Tag Archives: Honda Big Four

Honda CB750K 1976 getting a little more work completed.

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
04 Jun

I decided that whilst I have some spare time and a few parts etc I shall get into the K6 a little more and clean her up, as she has sat for so many years in a Back Garden, its only fair I revamp her a little and put her to a more Original style as to be honest, the 1976 CB750K Model was probably the best looking bike of them all and ran well.

So, I thought that I would try and clean up the lower front forks, as the factory clear coat has long gone and and as the sprinklers, hot and cold climates happen, the lower forks and anything aluminum takes a beating.

I jacked the bike up and removed the front wheel, I also made sure I used a pair of jack stands too, just to hold the chassis incase we get an earthquake here in Southern California, as 530 pounds is not so easy to pick up if its laying on the floor.

As you can see, the lower stanchions have seen better days, the pitting is caused after the clear coat gets eaten away by heat and moisture then aluminum will break down slowly in cold temperatures causing oxidization, of which you can see on the left fork lower, but I have refurbished so many of these over the years, I was not worried at all about cleaning these up to a more original look, but it does take a bit of dedication and hard work to achieve that goal, like anything else in life really.

After sanding the forks by hand, I start my process of buffing, using Block  compounds you can buy from shops, to my “Special” Secret Sauce that I have used for decades and slowly improved to get it to the standard that I like, yes its messy but that’s the reward afterwards when you see a shiny piece of art.

Its not a 5 minute process that’s for sure and the more effort you put in, the bigger the reward at the end, this is just its early stage and I increase pressure and change cutting compounds as I go along, remembering that this gets bloody Hot as you increase the pressure on the wheel.

As you can see, that is a good comparison with just a little bit of work, more to do but I am happy how this is going and people ask me how I get the finish on my Polishing, so thought I would share this with you lot today.

Yes, I wore gloves as these get super hot and being aluminum, they hold the heat for a long time, I am really happy how the forks are starting to turn out and am glad that I made the decision to pull the front forks and rebuild them.

So, a bit pf scotch pad, sanding block, then polishing will get you to this stage, I can go more but don’t want it too showy chrome looking and will rebuild these now, the upper tubes are total toast, as you can see below.

The forks at the top are always covered by the headlight ears but Honda did not take into consideration that the metal will sweat in hot and cold condition and of course rain etc can get down the forks and sit there, these forks are typical of the many that I have pulled out of the bikes over the years, so a common problem.

I believe Honda went cheaper on the chroming, using less on the forks as you don’t see it and putting money into the Motor, as I have seen hundreds like this and that’s always been the look when you drop the forks at the top. But I have a Replacement set of aftermarket ones ready to go.

I have always liked Polishing,I was taught at a old 17th century Barn when I worked for Rolls Royce as a kid and it always stuck with me and its so rewarding to turn something ugly into quite the jewel.

I use my circlip pliers to fit the snap ring into the lowers, a real life saver these are as you do not want to risk scratching the chrome by using regular pliers etc.

I try to use Genuine Honda parts where ever I can as the parts are top quality and of course guaranteed to fit perfectly, as many aftermarket parts do not.

I refitted the springs and will fill with oil when the wheel is on but still up in the air, that keeps the pressure off the springs and easier to fill the forks that way and not have the springs flying out towards your eyes if you put the bike on the ground.

So there you go, forks back on and they look so much better than before. I will be fitting New speedometer cable and New Tach and speedo gauges to clean it all up at the front, but she is taking shape and will continue to revamp her as I go along.  I will be fitting Brand New 4 into 4 exhausts to the New Honda spigots that you see in the cylinder head, also New footpegs and New kick starter and brake pedal, so keep watching carpyscaferacers.com and see how we go.

 

 

Honda CB750K 1976 gets a little more cleaned up.

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
13 May

Well, I have decided to continue playing around with this old Original inline four CB750K series Motorcycle, and I think what I shall do now is strip a few parts off and refurbish them to a nice condition.

I think that this 48 year old girl needs to have some good cosmetics, so my plan is to clean a few bits up like: Remove the forks and polish the lowers etc, maybe new gators and hardware, after that I may fit the New 4 into 4 Chrome Japanese Made 341 style exhausts, that way you get to see how the fit and sound. I have a temporary 4 into 1 set up on the bike right now but think having a Brand New set of 341 style exhausts will set the bike off and show how good the pipes fit and of course look with a sound byte or two added for your pleasure.

Also I will refurbish the rear swing arm too seeing as I fitted New rear shock absorbers and a bunch of miscellaneous parts to many to mention as I go along, but- These parts are not cheap and this will be reflective on the new price too, I am not bothered if it sells as I can use it as a great parts getter and have fun on a low milage CB750.

