1979 CB750

[map]

Yo,
i got this bike off of craigslist a couple of weeks ago for a couple hundred bucks. It's the 10th anniversary model, but it didn't come with the cool plastic pieces with the badge. It started and idled when i first got it. But after taking a look at the carbs i found weird pitting on the inside and ordered new ones. it came with some ugly double up seat thats still in excellent condition. i made plans for either a street fighter race bike or cafe... ended up with the cafe

it came with an old school kerker header and exhaust.

as of right now the fork seals leak,tires are bald, cdi is toast and im waiting on new carbs to come in.

i got rid of the ugly stock speedo and tach setup and will bolt on a single speedo from my 79 CB650

 

[map]

i got these clubmans from a guy off craigslist (LA) in that are supposed to be extra wide so that they dont dent that giant tank. but i wont know for sure until i put them on. i also got this seat from steve "carpy" carpenter. He made them for the sohc so they could use the stock hinges, but since i have a dohc i still need to figure out a way to bolt in onto the frame. i have some ideas so lets see how it turns out. im probably just gonna use race foam.

still need to look for a rear spoke rim, but im not sure what size to get. i really want to get carpys boxed swingarm frame- i can fit a 150 rear on in when its installed.

 

[map]

i figured out how to get the seat on. i used these space collars and welded them to the frame then bolted the seat to it. i cut off the seat hump and cut off the rear to give it a cleaner look-ill get better pics when i have time i promise.

i raised the seat pan a little so i can get the wires tucked under it. i also relocated the battery to the rear hump and used an R1 battery.

i painted the comstars and front forks black.

i also painted the tank black just for mock up.. and to cover up the ugly paint.

 

[map]

got my new tires!!!!

bridgestone spitfires
front 110/90 19
rear 130/90 16

sucks the rear arent raised white letters.. any suggestions on what paint to use?

 

[thirsty 1]

lookin good keep it up!

 

[map]

It's starting to look really good. i still need seat foam tho. I blacked out the raised white lettering but im gonna make them white again.
-Wrapped the header with black wrap
-Side mounted the tail light/plate
-single speedo setup

im just waiting on carbs and tune.
i think the bike's front end is a little too high. i think what the front needs is for the headlight to be tucked a little lower and closer to the bike. So that means i have to get new brackets for the headlight bucket. if the clubmans i have on there dont make it better(its on upside down) i might just get clipons instead.
i need to do a conversion so i can run a gold chain on the bike. the rear shocks need to be cleaned up, maybe even gold anodized with a black body. I m thinking about putting on a bobbed front fender as well.
i still have no idea on what i want to do the tank. Im thinking about either putting an F model on it or one of those universal caf tanks on it. i was thinking about a gloss black tank with a gold pinstripe down the middle.

Spoked wheels are on the way as well. Gold spoke, black rim and hub.


ive attached a pic of what it would look like if the headlight was closer.. i dont have photoshop on this computer so bear with me lol

 

[PePe]

Looks pretty sweet!

 

[map]

Thanks guys!

 

[Reinhard]

You can get a whitewall pen from JC Whitney

 

[map]

You can get a whitewall pen from JC Whitney

thanks i just ordered it.

where can i get cdi boxes? the one i have gets spark but doesnt rev. so while i wait for that i think ill start painting. The only problem im running into now is the tank. i really dont like the look of this tank. Anyone have suggestions for it?

 

[biker_reject]

Looks like my '79 project.... that's been languishing for< 2 years! God, I have so much more to do. Good for you on moving so quickly on your build! 8)

http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=9860.0
I think we're on the same page, bro.

 

[IndieSol]

You could seriously get a million responses about your tank question, but a lot of it depends on your circumstances.

What kind of money are you willing to throw at the tank? If the answer is "not much" you'll have to find some stock tank that looks good and get a good deal. Or you'll have to make something yourself. What's your level of skill with that sort of thing?

If you've got the cheddar to throw down on it, you could get a tank from benjie's, omar's, carpy, roc city cafe, dime city cycles, glass from the past, etc. Then you have to decide if you want a fiberglass tank or alloy. So many questions.

I personally really like the early 80s Suzuki GS tanks, specifically like an 81 GS450E, but I don't know how easy it would be to modify to mount up. But that will be an issue with a lot of tanks from other makes of bike.

Here is a GS450E tank on a Honda CJ360 frame. Looks the part, if you ask me. There are quite a few other good stock tanks that have a "cafe" look, you'll just have to do some looking around.

 

[map]

You could seriously get a million responses about your tank question, but a lot of it depends on your circumstances.

