The rescue of a 92 CB750.

[TheDarkFox]

Timmy, it's called a paint scheme. Some prefer color (especially when the bike looks like complete crap when you first get it ;)  )

This bike runs fine, i'm pretty sure i mentioned that in the post you didnt read.

-It looks like i'm going to have to strip the tank all the way back down, noticed 2 spots where the handlebars had cut through all the paint and primer back down to the surface, deep gashes = no bueno. Looks like i've got an extra 2 days of re-work to do on that tank =/    But if it's gonna have my name on it, it shall be done right.  

*update*

Pics of how it sits today. I put it back together for now while i wait on getting the proper equipment to re-do the gas tank. For the heck of it i took some pics.

Alternator cover removed, currently being repaired. Threw some blue on the shocks, compressed it a few times, cracking minimal, looks good.


Current state of the side panels:


And here it is all put together as it currently sits in my living room.

[AmericanClassic]

The blue on those forks is a bit much now. Maybe a stripe of black down the center?

I do dig the blue on the carbs though.

Looks pretty decent though.

[TheDarkFox]

Ha did you just notice the forks AmericanClassic? They've been there all along  

A stripe eh? *queue diabolical evil voice*  yes.... yes... YES. mwuha. i like this idea. I'm thinking 4 vertical black strips, in the 4 cardinal directions. or maybe, AC, how do you think it would look if i stripped that blue off and re-did them black? I painted the 4 harley  blinkers black and they turned out matching the bike well. Eh?

[Option13]

Woah, did you just paint the shocks with absolutely nothing covering the steel shaft in the middle? Definitely not a good idea.

IMO, the less busy a paintjob, the better. The design should flow from front to back.

[TheDarkFox]

Option, yes it was painted, less the part required for operational movement (i only weigh about 140lbs, the shocks barely compress 8mm when i get on, add 2 or 3 more during bumps on the road, i run my suspension tight). The camera is slightly below the bike, and part of the spring is i the way, so you can't quite see. It still operates correctly. If it didnt that paint would be gone by now.

[Laminar]

add 2 or 3 more during bumps on the road

How did you measure that?

[TheDarkFox]

20 year old bike, original shocks, i could see a pretty noticeable slightly grayer area right above where that rod comes out. Noticed when i sat on it, most of that area then is hidden inside the housing. My guess was just wear marks from years of use. I'm no detective, but that's what i went by. My bike is not going to explode because there may be paint rubbing against the rubber bushing at the top of the shock housing  I appreciate the concern though.

[Stitch919]

The blue on those forks is a bit much now. Maybe a stripe of black down the center?

I do dig the blue on the carbs though.

Looks pretty decent though.

agreed that the blue carbs look pretty sick from the angle they look anodized or something 

[hppants]

I think you are going in the right direction now, the bike looks better than before IMO.  How did you prep the rear shocks before painting them?  Inheritedly, paint does not stick well to chrome.

Respectfully, I don't think you should have moved the rear shock mount.  If you had to lower the bike, picking up a used set of stock shock off a 1100 sabre (which are 1" shorter) would have been a better (and MUCHO safer) choice.

Your front forks dive way more than 10 mm (3/8") while riding, and way more than that during braking.

[Stitch919]

I think you are going in the right direction now, the bike looks better than before IMO.  How did you prep the rear shocks before painting them?  Inheritedly, paint does not stick well to chrome.

Respectfully, I don't think you should have moved the rear shock mount.  If you had to lower the bike, picking up a used set of stock shock off a 1100 sabre (which are 1" shorter) would have been a better (and MUCHO safer) choice.

Your front forks dive way more than 10 mm (3/8") while riding, and way more than that during braking.

how well would that ride with sabre shocks that are one inch shorter for two up riding? and does that really affect the driver position that much? ive been lookin for a way to shorten the height on my bike i hacked an inch out of the seat and that didnt do as much as i would have thought but it helped by a butt hair

[TheDarkFox]

I definitely concede that getting shorter shocks is better. However, the lever ratio as the shocks currently sit is still within operational limits. I'm not the first guy to ever move his shocks back an inch, there are even kits out there for people to do it themselves. The cost difference is that new shocks cost $300-$400, whereas flipping around the shock mount was free. This bike spends most of its time at or around 45mph, mostly less, because we live just outside of town, which is 35 inside the limits.

