CB750F First Project

Last summer I got this '76 CB750F. It ran pretty well when I got it, with the exception of one of the carbs flooding. And was in really good shape considering what I bought it for. It is my first project bike, and has been coming along slowly since I brought it home.

I have been spending lots of time on the site, and it has been great seeing all the bikes that everybody is working on. I figured that as much time as I spend looking at the site I better post something about what I have been up to.

Here is the bike when I brought it home.
<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/SWmUpzxLEUI/AAAAAAAABPY/ZxSZ_AZGF3E/s800/cb750f-1.jpg" />

The first thing that had to go was the Windjammer. I labeled all of the wiring before disconnecting everything, and then pull the it all off. My daughter helped. A guy restoring a goldwing bought it from me and made my bike a little more of a bargan ;D
<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/SWmUq7gwScI/AAAAAAAABPo/OlaybmUKfzY/s800/helper.jpg" />

I took off the stock bars to replaced them with clubmans. I still wanted to run the wires inside the bars, so I made a make-shift template from the original bars by taping over the wiring holes, and using a Shapie to black out the tape over the hole. Once the tape was blacked out, I used an exacto knife to trim out the hole and tranfered the tape to the clubman bars. This gave me the size and location to drill the holes in the new bars. (I did a pretty crappy job of drilling, but that was not the fault of the template)
<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/SWmUqNzTjgI/AAAAAAAABQM/Ro6cJmbetzE/s800/drilling_bars.jpg" />

Running the wires was not so fun. I got the right hand control wires through all at once (in the shrink tubing). I tied a shoelace around the wires, fed the string through, and the pulled and pushed the wires through. There was silicone spray involved, as well as a lot of swearing.

The left hand controls were a bigger hassle because there are more wires (11 I think) to get through. I could not get the wires to feed though all at once, so I had to cut the shrink tube and do the wire individually. I tried a lot of variations to get all the wires through (very frustrating), and the best solution that I found is as follows:

• Cut the shrink tube so all of the wires are lose. You can play with how high up you want to cut, but I found that sleeve got in that way so I cut it pretty high
• Next run a string through the bars. Something thin, but strong enough to hold up to a lot of pulling and rubbing inside the bars.
• Tie the end of the string to the first wire that you want to pull through. Then tie a second string to the same wire so that once the wire is all the way through the bars you will have a string in the bars to pull the next wire through with. (The first time you do this, it may save you some time to pull multiple wires through, as there will be lots of room in the empty bars. As you repeat the steps it will be harder to run the wires through and you will need to pull the wires one at a time)
• Repeat this until you have all of the wires through

I would recommend silicone spray to help get the wire to run smoothly through the bars. BUT keep in mind that the silicone spray does bad things to any masking tape labels that you may have used to identified your wires before disconnecting them. That part was the cherry on top.

Since the headlight went with the fairing, I needed to replace it. I got a lucas style shell off ebay. Compared to the stock shell, it is huge. My daily rider is a 04 triumph Bonneville, so I guess that is were my taste for large headlights comes from. Anyway, there is lots of room to stuff wires in there so that will be handy.
<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/SWmUqm8UR8I/AAAAAAAABPk/6eHfRGEYphE/s800/headlight.jpg" />

I also got an airtech seat off ebay. I thought about going with a round seat cowl, but I thought the duck bill would work better with the tank shape. Here is a quick look at what the combo would look like.
<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/SWmUratzwEI/AAAAAAAABPs/lfYVavGMPnw/s800/moch_up.jpg" />

The latest work that I have done is to get the carbs off, and remove the airbox. The Carbs were really stubborn to get off. Thanks to some guidance from the help forum, I managed to get the carbs off with some heat, using the wood handle of a rubber mallet for leverage to get some play, and once I got them loose I squeezed the airbox out the right side. After that they came out no problem.
<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/SWmUqYyfV8I/AAAAAAAABPg/EbywKjX6EOQ/s800/engine.jpg" />

When I first started the project I was on the fence if I should take everything down to frame. I talked myself out of it, and thought I would just keep it simple as this was my first project. After getting myself to this point, and being inspired by the other bikes on the site, I have decided that I might go all in. I got the bike to learn on, so what is the point of half assing it?