What kind of money are you willing to throw at the tank? If the answer is "not much" you'll have to find some stock tank that looks good and get a good deal. Or you'll have to make something yourself. What's your level of skill with that sort of thing?

If you've got the cheddar to throw down on it, you could get a tank from benjie's, omar's, carpy, roc city cafe, dime city cycles, glass from the past, etc. Then you have to decide if you want a fiberglass tank or alloy. So many questions.

I personally really like the early 80s Suzuki GS tanks, specifically like an 81 GS450E, but I don't know how easy it would be to modify to mount up. But that will be an issue with a lot of tanks from other makes of bike.

Here is a GS450E tank on a Honda CJ360 frame. Looks the part, if you ask me. There are quite a few other good stock tanks that have a "cafe" look, you'll just have to do some looking around.

your tank looks really good. I think i figured out why i really didnt like my tank. its the tabs for the side covers. biker_reject has his cut off and the tank looks a little bit more bearable. i think thats what i'll do. thanks for the suggestions. Im gonna head over to carpys shop later today to see what he can do about putiting the knee dents in.

 

[map]

Looks like my '79 project.... that's been languishing for< 2 years! God, I have sp much more to do. Good for you on moving so quickly on your build! 8)

http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=9860.0
I think we're on the same page, bro.

Thanks! im not gonna lie, your polish work really makes me jealous haha. Im gonna polish wat i can to hell just because of you. I'm going to take some ideas from you too (cutting off tabs for side covers).

ive been lagging a little bit due to this crazy CA rain. cant tune because i cant ride and because i need new cdi.

also, did u lower your bike?

 

[bikeboy]

where can i get cdi boxes? the one i have gets spark but doesnt rev.

CDI units are all over ebay. Swap them over first to confirm that it's dead. One does 1-4, the other 2-3. It may be your pulse units under the timing cover instead?

cheers
ian

 

[biker_reject]

Thanks! im not gonna lie, your polish work really makes me jealous haha. Im gonna polish wat i can to hell just because of you. I'm going to take some ideas from you too (cutting off tabs for side covers).

ive been lagging a little bit due to this crazy CA rain. cant tune because i cant ride and because i need new cdi.

also, did u lower your bike?

I shortened the forks 2", but like you, think it's still too high in the front. The rear is stock height, only with CBX reservoir shocks, an ebay score. I played around with swingarm angle, but I found if I raised the rear, the chain would be uncomfortably close to the swing arm. I have seen at least one other member use a roller to lift up the chain. The only other thing I can think of is to find a smaller front wheel? Don't really know what the benefits were to having such a difference in wheel sizes. Right now, I'm having issues with rear set linkages, trying to find Heim joint ends to fit the rods that I have. BTW, I found an ebay store that makes these cool pod filters with shrouds that I assume remedy the lack of vacuum once the air box is removed. They also offer a jet kit. I'm gonna call the dude tomorrow to find out the price of the kit.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-cb750-900-Air-Filters-DOHC-/150488555133?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2309d11e7d

 

[bikeboy]

BTW, I found an ebay store that makes these cool pod filters with shrouds that I assume remedy the lack of vacuum once the air box is removed

hmmm. I'm not sure that's what they do? I think it's just a cosmetic thing to tidy up the element? Don't think that will remedy the situation.

cheers
ian

 

[Basement rat]

I shortened the forks 2", but like you, think it's still too high in the front. The rear is stock height, only with CBX reservoir shocks, an ebay score. I played around with swingarm angle, but I found if I raised the rear, the chain would be uncomfortably close to the swing arm. I have seen at least one other member use a roller to lift up the chain. The only other thing I can think of is to find a smaller front wheel? Don't really know what the benefits were to having such a difference in wheel sizes. Right now, I'm having issues with rear set linkages, trying to find Heim joint ends to fit the rods that I have. BTW, I found an ebay store that makes these cool pod filters with shrouds that I assume remedy the lack of vacuum once the air box is removed. They also offer a jet kit. I'm gonna call the dude tomorrow to find out the price of the kit.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Honda-cb750-900-Air-Filters-DOHC-/150488555133?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2309d11e7d

If you look at dirt bike swingers, they have Teflon strips for the chain to slide on.

 

[biker_reject]

I'll find out more about those filters later today as I plan to call the guy who sells them. As for the ride height issue, I couldn't find any shocks that were any longer than 13" and it was too late to weld taller mounting tabs onto the swingarm as it was already powder coated.

 

[Basement rat]

I got a swinger I could sell you, I bought it to stretch before I went the rout of my boxed aluminum one.