Next spring, when i get ahead financially, i plan on flipping the mounts back around and getting some sabre or shadow shocks to put on the bike. So far with the shocks the way they are now i've put about 500 miles on the bike. I've taken the shocks off for inspection, swapped sides to ensure even wear, and so far everything still works and handles normally. The bike's rear end only dropped about 1.5" in total, braking was not affected what-so-ever. The bike still stops on a dime compared to my harley.  

Also, hppants, i was talking about my rear shocks when i was talking measurements earlier, not the front shocks. Obviously the front ones compress a lot more.

[hppants]

NHF member Luckylindy has the sabre shocks on his 750 NH.

[Stitch919]

NHF member Luckylindy has the sabre shocks on his 750 NH.

what year would you have to look for to get sabre shocks that will work? and are they shorter but stronger?

[luckylindy]

Stitch-They are vtx 1300 shocks a friend gave me to replace worn out stockers.  I suspect any year would work.  Lower by 1", and they are strong.'

[Stitch919]

oh ok thanks ive been needing a little lower seat height haha i will have to give it a try.

[TheDarkFox]

As you guys recall seeing the alternator cover removed due to bad road rash, i've been working on it and the stock honda mirrors for the past day. Both of them were severely scratched up and the alt. cover had deep scratches on the surface. Quality time with primer and sandpaper, and using a paint that hides imperfections well has produced (thus far anyway) the following results.

3rd layer of paint just went down.


I hope it will fit nicely into the bike's over all dark color scheme.

[mikefootusa]

What about the other side of the mirror supports?  When I did mine...I taped off the mirror and hung them so that I could get an even coat...all around.

[TheDarkFox]

Yessir, doing those today. I wanted to make sure the paint was fully cured on the sides you see painted now before i started attaching tape to anything.

Fortunately the alternator cover turned out looking pretty decent. 

[Stitch919]

im lovin the look of that alternator cover!!!

[TheDarkFox]

We got some snow yesterday and gf has the car for the day, which means i'm stuck with no clear coat     But for sake of sharing i put the alt. cover back on and took a current picture. Still work to do on the body panel and the gas tank, and the mirrors aren't done yet. Also have to do touch-up work on the engine paint and header paint.

[Stitch919]

like how the blue accents

[TDodge7]

The color you used on the alt. cover looks great against the black, personally I'd replace the blue with that color.

[TheDarkFox]

I'll talk to girlfriend about it. It's her bike that i'm working on after all. We were shooting for blue, then black with blue, now black with just blue accents. The part that still wear blue are the headlight ring, front forks, carb caps, right side engine cover, left side linkage cover, and rear shocks, as well as the blue triangle in the middle of the gas tank.

It wouldn't be a huge undertaking to sand/strip and redo the parts black, but since we want contrasting colors on the bike, hiding color in small bits here and there accomplishes this for us without the blue being the main focal point. We are experimenting with color combo's as we go along, as well as the fact that i'm getting better at painting automotive parts as i discover which brands and types work better than others.

Personally i've always liked blacked out bikes, as i'm a sucker for a nightster every time i see one and so on. More work to follow.

[TheDarkFox]

Been off the grid for a while because of work. But since i last posted...

I went to the local paint and body shop and got some paint mixed from the 2009 Chrysler catalog. I got a quart mixed of the black they used on the 2009 Ram's and Dakota's. I figured if i was going to spend some cash on good paint, why not go with something unexpected?

I stripped ALL the paint off back down to bare metal and started all over again.

I borrowed an air compressor and paint gun and got to work a couple weeks after. Here is the tank and one of the side covers after their first coat. I'm going to wait till tomorrow to do the 2nd coat but they're already looking great. Very deep crystal clear reflection. You'll see in the top right corner of the tank a reflection of furniture, that's not a blemish. Just to clarify.


Since my lighting in my house isn't the best for studio quality pics i did a close up so you can see the speckle in the paint.


Parts still left to finish:
Alt. Cover
Front Forks
Headers/muffler.

The bike no longer leaks oil and runs like a champ. The whole project's coming together nicely. Just thought i'd share some MOPAR love in the forum. I since got rid of the motocross handlebars and took the factory bars off my 84 Magna and put them on the nighthawk. They look way cool on this bike. It's dark and windy out right now so no pics till tomorrow, but now my handlebars don't hit my tank.

This bike is destined to wear some old-school Thundercats decals, and a single Legend of Zelda Tri-Force sticker on the rear fairing, (girlfriend is a huge fan of both), so i guess you could call this bike the Legend of the ThunderNightRamHawk  

[Option13]

Nice paint! Don't forget to apply some fuel safe clear coat or you'll be watching gas strip the paint off your tank.