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1980 Honda CB750K


As the first modern four cylinder machine from a mainstream manufacturer, the term "superbike" was coined to describe the CB750. When it was introduced in 1969 the big bikes of the day were 500cc twins, had kick starts, drum brakes, and were either British, German or American. The introduction of the CB750 revolutionized the biking scene with it's larger engine, four cylinders, electric start, disk brake up front and 200km/h top speed.
The Discovery Channel ranked the Honda CB750 among the top ten greatest motorcycles of all time, giving it third place.



A friend mentioned over a drink that his wife had this old bike parked and forgotten under a cover at home. It sounded like a worthwhile challenge, so some money quickly changed hands and this piece of biking history was mine. From what I can tell it has not run for about nine years, so requires a fair amount of refurbishment. She was trailered to her new home and parked ready for the restoration to begin.




I gave her a good wash and was pleased to find that under years of dirt there is a very presentable, honest and original motorcycle.




The first thing I decided to do was to remove the sump which will usually reveal the tell-tale signs of lack of maintenance and general abuse. I was pleased to find it very clean with no signs of metal shavings or old oil buildup. In fact, I believe that this was the first time that sump came off since the bike was manufactured almost 30 years ago. The bolts were like new, and the original gasket had really hardened onto the metal. The inside of the sump cleaned up very well.




The sump bowl and oil filter canister were cleaned and the old gasket was removed.




Using some black paint on the sealing surfaces an "imprint" was made and a new gasket was cut.



The new gasket was a perfect fit and the sump was refitted to the engine looking like new.




Finally the oil filter was replaced which completed the refurbishment of the sump area.


To be continued...


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