Opinions wanted on decent air cooled Japanese bike

F

fireworks

New Member
Hey folks,
I'm looking to pick up an old Jap bike. They are cheapish and IMHO have better character than the new stuff.

So far I've looked at CB750/900, XS650/750/850. I've heard nasty things about the GS's electrics so I'm not to sure about them. Don't know anything about Kawasaki's of that era.

Seeing as almost all of them are around 30 years old I'm looking for some opinions on which ones are still viable with respect to parts and daily driving. Don't really care if it's a 2/3/4 cyl. Eventual goal is to customize it leaning towards a cafe but not hard core as I want to take it to work every day.

Anyways, I figured after more than 2 decades their must be a pretty clear picture of what's what with the different models.

Thanks!
 
Just my $.02 worth; the CB's are great but fetching stupid money. If you can find one cheap, go for it-terrific platform, super durable and loads of parts availability...I've thought recently that a late '70s Kawasaki 750 twin would make a nice cafe; bulletproof engine, really good handling(for era) and a big displacement twin w/the right pipes always SOUNDS good. Good luck, GEARHEAD
 
Yeah I noticed a lot of CB's but the prices are kinda high and vary a lot. I found this one but I think the pictures say it all. ::) http://toronto.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-motorcycles-1972-honda-cb750-W0QQAdIdZ122142076

I don't mind cleaning something up and doing the normal stuff like carbs etc, but I'm not sure about engine work. So bikes like the above seem like a bad idea. I do know of a xs750 triple that supposedly has been indoors for 10 years for cheap but I don't really know what to look for with a bike that's been sitting that long. Is it smart to tear down the engine/tranny etc? Beats me...

I'll check out the Kawasaki's. Am I splitting hairs with reliability with all of these bikes...?

gearhead said:
Just my $.02 worth; the CB's are great but fetching stupid money. If you can find one cheap, go for it-terrific platform, super durable and loads of parts availability...I've thought recently that a late '70s Kawasaki 750 twin would make a nice cafe; bulletproof engine, really good handling(for era) and a big displacement twin w/the right pipes always SOUNDS good. Good luck, GEARHEAD
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Stick with the CBs. XS is popular as well, but you'll likely find more parts (especially used) for the hondas. 750 is a great bike, but I find the older K models kinda heavy for my noodle arms as a daily commuter. 350, 400, 450, and 550 are all great smaller platforms with decent power. Twins will be a little easier to work on as well.

There seems to be a recent price drop in the newer Triumph Bonneville/Thruxton models as well - good looks, new parts, easy to ride, start it and go.

just my .02
 
The CB's were top of my list really. I really like the XS750 triple though and there is one where I live. Love that sound.

So if CB's are the baseline for parts how do the other bikes rank? 50% worse? Just searching I noticed that there were a number of people looking for parts for the XS's but I never really saw any WTB posts for the CB's.

You comment about the Triumph's got me thinking. For some reason I never thought of looking at the Triumph's from the same era as the Japanese bikes. I had overlooked the fact that they have a strong following and as such there doesn't seem to be a parts issue at all. As for the new Triumph's I'd take one of those no problem but I think they are all still too new for them to be affordable for me. :) If you know of one in the $1000 range let me know! :)

So CB's are no problem then. Any comments on the XS/KZ's for parts etc?

Big thank you to everyone so far. This is very useful!

philos1 said:
Stick with the CBs. XS is popular as well, but you'll likely find more parts (especially used) for the hondas. 750 is a great bike, but I find the older K models kinda heavy for my noodle arms as a daily commuter. 350, 400, 450, and 550 are all great smaller platforms with decent power. Twins will be a little easier to work on as well.

There seems to be a recent price drop in the newer Triumph Bonneville/Thruxton models as well - good looks, new parts, easy to ride, start it and go.

just my .02
Click to expand...
 
Asking this question is like asking which is better blondes or brunettes! You're going to get a different answer from everyone.

My first vintage bike was a 77 Kawi KZ650, which I still ride today. The KZ platform, in all engine displacements, were reliable and powerful bikes. There is still, for the most part, a lot of parts availability for them too. The only exception I found on my kz650 is that I have a first year model which used a different charging system than every other year of production, so it was hard for me to find those parts.

