Restoring
a 1978 Honda
CB-750K
Custom
by: Eric D. Sanchez - SOHC4 Member
#357 'Magnum'
I purchased back in 1995 2 (two)
1978 Honda CB-750K motorcycles from a friend at work. He had
both bikes sitting in his garage for some years now and wanted them gone
to make room for his new pickup. Neither bike was running at the
time. They were both the same exact model but one was fairly stock
and the other had undergone cosmetic changes to try to look like a Harley
Sportster (a wanna-be as I will fondly refer to it). I restored the
stock one first since it had all the engine parts on it. The Sportster
wanna-be had fallen victim to some cannibalism to try to keep the stock
one going. It was missing the distributor plate and points assembly,
needed a new master cylinder, battery, a paint job and a good carb job.
It did not have shock absorbers either, just struts (straight bars of STEEL!).
Previous owner called it a 'hard tail'. I called it a 'tail buster'!
7 months after buying both bikes, I finished restoring the first one.
The process required I disassemble the entire bike and engine. It
was a nut by nut, bolt by bolt project. This experience, a Clymer
manual, an original factory repair manual, and a lot of time, patience,
and elbow grease have made me fairly knowledgeable in my own right with
the CB-750K.
With my acquired knowledge
I started to restore the other CB750 and was pleased to have completed
the bike in little over 2 months. (It is always easier the second time
around!!) I emphasized on working with what I had. I was interested in
restoring the motorcycle to one of its' days past, NOT redesign it! I restored
it to its' Custom origins - left it as a Sportster look alike instead of
bringing it back to stock. Also put 10" Suzuki Savage shocks
to keep the low profile it had with the struts but NOT
the tailbone breaking capabilities. Put on some crash bars and a
sissy bar as well to give it a custom look. I am very proud of both
my restoration bikes.
See the slide show of BEFORE
and AFTER
pictures!