So the next step is getting everthing labeled, photographed, off the frame, and in bags.

It will be my first try at it, but I also plan on doing a bunch of polishing on the engine and forks, so I have been paying close attention to the 1981 Yamaha XS 650 Special thread (great work cretin, and a shame that you stripped that tank ). Lots of helpful info in there. One question, JRK said for polishing start by sanding with 400 - 600 - 800wet - 1000wet - 1500wet - 2000wet. Are you doing the sanding by hand, by dremel, or by wheel? I got my hands on a buffing wheel and dremel, and if I can take care of the sanding with one of those it would be nice to save the time.

I will keep posting as the build continues. Things may be a little slow (I have a 4 month old daughter that tends to keep me out of the garage), but I will post when I can.

Thanks for all the helpful posts and projects. They have been loads of fun to watch.

hell ya man! if you got a wheel get a fine brass wheel, turn your wheel down all the way, or if it does not have an RPM setting just done push hard let the bristles pull it all off, then hand sand use some WD40 to lube go 800 them 100, then swap over to the compounds, you can do this cheap if you get 2 polishing wheels, use one four your more abrasive compounds and one for your highest polishing compound (eventually you will break down and get a ton of diff style wheels) for just 1 bike, 2 wheels and 1 brass wire wheel is just fine... take your time even when you are on the buffer use WD40, dont have to soak it just make sure that it is lubed and not binding up... there ya go man! now get to it!

Looks like you've made some good progress on the bike already. Nice job. Keep us updated with the progress.

I know how you feel man. I started my project just wanting to keep it a runner. But then you start looking at other bikes, and looking a your own bike and pretty soon more parts are coming off. Fear not! Patience, a manual, and input from forums like this will get you through. My knowledge about bikes has gone through the roof on just my first project, even though I have been riding for years.

Thanks for the encouragement. I am having lots of fun with it all.

JRK, when you say use WD40 even on the buffer, do you mean use it in conjunction with the buffing compounds or as the compound?

hey by any chance did the windjammer have a radio?

Sorry Jon, I didn't have the model with the radio.

good luck on the project. i too was going to do a budget build. but one thing after another and my bike turned into a full custom cafe. (in progress) Good luck. keep snaping those pics.

msimm43 said:

Thanks for the encouragement. I am having lots of fun with it all.

JRK, when you say use WD40 even on the buffer, do you mean use it in conjunction with the buffing compounds or as the compound?

Click to expand...

Yes sir! if you use only the compounds then they will burn to the metal, you still need some type of lube, i know some guys use a mist bottle with water, but that just gums up your wheel, i use WD

yes! another cb750F ! i'll be watching this post

Thanks for the clarification on the WD40 JRK.

I am trying to get some time to go to the garage and do some things. I will post the next time I get in there.

Hello all,

Here is the current state of the bike. Sorry for the crappy picture. It was late and I wanted to get a post up.

<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/SXgfrlI2OlI/AAAAAAAABQw/vcJQM3Z1XQM/s800/breakdown.jpg" />

Thinks have been moving along slowly, but moving.

I am trying to get the wiring harness off while keeping most of it connected. I have everything out back to the fuse box/regulator/rectifier hub. I would love it if I could avoid disconnecting everything here, but I am not sure if that is possible yet.

The real issue that I have came when I drained the oil. At the bottom of the catch pan I found some white rubber chunks in the oil. As an added bonus, there was a sludge that looked like somebody melted a grayish trash bag in the engine. Anybody have any idea what this could be, or how dire this might be?

I have been slowly moving along on the project. I have gotten all of the engine cover off, and have enough to do before taking the engine out of the frame.

I have been working on polishing the left rear cover, and tonight I finally broke out the buffing wheels. The results look pretty good. Not a professional job, but a good first attempt. I may go back and start over depending on how the other parts turn out. If I get better at this, then I will go back and try to match the quality of the best piece. If I don't get better... well, it looks better then when I got it.

