honda boys i need ur imput

first step is identifying what year it is (whether it is SOHC or DOHC) as this will help in telling you what you will need to do to get it running. Pics would be helpful too.

here is what you want to fill in:

year:
mileage:
brake configuration (dual disc front, drum rear etc):

You can't go wrong with a cb750, no matter how you slice it. Check the inside of the tank, if it is clean inside (no rust) just give the carbs a good cleaning, throw a battery in, change the oil and filters, and try to crank her up.

a 1975 cb750 was my reintroduction to motorcycles (after the norton put me off of them for a while) and I still own that bike and she still runs strong (though she leaks a little oil now).

I have yet to see a slow cb750 (even in their slowest iteration they were still a low 13 second 1/4 mile). There are tons of aftermarket parts out there for these bikes and you can get the weight down a lot.

quote:
k sry guys, i didn't get a chance to take pics of the bike or even look at it for that matter, lol just way to much going on this weekend. but i did figgure out it was a 1977

the lil guy

Click to expand...

1977 would make it a SOHC CB750.

It is either a K bike an F bike or an A bike. K bikes will have drum rear brakes and will say K on the side covers in a decal. F bikes will have a Rear disc brake, a plastic tail section, and will have a 750Four emblem on the side cover. A bikes will have an automatic transmission, aluminum rims (use a magnet to find out), and will have an idiot light gauge instead of a tach. The F bike will be the fastest stock motor.

Although 1977-78 are the heaviest bikes, Honda had all of the kinks worked out by then and the motors are dead nuts reliable. The carbs will be different from previous years, as will the cam and some of the motor internals. In the case of an F bike it would be the fastest cb750, a K the third fastest behind the original 1969-1971.

There are plenty of ways to get your bike lightened up and make it a screamer. There are tons of parts available for the SOHC bikes (much more than the DOHC) to really do them up, and a lot of stock replacement parts are available as well.

These are awsome first bikes.

go check out:

www.sohc4.us

it is a site dedicated to SOHC cb hondas, and you can get tons of info from there.

quote:
they bike says 750 four k on the side covers if that helps at all

the lil guy

Click to expand...

Ok, that makes it a K model. Single Disc Front, Rear drum, and spoked wheels.

here is a link to the owners manual:

http://www.steelo.freeservers.com/index.html

My advice? Get it running, ride it for a while to get used to it and then cafe the bitch.

I personally think the 77-78K's are the second ugliest bikes in stock form, but as a cafe racer they are hawt.

my '78 F - As if Butter Wouldn't melt....



Edited by - Geeto67 on Jan 28 2007 10:47:46 PM

I've never paid a grand for any project cb750 I've owned. Figure it would cost you $500 in stuff to get her running and rideable again (provided you don't have to do any motor work and you do all the work yourself. You don't

If the bike kicks over I'd say she is worth between $500 and $750 in the present state. 77-78 K bikes are the orphan children of the cb750 world so running as a clean bike she is probably worth between $1500 and $2000.

A good rule of thumb for buying an jap old bike is $1 per cc if the bike needs work. Some bikes there are exceptions (kawi h2s, sandcast cb750s, early z1's, etc).

The NADA website has valuatuions on old bikes in the retail section (www.nada.com) and it is usually based on last years sales numbers. It tends to be a little on the low side but that is good if you are buying (awful if you are selling). They value it as :

Excellent: $1875
Very Good: $1225
Good: $725
Fair: $475
Poor: N/A

and according to their breakdown of catagories it doesn't even fit in the fair section because it doesn't run. However because cb750s the bike I work on most I'd say that the proper value is between fair and good depending on how it cleans up.

now that we have established what the 750 is worth, lets look at that cb550. Usually for any running and registered bike 750ccs and bigger I would say the value is up to a grand. As much as I like the cb550s the later ones don't seem to be worth much. Assuming it is a 1977 here is the NADA breakdown and to me it seems spot on (espically since we don't have any pictures of this bike):

Excellent: $1475
Very Good: $1050
Good: $725
Fair: $525

That being said what is it worth to you to have a a bike that you know already runs? How good a mechanic are you? If you are new to this completely then maybe a running bike is a better place to start. YOur cb750 is not a bad place to start it just needs a lot of simple work (unless it is seized up then you may be in over your head).

Personally I feel the 750 is the better bike and going to be more fun. But I have a bias to cb750s.

Also look up at how boring the above pricing conversation is - this is a hobby, if you are worried about what things are worth all the time you are going to end up a lawnchair warrior who trialers his bike to shows and never rides it. It is good to have a basic frame of reference but once you have the bike concentrate on doing the best job you have and not what it is going to be worth in the end.

good luck


PS: If you are willing to sell I'd buy that top rack and saddlebags off of you (if you can get me clean pics). Really just want the saddlebags and mounting hardware, but you never know when a top box will come in handy.

I've never paid a grand for any project cb750 I've owned. Figure it would cost you $500 in stuff to get her running and rideable again (provided you don't have to do any motor work and you do all the work yourself. You don't

If the bike kicks over I'd say she is worth between $500 and $750 in the present state. 77-78 K bikes are the orphan children of the cb750 world so running as a clean bike she is probably worth between $1500 and $2000.

A good rule of thumb for buying an jap old bike is $1 per cc if the bike needs work. Some bikes there are exceptions (kawi h2s, sandcast cb750s, early z1's, etc).

The NADA website has valuatuions on old bikes in the retail section (www.nada.com) and it is usually based on last years sales numbers. It tends to be a little on the low side but that is good if you are buying (awful if you are selling). They value it as :

Excellent: $1875
Very Good: $1225
Good: $725
Fair: $475
Poor: N/A

and according to their breakdown of catagories it doesn't even fit in the fair section because it doesn't run. However because cb750s the bike I work on most I'd say that the proper value is between fair and good depending on how it cleans up.

now that we have established what the 750 is worth, lets look at that cb550. Usually for any running and registered bike 750ccs and bigger I would say the value is up to a grand. As much as I like the cb550s the later ones don't seem to be worth much. Assuming it is a 1977 here is the NADA breakdown and to me it seems spot on (espically since we don't have any pictures of this bike):

Excellent: $1475
Very Good: $1050
Good: $725
Fair: $525

That being said what is it worth to you to have a a bike that you know already runs? How good a mechanic are you? If you are new to this completely then maybe a running bike is a better place to start. YOur cb750 is not a bad place to start it just needs a lot of simple work (unless it is seized up then you may be in over your head).

Personally I feel the 750 is the better bike and going to be more fun. But I have a bias to cb750s.

Also look up at how boring the above pricing conversation is - this is a hobby, if you are worried about what things are worth all the time you are going to end up a lawnchair warrior who trialers his bike to shows and never rides it. It is good to have a basic frame of reference but once you have the bike concentrate on doing the best job you have and not what it is going to be worth in the end.

good luck


PS: If you are willing to sell I'd buy that top rack and saddlebags off of you (if you can get me clean pics). Really just want the saddlebags and mounting hardware, but you never know when a top box will come in handy.