New to the forum, Not so new to motorcycling.

[instructorpilot]

It is a problem. I have stock in seafoam is seems. I add to each tank when I fill up to stabilize the fuel and keep everything clean. The cx500 is engine out at the time. The Harley is in Mass. and the Vstrom or the CB750SC is going out to California in a month or so. So when it comes down to it I only have a few bikes here at a time. I think the V will be the California bike because its fuel injected and those have sealed fuel tanks which keeps the fuel fresh longer. The fuel injection is also less susceptible to clogging due to the system pressures at which at works. I have Family in both locations and it's nice not to have to rent a car everytime I visit. Although I suppost that I will have to bring the Harley down to Florida before winter.
A lot of people think I'm nuts but as with any collection, you can't have just one. My wife has 12 or 13, I've lost count, antique sewing machines. My father in law collects Model A fords. I know of four that he has. I sure that you guys and gals have interests which require more than one item. I mean, to go fishing you need at least four fishing rods.
Al

[geemann]

Well said Al!  I have seven bicycles, also apread decently accross the US with family so that I can ride with them whenever I visit.  My obsession is about to force me to buy a house so that I can actually have a garage and space to work on all my toys (bicycles + nh + car = toys). 

Thanks for the 350 description!  I am kinda an engine nut, so I really appreciate all the tech-talk.  That is a really interesting bike and I cannot wait to see one in person!

[instructorpilot]

I'm lucky that I live in a neighborhood that is older, with like minded neighbors and no neighborhood association. I don't have a garage per say but I do have a 14 x 24 utility building that was pre made and delivered to my yard. I use this as my shop. It contains, among other things, a motorcycle lift, a parts washer, a compressor and bead blaster. Using air tools has made life easier as having an ultrasonic cleaner. I think that with all the other toys that I have in my "man building" as my wife calls it, the ultrasonic cleaner is the most useful. Almost every bike has to have its carbs cleaned and their is nothing that does that better inside and out than an ultrasonic cleaner. I also have a tiny soda blaster for cleaning the oxidation off of carb bodies. I tried using the bead blaster once but that was an effort in futility that just ruined a sacrificial carb body. The lift is also a godsend. My wife bought that for me for Christmas one year. I also have a refrigerator for "cooling off press fit parts" ahem, I have in fact never used it for that, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Al

[fishmeister]

That sounds like a great set-up Al.    Can't honestly think of anything else you'd need, except if you got into the painting part.

[fishball]

Love the look of the CB350f, nice collection you have.

[Gizmo]

One awesome harem. You are a Sultan!

[instructorpilot]

That sounds like a great set-up Al.    Can't honestly think of anything else you'd need, except if you got into the painting part.

Nooooo, never painting. Except the occasional brake caliper or other small piece. I have a good powder coater near by who did the frame on the 350 and the 750. I like powder coat. All the other stuff goes out to California to my brothers next door neighbor. He paints stuff like MB 300SL's, Bugatti's, 1930's Caddies. He is the master of the OEM paint match. And he does not believe in decals. Although I found a set for the 350 and the 750 and he indulged my desires to keep it stock. Really my only concession to non stock os the powder coating. I have a buddy who's really into restorations, he sneers, well not really, at my powder coating. Not stock. Well the stock paint at that time contained lead and all other stuff that's not good for you. On top of that there's not to much NOS paint around anymore.
Painting requries special equipnment, a booth, and a really big compressor if you want to do it right. And on top of that I am a sucky painter and I don't like it. I'll leave it to those that do.
A

[fishmeister]

That's refreshing...the procedure of powdercoating. I too really like the application, but it ain't cheap either.

I am always scrambling for resources to keep mine original. 

It's easy to tell by looking at your scooters, there's no corners cut....They look great. 

There's just something nostalgically pleasing to originality. 

