Hello from Nebraska, Gary! Do post some pictures soon! Nice low VIN! Cheers, John

Me and my big mouth...  I was just voicing something that I had read in the archives... I didn't look at the listing until now, yeah the key lock wouldn't seem very correct. I should have looked closer!

No... not mine... sorry I actually posted this in the wrong area... after posting it I saw Steve had also posted it in the appropriate place.

I have NO OPINION on the VIN numbers... go to your happy place.... go to your happy place... go to your happy place...   

For those who don't understand... I just went through a engine stamp ordeal haha 

Hmmmm looked at the VIN again, it does indeed look very misaligned... but honestly I just don't know enough about them to comment. Vic World set me straight on my listing, which I revised. But 3341 does appear to look "odd" when using the magnifying tool on ebay. My sand cast and early die cast VIN stamps do not look like THAT. I wonder if the seller has a clean title?

Regards, John

Good luck in the quest!

If the engine number is CB750E-1007414 or lower, it is a sandcast.

You sent me your cell number... will give you a shout soon... isn't much to see with my sand cast as it is a project... but you can come down and take a look if you like.

Btw, if the bike is a 1969 it is quite valuable even if it is die cast. The prices have gone nuts on the 69's (in my opinion).

Regards, John

These cases could be replacement cases and someone copied the number off the original case to this one. The question I have is how close is the frame number to the case number?

This will lower the value of this engine.

Very close... frame 9394 with engine 9360. I can say with 99.9% certainty that the number was stamped/etched/carved long ago... I could tell the motor had not been removed from the frame (or the bike even partially torn down) in decades.

I agree as well that the value is lower. 

Thanks for the input, Steve... I certainly don't know enough about sand casts or K0's to be even an entry level "expert"... I have probably spent as much time peering at the numbers and scratching my head as I have cleaning the motor with WD40 and a toothbrush. The font indeed does appear "correct" and "different" all at the same time. There are some striking similarities and some striking differences. The more I try and learn about these oldies, the more it seems to elude me. The entire bike was indeed exposed to "something" but I am not sure I will ever know what "it" was. It was titled last in San Jose, CA... how long it spent there I have no idea... the entire bike had more weathering than I would have expected from a Cali bike... possibly salt in the air? San Jose is not directly on the ocean, but again how long it was there I do not know. Maybe some of the California guys can chime in and tell me how the salt water atmosphere affects the bike's finishes. The frame had rust in unusual places, like under the tank and in many hidden nooks. Not heavy rust, just light to medium surface stuff, but I am not used to seeing rust in hidden nooks like that. The whole bike puzzles me... no sun fading, so obviously not exposed to open air... rust in odd places... just weird! Crap I have spent who knows how many hours studying the details of these bikes... and still feel like newbie that just walked in the door! These bikes are making me nuts!! And I actually know quite a bit about Japanese bikes!! Aaaargh! 

Hmmm thanks Keith...

Yes I always start on the high side... to my often surprise it usually sells full price. I hate listing something that sells in 30 seconds... tells me I listed too low. I have a surprising amount of money into this die cast donor bike, I am actually shocked to see what early K0's are fetching on the open market.

Yes I showed the fin damage in great detail and can send hi res pics to any interested party.

I do have the frame, indeed. I still have to tear down #1767... I have a welder lined up, this guy is into mc's as a hobby... builds top fuel frames in his spare time... and has been recommended as the "top guy in the area" for frame work. #1767 has been choppered and made rigid. I have a untitled early K0 frame that will have the rear section grafted onto the sand cast front unmodified section... I will be happy to sell the frame once my welder uses it to compare to the project. I figure since I already have it I should let him use it as a reference point, if needed.

I will pm you, thanks for your interest as well as input.

Regards, John

haha well said pete 

time and money together! yeah matey it's one or the other for me too. yeah I starve half the year and buy bikes the other half. after a few cycles of that I have some sweet bikes, I will post some pics of my 83 silverwings some day. one has a hack. the other is factory mint (almost of course). I used to have quite a few "giant killers" ie rd350's but only have a couple left... kind of funny as the old early k's were the "giants" they killed. I should start a new thread... of course the cb750 would take the rd's on the open flats but put a big twisty road in the picture and the Race Developed 350 would win (nearly) every time. I love two strokes too much  anyways a lot of the old rd's got sold off, well I can't complain much as my kids get to spend the day with dad and a whole lot of bikes and a dirty warehouse with a dirty kitty cat and even more bikes... oh I have two older kids too (remarried) that I raised as a single parent, they are grown in fact I will soon be a grandpa, my oldest kid is a boy and of course rides, bought a new Harley this year after coming home from Afghanistan with the marine corps (a big hooray for all the sons/daughters/grandkids/parents who have served their country)... my oldest daughter is married and will soon keep the family young in the form of a new baby... anyways I do have some k0 parts and loads of k2 parts in the form of full bikes... matey we have lots in common so reach out if you need anything from this side of the pond... be happy to reship anything you need too, at true cost... lots of feebay sellers won't ship to UK just ship it to me and I will be happy to send along... that's an open offer... anyways I don't mean to hijack your fine post, you have inspired me and instead of working (it's so nice to not have a boss!) I spent the evening researching zinc plating and electrolysis as rust removal, totally inspired by your thread and your brilliant home zinc brew (I will have some future questions, mate!) keep up the good work, I have enjoyed your detailed pictures very much  cheers

nb, I have walked the four corners of the earth, in eastern Africa they say "salamu iwe juu yenu" which loosely translated means "may you always walk in peace" it sounds really lovely when spoken in Kiswahili especially to a kid who has never seen a white man walk amongst them, yet another story  have some nice traditional breakfast for me someday, gosh how I wish I could skip over there for a lovely traditional English breakfast, it's been years since I ate the real thing, next time I come to UK I will look you up, do the same if ever in the middle of USA matey... anyone who eats beans and tomatoes and eggs and fried bread in the morning is a good man to me  just have to skip the tea and head over to Netherlands for some real coffee, the shit that makes my tongue feeling like it has hair growing on it haha... I am a caffeine fiend too mate