Honda-SOHC
SOHC.co.uk Forums => CB750 => Topic started by: UK Pete on February 24, 2010, 04:13:10 PM
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HI all as you may have picked up from some of Ashley's posts i have bought another bike, well i have actually bought a K1, this is mostly original and has a beautiful 40 year old patina, everything seems to work on it and the chrome is good,the only thing i will be changing at the moment is the cush drive rubbers as there seems to be some slack there( or is that normal), so i will be picking peoples brains on where to find bits and all sorts of questions relating to K1's.
The reason i bought this is since joining the forums i have really taken to the old Honda's and as you probably know i am building 2 F2's at the moment, but i really have taken a shine to the early K models, ideally i wanted a KO but they seem to be way too much money, anyway i have been on the lookout and bid on a few only too usually loose out , but this time i got lucky and so have just spent the last of all my savings on this old beast, still i think its an investment and i reckon if push came to shove in a few years the return on it would probably be better than the interest payed by banks.
I am going to get it on the road for the summer and maybee replace a few small bits in the winter, the only major thing to do is the paint as it is faded, but even that adds character to this fine 40 year old machine, i have been out side looking it over today putting it in various positions and admiring it, also i just have to keep starting it to hear that glorious roar from the H300 exhausts,
So hear are a few pictures of it as it is unrestored
Pete
(http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/ad90/UK-Pete/cb750/cb750263.jpg)
(http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/ad90/UK-Pete/cb750/cb750261.jpg)
(http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/ad90/UK-Pete/cb750/cb750262.jpg)
(http://i924.photobucket.com/albums/ad90/UK-Pete/cb750/cb750264.jpg)
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So you are pleased with it Pete!
Looks pretty good to me considering some of the S*ite you get on Ebay. I am sure you will never lose money on it. It will only appreciate plus all the 300 series parts available from Honda and common to K0/K1 always seem to be K1 variant (e.g seat, shocks, bars etc)
Ash
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Very nice Pete. Well done
I hope you don't have the same surprise as I had with mine.
Discovered this when I removed the engine.
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r31/Gearbox_photos/IMG_0019a.jpg)
(http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r31/Gearbox_photos/IMG_0018a.jpg)
It was hidden under a filler (Probably JB weld) and caused by the chain breaking. Very common on the early CB750's.
Enjoy the bike
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Apart from my blue early CB750 the K1 was my favourite bike, that looks like a good one, very nice, so enjoy it.
Cheers
Den
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Very Nice Pete :) nice looking bike 8), i to like the early K series and have this beauty aswell as my F1 (http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/mcpuffett/DevilsBridge001.jpg)
you will enjoy riding it this summer ;), cheers Mick.
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Hiya Peter...
That does look really nice. It just shows what can be found.
Is the front bit of the gearbox selector cover broken off like seems to happen all too easily? Or is it just the angle that the picture was taken?
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I don't think if he's bought it Off ChrisR he will have any nasty surprises !! It will be a good 'honest' bike. If you look at the way K2's have appreciated in value lately I reckon he has an real asset there. I know that the K1 was the highest no. of production but anyone know how many came to the UK. You don't tend to see that many - or is it just me who's not seen them around or on Ebay UK.
Cheers
AshD
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Seamus, that was a nasty surprise, was your engine oil tight before you found that damage?
spitfire yes i will enjoy this bike i am itching to get it on the road
Mike candy red is a good colour and yours looks real good too, i still like the f models as well
Yoshi i think its the photo that makes it look that way, i will double check the cover in morning
Ash i think that sums it up a good honest bike, i never new that K1 was the highest number of bikes made, i see lots of K2's up for sale and they are comanding a good price lately
Pete
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Hi Pete
The motor was oiltight before the strip. Only found the damage after cleaning off the oil round the sprocket area. The motor was only pulled out so that I could get the frame powder coated. I suspect that yours is OK and did'nt mean to worry you.
I had mine repaired via a friend who works in the aircraft industry. His welder is very skilled and is tested every 6 months for competency. A bit lucky I guess.
The K1 is the best looking K series in my opinion and has all the little improvements that made the earlier CB750 a little bit awkward.
Yours looks really good for the year, unlike mine which needed a lot of money spent to get it to where it is now.
Cheers
Seamus
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Hi seamus, who did your paint work? as that is one thing my bike would benefit from, i have seen a few bikes where they have spent the best part of
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Hi Pete,theres a fella on the US site who sells the correct paints for these bikes , www.vintagehondapaint.com
dont know about shipping though , cheers Mick
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Found these folks as well
http://www.rsbikepaint.com/en/shop-colour-schemes.php?makeid=148&modelid=3708&prod-year=1971
Cheers
Den
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Hi Pete,
That was one of the best bits of the bike when I got it. The paint had been done and a lot of the parts bought, but the overall finish of the frame etc let it down big time.
