1969 Honda CB750 - World Motorcycles Project Rebuild

And in the beginning, there was a frame....Mr. CB750, Vic World, and longtime friend and wrenching partner Mike Rondelli install new steering-head bearings into a fully reconditioned CB750 frame. Every bit, piece, nut and bolt used by World is either New Old-Stock (NOS) Honda componentry or totally refabbed and restored to better-than-new condition.

World attaches the front suspension. The fork legs are repolished and recleared, while the fork itself has been fitted with NOS fork seals, boots and retainers. The caliper has been completely rebuilt with NOS pieces, and the brake lines and pads are also NOS.

Notice the strips of duct tape on the frame as World and Rondelli coax the motor into place--this is one of many hard-learned lessons, and a far better countermeasure against the inevitable scratches than touch-up paint and Q-Tips.

Getting the CB's motor into the frame is one thing...getting it to line up with motor mount holes is another.

Engine firmly ensconced in the frame, World carefully installs a rare and valuable sand-cast oil-filter cover. These covers were only sand-cast in 1969, and were eventually recalled and replaced because many owners cracked them by overtorquing the retaining bolt.

World has just installed the oil tank and is connecting oil lines. At this point it's beginning to look like an actual motorcycle.

World tightens the refurbished top triple clamp into place. Attached to said triple clamp are NOS gauges and all-NOS mounting hardware.

NOS turn signals are in place and outfitted with extremely hard-to-find NOS lenses. These pieces are first-year-specific and are thus "unobtainable now at any price." World is seen here hard at work on the wiring, taking extra care not to cut the green wire...no, the blue wire...wait, was it the red wire?

For 1969, Honda tried this unique ignition setup with a plastic plug roll-pinned to the key, the idea being that the plug would keep moisture out of the ignition switch. As it turned out, the switch had problems (possibly with moisture retention?) and was discontinued. That said, the key and switch hardware are obviously very difficult to track down.

World installs the NOS exhaust pipes. This is a particularly arduous task as the pipes are not a matched set, but rather the plunder of many a late-night eBay auction. With pieces coming from literally every corner of the globe, World's CBs allow for all sorts of lame world-based puns--none of which we'll punish you with.

All the carburetor components are completely refurbished with many NOS parts, and all the steel parts re-zinc-plated before the entire bank of carbs is reassembled.

World attaches the oil-tank cover. After this, it's simply a matter of putting the seat on, taking a deep breath and turning the key.