1977 CB750 F2 Super Sport

[rafanomenon]

Made some progress in the past 3-4 weeks. Here are some pics:


This is my first time attempting a knee-dented tank, let alone all the additional body work and sanding. That shit takes a TON of time! I've got about 4-5 more layers until I think I'll be happy enough for paint.

The Bondo'd tank went back onto the bike shortly after the last layer. It has been too nice here in Seattle to spend the majority of the day in the garage sanding, but I promise I'll get this thing wrapped up within the next couple weeks. For now, my bike has been appropriately named 'Bondo. James Bondo'.


I also wanted to put some time into syncing the carbs, as I've heard this is essential for a smooth run. That sure proved right. It was fairly easy to do, with help from my buddy Chris and his manometer. We hooked up the vacuum tubes, nurse tank and noticed they weren't too far off. 3 and 4 registered the highest, and 1 and 2 weren't too far below. We made the adjustments and BAM. Now she runs a lot smoother. No hiccups. No bogginess. Damn near perfect.

I also bought some new Vipex reservoir shocks. They were too high, so I swapped out the springs for the 750 stock ones. Then I had some problems bottoming out. Not good. Found some hollow pipe to act as a spacer. I may get some springs custom made in the future, or do something funky to these spacers, but for now these will work.

I also have a spare set of shocks i picked up. Vintage reservoir shocks off the early Honda cb1100's.. Same shocks that carpy used on his cobalt build. I'm selling em! asking $200 shipped. PM me if interested.

And I also picked up a bunch of new parts for reworking the controls. New gauges, 3-way Tomasselli clip-ons and black headlight ears.

In about 1-2 weeks, Benjie will have finished my oil tank, F2 seat and battery tray. I'm also going to redo the wiring, electronics, and I need to pick up a sealed R-1 battery.

Follow my blog for full write-ups: www.rjrcreative.com/bike

She's coming together quite nicely ;D

 

[JRK5892]

nice but you are laying on that bondo way to thick man! use a credit card to get it on... thin layers... will make sanding 1000Xs easier

 

[rafanomenon]

nice but you are laying on that bondo way to thick man! use a credit card to get it on... thin layers... will make sanding 1000Xs easier

haha i know.. i realized that after the 2nd layer. these have to have been pics from the first two. doh.

using my credit card would probably be a better idea. might keep me from spending more on this one

i'm going to get moving on getting this done this weekend. probably 4-5 more layers, and a final hand sanding before paint prep. fingers crossed...

 

[JRK5892]

whenever i do body work on tanks... swing by a hotel and ask for some old key cards... work tops!

 

[jayellay]

looks awesome, props to a great job.

Jay

 

[CresentSon]

Your moving right along aren't you. Really starting to look smooth!

I like your mini clocks too. If I had not decided to go out into left field with mine, I would have to copy your whole build.

Keep it coming Raf, I'll be watching... ;D

 

[msimm43]

Looks great. Wish I was moving as fast as you on my '76 750f.

I am envious of the clip ons that you got. They will look sweet. I went cheap with mine and got clubmans. If I had not run the wires through the bars (a pain in the ass) I would be very tempted to switch.

Keep up the good work. Looking forward to seeing how the tank turns out.

 

[CresentSon]

Looks great. Wish I was moving as fast as you on my '76 750f.

I just picked up a '76 organ donor this weekend. Actually it is more of a rolling chassis with some guts still dragging along, but 'twas free ;D

We have got to start a 750F or a Super Sport sub faction...

 

[rafanomenon]

I just picked up a '76 organ donor this weekend. Actually it is more of a rolling chassis with some guts still dragging along, but 'twas free ;D

We have got to start a 750F or a Super Sport sub faction...

I saw your post on msimm43's '76 F project. don't you go stealin my idea with plopping on the earlier carbs! ;D

nah, really though. the 77-78 carbs annoyed the crap out of me, so they had to go. i recommend doing what works for you, but as soon as you start rejetting and tuning for pods/pipes, you'll want to throw those 78 carbs out of the window.

the real challenge with our year comes with the valves. cycle x is the only company i've seen make aftermarket valves for our years, with high-performance collars. i'll be taking on the task this winter of big boring this machine with a kit from cycle x. *dun dun DUUUUUN*

 

[rafanomenon]

Looks great. Wish I was moving as fast as you on my '76 750f.

I am envious of the clip ons that you got. They will look sweet. I went cheap with mine and got clubmans. If I had not run the wires through the bars (a pain in the ass) I would be very tempted to switch.

Keep up the good work. Looking forward to seeing how the tank turns out.

you're doing things the right way on your build. slow and steady. lookin super clean. i'm just putting my stuff together to get it decent for this summer. a 10-footer is what i like to call it (looks good if you're standing more than 10 feet away) all the detail will come this winter with the tear down and big bore. sand blasting, painting, powdercoating, the whole nine. it's a process for sure. takes a lot of time and money.

i've got clubmans on mine right now, but recently changed my mind after staring long and hard at the front from a side view. those clubmans along with the clocks stick waaay up, and look weird to me... which is why i ordered mini gauges, clip-ons and the headlight ears. i want to push everything down.

the tank is coming along. a lot harder than i thought! the pounding was easy, but the bondo and sanding take HOURS.

 

[CresentSon]

...don't you go stealin my idea with plopping on the earlier carbs! ;D...