May be worth talking to a few people at one of the bike shows as they often have examples of their skills with them.
Good luck
Seamus
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Andrew who, I used chose a current Honda colour which perfectly matched the original paint under the fork ear reflector of my Candy Ruby red K0. It was a lot less than 700 and mine had the K0 3 -part airbox to do plus lots of repair work on the tank. He sprays the stripes on (as Honda did). I think Dream Machine use transfers.
I considered trying to spray myself (as I did on my 400/4) but Candy is notoriously difficult to get right - one false coat and its a total repaint. Vic Worlds sprays 'so many and a half' colour coats to get the correct colour for the candy blue/green K0.
In the end I just spent the dosh and I am glad I did. The American guy (dondirtbiker) who sells Candy paint kits will not ship overseas.
cheers
Ash
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I have found the paint but what an outrageous price
http://www.rsbikepaint.com/en/shop-paints.php?colourscheme=3943&767=on">.
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Hi Pete, Talk to Andrew and ask him what paint he used for mine !!! he's a really nice bloke.
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Halfords do a clear laquor that is designed for bike petrol tanks and is supposed to be petrol resistant.
Cheers
Den
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Ash, yes i may ring him, although i am now considering keeping it all as is , it is just beautifull with all its 40 year battle scars
Den I have used the halfords petrol resistant laquor, and it works although a little hard to work with being a rattle can, i wonder if you can buy the petrol resistant laquor by the liter for mixing and spraying with a gun?
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Ohh forgot to mention i took the bike for an MOT yesterday, i had not touched it as i felt the previous owner( chris r) had done a good job of preparing the bike, anyway the bike went straight through, the examiner admired its condition and praised it also mentioning what i was thinking as to leaving it well alone and enjoying it as a unrestored beauty.
I also Insured it for
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You are probably right Pete just keep it as standard with its patina and enjoy it. Glad it worked out OK with Chris - I wish there were more people like him on Ebay. Turns out both Chris and I got our hard to find bargain 400/4 NOS bits off David Silver as a result of his first ever advert in MCN in 1986 when he got his hands on a container load of obsolete Honda bits. BTW hope the missus didn't give you too much grief about the bike Invoice
cheers
Ash
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That rings a bell, in 1985/6 the petrol tank on my F1 started leaking by the tap, so I scanned through MCN and there was an ad for Honda parts, so I bought and F2 tank and seat from David Silver Spares for a bargain price.
Cheers
Den
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Well i had the morning off to do battle with the DVLA, i went up there armed with what i thought was everything needed to register my k1,
so i got in there real early before they opened i was six in the que and got seen to real quick, (not like the other day i was no 70 so i gave up) i presented my paperwork they checked it and said thank you sir all looks ok you should have a registration in about 5 days .
Surely its not that easy, i am one of those people that seems to have the bad luck when it comes to having the wrong form or filled in questions wrong, but this time i think im a winner, so hopefull i can get a plate made up next week and be on the road.
Pete
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I'll keep my fingers crossed for you !
Cheers
Den
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Hey Pete
Nice wheels fella. Just a quick note on registration - I've just been through the process myself with a '72 CB450, which only came with a receipt and a dating certificate. I'd been told it was going to be a nightmare 'cos it was a US market only bike and I could really have done with an import certificate . . .
. . . anyways, it turned out that no-one was particularly bothered about that bit. Like you, I took all the documents to the DVLA (I'm guessing you went to the Sidcup office as well) and they accepted pretty much everything I presented. However, I got a letter a few days later to say they wanted to inspect the bike. Not a big deal - I stuck it in the back of a van and trundled to the Maidstone DVLA office (one of the few round here that does inspections) and was treated to something of an anticlimax . . . 'inspection' in DVLA speak translated to checking the frame and engine numbers against the documents I had provided previously. The whole inspection took no longer than three minutes - and the V5, revised MOT and tax disc were issued two days later.
Here's hoping your experiences are equally straightforward.
Neil
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Nice one neil, yes it was the sidcup ofice, i can walk to it i am so close, if i have to go to maidstone to get it checked then its not too bad,
i have been told that sometimes they check and other times they dont, i am itching to get out on the road with this bike so any delays will be dissapointing
Pete
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I found registering a vehicle with the DVLA at Sidcup easy as well. It was an import from the EU, I had no MoT, just a certificate from the manufacturers. I filled in a form & sent them off & within no time at all I got the new reg back.
But a friend bought a bike with no documents & he had no end of trouble with the DVLA. He had to trailer the bike down to Maidstone so's they could look it over. Then there was a suspicion that it was stolen, then it might have been written off. A bit of a headache, but eventually he got it sorted,.
