1977 CB750F2 Restoration

[Spitfire]

Somewhere around 1992 we switched to 12 hour shifts at work so 4 on 4 off became the norm, so I wanted something to tinker with on my days off, in the back garden next door to a friends was a bike which turned out to be a 750 Honda so I bought it as a project.
This is it at the start of the stripdown

I always like the MV Augusta racing bikes so decided to have an all red bike, Vauxhall red was my choice of colour, Halfords rattle cans providing the paint.


Clip ons and rearsets, the old formula, and an Alpha 4:1 was purchased for the finished "masterpiece".
A Power Bronze seat was also bought to complete the look.

The top end was overhaulled, new pistons, rings, valves, valve springs and the engine cleaned up and painted, ready to be installed.
But it was not to be, in 1994 I got a job on a refinery start up in Thailand and we left these shores for the next 10 years

Cheers

Dennis

[Lobo]

Gawd Dennis, you were serious about the red - even the clocks got a coat 😂!

[Spitfire]

Even the switchgear on the handle bars got painted, no messing about.
This was the engine ready to go back into the frame pictured during the F1 restoration.

When we got back home in 2004 we spent quite a bit of time catching up with the house and having an extension built, but eventually I got round to looking at the F1, it had spent 10 years covered in grease under dust sheets in the garage.
So I thought a quick service and away she would go, this is how she looked

And in more detail

So two years were spent on restoring the F1, during which time I "hoovered up" lots of parts for both the F1 and F2.
But the F2 always nagged at me, in 2015 I had a heart attack and this year my 70th birthday, this concentrated my mind quite a bit so rather that let my kids skip a load of old motorbike parts when I shake off this mortal coil I decided to gather all the parts, refurbish them and build the F2 back so at least it was a complete bike.
This was going to be a "budget" restoration unlike the F1 so while the weather was warm some Halford rattle cans of gloss black and primer were purchased.
Plus wet and dry, Brillo pads, paint stripper and other useful stuff.
The various parts were then cleaned, sanded down and given a coat of primer.
More soon

Cheers

Dennis

[Spitfire]

So on with it, the frame was cleaned up, sanded down and primed

Then given a coat of Halfords finest gloss black, it still needs polishing but looks good.

Then a trip into the loft to retreive some parts, I've forgotten whats aup there so there was some surprises.



I'm trying to get all the paint on while the weathers still warm.

Cheers

Dennis

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Interesting read - had Halfords sold out of red so you've done the frame in boring black !

[Spitfire]

I'm through with the red phase on this one but there is my A65 to put back together.

Cheers

Dennis

[haynes66]

which halfords paint did you use?  it looks rather good

[Spitfire]

Just the ordinary gloss paint and grey primer


Cheers

Dennis

[Spitfire]

Still moving on, I want to get as much painting out of the way as possible, and I am still trying to find all the parts that I know I have including a spare top end of barrels, pistons, head, carbs basically everything above the crankcases.
So a few trips to Halfords.




Cheers

Dennis

[Spitfire]

Well the parts count is slowly climbing, not sure about the headlamp brackets as they do not look like F2 ones, I know I have F2 ones but where?



The handlebar controls and clocks will be painted with my airbrush indoors using Humbrol model paint.


Cheers

Dennis

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Don't we just love looking for the part you need next that was put in an an extra safe place!

[Spitfire]

Don't we just, pretty sure they are in the loft with the Motad and Alpha exhaust systems and the spare engine top end, seat and tank(s)

Cheer

Dennis

[Oddjob]

I have a couple of pairs of F2 ears, one pair NOS. They do look like F2 ears to me, if you need to confirm measure the distance from the top of the collar to the top of the tube.

[Spitfire]

Thanks for that I will measure them to be sure, it's just that looking at photos of the bike when I bought it they did not have holes on the ears" themselves, apart from that they do look like F2 ones.
I did buy parts of an F2 front end comprising a complete headlamp, discs, calipers and piping, maybe these ears are from that job lot.
Will get back to you on the size.

Cheers

Dennis

[K2-K6]

Just checked on friends original F2 and they don't have holes in the ears, nor in the workshop manual pictures.

They do look like F2 in shape etc though, indicators mounted lower lugs with reflectors screwed into main headlamp mounts.

No holes on K7 that I can see either, similar ears but with shorter reach to bring headlight closer to fork stanchion.