778 LIVES!!!!!!

Had a great weekend with more than a few hours to finish the carbs and, yes, she started right up! So oil change, new plugs, new air filter and my first ever carb cleaning and this baby started right up. After a minute of exhaust puke there wasn't even any smoke. Only issue is a very high idle. I tried to adjust down but got to the bottom of the cable adjustment and still didn't work. Ran out of time. I'm just stoked that she runs and that clears the path forward.

On another note, I'm happy this bike can contribute to the collective knowledge on the early CB's. Here are some pics that KP asked for. If there is anything else you guys want to see let me know (in layman's terms) what you want to see and I'll snap a pic.

Here are the clean carbs. I didn't replace anything at this point, just cleaned it up to get running.


Gotta say, these things are pretty.


Post start. Yes haw!


Here are some Pics KP asked for. Let me know if I got what you needed. Not sure about some of them. Couldn't find stamping on the disc, for example.


Don't have the bottom half of the "brown" LH control. Probably why it got replaced.


Brakes are locked up big time. Got the top off.


Is this what you wanted to see? Top of rear brake lever?


If you wanted to know the distance between the instruments, I would say about 3/4".


Need your suggestions on this seat. First off, it only has horizontal seams. I always see horizontal and vertical, it seems. I was referred to a shop that does custom seats and restorations (Danny Gray). I sent these pics and they said $400-$500 to replace vinyl but requested pictures of what it should look like. Not exactly confidence inspiring. Do you guys think this seat is restorable? Do I need new vinyl or just foam and vinyl restoration. Is that a reasonable price?


This is the only tear, but looks totally fixable.



Thanks for all you replies and help!

Gutz

Here's a couple more.







I have the original grip but it has some glue on it.  I'm curious about the controls. This side is brownish and I have the accompanying blinker control. Take a look.


There is a black one installed and an extra brown one we found. Was the black original?


How can I tell if this chain is still good? He replace the original with a "SuperChain".

Yeah so that didn't work   Anyway, here's where I'm at so far.

Picked it up Friday and cleaned it up. Remarkable what a difference a little SG and WD can do.
Still have a lot of rust on the rims and pitting pretty much everywhere. The valve covers are peeling badly. Is that clear coat coming off?
Cleaned the gas tank out well. Don't know how to tell if it's 17 or 19L, though.
Drained the oil. Looked clean.
Pulled the plugs. put some MMO in each hole.
Interesting Oil filter cover to show you when I get the picture thing figured out?
The engine has a broken fin. My Father-in-law says he has the piece somewhere. The rest is cleaning up and I'm sure the aluminum can shine up with some work. The fins and valve covers is a big decision point.
The frame has a lot of rust spots and I don't know if I can do anything with those. Another decision point.
The body paint is a funny one. A lot of people look at it and just love the age on it and think it's cool. I am considering getting them repaired and painted to original and doing the best I can to shine up the rest of the bike as is. Maybe one day in the future I would do the engine and the frame at the same time. Still a lot to be discovered first.
Seat is flattened and a piece and has a small tear in the coping. Looks very repairable. The guy who delivered the bike was jazzed up about it. He runs a local club (http://vintagebikeoc.com). He had a bunch of local shops that could do work and said there is a seat guy in Santa Ana that could refurbish. Great to start networking.
Headlight missing but I have the two housing pieces that have cleaned up well. I guess I need a new sealed headlight. What/who do you guys recommend for parts?

More to come later with pics.
Thanks,
Mike

Thanks for the quick replies and welcomes. My name is Mike but most of my friends call me Gutz (pronounced Gootz).

So that's a +2 for the full restore.

I'll definitely post more pics once I get past a couple of trips and get the bike cleaned up. If there is anything I can do to contribute let me know. If there is a specific picture I can add for you, please ask. I don't think he changed much on this bike other that the pipes, paint and a little extender to the chain guard to protect the passenger. Most of the bike should be close to how he bought it from the Inglewood, CA dealership just up the freeway. He told me he had to pay extra to get moved up the waiting list back then, because everyone wanted this bike. He painted a couple of years later because all you ever saw was the candy red. He worked at Continental Airlines and had the guys guys in the garage paint it for him to be different.

Here's my initial phase 1 (start test) plan of attack from what I've been reading.
1. Finish de-rusting the tank. This is PIA already but not as bad as the Sabre tank. I'm using cleaning vinegar from Walmart. working so far. I don't think I will need to seal it and it doesn't seem like thats the preferred method. I guess I will need to install an in-line fuel filter?
2. Take the seat off, cover all holes and give a simple green bath. Hose down and give a WD40 bath. Hose Down next day.
3. Couple of teaspoons of Marvel MO in the plugs. cover plugs and let sit for a couple of days.
4. Change oil & filter. Pan?
5. Clean Air box and replace filter.
6. turn her over from time to time to get the oil moving.
7. If she turns, clean the carbs. Do I need to go straight to a rebuild kit? I saw a deluxe rebuild kit on vintage750.com.

Please let me know what you think about the order and what I'm probably missing. Thanks in advance.

Thanks,
Mike