Dreams do come true
From Edmonton, Canada, ex-pat Aussie ALWYN GILL recounts a tale of good fortune.
Quite recently I had my 1971 Japanese-market Honda K1 CB750 (in the correct Polynesian Blue) parked at a local supermarket and when I came out with my Lotto ticket there was an older gent standing beside the bike. While I fielded tons of questions about the bike, the fellow knew his stuff as his first question was, “Why did the bike have Japanese decals on the fender and tank?”
After the usual 15-minute explanation, he remarked that he has the same bike. I suggested gently that I doubt if it’s the same bike but he insisted it was a blue CB750, but he wasn’t sure which exact model. It was complete with original pipes, it was blue, and he was the original owner. So we agreed to meet at his nearby home the next afternoon when I’d also bring my son Michael along, to either stop me buying it or help me load it, one or the other! We arrived as agreed and on opening the garage door the bike was clearly anywhere from a K2 1972 model to as late as a K5, with really only the tank colour and design being the differences between these last of the original SOHC designed bikes and the less-successful (and less popular) F models. A quick check of the VIN plate proved it to be a 10/ 1974 manufactured 1975 model, as also attested to by the tank colour scheme and blinker squark box behind the headlight shell.
I did the usual check over of the obvious deficiencies such as cracked flat tyres, weathered and cracked seat cover, rusty shock springs and then focused on the speedo. What the? It’s showing 276 miles! I asked the owner if he had crashed the bike and the speedo had been replaced, but he insisted the mileage was original. I initially didn’t believe him so he pulled out the original documentation and the last registration documents from 1980. He then explained he had bought the bike to commute to work but shortly after buying it he was given a company car so the bike was parked and from that day on never turned a powered wheel. He was also transferred to the pulp-mill town of Hinton near the Rockies in Western Canada and the bike was dragged across the country on an open trailer in the middle of winter in 1982 so that was why it had degraded somewhat, rather than being entirely like new as one would have expected for a bike with such low mileage. Fortuitously, the exhaust pipes had been sprayed with WD40 or the 1982 equivalent so all four were perfect, but the side covers were brittle and fell away to the touch. The seat cover was wafer thin and as stiff as parchment. A deal was done, cash changed hands and off Michael and I went with our new acquisition in the back of his pickup. I stopped by the local car wash and gave the bike a quick wash to remove loose dust and allow us to determine exactly what could or should be replaced and what must be retained to preserve the authenticity of the this time-warp bike. It was obvious that the side covers had to be replaced, as did the seat cover and tyres. Everything else would be left as-found, with the exception of an oil change, front brake rebuild, carb clean and new battery.
I dismantled the front brake master cylinder and caliper and it was very obvious that the parts inside were indeed as-new; similarly the rear brake hub was spotless inside and appeared as if it had left the factory yesterday. Not so much the carbs as the float bowls had a congealed mess inside that took about 3 hours in Michael’s ultrasonic machine to finally get them as-new.
The seat base was in good condition, so I gave it a good clean up to allay rust and threw down a coat of primer and gloss black barbeque paint. I reasoned that this was one small change that was necessary to preserve the integrity of the seat base before it degraded any further. A new copy cover was acquired from Thailand and once installed using all the original hardware, the seat looks like new. The side covers were a bigger issue. I searched everywhere for a good set of used Planet Blue Metallic covers but none were to be found, so I made the decision to have a new set painted to match the tank. I met with the painter and took considerable time to walk him through what was necessary to ensure the covers exactly matched the tank; not shiny and new glossy, but slightly weathered and almost satiny in appearance from the bike having spent some of its time outside and possibly uncovered.
I spent hours gently coaxing a layer of dirt and oil from under the engine and particularly around the primary sprocket due to the auto oiler being set fullon. I used every known commercial cleaner, petrol and a die grinder fitted with a wire brush and it still took me almost a week to get the engine spiffy and like new. I then changed the oil which when looking at it was a waste as the oil and filter looked like new, but I was also going to drop the pump and prime it by hand. I also poured oil through the tappet covers to ensure the top end was well lubricated and finally turned the engine over on the starter (plugs out) until the oil pressure light was extinguished. Then the moment arrived, with a restart after 46 years of inactivity. I filled the tank, checked everything and the bike sparked into life on all four cylinders, with only a slight offbeat to #2 cylinder which subsequently remedied itself when I dropped the float bowl and discovered the pilot jet was partially blocked.
I’ve ridden the bike only one kilometre as I don’t want to ride it with the speedo disconnected, but also don’t want to add miles unnecessarily. The bike is now finished and sitting in our garage looking almost like new. I’m not sure what to do with the bike – in all likelihood it will be sold as we don’t need another K series Honda 750, alongside Michael’s 1969 low number diecast, my special
1971 K1 and my 1979 CBX. And the garages are getting a little crowded with the XS1 Yamaha, R5 Yamaha, Ducati 125 Regolarita, Francis Barnett Springer, Triumph Bonneville 750, Kawasaki A7SS, H1 Kawasaki, Vespa, 68 DT1 Yamaha and about six more awaiting restoration.
This isn’t the first time something like this has happened to me, but this whole affair goes to show that the most unique and interesting things can occur out of seemingly innocent and non-related events – in this case taking the time to talk to an individual who was standing beside my bike in a supermarket parking lot. And I get to work on a time-warp bike that I rate as the best find of my entire lifetime of chasing and buying bikes starting in Kempsey with a decrepit WWII Norton when I was about 10 or 11, way back in the early ‘60s.