all cb750 dohc?

Q

quadracer351

Coast to Coast
Im new to working on motorcycles, after many years of working on quads and dirtbikes im ready to make the switch! Im looking to do a cafe racer project over the winter and wanted to start with a cb750. After hearing a little bit about them i think im starting to realize that not all years are dohc? If thats true can someone please tell me which years are and also why am i being told to stay away from any dohc that has carb problems? I appreciate any and all help!
 
1969-1978 is SOHC
After that they are DOHC

No real issue with the carbs, but they hate pods, but then again pods are really nothing more then a style mod that decreases power..

Only DOHC honda that is worth messing with is an F. The K is a standard, and the C is a faux chopper and neither are suited for any performance, but some can be dressed up I guess.

DOHC bikes are not cafes and really work much better as the superbikes that they are
user24268_pic411_1228278215.jpg
 
Thank you! i have the chance to grab an 81 cb750F for 950$ the guy says two carbs leak but it run. But now im thinking about holding off and finding a sohc
 
Buy it... The DOHC is an easier engine to work with, although the frame is a bit more of a challenge if you want to go cafe. That year would have a similar frame to mine, the seat area of the frame is not flat, so it takes a bit of patience to make a seat for it, but it can be done. Carbs are simple as hell to work on, and parts are usually readily available. Good luck.
 
750F would be a great base for a fun bike.
To me it will never be a cafe, but thats just labels and BS

Leaking carbs come with the territory of vintage bikes and shouldnt scare you to far off.

DOHC bikes tend to be much cheaper then SOHC bikes

Best advice for a novice is to forget the style and all that. Buy the best bike that you can find. A $2000 bike that just passed a state inspection is a hell of a lot cheaper then a $500 "barn find"
Get out and ride. figure out what you like and improve the bike to do that job. Some bikes are better at bikes then others. Think of them like tools. A GL1000 would suck as a flat track racer just as much as a RD200 would suck as a long distance turing bike. Dont try and make a bike into something its not
 
aside from the frame being slightly different what else could i expect? ive searched countless areas on craigs and came across plenty of cb's but alot are in rough shape. Im looking for a bike that doesnt need too much engine work at the moment. Id rather save the money and put it towards other parts at first and just have the bike running. And yeah i was confused about the carb thing too, after working on countless quads mainly 250r's, banshees, and only one quadzilla and all those other fun 2 strokes ive had no problems with re doing carbs. The reason why i was listening to that advice was because it came from a guy that i know knows his cb's in and out. Lastly about the seats....this is what i was looking to buy would they fit that years frame? http://www.cb750cafe.com/products-page/seats/rocket-4/ or http://www.cb750cafe.com/products-page/seats/dunstall-style-seat-base-2/ . Also just realizing mounting a tank will probably be different too?

Again thanks for helping the noob!!!
 
Almost nothing from a SOHC will bolt on to a DOHC.

But that said I guess anything can be made to fit anything.
Expand your mind passed the hipster bait honda CB. Many bikes out there.

Why dont we step back from talking about seats and mods and other ways to "make it your own" and lets talk about riding

What do you plan to do with the bike?
 
the bike would be a daily driver. im not looking to set it up for anything in particular im just looking to have a nice smooth dependable fun bike in the end something that i know. Every once in awhile itll be nice to open it up and let it stretch but im not looking for something based only on white knuckle riding. Ive always wanted a bike and always enjoyed the look and history that goes along with the cafes. aside from the cb's what other bikes do you suggest. I guess i got hung up on the cb because its mainly what i see people working on.
 
