New guy from Cleveland, Ohio.

[andyvy]

Hi, I've been shopping for a first bike for 3 months now, decided to start with a classic, really liked '70-'73 Hondas CB350-CB750 etc. After spending 6+ hours at work doing nothing but browsing Craiglist I've found a few good deals. If all goes well I'll be picking this up Friday:

Since I'm so new at this, any tips on what I should look for as far as damage? What should I check on the Bike while I'm there... Seller said mechanically there is nothing wrong, but Paint / Chrome needs to be re-done and needs new tires.

P.S. some bikes on here are just AMAZING, I spent couple hours on the one thread "Before and After users pictures", absolutely amazing rides.

 

[brewtown16]

Re: Absolute Newbie from Cleveland, OH.

the paint and engine chrome look fine from here......... dont get rid of that gorgeous green!

 

[andyvy]

Re: Absolute Newbie from Cleveland, OH.

I'm just going by what the seller stated. If the paint / chrome does indeed look this good and these pictures are up to date then I'm keeping these colors for sure. Will know for sure this Friday! Can't wait.

Do these have electric starters or they're all kicks?

 

[andyvy]

Re: Absolute Newbie from Cleveland, OH.

Well the bike above was sold before I could get to it so I had to continue shopping. :'(

So I found another bike in the area and the guy was nice enough to deliver it. It's a Honda CB550Kfour.

Front "Euro Fairing" is an absolute disaster, that had to come off faster then an asian hookers clothes. The back seat + baggage mount was also fugly, that had go!
Here's how far I got so far:

Couple of things I could use some advice on;

Exhaust pipes are rusted through the bottom, anywhere or anyone I could buy a new fresh set of pipes from? (I will be stripping the chrome and going with flat black on the pipes) And because of the Euro Fairing I don't have a mount for the front Headlight, nor do I have an actual headlight except for the one inside teh Euro Fairing, need a place or person to buy that from as well....

Is there any good websites that sell parts for these bikes?

Thanks in advance for any tips & advice.

Oh and, it fires up and runs with no problems! Just needs carbs cleaned.

 

[Kanticoy]

As far as the headlight mounts go, I never was a fan of the factory ones. I would go with the "Ear" type mounts so you have some flexibility in mounting height. The headlights are pretty easy to come by on Ebay, or even better, go to the want/need section at the bottom of the main page and make a post. These bikes shared parts with lots of other models, so someone is sure to have one lying around. The pipes too! Welcome, and nice bike!