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Rightly or wrongly, I got the impression that they wanted to look at mine to be absolutely sure it was entitled to 'historic' status for road tax purposes. I'm not sure how they would know whether a bike had been stolen (believe it or not, if you phone the DVLA they'll tell you they can't look up VIN numbers on old vehicles - they only work from the vehicle registration) - and they guy I saw didn't seem to have any other interest in the bike than the engine/frame numbers.
A couple of things to remember:
- you'll hear a lot of different stories about how easy/hard the process is, but those with first hand experience are likely to be able to give the most reliable reports.
- DVLA inspectors aren't (so far as I'm aware) MOT testers - that's why the bike has to be MOT's/SVA'd before you can put the forms in. The DVLA certainly don't seem to have the gear or space for anything more demanding than a good look at the chassis/engine numbers and copies of your forms. You'll see what I mean if you have to go to Maidstone - they'll ask you to park in a public coach park and come to see you with a clipboard.
- the DVLA isn't remotely interested in whether import duty has been paid; that's down to HMRC. Like every other governmental organisation, they have their good days and bad days. So far, it seems they must've been having a good day when my forms got sent through (still keeping fingers crossed).
- vehicle age is likely to be a factor that will affect the registration difficulty level(s) you experience. Newer bikes have to meet more rigorous test standards and are more likely to attract more attention simply because it's easier to get accurate book prices/values for them and/or be more easily traceable; again, bikes made before '73 might also warrant a viewing because of the tax free status.
Hope that gives you some reassurance! And I know what you mean about getting out on the bike - I'm just waiting for my tank and panels to come back from the sprayers . . .
Neil
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Hi Pete,
Glad you are pleased with the K1 and that the application for registration is pending - let me know how you get on.
Picture of my other K1 attached for your interest (started out as a
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Nice bike Chris, i bet you must have taken ages to get it looking like that, i was looking at your sandcast on the sandcast site as well,
as for my K1 you may have gathered looking at the posts i am champing at the bit to get out on this bike, also my F2 i told you about is starting to take shape ,i am getting real excited about this as well, i have a build thread for this bike if you click the link at the bottom, it has been a while but i will add some more progress reports and pictures soon
Pete
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Have a look at this Pete. I reckon yours looks better despite higher mileage.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Honda-4-Four-CB750-CB-750-1-owner-4310-miles-STUNNING_W0QQitemZ320498409732QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Motorcycles?hash=item4a9f31a104
This is the guy who is flogging K0 Chrome tank trim for loads-a-money and also bought some Mini trim recently.
Cheers
Ash
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Yep there are some things on my bike which are better, but also there are things better than mine on his one, they do seem to comand a good price, i wonder if he will get that much? i have noticed he sells quite a few on ebay all classified adds.
I bought a tank for mine the other day my intentions are to get it all prepared then have a go at spraying it myself if i get it right then i can just swap over , i was also thinking of buying some side pannels the ones from L-P-M and slowly build up a complete bodwork set all sprayed up and ready to fit incase i ever want to,
BTW how is your bike coming on?
Pete
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Yes LPM are good - I was going to get him to do some commercial work mouldings for me but he was to busy so I got a place in Rotherham to do it, last year . The guy who runs it is Ex-Rover cars. Make sure you remove any traces or release agent though before painting because my K0 airbox has bubbled badly and will need a repaint.
My bike is not progressing at all really as I need a new conrod. I do have one from a later bike but I may hang out for a complete matched set and I have grown to mistrust parts from Ebay UK. Weather is too cold at the mo' anyway.
Sounds like you are busy though!! Has the wife forgiven you yet?
Cheers
AshD
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I have learnt when painting that type of plastic the best way is too de-grease and key it up with 400 paper then use a plastic primer and then a primer filler to get the scratches out then paint.
Yes ebay is full of people who do dodgy photos and claim parts are mint when really they are sometimes as good as useless, its almost like a luck dip,
The wife has come to terms with the fact i have another bike, the count is now at 15 bikes, i had to sell some stuff to recoup the money so that will keep her happy.
The weather this weekend was great for working on bikes, if you take a look at my rebuild thread you can see i was quite busy.
Pete
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For interest, I went to see a bike that was being sold by Freddy (Will) and it was not quite what I expected. It was good, but not what I wanted. He has a couple of beautiful 750's in his hallway. Gold K0 and K2 as I remember. He has a really big old place in Worcestershire and really knows his CB's. Not sure if I could recommend him as I have not bought a bike from him. I suggest that anyone thinking of getting one should have a look first, even if it is just to see his own bikes
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I got some good news today, the DVLA has issued my registration and sent it with my docs and tax disk back to me, so i got straight on the internet and ordered up a nice pressed aluminium black and silver plate for it, with a bit of luck i should be on the road by thursday,
I can wait, its only been a few weeks but seems like a life time, i am like a kid with a new toy.
