New (Honda-less!) member from Derby

[Frank.derby]

Hi everybody, I am Frank from Derby Uk. 58 years old
I am big into the bikes that were around when I was a kid, (late 60's to mid 70's )
Obviously that's exactly the when the sohc cb750 was around.
I am into the Kawasaki's of that era, z1 and H2, I have had many bikes over the years, but I have never owned a Honda!! Mainly because back in the day I had a Z1 and my mate had a Cb750 and we would always argue who's was the best bike!
I now want to own a Honda, I will be on the lookout for ideally a nice early ish cb750, so I felt joining this forum may be a good starting point!
Happy Christmas everyone
Frank

[Bitsa (Ralph Wright - RIP)]

Welcome and best of luck finding an early one bit like RHShite
Cheers
Bitsa

[Trigger]

Welcome. A few early ones about but, not cheap.

[SteveD CB500K0]

If you have Z1 and H2, you'll probably be surprised at how "available" CB750s are.

[Bitsa (Ralph Wright - RIP)]

You could be well right there Steve good bargaining tools to have
Cheers
Bitsa

[Frank.derby]

Thanks for your comments so far,
did the models progressively improve over the years?
Are some models better than others?
I saw a sandcast on eBay recently for £55k so I won't be in the market for one of those!
I thought possibly K1 or K2, ideally one not needing work, (or not too much!) I already have too many projects on the go.
What sort of money do you think I will need?
Many thanks for all your help
Frank

[Green1]

Welcome Frank
I prefer the k1's as I'm not a fan of the chrome fork ears. 
 
K2's tend to be marginally cheaper.If you don't want to spend to much on a restoration try and find one with a nice set of pipes.

Mick

[Bitsa (Ralph Wright - RIP)]

 
 
K2's tend to be marginally cheaper.If you don't want to spend to much on a restoration try and find one with a nice set of pipes.
Only if you believe in father xmas though.Good hunting wish you the best
Cheers
Bitsa

[Trigger]

Prices on the K2 can differ. The early 1972 UK ones are about the same as the K1 now. The cheaper K2's are the post 1972 and USA units.

[matthewmosse]

Buy a restored one, genrally if a bike costs 6k to restore it winds up selling for 4 or 5k I get the inpresson, not that it matters too much as long as you enjoy it. Personally my bikes cost well under a grand and cost very little to run, but they would offend the delicate sensabilities of many classic owners as chrome is where the cash goes. Probably I am telling you what you can figure out for yourself though. I prefer the 500's being a bit on the short side. I always fancied a bigger Kh, after my first bike was a Kh125, but had to sit down after seening what a 500 tripple cost even a few years back.

[mick]

Hello frank and welcome to the forum  cheers Mick

[JamesH]

Buy a restored one, genrally if a bike costs 6k to restore it winds up selling for 4 or 5k I get the inpresson, not that it matters too much as long as you enjoy it. Personally my bikes cost well under a grand and cost very little to run, but they would offend the delicate sensabilities of many classic owners as chrome is where the cash goes. Probably I am telling you what you can figure out for yourself though. I prefer the 500's being a bit on the short side. I always fancied a bigger Kh, after my first bike was a Kh125, but had to sit down after seening what a 500 tripple cost even a few years back.

I doubt very much you'll find a good quality K1 or K2 in fully restored (properly restored) condition for anywhere near this figure. Decent unrestored K1's are 6k+ now. Frank in london recently sold a fully restored K1 for £18k so you'll need deep pockets unless you find someone who doesn't know what it's worth or is desperate to sell.

[Trigger]

Buy a restored one, genrally if a bike costs 6k to restore it winds up selling for 4 or 5k I get the inpresson, not that it matters too much as long as you enjoy it. Personally my bikes cost well under a grand and cost very little to run, but they would offend the delicate sensabilities of many classic owners as chrome is where the cash goes. Probably I am telling you what you can figure out for yourself though. I prefer the 500's being a bit on the short side. I always fancied a bigger Kh, after my first bike was a Kh125, but had to sit down after seening what a 500 tripple cost even a few years back.

I doubt very much you'll find a good quality K1 or K2 in fully restored (properly restored) condition for anywhere near this figure. Decent unrestored K1's are 6k+ now. Frank in london recently sold a fully restored K1 for £18k so you'll need deep pockets unless you find someone who doesn't know what it's worth or is desperate to sell.

Your right on this James.
I sold the last UK K1 i did for £11,500 and the UK K2 went for £8,750. There was a UK K2 on ebay a couple of months ago that sold for 7K in less than 12 hours.

[JamesH]

Oh and apologies Frank, should have said welcome. Great bunch of guys on this forum with a lot of SOHC knowledge to share and soak up. Z1 and H2 are quite different beasts - I'm biased, having owned both and H2 snd more recently a Z1 which I still have - but for pure riding enjoyment / purity I don't think you can beat the SOHC's of this era. If it were my money I'd go for the K1 with HM300 pipes - awesome sounding and great riding!!!

[UK Pete]

Hi frank and welcome, btw you should have a word with james i am pretty sure he is selling a k1 and a k2,,, james correct me if i am wrong
pete