[instructorpilot]

Restoring old bikes is expensive. After the 350F frame got powder coated it took two years to save up the money for the engine rebuild. I bought another cb350F that was a barn find, among other finds that day. I used it as a model to reassemble the one that was apart. I am now at an age where I take digital pictures of everything, no matter how insignificant it seems. I can't take things apart anymore and reassemble them three months or three years later. When I take parts off the bike I now use ziplock baggies to hold the small associated parts and tape them to the part that was removed. You have to write everything down in the order that you do it. And NEVER EVER TAKE SOMTHING APART UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO DEVOTE ALL YOU TIME TO JUST THAT. I fell into that trap with a couple GL1100's that I was working on. Worked on one until I was at an impass, usually because of missing parts or stuff that was at the paint shop, pull the bike off the lift and started a Kawasaki KZ440Ltd for my wife. I ended up losing my place and it took a huge amount of time to get both bikes done. It got so bad that I started to put bikes that I had not started in an off site storage building so I wouldn't be tempted. Now if I reach an impass, nothing moves until the impass is resolved. This takes a bit of doing believe me.

Also, thank you all for your kind words. If you get really close to any of my bikes you will see that they are far from perfect. My bikes are not trailer queens but riders. I am planning to move out to California in a few years, Looking at houses now to take advantage of the weak real estate market out there. I plan on trailering none of my bikes. I read an article about the two guys who bought a pair of Honda CA77 Dreams. Not restored but fixed up. If I'm not mistaken these bikes displaced 305cc. They rode them from the LA region to either Barbor or mid Ohio. Both bikes ran like clocks and made it out there with little problems. I'm not camping though. Much as I like it, the ground does not like as much as it used to.
A

[fishmeister]

I know how you feel, it's best to stay focused on one project at a time.

Not only does it make things simpler, it allows for a patient, well done job.

Keeping them original and riding the wheels off em' is the way to go.

Have you ever ridden a 700 Nighthawk?

[instructorpilot]

I have, in fact that's what I was looking for when I bought this one. I thought I had found one on the Central Mass. Craig's listWare a couple of weeks ago. I inquired about the bike and the guy responded once with a phone number that didn't work.  I tried to get in contact with the seller for a week and no responce. After I bought the '92, I went back to Florida. The bike was still listed when I left. I was really disappointed. However, other then chain drive, the '92 Hawk will suffice nicely. All I need now is a SOHC CB750F and I will have a copy from each era.
Al

[RIDERED]

no pics from the air wtf

[jetjock79]

I've been looking for a SOHC CB 750 now for two months and can't find one. No one in Jersey or Philly has one. I had a chance to get a beat up one at the start of the season, but thought, "There will be more out there".....WRONG.....trying to find a stock one in my area is close to impossible. The one you find every once in a while is either converted to a cafe racer, or has no title and is only for parts. I love those 750's,.....and I'm looking for the K so there should be more out there than anything! Just love those spokes!

[fishmeister]

All I need now is a SOHC CB750F and I will have a copy from each era.
Al

Al, in all honesty....you need a 700 nighthawk to round out that collection. Preferrably an 86 for a few reasons. You must not have gotton up to 7K on that 700 you rode or you would have one already.  

[instructorpilot]

You know that we're all talking about motorcycles that are, for all intents and purposes, old. I had a 600 Yamaha FZ6. None of the bikes that I currently own can compair with the top end rush of that bike. You wind it up to 6000 rpm, and it's eyes open, through 7k it's awake. passing 8 grand it's full boil right to the 14000 rpm redline. It was the funnest solo bike I have ever owned. I have ridden many miles on a CB700SC. In fact, when I was in Mass looking for a bike, I waited for four days for the guy who was selling a 700SC to get back to me. I passed up on other bikes because I was waiting for just the bike you describe. But the owner never got back to me, even after repeated calls and emails. The bike is still for sale as far as I know. But the 750 came up, I looked at it and bought it. end of story. The engine is the same as the 700 except for the cams, crank, pistons and the shaft drive. In fact only the US got the 700, everyone else got a 750. Also, I'm not so sure that a shaft drive is that much of an advantage. Modern chains last and I like the simplicity of a chain.