1961 CB72 First breath after coma
Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:36 am
Some of you may have seen my posts elsewhere so there will be some redundance here, but I will follow through with project updates as I get stuff done on the bike.
The story thus far: I bought a 1966 CB77 for $500 on Craigslist. The bike was missing some parts so I posted a wanted ad on Craigslist for a parts bike. I got a response to the effect that a guy had a 1961 CB72, he was the original owner, the bike had been off the road since the early 70's. He and his brother raced it in small town events around California from 62-65 or so, some noteworthy tracks he raced on were Laguna Seca, Vacaville and Cotati. I honestly thought this response was a joke at my expense, since a 1961 CB72 is a rare bike. A telephone conversation the following evening proved me wrong though. A week and more money than I really wanted to spend later I had a British Racing Green 1961 CB72 in the back of my truck with a box of parts that included a factory valve spring compressor tool, all 3 CYB shift linkages, 5 or 6 different rear sprocket sizes and some other neat misc. Many of the small differences between the early and late bikes can be seen in these 'As Found' pictures.
As I'm leaving the Previous owner says: "You never asked me how many miles it has." I reply that the odometer reads what it does, he says: "Add 100,000 to that! I was a mechanic for Honda for 10 years and kept it on the road by having an endless supply of basically free parts."
The story thus far: I bought a 1966 CB77 for $500 on Craigslist. The bike was missing some parts so I posted a wanted ad on Craigslist for a parts bike. I got a response to the effect that a guy had a 1961 CB72, he was the original owner, the bike had been off the road since the early 70's. He and his brother raced it in small town events around California from 62-65 or so, some noteworthy tracks he raced on were Laguna Seca, Vacaville and Cotati. I honestly thought this response was a joke at my expense, since a 1961 CB72 is a rare bike. A telephone conversation the following evening proved me wrong though. A week and more money than I really wanted to spend later I had a British Racing Green 1961 CB72 in the back of my truck with a box of parts that included a factory valve spring compressor tool, all 3 CYB shift linkages, 5 or 6 different rear sprocket sizes and some other neat misc. Many of the small differences between the early and late bikes can be seen in these 'As Found' pictures.
As I'm leaving the Previous owner says: "You never asked me how many miles it has." I reply that the odometer reads what it does, he says: "Add 100,000 to that! I was a mechanic for Honda for 10 years and kept it on the road by having an endless supply of basically free parts."