1974 Honda cbr750 four... Free

Hobbies & Habits Garage
#1

Picked this up on Saturday has sat for 20 years, not registered in 27

Here’s my list, but open to suggestions

Not totally sure I’ll keep it, may fix with intent to buy a quad/4 wheeler

Brakes freely moving?
Air in tires
Move off trailer with help? Tractor?

What’s in air filter
Replace air filter
Turn over kick start?
What shifting order

Take off carbs
Take off tank
Check tank, try to open

Por16 or rust converter?

Buy trans fluid

Trans fluid down cylinders?
What size battery
Penetrating oil all things
How get seat off?

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#2

Will upload pics soon

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#3

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#4

the guy was about my age - neglected it 20 years ago, said it was his mom’s christmas present to get rid of it as its sat that long. Has a DOD sticker on the front, not sure what that’s about. Wheels didn’t spin freely, had to knock the brakes some to get them unstuck. Tires were flat - hindsight we would have had it easier to have air in those if they hold. Has a key. I don’t have time for this but it was too good at a free price to pass it up, maybe It’ll sit for another couple years but maybe I can tinker some with it here and there, who knows. I think it shifted into neutral to roll so that’s somethin

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#5

The bitch will be the four old carbs to contend with

cool machines though :sunglasses:

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#6

yeah I’ve been viewing stuff on them - saw one guy sand blast the bowls, then ‘baking soda’ blast the rest - interesting. New carb replacements are 4-600$ and that’s not free lol. There are some carb rebuild kits for 50ish

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#7

I never learned to drain something if you’re gonna park it for a while. Learned that the hard way with a couple chord trimmers and maybe even my push mower/lawn tractor

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#8

An old guy I used to work with, told me that once the corrosion gets bad enough that certain things in the carb start sticking, you might as well scrap them and buy replacements, because you’ll never get them working right. He had some experience with old Hondas.

And yeah, those carbs can be expensive to replace. If the kits are around $50, it’s probably worth it to attempt to rebuild them (might work, might not).

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#9

yeah, replacement is the cost of some guns so… I’ll try rebuilding it 1st I guess. maybe buy some tools b/f I take the plunge on a new carb - or maybe search around for a wrecked bike with a cleaner carb idk

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#10

On those old bikes the seat usually opens w/the key. Turn it 1 way to open helmet lock. The other way to open seat. Usually hinged sideways. Had to have DOD sticker on mine to get on post in the 70’s. My 70 something gold wings have the seat bolted on. One on each side.

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#11

If your carbs aren’t completely corroded or otherwise trashed, do yourself a favor and get some Berrymans Chem Dip to get rid of all the varnish and filth. I used to do a ton of carb rebuilding and that stuff is the way to go to give you a good rebuildable base to work with.

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#12

ViceGripGarage guy has mentioned that - fantastic thx

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#13

ok - we’re close to Fort Bragg and the coast has a few bases so that makes sense - possible a former service member owned this one

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#14

Also, we used to pull the plugs and pour some diesel fuel into the cylinders and let it sit for a few days before trying to turn the engine over by hand the first time. Those rings can get stuck to the cylinders from sitting too long, and you can break them if you just go right at it.

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#15

Along those lines, if there’s any way you can look into those plug holes first and check for rust/water/heavy corrosion before you spend a dime, do so.
If the motor has had water in it, you might as well trash it and find another running replacement to install.
The cost of reviving a motor in that bad of condition just won’t be worth it.

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#16

sounds like a plan yep - I’ve heard that before also. I’ll try to
update yall with progress

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#17

Good luck with the Honda. I’ve restored a few. Popular one to restore.
Early CB 750’s are bringing good money.
If the motor [the diesel trick is great] spins,
Hook up a battery spray some starting fluid in the carb rack
Hit the starter button - if it coughs or runs a bit- you have good potential.
Most likely from what I found with Hondas it will.
IIRC that tail section is from 76’ ish but I’m no expert.
15 years ago you could find parts on e-bay easily. Now ith many wanting the bike of their youth parts prices have gone way up.
Stock Pic’s of a 76 - 74 and our restored 86 VFR

76 Honda
76 Honda1600×1131 283 KB

74

VFR 750 F

If you have any questions feel free to PM me and maybe look into the;

Might be a chapter around you.

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#18

sounds like a plan thx

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#19

Looked and Charlotte is the closest I think, or maybe Richmond, 3 hr either way

But it looks like there’s a forum

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#20

Very helpful too!

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