Below is my new catch can that will need mounts as well as to be "vintage-fied" so it doesn't look so new.

Also got my oil lines mocked up and they are now at a local hose shop to get ends crimped on the engine fittings.

Last is the gauge mount that I just picked up from the water jet yesterday and wanted to get the gauges in and see what it would look like on the bike. I still need to figure out the exact way I want to mount it, but its one step closer.
 

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My cylinder head is at Mr. Rieck's to get a stage 4 makeover with all the goodies. Since good motors aren't cheap this one will likely take until spring '16 to get done and ready to go.

In the mean time I dove into my current motor and replaced a leaky head gasket, as well as the pucks and O-rings in the top end which should keep it running for a long time to come.
I tore the bike down to the bare frame to be able to get to everything at all angles, as well as add some additional bracing. I added some gussets in the form of 0.75" tubing at the bottom of the triangles under the original oil tank position. I also added a bar between the front motor mounts. I will also be adding some form of bracing above the swingarm pivot but still need to do some figuring before that happens.

Also, it just so happens that Santa was brought me two great new items for my ever-expanding collection of fabrication tools. I got a 1.125” die for the tubing bender I am building from plans I got from the internet. More to come when the parts are done. I also got a JD2 tubing notcher that is adjustable for angle to 50 degrees and will also do offset notching. For my next project I intend to build my own frame and have started researching techniques and designs.

The parts from across the pond came a few weeks back and now I have the full AP Racing kit front and rear. I need to do some figuring on mounting the master to work with my rearsets and be out of the way of my foot.

Working on polishing some bits and getting them ready for either bead blasting, further polishing or powder. The picture is the rearset brackets.

Got another batch of goodies back from the waterjet shop a few days ago. The first parts are the mounting plates for a frame jig I am putting together based on some plans I found online. Everything will go together with .125 wall 2"x3" rectangle tubing. It will eventually be mounted on a rotisserie but for now will be mounted on threaded feet to level it out. Sooner than later I will begin building a custom frame, but more research is needed.

Other parts that got done are a front engine mount. I saw one with slightly curved sides on the Seeley on Classic Cycle Cities website and wanted to emulate it but with a cutout in the center. It will be mounted with the appropriate-sized ARP 12pt hardware. The other two pieced are brackets for my oil catch can. I went with a pinch design for cleanliness and to match the style of my custom triple trees.

Lastly, I finally got back my first powdercoated parts! This is a set of Marzocchi Stradas that I picked up from Carpy on eBay about 6-7 years ago. I have had them on the bike already but it was time for a facelift, so the housings were done in red and springs in black. I think the color will stick out in a good way on a bike that will be mostly blue with silver/black parts intermixed. I also have a fresh set of seals/rubbers to go inside when the rest is ready.
 

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Finally had some time to come up with a unique way to mount the gauges. Still needs a bit more work but this is the basic idea.

Also got to work mounting the tail light seanbarney41 was gracious enough to donate to the project. I wanted a recessed look so it didn't stick out quite so far. The edges of the cutout in the tail will get some neoprene rubber trim to make it look more finished and frame in the light nicely.
 

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