'79 Honda CB 750

[mgdavis]

Hi all, I'm a soon-to-be new rider. I'm 21 years old (and like to think I'm a bit more mature than that ). I'm looking at purchasing an older bike from an aquaintance, and fixing it up. The bike in question is, I belive, a '79 Honda CB 750 (possibly 650). It has sat in a garage for 3-4 years, and it sounds like the carb floats are frozen. The agreed upon price is $250. It has an aftermarket 4-1 exhaust, and will likely need tires.
I have three questions:
The first, and most important, is how widely are parts for this bike available? If I end up having to replace many parts, I don't want to have to resort to junkyards to find spares.
My second question is: Does this sound like a smart buy? I am somewhat mechanically inclined, and am not afraid to go to the professionals when needed. Is this a project that will wind up costing so much that I should have just bought a running bike?
Finally, is this a decent bike all-round, especially as a beginer? I don't need a race bike, nor a cruiser. I just want something with two wheels and a decent fun-factor. I know it's older, but it's probably only going to be with me a few years anyway, as I've been trusting for a SV650 for quite awhile. Do you think that this is something I will be happy with as a beginer?

[jmillheiser]

you could do a lot worse than a CB750 to learn on. Parts are actually pretty easy to come by for the CB750, its THE most common UJM style bike in existence.

if you feel comfortable working on the carbs than I say go for it, assuming the rest of the bike is in decent shape. Plan on replacing the tires, they are probably dry rotted. dont worry about the aftermarket exhaust, it was probably put on there when the stock exhaust rusted out.

The CB750 is not a bad bike at all to learn on. The power delivery is smooth and the bike is pretty forgiving. Only thing to watch out for is its a heavy bike and its weight is carried high.

[9000white]

you will be lucky to be able to get any genuine honda parts for it as honda no longer supplies parts for anything older than 1986.however e bay usually has everything you could possibly need. full of gas it weighs 564.4 pounds.

[DivideOverflow]

For $250, I'd grab it. For probably another $500, you can get it back to good riding condition.

Check E-bay for parts, there are always a bunch.

Tear apart the carbs, clean out/rebuild, whatever it looks like you need to do. Then replace the spark plugs, and I would be surprised if the bike doesn't start up after that. Usually these things just take a little bit of elbow grease to get going.

Also, change the tires, breakpads, and bleed the brakes (very important). Change out the fork oil, I'd probably get a new chain too. These old bikes are worth it if you can get them running again. They are a lot of fun.

My 79 KZ650 is a blast. Like jmillheiser said, just be aware of the weight. They are heavy bikes, but they are pretty easy to get used to once you get going. These bikes will definitely run a long time, and are pretty cheap to own.

[mgdavis]

A little more info on the bike.
I think the exhaust was replaced for weight savings, I'm not sure if the original was rusted out or not. The guy who currently has it rode it until he got a Harley Sportster. He said it ran just fine, but was hard to start when warm. After it sat about three years (last summer), he was going to tinker with it for me, but when he turned the petcock fuel started to run from the carbs(?). I hope it's just stuck floats. I don't think there are any other problems. I figure I'll try carb cleaner, and if that doesn't do anything I'll take it in the a local shop had have it cleaned up.