Also, any of this era bike will run as well as they have been maintained. Anything you get that's been neglected (probably 98% of what's out there) is going to give you trouble in some form or another. Each of the bikes will have their own pain in the ass things about them too.

If you want trouble free riding without investing much time in rehabbing the bike my suggestion is to look for the best maintained/most recently rehabbed bike you can find in your budget and go with that.
 
WELL the XS are getting a little pricey. but it's all relative you can still pick one up in rough but running shape for under 1k US. as to parts I think they are neck and neck with the CB the are several places that carry xs parts and Mikes and 650 central are having parts manufactured for the ongoing maintance and performance upgrades to these bikes.
If you are going to get an xs I would look for 76 to 79 best years for the old beast.
I have a 73 I am only 3 years out from starting the project and I have 1800 total into the bike including buying the thing.
any old bike has it's flaws. do some research like it looks like you are and go for it. the cb's especially smaller 350 and 450's make great commuters light and nimble. the kaw's are a lot heavier and have there own issues. to much power for city driving. the suzuki's are nice but harder to get parts for. why limit your self look at small italian and european bikes as well. if you are looking for something fun you can ride and not worry about get a buell blast 500 cc and good ride
 
My goal isn't so much to get peoples opinions about whether or not they think their bike is better than any other, but rather if they could speak about their experiences with respect to any issues they have had. Issues being things like, it eats light bulbs, frame flexs, etc, and also where or not sourcing parts was a problem. I'm not looking for a detail list or anything a few words would be good enough to start building a picture.

Your comments are perfect actually. :)

I don't expect the bikes to be perfect. In fact I'm expecting problems. I don't expect to be commuting with it this summer, but it will depend on the condition.

My problem is that I don't have a great budget for the bike itself. I've only got $1000 for the bike. For parts etc I'm prepared to pay what is required. This is also a hobby for me. But, I'd like to keep the costs and frustration to a minimum. Hence the request for opinions from people about their bikes.

And on that note..sounds like KZ's are worth looking at too!


anarki650 said:
Asking this question is like asking which is better blondes or brunettes! You're going to get a different answer from everyone.

My first vintage bike was a 77 Kawi KZ650, which I still ride today. The KZ platform, in all engine displacements, were reliable and powerful bikes. There is still, for the most part, a lot of parts availability for them too. The only exception I found on my kz650 is that I have a first year model which used a different charging system than every other year of production, so it was hard for me to find those parts.

Also, any of this era bike will run as well as they have been maintained. Anything you get that's been neglected (probably 98% of what's out there) is going to give you trouble in some form or another. Each of the bikes will have their own pain in the ass things about them too.

If you want trouble free riding without investing much time in rehabbing the bike my suggestion is to look for the best maintained/most recently rehabbed bike you can find in your budget and go with that.
Click to expand...
 
I have a lead on a 1978 XS750 stored for 10 years, apparently has compression; no idea how that was determined. It's well within budget but I haven't seen it yet. I love the sound of triples so I'm very interested in this one. However I'm reluctant to get a bike that has been parked for 10 years. At least with a running one you know the basics are operable. Well at least right then...;) My plan with any of the bikes would be to change all fluids, rubber anything, give the bike a once over. But after 10 years, should I be taking extra steps for the engine? Like an oil flush, or valve check? That's what's putting me off a non runner. Again I'm hoping to get some answers here. :)

$1800 over three years isn't too bad. What did you have to spend the $1800 on?

Mortikan said:
WELL the XS are getting a little pricey. but it's all relative you can still pick one up in rough but running shape for under 1k US. as to parts I think they are neck and neck with the CB the are several places that carry xs parts and Mikes and 650 central are having parts manufactured for the ongoing maintance and performance upgrades to these bikes.
If you are going to get an xs I would look for 76 to 79 best years for the old beast.
I have a 73 I am only 3 years out from starting the project and I have 1800 total into the bike including buying the thing.
any old bike has it's flaws. do some research like it looks like you are and go for it. the cb's especially smaller 350 and 450's make great commuters light and nimble. the kaw's are a lot heavier and have there own issues. to much power for city driving. the suzuki's are nice but harder to get parts for. why limit your self look at small italian and european bikes as well. if you are looking for something fun you can ride and not worry about get a buell blast 500 cc and good ride
Click to expand...
 