Pete
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Did you get the 70 reg you hoped for Pete?
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Just in time to catch the sunny weather !
Cheers
Den
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The reg is J which is 1971 the year of 1st registration in USA which is correct
Yes this bike is only ever coming out on sunny days, it will probably only do about 200 miles a year, as i have to share my bike riding time with many other bikes,
Pete
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Hi all, i manged to get out on the K1 today, other than riding round the block this was its first proper ride out on the road, i only took the bike up to 70mph, and just pottered around at legal road speeds, my first port of call was to yoshi's house to pick up some F2 parts he was selling, (thanks Tim) then i went for a long ride, as the bike got hotter a flat spot started to make its self known at about 2-3000 revs this got progressively worse as the bike reached it maximum heat at slow riding around town, so i went back home really content at this being the only minor problem with the bike, it rides really well and the brakes actually work reasonably well considering the age and only being single disk and drum , anyway when i got home i done a plug examination and found all the plugs really black and sooty, so it must be running really rich, i checked the air filter and that appeared to be new, so can any one suggest what would make it run so rich, i have a theory that the float height may be set wrong because if i leave the petrol tap on it stinks of petrol and leaks a small bit out when it gets picked up from side stand, or it may be the float needle not seating, these are just my guesses, can any one else add any likely causes
Pete
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Hi Pete,
Glad you got out on it finally. My experience with using bikes which have been stood for many years is that it often takes a little bit of time and effort to get everything spot on.
Not too many reasons for running too rich on all four pots - air filter is the obvious one, even if it looks clean (I had a 350/4 which always ran rich, despite the air filter looking good. Fitted a new one and cured it instantly, AND improved mpg from 50 to 60). As you say, the one in teh K1 looked okay, hence it was left in.
The float heights were all re-set at 26mm, which is the standard value for a K1. Main jets were 120's which are correct for the K1. Slow jets were also the correct 40's. Carbs did not look to have been messed with, but can't remember if I checked the needle height (clip should be in the middle groove). Smell of petrol, and weeping from the carbs when stood suggests to me float valves not sealing. They are pretty reliable in CB750's I would suggest (indeed I have never had to replace any on my own bikes over the last 25 years).
The petrol tank was bone dry when it arrived from the US, with some light surface rusting I seem to recall. Wonder of the fresh fuel has washed any dust / dirt down which is holding the float valves off their seats - surprised though that all four carbs would be affected the same.
Might be worth removing the fuel tap bowl to see in any sediment has accumulated in it which would confirm whether or not any debris is being washed through from the tank which could then "upset" the floatvalves.
If you think I can help, just ask.
Cheers - Chris R.
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Hi Chris, thanks for that, i took carbs off checked float heights, blew through each carb with air line then reasembled and balanced them , just been out on it today and its the same apart from no leaking petrol,and it ticks over a bit more even, so it has to be the filter i cant think of anything else it could be, there were a few small bits in the float bowls so i recon dirt under the needle valve was the cause of the leaky petrol
BTW what a beatifull sound these bike make , everywhere i go people hear it coming and just look, i am so glad i have got the bug for the 750 sohc cam as they are so much fun to build and ride, my F2 is coming on real good now, i should have enine rebuilt soon and back in frame , i will post some more progress pictures soon, when i have done that i am building a cafe racer sohc, so i will have 3 of them,
Pete
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Hi Pete, My K1 tends to run rich and I was thinking of dropping the jets to 115 (recommended by Hondaman on the US site). Everything else in the carbs is standard.
Just a thought, I have a K and N filter and wondered if it was a bit more restrictive than the OEM one. (would.nt have expected that though
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My running rich problem has now been solved, i put on a new K&N filter, went for a ride checked the plugs and it was a bit better but still running a bit rich and having a flat spot between 2 & 3000 revs, so i adjusted the mixture screws in wards by half a turn, this made it worse so i re set them but outwards this time by one and a half a turns, woohooooool it runs much better now, nice tan colour on the plugs after a good run, and the flat spot has almost dissapeared, so i went off thundering around the lanes, what a pleasure to ride now all i have to do is the cush drive rubbers and the very stiff throttle, man does my wrist hurt, these bikes were either build when men were men, and a nice easy throttle action was for wimps, or there is something wrong with mine, all i can say is i will have one arm like popeye the sailor man if i dont fix this soon.
Pete
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Sorry mate they were built when men were men!!!
BE CAREFULL
Original Honda cables had Nylon lined outers with a rubberish covered inner and MUST NOT be oiled or the innards swell up and stick. Aftermarket tend not to have the liners and need oiling