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CB750F2 .... silk purse from a sows ear.
SumpMagnet:
Well...the beast has landed. And what a beast :)
It's a US import, first registered in 1978, but apparantly manufactured in 1977. She came from South Dakota which has hot dry summers and brutal winters, so I reckon this has hibernated for half the year and seen light use for the rest as it's remarkably rust free. I have the US title showing it being sold on to an importer in 2014, and then hung around for a few years before actually getting here. Not sure if that is normal, or if they are stockpiling to drip feed in to keep prices higher. Whatever....she's my bike now!
The seller had put a maroon tank on it to sell it, but that was badly scarred. I asked about the tank ( it had no tap or cap... and I was offered another one if I wanted it ) and both were brought with the bike so I could choose. The other one was black...and apparantly was original to the bike. The same key fits the seat...ignition and petrol cap cover....which is a good sign. Only downer for this tank is the badges have been removed and the gap filled. I hoper they only used filler....not the grinder.... as I want to try and refit the badges. The trusty magnet test revealed no traces of filler anywhere other than the badge recess, and only one small dent in the tank. Wow. Last bike I rebuilt had more filler than tank! Frame rust is minimal and surface only....nothing deep or pitted. No scars or marks on the downtubes. Haven't put the laser on it...but it looks really straight. I genuinely think it's worth what I paid.....which is a good start. Of course...there are probably loads of horrors lurking in there, and I will find out hundreds of things I should have known before buying...but hey. Sometimes...you just have to go for it.
Here's the pretties...
Horrid seat....horrid bars....really not my taste.
But refreshingly...things like the rear inner mudguard have not been sliced up, the underseat toolbox is still there, and nothing looks too shabby.
Even the engine paint looks passable. Some minor flaking, but really solid in the main and no signs of horrid road rash. One of the points cover bolts is missing.....odds on it is eaither snapped or stripped...but I have had much worse. On runners.
The tank filler neck needs a new seal and a damn good clean....but inside...it's all like this....
Some rust scabbing along the sidestand side edge....but more clean metal than rust. Should clean up a treat, and the seams look in excellent order. I saw how this looked...and chose this one immediately over the maroon one. It even has the sweet little chain to stop you losing the cap. The other one didn't.
The forks look straight and clean...and even the chrome looks OK. A few little pits....but wow. I had a 5 year old Yamaha show worse pitting than this. The chrome on the front mudguard is intact, and looks like it will even shine up nicely. Brakes...don't work...but everything is there. The sludge in the master cylinder probably...er...needs changing...
Stand on the kickstart, and she turns over freely with enough chuff chuff noises and resistance to say it has compression. No nasty clunks, scrapes or scary sounds. Just the noise of air being pumped. Not going to do more until I get a look inside.
Paperwork shows a little over 14,000 miles. Of course....I expect that to be a lie....or short a zero... but looking at this thing, I can actually believe it. I reckon this thing will clean up a treat.
I have a vision in my mind too. Mild cafe racer overhaul, with no cutting/mangling of stock parts. Dropped bars and single seat replacing ones I have to replace anyway. I want shorty 4 intro 4 pipes stopping just short of the wheel spindle, but thast may or may not happen. I am thinking gloss black with a dull silver frame, keeping the black fork lowers and chrome mudguard. Black and silver to offset the black/alloy engine with a few chrome highlights. Black fork gaiters. Fitted chrome ring headl;ight is spotless...so that will stay but on new brackets.
I have a dream.....
Nurse Julie:
Great start for a project, it won't be cheap though. Does the front wheel go round, the guard looks very, very close. All rubber bits will be an issue as will be very dry and brittle due to coming from USA, including any rubber bits in the engine. Good luck.
SumpMagnet:
She rolls fine, but the front tyre is fossilised.....and the rear is actually worse. Footrest and kickstart rubbers are OK...but they are about the only rubbery bits I trust. Fork seals and dust caps are cracked and dead.
Every hose will get swapped, and if the carb rubbers are dry...they will go too. Expect to replce the o rings on the little round covers on the head.
What other ones should I look out for? Don't really want to put the thing together and find oil pouring out the gearbox output shaft or some such shenanigans.
Nurse Julie:
You would need to replace every single rubber part in the engine, O rings, seals, cam tensioner wheels bla bla bla etc. Even in a 40+ year old UK bike they are close to being knackered, if not already so, a USA bike's rubber bits were knacked years ago.
SumpMagnet:
LOL....the project list just got longer :)
But if you're gonna do it...do it right. Otherwise....you do it twice...and the second time usually costs more.
I'm just glad to be past the initial turkey purchase fear. That bit where it turns up and you realise you just spent a load of money and bought a rusty pile of doo-doo. I may yet turn out to be wrong, but it genuinely looks OK to me. Wonder what she looks like on the inside......
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