I have a '77 XS650, its been a great bike. I've put over 30,000 miles on it, and the only thing I've done besides routine maitenance is replace one of the ignition coils. Other than that is been things like tires and drive chains. You can get any part needed for these.
 
Do you know if the XS650 and XS750 share a lot of parts? I think the XS650 was a twin whereas the XS750 is a triple.

gahi said:
I have a '77 XS650, its been a great bike. I've put over 30,000 miles on it, and the only thing I've done besides routine maitenance is replace one of the ignition coils. Other than that is been things like tires and drive chains. You can get any part needed for these.
Click to expand...
 
I dont know for sure, but I doubt it. If they did, all the aftermarket XS650 parts guys would probably advertise it.
 
Good point. I did a little digging on the XS650. Seems like it rivals the CB's for sheer number produced! I'll have to add the XS650 to the list. It definitely fits the bill. Tons of parts available and they don't seem to problematic.


gahi said:
I dont know for sure, but I doubt it. If they did, all the aftermarket XS650 parts guys would probably advertise it.
Click to expand...
 
Don't know if it was mentioned, but you should care if it's a 4 cylinder or a twin. 4 cylinders = 2x the cost of a twin when it comes to rebuilding an engine. 4 carbs = 2x the cost when it comes to rebuilding carbs, and a HECK of a lot more work :)

I've owned:

1977 Honda CB750K (first bike purchase - sold unfinished)
1973 Honda CB500K (first real riding bike)
1976 Honda CB550F (restored and sold)

1972 Yamaha XS650 (current project)
1975 BMW R75/6 (current daily ride)

After working on the SOHC4's, and then buying the BMW and then the Yamaha twins, I'm sold on twins. I can't tell you how simple my two Mikuni VM carbs are on the XS650 compared to the bank of 4 carbs on my old Honda's.

Nothing against the SOHC4's - I still love them, and will probably own another CB500/550 in the future (my fave of the bunch). The XS650 is a great bike - bullet proof engine with loads of bearings protecting the drive shaft, cam shaft etc. vs. the Honda's and can be turned into just about anything imaginable. GREAT verticle twin sound too if you like a thump-thumping sound vs the smoooooth sound of the SOHC4's.
 
Very very good point. I hadn't thought of that.

Tim said:
Don't know if it was mentioned, but you should care if it's a 4 cylinder or a twin. 4 cylinders = 2x the cost of a twin when it comes to rebuilding an engine. 4 carbs = 2x the cost when it comes to rebuilding carbs, and a HECK of a lot more work :)

I've owned:

1977 Honda CB750K (first bike purchase - sold unfinished)
1973 Honda CB500K (first real riding bike)
1976 Honda CB550F (restored and sold)

1972 Yamaha XS650 (current project)
1975 BMW R75/6 (current daily ride)

After working on the SOHC4's, and then buying the BMW and then the Yamaha twins, I'm sold on twins. I can't tell you how simple my two Mikuni VM carbs are on the XS650 compared to the bank of 4 carbs on my old Honda's.

Nothing against the SOHC4's - I still love them, and will probably own another CB500/550 in the future (my fave of the bunch). The XS650 is a great bike - bullet proof engine with loads of bearings protecting the drive shaft, cam shaft etc. vs. the Honda's and can be turned into just about anything imaginable. GREAT verticle twin sound too if you like a thump-thumping sound vs the smoooooth sound of the SOHC4's.
Click to expand...
 
i'd suggest this bike from the cafe virago thread

xv9201.jpg


very unusual/distinctive in north america. how can you lose....japanese reliability, american vtwin rumble, with the aesthestic foundation for a cafe. comfortable for solo riding or two up touring.

the 'cruiser' version was sold as the 'virago' in north america for many years. this 'standard' version was sold for only 2 (?) years in north america, but for many years in europe . so some parts might be a bit hard to find...but thats why they invented ebay uk/europe.

a real classic. $1200 seems very reasonable. please buy it so i dont. ;D
 
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