What it looked like after some steel wool and Simple Green. Pretty much as I got it.
<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/SZ0Hww6A0cI/AAAAAAAABhM/Wj4ZsPWt7Sg/s800/before.jpg" />

After the clean up
<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/SZ0Hmw72RPI/AAAAAAAABhE/KZDst3oAo0M/s800/after1.jpg" />

Still some scratches, but a pretty good reflection in the aluminum
<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/SZ0HrQh389I/AAAAAAAABhI/8osuqod4hpM/s800/after2.jpg" />

Wow, that turned out nice!

That did turn out a lot better than it was before!

I like your idea of how you got a template of the old bar wire holes and put it on the clubmans. I still don't understand it fully though. However, I will be using your method of getting all the wires in, unless I find another way for me haha. Great work man! I'm still trying to get my bike running.

Lookin' good!

I like your idea of how you got a template of the old bar wire holes and put it on the clubmans. I still don't understand it fully though.

Click to expand...

After re-reading the post, it is a bit unclear.

It is pretty simple to do, but a little tricky to explain. So here goes.

I needed a template to give me the size and relation of the the wiring holes and the little holes for the nub that keeps the hand control in place.

• 
  First, put a piece of tape over the holes in the stock bars. Then, take a sharpie and black out the piece of tape.
  
• Next, take a razor and cut the tape using the holes to guide the razor.
  
• Presto, you now have a template of the size of the holes and the correct distance to space them.
  
• Then measure how far from the ends of the stock bars the holes are, so you know where you need to place the template on your clubmans.
  
• Finally, peel the tape off the stock bars and put it on your clubmans, and you should be ready to start drilling.

Hope this makes thinks a little more clear.

Thanks for clearing that up for me! I was contemplating whether or not I'd like to hide the control wires or not, but I'm going to give this a try. I think fishing line would work pull the wires through.

Fishing wire will save space, but make sure it is heavy test (is that the right fishing term for line strength?) When you are trying to pull the wires through there is a lot of rubbing at the hard turn in the bars.

Good luck getting everything though.
Matt

Moving along slowly, but making progress. I finally finished polishing the engine covers. I started out by hitting them with the brass wire wheel, then sanding with 320, 400, 800, 1500 wet, and then 2000 wet. Then I put them on the wheels with black, brown and white compound. JRK, thanks for the WD40 tip. Quite helpful.

It worked out pretty well. There are a few spots that I did not get everything out (they had some serious pitting). But all in all they look better then when I started.

I still need to do the cylinder head, but I may give myself a little break from sanding and work on cleaning up the carbs.

Here are the before an after pics.

The alternator cover before,

<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/Sbwu-qX1gXI/AAAAAAAABvE/w34kBxtV-OE/s800/IMG_5768.JPG" />


and after

<img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/SbwuBSP3-vI/AAAAAAAABuc/b4Phq8UYgkM/s800/IMG_5978.JPG" />


Clutch cover before

<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/Sbwv0pCxjpI/AAAAAAAABvY/Lqh__bbpxp4/s800/IMG_5775.JPG" />


and after (not the best photo, it looks better in person)

<img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/Sbwtv69gK-I/AAAAAAAABuU/9KBEvJgwq8g/s800/IMG_5970.JPG" />

Sprocket cover before

<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/SbwvO7jiXEI/AAAAAAAABvM/g9ZOW7aBeU0/s800/IMG_5769.JPG" />

and after,

<img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/SbwuS05OSQI/AAAAAAAABug/ckriFB2J_8k/s800/IMG_5979.JPG" />


The lower suspention ( I don't have the before pic, but they looked crappy)

<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/Sbwui3JX3fI/AAAAAAAABuo/fLUK2RAv68A/s800/IMG_5987.JPG" />


Here is the group shot of all the polished pieces

<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_vZZxEy5HMKM/SbwtNUzhG5I/AAAAAAAABuI/Mw1rtm5iPVk/s800/IMG_5960.JPG" />