Hi All,
I've been wanting a CB72/77 for years (I love their looks), so I picked this one up from a local seller two weeks ago. It appears to be all there (or close), but is in very rough shape. I may have paid a bit much and gotten myself in over my head, but we'll see. Last year I managed a top-end overhaul and in-place restore of a CB700SC, but this restoration will probably take at least twice the work.
The Good: Most of the components are there (seat was in my car when I took the picture below) and I scored an extra primed fuel tank in the deal. It rolls and steers well and the engine turns over pretty easily. The seat cover is new, having been fitted over the old seat and cover and the seat pan is freshly, professionally painted. Chrome condition varies across the bike but I think I could get away with aluminum foil and chrome polish if I don't want to go museum-quality (which I don't - this one will definitely be a rider).
The Bad: No compression - the valves are probably stuck open and/or the rings are completely shot. The carb boots are badly cracked and the carbs themselves will have to be overhauled. The clutch level has no effect - I hope it's just a snapped cable because I can rolling-shift it between 1st gear and neutral easily. Both brake cables are shot and the brake pads are probably junk. The wiring looks awful, probably warranting a new harness. The battery and tires are shot - I'm planning on M62 Gazelles unless someone has a better source for 2.75x18 and 3.00x18 vintage-looking rubbers. The frame looks like it was originally red and then over-painted black at some point, and it's showing through, so I'm inclined to take everything off and send the frame to a painter for bead-blasting and back-to-correct color since damned-near everything else will have to come out anyway. Maybe I'll try to get the engine running first.
I've started by downloading manuals and printing them into a binder for garage reference. Ohio still has another month or so of good riding left in the season, so I won't get too far until I can't spend the same time riding, but I think that's good - it'll give me a chance to prep my workspace for disassembly and think about whether I really want to take the full breadth of work on this winter, or resell the bike at a loss or part it out to others keeping their bikes running.
I will thank everyone in advance to any opinions, ideas and guidance you could provide. These are beautiful bikes and I'd like to come out the other side with a rideable classic that wouldn't be my main bike, but still would be something I'd feel good about riding for a few hours at a time. Is this the right project for that? :-)
1966 CB77 Frame-Up Restoration (or part-out if fubar)
1966 CB77 Frame-Up Restoration (or part-out if fubar)
Thanks! I'm not sure about the headers but I'll take a note to compare them with other's pictures. I do have a clean title, so my plan (at least as of today) is to slowly start gathering what I have to work with and tackle the engine first. I'm so tempted to start with easier things but I really need to see what's preventing compression and clutch engagement because that'll tell me how far to go into the case. I've never done a bottom-end overhaul before. I took a video yesterday just walking around it and pointing out to myself what'll need attention. Opinions welcome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14aFyWd1iD8 Welcome to the forum! You're off to a good start by downloading manuals; you'll find that this forum is a lot more helpful to those who try to help themselves. Cracking into the engine is a good first step. It isn't really very complicated compared to more modern machines, and parts are generally available. I would also check to see that your frame and engine numbers are within a couple hundred which would indicate an original combination (they won't match exactly). I do notice that the front forks are the "early" type, but the speedo, seat, and other parts appear to be of the "late" variety. Not that it really matters, but sometimes it's good to know what's been "serviced" in the past. The wiring harness should also have a tag indicating the year of its production. These bikes were titled as the year they were sold, not produced. Keep the pics coming and we will help where we can!
-48 (just up the road near Cleveland)
I have spark!Woohoo - the electrical system is at least mostly intact, and I have spark!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3WE6KJg-v8
More progress:
Part 3. Carb Removal: http://youtu.be/_0WEw2myEBg Part 4. Carb Cleaning: http://youtu.be/tVWQQYYQ18w
More progress, and massive thanks to Ed for advice - I hope I reflected as much of it in the assembly as possible!
5. Carb Overhaul and Assembly - http://youtu.be/-fgENij5X0Q Next up: Valve timing, clearances and compression re-test, to determine if I should pull the engine.
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