Yeah I know the thing is a bowling ball. But as a friend of mine put it yesterday: how many inline fours do you own already? The other point he made is that it is easier and cheaper to own an HD and it will always be worth more than the honda you are trading.
I want the bike to build a street tracker with. I have no designs on keeping it in its current configuration.
So let me dump some gas on this fire by describing the bikes and giving some more detail:
1974 IH sporty. My buddy bought this bike 3 months ago from long island. Aside from a 70's style skinny saddle, 2" over stock forks, drag specality tach, and forward controls the bike is stock and the frame uncut. The biggest issue it has is wiring, it looks like the previous owner actually trashed the harness and individually wired everything which leads to the loss of spark, and other electrical issues the bike has. Really I have never seen so many 3m connectors in all my life. Other than that the bike is oil tight, shifts fine, doesn't smoke, and doesn't sound like a wheat thresher is inside the cases. I remember when he bought it and the bike ran fine. I don't know the mileage since it is missing a speedo, and the motor looks pretty fresh, as in it looks like someone either rebuilt it or cleaned it up really well. It could stand to have a set of tires as the ones on it are showing signs of starting to crack, but there is plenty of tread. It is an electric start only model which makes me really leery of it since all my 70's bikes have kick starts. However, I have seen how hard it is to kick an HD and I am glad it has e-start. It does have one other issue - if you pull the brake lever on the handlebar 10 times 9 times it will operate the brakes and work excellent, 1 time it will pull to the bar with very little resistance. It is pretty random when it happens and there are no signs of leaks - I think it is the mini master cylinder on the bike.
The plan? lower it in the front, junk the risers, fix the electrical, and ride it the rest of the summer. After that it is new shocks, new xlcr tank and seat, and a renthal bar over the winter.
1978 CB750F: the bike I am trading him is a 6000 mi original that I ave owned since 2005. It has a few tasteful upgrades like twin pot front calipers, drag bar, bar ends, mac muffler, etc. It runs fine but needs fork seals. I never ride it (never registered it), and it just sits around. I figure it is worth about $2000 (the sporty is worth that as well). The only other notable thing about the bike is I bought it off Rosko - it is how he and I met. Every time I go to sell this sucka something goes wrong on it or I change my mind, I always took it as a sign to not let it go.
The potential new owner - is a really nice guy, but not a very good motorcycle mechanic. I don't feel he takes care of bikes very well and he is kind feeling his way through things with this thumbs. I worry if I give him my cb750 it will be painted flat back and trashed before the year is out. He is mechanically inclined but not expirenced when it comes to bikes. I am also sure he is reading this right now. He has also owned 4 bikes in the last 6 months, constantly horse trading and getting bored with them. I know I can't save every cb750 on the planet, but still this one is pretty nice.
So know that you know more details what do you think? Pull the trigger and don't look back? or should I pass?
oh and by the way If I do pick it up I am going to paint it like a bowling ball.