So stay tuned and I will of course document this as I go along, I may have some more bikes coming up for sale so keep checking back with me on the website, this will be a fun adventure, not a show bike as I don’t want to strip to the frame right now but maybe later but I do have a few K0 bikes I will try and get back on the road.  So thanks for looking and hope the K6 will look somewhat factory when I have completed it.

Once that is done I shall get a few miles on it and ride it down to the beach etc and just enjoy the good old CB750K series inline Big Four Japanese Classic machine.

 

 

25th Anniversary Edition Ton UP Machine CB750K

Posted on by Steve Carpenter
18 Feb

Well, next year will be my 25th Anniversary of creating machines over on this side of the pond, many people have asked would I replicate the infamous K5 with Cafe on the tank to celebrate a quarter of a Century building Motorcycles, and I thought, I may go along the similar lines to that very Bike that kind of put me on the map so to speak.

But what should I do?  On reflection I think it is indeed a cool idea to do something like that very machine but, with some extra cool parts and exhaust system etc but I do have a NOS Paul Dunstall 5 Gallon Manx Tank in my Barn and will probably use that, so, I have a few old parts laying about and have been to and throw in coming up with that popular concept bike I created all them years back.

I have an empty Motor that I will use as a mock up for the time being. Then build something that will have a bit of oomph, but we shall see how things go, but the amount of messages I get about the old Cafe Bike I created all them years ago, still causes a stir and I think it will be fitting to do something in that style, maybe different color etc and wheels too.

So I will use old snotty spare parts to mock it up, as well as some New stuff to see if it will fit and as you see, I think I may go with my Infamous Sidewinder Exhaust system as it hugs the frame and, you can still use a main stand. I am putting my Vortex Baffle in for that crisp response and crackle when you open and shut the throttle.

Simply slide the baffle in all the way and the endcap finishes the system off just like the old days and I like ceramic Black end to give a good contrast to the system.

Please remember, this is all a Mock up, I will strip the frame and then either paint or Chrome it, not decided what yet but will add info as and when I do more to the bike, I am just getting a feel right now but love the way it will sit and of course will use shorter fork tubes in the steering.

See how close the Sidewinder is to the frame, but, not touching it, and- If you look, you can see that if you wanted, you can still use the Main stand, even if you were changing a rear tire or fitting a new chain, it makes it easier to slip the main stand on and not have to remove the exhaust system.

Still so Much to do and see where I am going, but I do like my Sidewinder Exhaust system as on the 75K I created a quarter a century ago I went with a different 4 into 1 system, plus this system allows for super easy access to the Oil filter Housing too.

I love the look of the tromboning headers and they flow so well, a crisp note that will get you noticed every time you twist the throttle, the bike will get a complete strip down and then I shall bead blast the paint down to bare metal, grind any welds off that are ugly and add some brackets for New tank and seat combo etc, this will take time but don’t want to rush either.

This is my own design and I like to Ceramic coat these , this time I chose the Brushed Aluminum look and I think it will set the bike off great once everything is tied together and have that Cohesiveness that will draw a crowd.

Of course stopping power is paramount on these machines and with a little extra Horsepower, these inline fours need some good surface area to be able for the brake pads to grab onto and bring you to a safe stop, so I chose to go with Beringer and have the floating Rotor and Custom Caliper set up to give me that punchy braking that many lack on their builds.

Of course, you need a good strong Master Cylinder to push all that brake fluid down to the Caliper as quick as possible and I thought I may as well go for the trifecta and get a Bringer Master Cylinder set up and very cool it looks too.

As you can see, this is a rough mock up, no painting will be going on until I have completed the whole build up and then once I am happy I shall do the tear down, rebuild a Motor and then slowly assemble the machine, but right now I am trying all sorts of concepts, I had an old set of 1977 Lester Rims that came off an old Chopper bike that was parted out many moons ago.  It is a 19″ front and a 16′ rear, the shock absorbers that I have fitted are not tall enough for what I want, these are about 13 inches from center to center, I want at least 14 inch centers to raise the rear end for a more level stance.

I have had this old frame for years and its weather beaten, but that makes it for an interesting build as I love resurrecting 50 years old Motorcycles from parts, I believe this will be a fun bike to ride, I shall incorporate rear sets and maybe a Custom swing arm with adjustable shock mounts for changing rear Geometry etc.

So, although the frame is Rusty and some corrosion, I have always started with frames like this, I am media blasting it anyway so it will be all fresh metal again when I start the build up after I am happy with the overall look when I am done fitting parts.

I have other things to do like all my orders today, so I had better get the exhaust orders done and ready for the UPS driver as exhausts always sell well and weather will be warming up all over the globe soon and that means- Riding weather.


So, with that I had better get these orders packed and labeled for exhausts and get them done as light will be fading soon, but thanks for follwing me on the 25th Anniversary build and of course, I shall keep you all posted via here.