Any and all DOHC enthusiasts or those considering taking the plunge should check out CB1100F.net - the red bike above is "Da Beast" - it belongs to a long-standing member of "the 'F-orum" as I like to call it, and it's worth checking out the build thread and many other pics of this awesome bike - as well as the awesome Caffienated CB750Fs CB900Fs CB1100Fs as well as any & all CB1100Rs CB750Ks CB900Cs CB1000Cs as well as CB985Ks CB1100Ks CB1123Fs etc etc - and there's some nice porn in "Crossing the Yellow Line" - see, the site has practically no censorship whatsoever so you can let it all hang out and not fear banishment for using "bad language" or telling a kinky joke etc. It gives one a whole new appreciation for Nanny-Sites as well as a good laugh at everybody making asses of themselves - me included. But yeah, the DOHC content there and on the sister site CB750C.com it's far beyond any expectation & if you had any reservations about buying a DOHC Honda you'll be cured of that misconception in one visit.

As for the DOHC not being a café bike, I made my dissertation on that subject on CB1100F.net I won't reiterate it here as it's longwinded as fuck - suffice it to say, it's been scientifically proven that the DOHC Super Sports already ARE a café bike so they don't really need much to bring out the fresh ground aroma and keep you awake late 'til you go square eyed looking at 'em.

-S.
 
Quad, the SOHC's have been more desired for Cafe's but people are starting to get more interested in the DOHC's for Cafe's now. The SOHC is has a beautiful engine and was one of the biggest ground breakers ever when it first came out in 1969, it was the deathnell for the British Bike industry. This is probably why they command more money than the DOHC.

The DOHC is a much better performing bike in every way, acceleration, braking, and handling (it still doesn't match the bikes of today though). I think the only difficulty in the conversion would be the rear part of the frame which would probably have to be modified in order to use a Cafe style seat. The site that Soy mentioned is the encyclopedia for these bikes but beware that if you join and say that you want to Cafe your DOHC right off the bat, they will slay you. That's what happened to me, haha.

They don't have the best charging systems and the rods in the 900F can be suspect (don't over rev them). I only know this stuff from reading the forum.

I have 3 DOHS and I love them.

PS, don't ask about pods either :)
 
surffly said:
Only DOHC honda that is worth messing with is an F. The K is a standard, and the C is a faux chopper and neither are suited for any performance, but some can be dressed up I guess.
Click to expand...

Awwwe, You're gonna give my C model a complex... ;)
Dual Over Head Cams were the natural progression in performance back in the day. My C model, a K model and the F all had the same engine. C and K had rear drums brake while the F was graced with rear disc. The C and the F had twin disc front brakes while the K had a single. The carbs were the technology back then as well. Better metering in STOCK trim. If you go making modifications on ANY intake system, be prepared for headaches in order to make it perform at its optimum potential... but the CV Keihin carbs on these bike are better left stock.
A good point has been made that the frame design of the DOHC's doesn't lend itself to cafe' styling easily.... but it's a damn good frame on either of the 3 models.
As far as daily rider dependability, the DOHC 750 bikes were Hondas conerstone that helped them continue their reputation well into the '80s.
 
I stand by my comments.
F is the only performance oriented bike.
C n K frames are different and meant to perform a different task.

Not like any of them are rare, so why start with a sub par platform when performance is the goal? Again if playing dress up is the name of the game then it doesn't matter what you start with as all the goal is to "get a look".

Also it era of motorcycle is well past a "cafe racer". Labels are stupid, but if you need one "superbike" would be the correct one.
No one was putting clubman bars and bump seats on a few year old DOHC bikes, they were pretending to be the racers of the day. Only after everyone got to cheap to buy a sohc did they start building cafe bikes out of a DOHC.

And for what it's worth, the Suzuki of the same time period is a much better bike and cheaper to boot.
 
I don't mean to say that a C or K are junk, just that they are built for a different task.
A rolls Royce would make a terrible drag race car.

I casually look for a cb1100f to build up.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=sIb70gqRGNY

8.092 not to shabby
 
Hoosier Daddy said:
Heh, heh... I just HAD to look...

rolls-royce-silver-shadow-dragster.jpg
Click to expand...


I first wrote that it would be a terriable drift car....then I remembered that kid from jalopnik was building one.
But to be fair there isnt much RR left. Its a race car dressed up like a RR
 
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