part # for spokes

[chrisnoel]

GEES! For a mere $500.00 or so I can mess my stuff up reel good myself. I think I'll just let the profesionals have a whack at it. Probably cost me less, and the wife wont wonder what the heck I'm doing with all those chemicals.

[736cc]

My zinc-plater charges by the lot; not for individual pieces like chroming. So I gather ALL my screws, nuts, bolts, washers, fasteners, brake rods, springs, brake torque arms, EVERYTHING in 1 pile then give it to them in a bucket. $75 for a lot. During frame-offs you do this TWICE, as you ALWAYS find or forget another bit that needs it. When the parts come back (usually 1 week) playing w/ all these perfectly shiny new looking parts is a wonderful thing. Its the difference between a nice resto and a show-winning concours restoration. 

[chrisnoel]

Are the #8's and other parts zink plated as well? I suppose that would explain the color of my rear brake linkage.

How do I get in contact with this Mr Zink-plater.

[736cc]

All #8 bolts, nuts, screws and washers white zinc. Some nuts and bolts are chrome (ie: upper triple tree). Look in yellow pages for metal refinishing, plating, chrome etc for local. My plater is Nassau Suffolk Chromiun Plating (NY).

[Steve Swan]

Chris -

Get on the phone & dial 303.555.1212 -or- 1.411 and ask the operator for Denver Colorado - Specialty Plating.

Actually - here is their number - 303.733.4470. Ask to speak with Joyce or Neil. Tell them Steve Swan referred you. They do excellent work - i have sent them tiny parts such as choke shaft lock washers & nuts. They have NEVER lost a single piece. Just baggie the small stuff up and include job instructions with your phone number & address AFTER you have talked with Joyce or Neil.

Except for a few bolts & steering crown nut/washer on the upper triple clamp, the swing arm shaft & nut & a few other odds & ends, ALL fastners & ancillary pieces on the CB750 are zinc plated.

Andy is absolutely correct - send everything to the plater in one lot.

Having only some parts with new zinc and ohters wiht old dull zinc will yield a disappointing overall finish.

Detail makes the bike. If you don't do the job "right" now, then you will wind up dis-assembling the bike later.

You should be able to get everything zinc coated for around $150, including the spokes & yellow zinc on th nipples.

I always send down everything i have. Last batch was more than two bikes worth & cost $200. This order did not include spokes or nipples.

Yellow zinc is pricey - 80 nipples is $50, so if you're only doing 40, should be $25

Do you have Wyatt's book - "The Original CB750" ?

It is about as good a reference as you can get for a standard to reference what is correct on a "sandcast." My opinion - no sandcast owner should be without a copy. It is LOADED with color pictures of a sandcast.

[elisent]

Chris, One of the first things I do after taking video and PICs of the bike to be restored is seperate all the parts by finish. Chrome ,Black, Cad, nickle, paint, etc... Things like cad and zinc are cheap to finish by the pound. Just try not to forget any parts. I tried using the Caswell kits with varying results. I've never tried the zinc plating kit. The battery must be fresh and you can only do one item at a time. For cad I found it easier to paint to match then plate for the few items I forget to send in bulk. I agree with Steve about the nickle plating. It is expensive and pretty much not used on bikes after the 30s. It was the finish of choice in the first 20 or 30 years of the 1900s. Steve is right on the money that you should get every reference you can, Books ,parts lists and original shop manuals are invaluable. Before I ever spend a dime on parts I buy the books first. If you are on a severe restoration budget you tend to not want to waste the money on books. This is so wrong. The books might not have all the right answers but they get you to ask the right questions. Experts will get impatient with you if you don't at least get some general knowledge that is easily available. I'm very new to the Honda world but am lucky to have people like Andy (736) that have helped me through the learning curve. Eli

[736cc]

Chris, we'll try to answer as much questions as we can. The old cliche' "there's no substitute for experiance" holds true here. Try to find another sandcast or K0 locally, keep your nose to the ground and dig, they are out there available for a song usually from uninitiated owners/relatives that want that dirty bike out of the garage. Eventually, YOU will be giving the answers because you now know what to look for and have learned (as we all do) from mistakes ("that rear rim has a funny edge, lets throw it out"). And try not to over-restore an old bike, that patina of nicks, scratches, and corrosion is its acquired character. I'd say 80% of sandcasts on the road today are restored, and 80% of those are OVER-RESTORED or incorrect. Go to a bike show- the perfectly shiny eyeball popping restorations wow the spectators; the infrequent ratty unrestored rust-heaps ALWAYS get the undivided attention of the showbike entrants! 

[chrisnoel]

Thanks for all the replies.

I have checked at the book stores for reference on CB750's. I found a nice Z1 book but nothing on the CB750. I;ll look on amazon for Wyatt's book.

I have been cleaning up my bolts and other parts by polishing them. I have not been overdoing it... Just cleaning them up. Now that I know that I can just send them all out for zink plating that is what I will do.

If getting the nipples done costs $50.00 I think I wont even waist my time on the spokes or nipples. I just paid $75.00 for an NOS set of spokes + nipples.

I could have gotten a repro zink set for $55.00 but I never asked if the nipples were yellow.

Are the spokes I cleaned worh anything? I don't see the point anymore in having them done, but would someone else want to go through that expense?

Modified.....
I looked for wyatt's book. It is out of print, and noboby has it.

[736cc]

sell your spokes and nipples on ebay, don't chuck 'em.

[Steve Swan]

Chris,

There is always a copy by Wyatt turning up on Ebay.

I bought my copy at Barnes & Noble about three years ago. It showed out of print (copyright 1998), but they were still able to obtain the book from the publisher. I went to the order & information desk at Barnes & Noble to make my request.

There are a couple other books that are good references also, that can be used adjunctively to Wyatt. Each book has info or pictures the other book does not have.

These books are:

"Honda CB750" by Mick Duckworth (2003)

"Honda CB750 - The Complete Story" by Mark Haycock (2000)

There are a couple other books besides these three.

I like Wyatt best because it is LOADED with color pictures of a Candy Tone Blue Green machine.

Duckworth is as nicely finshed as Wyatt, but Wyatt & Haycock outline much more the various changes within & between VINs.

Hang in there, you'll find a copy by Wyatt.

Certainly, as time goes by they will be more difficult to find, as the print date becomes more obscure, demand is less and the range of readership appeal is not broad like "best sellers."

[chrisnoel]

I have already been scouring this area for Japanese collector bikes So far I have turned up my sandcast, a spare sandcast motor, and proably next week I'll have a Black Bomber.

If I had found the bomber and not the sandcast I would have been happy as a clam to restore it. Since I have a sandcast though I will just be parting out the bomber to fund my sandcast.