CB750 K0/K1 Hybrid

[Lucien Harpress]

Best of luck to you. The 1200s (if you haven't owned one) are pretty magical bikes. In my (humble) opinion, Honda pretty much had all kinks... okay, MOST of the kinks worked out by the time the 1200 rolled around. After that they switched to just putting MORE on it- cylinders, stuff to play with, places to store things, etc. If you don't need all that though, the 1200s are a really nice sweet spot.

(Standards are obviously better. But I'm a bit biased. )

[CYBORG]

When it comes to rolling on the miles in comfort hard to beat the 1200 when compared to the 1000, and the 1100's

[Easter]

Brought this home last evening. ($600) If Matilda were still around she would be jealous. 86 Aspencade last titled in 2005, appears to be all here and in decent shape. My bikes usually come in boxes or baskets. This has EFI which I am totally unfamiliar with. Apparently had some problems as the fuel line and pump are disconnected and hanging. Time to do some research. Will let you have your thread back and pose my questions on the technical thread. Kind of excited though!

[Lucien Harpress]

She looks sweet Easter. Best of luck to you!

Back on the 750 front, I FINALLY managed to pop off the valve cover. Inside was.... rather plesant, actually.



Everything moved freely, and was even coated in (an albeit thin layer) oil.



Now, I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but I did manage to get my last spark plug out. So the goal here is not to pull the head- I just want to remove the camshaft and rocker towers, replace all the pucks underneath them, possibly oil o-rings as well (I'll have to re-check the schematics- I forget if these are between the head and valve cover, or the head and bores), then bolt it back up, clean it, paint it, and put it back in the frame. I'd like to order the parts I need before tearing into it any more, which I may be able to do.... Friday.

So we'll see. Yay progress!

[Lucien Harpress]

It's been a LOOONG time since my last update, but with temps in the 90s working on an engine in my driveway has not held any real appeal. Well, today I managed to get the camshaft and rocker towers off, and replaced the six rubber pucks underneith them. I smeared a bit of liquid gasket on the undersides as well- hopefully this seals the exterior of the engine better than it was.

However, I also noticed the o-rings for the oil passages that it was recommended I replace. I wasn't quite sure how it went together before, but now I see what's up. I'll pop an order for those o-rings, or at least try to find the correct size to order, probably next time I get paid.

After that? New gaskets for the valve cover and cam chain tensioner, a bit of paint and polish, and then getting the engine BACK into the frame.

[Easter]

My SOHC 750 is just sitting. Too many other projects. I want to get the frame sandblasted and epoxy primed. There will be more modifications to the frame eventually. I guess I will probably open up the engine and see what I have. I most likely will pull the head as well just to see the valves and cylinders. This is where I get over my head pretty quickly.

Hope you get yours running soon, very different feel from the Wings. The 'DOHC '81 I did recently was a blast to ride as it spooled up so fast.

[robin1731]

My SOHC 750 is just sitting. Too many other projects. I want to get the frame sandblasted and epoxy primed. There will be more modifications to the frame eventually. I guess I will probably open up the engine and see what I have. I most likely will pull the head as well just to see the valves and cylinders. This is where I get over my head pretty quickly.

Hope you get yours running soon, very different feel from the Wings. The 'DOHC '81 I did recently was a blast to ride as it spooled up so fast.

If you get in to the head they also used stellite coated valves.

.

[Lucien Harpress]

It's been a learning experience, for sure. It's funny seeing the different quirks of how different models do the same things. Like taking the camshaft off- On a CT90, it just slides out the side. On the Goldwings (or the 1000 at least) the rocker arms, cam holders, and towers come off as a unit. On the 750, the bolts that hold the camshaft caps on also hold the rocker towers to the head as well, and you have to actually disassemble the rocker arms to get the cam out. Oh, AND the cam and gear are bolted together, not one piece, which is a new one for me. Then we have my KZ1300, which doesn't have rocker arms at all.

The goal I'm shooting for right now is to get the motor running before winter. I'll probably spend the winter working on either brakes or suspension, assuming the motor works. I'll be happy to save getting it on to the road until next year.

[JSBail]

On the sohc 500 and 550 4's the rockers come off with the valve cover. I've always wondered how involved doing a cam swap on a Ducati with desmodromic valvetrain is.

[Lucien Harpress]

It's been a while since the last update, but I'm making progress. All the rubber bits (pucks and o-rings) are replaced under the cam towers, and cam/rocker arms are all back in place. I still have to set valve clearances, clean up and polish/paint the engine itself, and bolt the valve cover back up, then the engine can get put back in the frame.

The plan for the frame is to clear up a bit of the cosmetic rust with some paint and hardener from my local TSC before getting the motor put back, THEN getting a full set of controls, possibly a starter solenoid, and attempting to get the engine started.

[Easter]

Is the 1200 all sorted out now? It is a sharp looking ride.

[Lucien Harpress]

To the best of my knowledge, yeah. I ran it up to Chicago and back a week or two ago, and that's about 230 miles each way. Didn't miss a beat.

I'm still arguing with various online retailers about getting a proper set of saddlebags, but once that is sorted it should be 100%. I'm pretty happy.

[Lucien Harpress]

Valve clearances are all set, and I nabbed a set of new plugs as well. I must have done something right, because with the plugs in the engine is now a right to kick over. Still too early to tell if it's all four cylinders (I don't own a compression tester, and the depth of the plug holes makes screwing a tester in a PITA), but the ones that HAVE compression are darn good.

[robin1731]

Why were you "kicking" it over?

.

[Lucien Harpress]

Making sure nothing was binding up, mostly. This motor spends 90% of its' time in my driveway with nothing but a trash bag covering it and no oil in it. Putting the top end back on wasn't that hard, but I'd like to be sure there aren't any surprises when I actually try to start it up for the first time.

(And yes, I realize doing this too much is a bad idea with no oil in the actual motor. I figure a few times by hand won't hurt anything, but then again I'm not really known for my decision making skills....)