I like the idea of the performance advantage you can get out of the 78's, but there is something about the simplicity of the 76's. I've been playing with the tuning already and I'm not having problems yet, so I guess we'll see. I'm a fan of "if it's fixed don't break it" but I like the tune-ability of the earlier setup.
Plus they look friggin' sweet!

 

[rafanomenon]

I didn't realize you were had.... uhm..... : yeah I'm full of it.

I like the idea of the performance advantage you can get out of the 78's, but there is something about the simplicity of the 76's. I've been playing with the tuning already and I'm not having problems yet, so I guess we'll see. I'm a fan of "if it's fixed don't break it" but I like the tune-ability of the earlier setup.
Plus they look friggin' sweet!

hahaha.. just as long as we're not 'design by committee' right?

i remember listing the advantages/disadvantages in an earlier post... the idle/air screw location, choke cable, and press-in jets were enough to drive me insane. if yours are working, stick with em. just like you said: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[msimm43]

a 10-footer is what i like to call it (looks good if you're standing more than 10 feet away)

LOL.

Yours looks good from ten feet, and all of my polishing looks good in pictures with a white hot camera flash to blow out all of the little spots I missed.

I know what you mean about the clubmans and clocks. I had Clubmans on my 04 Bonneville, and I scrapped the bars and the stock speedo for clip-ons and mini guage for the same reason. It is just a cleaner look. The reason that I went with clubman bars on the Honda was that I didn't want to end up building a twin of my other bike.

Keep up the good work, and hang in there on the bondo.

 

[rafanomenon]

Got some more help from the Knuckle Busters crew through this build. Installed the new Tomasselli 3-way adjustable clip-ons, mini tach and headlight ears. Sorry I didn't get any progress photos. Just got too anxious to take a break :

I took the horn off to clean up the front. I may just put it back to hide the ugly T-split for the dual-disc front.

I plan on finding another used top triple clamp, and grinding those handlebar mounts. I also want to grind down the OEM gauge brackets, remount the ignition (under the tank?) and mount the mini-clocks where the ignition mounts. after all the grinding, i'd polish/paint the top triple clamp for a finishing touch.

soooo sick.

Had to take it for a quick test ride. Those clip-ons are the shit. fully adjustable, and it was a way more comfortable ride than the clubmans. seat perfect. hand controls perfect. next are the rearsets...

 

[Drake Landers]

Got some more help from the Knuckle Busters crew through this build. Installed the new Tomasselli 3-way adjustable clip-ons, mini tach and headlight ears. Sorry I didn't get any progress photos. Just got too anxious to take a break :

I took the horn off to clean up the front. I may just put it back to hide the ugly T-split for the dual-disc front.

looking good bro. It should be a good challange fitting your rear sets.

I plan on finding another used top triple clamp, and grinding those handlebar mounts. I also want to grind down the OEM gauge brackets, remount the ignition (under the tank?) and mount the mini-clocks where the ignition mounts. after all the grinding, i'd polish/paint the top triple clamp for a finishing touch.

soooo sick.

Had to take it for a quick test ride. Those clip-ons are the shit. fully adjustable, and it was a way more comfortable ride than the clubmans. seat perfect. hand controls perfect. next are the rearsets...

 

[CresentSon]

Your gonna have to slow down man...

The sweeter that thing looks, the worse my heap looks. If you get too much further along before I get started I'll have to get depressed. I've got the '76 if it is the same triple up top and your interested. I'll compare it to the '78 today.

...for real though, looking killer 8)


*EDIT* Just checked, unless the '77 is a bastard child, it should be the same. Shipping from TX shouldn't be much.

 

[rafanomenon]

what! that'd be awesome!

the '77-'78 supersports seem to be the bastard children of the lineup, which is one of the main reasons why i wanted to take it on

the dual-disc front brakes make me wonder if the triple trees fork tube holes are wider-set than their single disk/drum counterparts. i guess I can take some measurements of mine and let you know? I can paypal you funds for your troubles.

 

[msimm43]

What are you going to do with about handle bar clamps now that you have the clip-ons?

Thanks for the pic of how you mounted the mini tach. I have been going back and forth about mounting the mini gauges on the same bolts as the key ignition switch, and where you have them. I think seeing your set up saves me the work of having to fab mounting plates and grind down the mounts on the yoke.

Nice work.

 

[rafanomenon]

What are you going to do with about handle bar clamps now that you have the clip-ons?

Thanks for the pic of how you mounted the mini tach. I have been going back and forth about mounting the mini gauges on the same bolts as the key ignition switch, and where you have them. I think seeing your set up saves me the work of having to fab mounting plates and grind down the mounts on the yoke.

Nice work.

The handlebar clamps have been spoken for. As soon as I find a replacement top triple clamp, I plan to cut/grind what's left of the handlebar mounts.

Crazy that you mention the mini-clock mounting locations. I plan on getting a Dyna ignition system within the next month, and want to remount the ignition key - who's mounts would be the perfect, centered location for my mini clocks. I was then planning on grinding the OEM clock mounts to clean it all up.

Doing all of this made me realize how messy my electronics are, which I also plan on redoing. Lots of cable/wire business going on behind the headlight bucket. Yuck.

 

[CresentSon]

I can take some measurements of mine and let you know?

The '76 is exactly the same as the '78. Roughly 7 1/4 center to center on the fork tube holes, 4 1/4 from the fork tube to the top of the neck. I'll check the parts lists to see if they're the same part#.

I got the clamps off the 76 just sittin' msim, unless Raf wants them with the top triple.