Ride CT & Ride New England Serving New England, NYC and The Hudson Valley!
By Bud Wilkinson of RIDE-CT.com
Why do I feel like I’ve dodged a disaster? Because maybe that’s the case. It’s a darn good thing that eagle-eye friend Neil Tolhurst texted (and called) over the weekend to see if I were free to 
go for short ride to compare his vintage Honda CB750 to mine (seen in the masthead). He’s been working on the bike since last year; turning it into a cafe racer by chopping the rear fender, adding a low handlebar, K&N air filters and re-jetting it.
We met at Dunkin’ Donuts in Torrington and headed out to the countryside, stopping to switch bikes so that he could see how my stock bike ran and so I could gauge whether his altered model had more pep. It did, and the lower bar improved the handling, too. The low bar was such an improvement that I asked Neil to investigate the cost of such an upgrade on my Honda.
Besides being a friend, Neil also works on Hondas in his New Hartford garage. Last year, in inspecting my bike, he noticed that the front brake pads were worn and that the tach drive oil seal was leaking. I ordered new pads and a new seal, but opted to wait until this year for him to do the job. Since we were close to his home, a decision was made to leave my bike there. Neil gave me a lift home.
On Monday morning, Neil emailed to say the bike was ready for pickup, so I went over during lunch hour to retrieve it. It wasn’t until a few hours later, when talking to Neil about the handlebar situation, that he told me, “I noticed and forgot to mention … the fuel lines are missing clamps and are loose. While they may fit snugly when first installed, they eventually stretch. Whoever installed the lines must have forgotten to put the clamps back on.” (Those aren’t his exact words, but it’s the gist of what he said.)
A quick trip to the garage to check confirmed his diagnosis, prompting an immediate vision of a line coming off while riding, gas spilling directly from the tank on to the hot motor and a fireball ensuing.
I bought the bike in September 2011 from Allen Johnston, a Roxbury resident who was moving to Florida and who didn’t want to take the Honda with him. We’d met a few years earlier in Kent and he knew I admired the bike. We’ve kept in touch and have even traded periodic emails since the sale was consummated. Knowing how much he loved the bike, I emailed him about the handlebar situation prior to Neil’s telling me about the fuel lines.
After hearing back from him, I updated him on the fuel line situation. He responded, “Several years ago, I had New Milford Honda rebuild the petcock with an OEM kit I bought online. If they forgot to clamp the hoses, I sure was lucky because I never had any gas leaks ever. Great catch insuring a dry bike and no fires.”
All I can say is, “Thanks, Neil. Thanks a lot.”
Clamps for the fuel lines have now been purchased and will be installed tomorrow.
Hey Bud.
Your ole CB750 is great. I still have my 1973 CB750/4 K3 that I bought in ’73. Love it and won’t part with it. I don’t think they came with gas line clamps. I never had them. If you use the original type or size gas line they fit tight. It’s a pain to get them off the petcock even without clamps and I don’t think there is enough room to put them on the other end where they go to the carb. I have had my carbs off too many times to count. I used to have different engines that I would swap out depending on my mood. She’s been a cafe racer, a tourer, a sportbike and a dragster. Back in the early 70’s no one realized how fast these bikes were. Only bike that ever beat me was another CB750 that I bought and parted it out. I owned 17 of them at one time, at the same time! They are still a great bike even though compared to today’s bikes they don’t go, stop or handle at all. Even though mine clocked a respectable 12 second flat quarter mile time at Orlando International Dragstrip back then, it’s a toad by today’s standards. Even though I’m into Harleys now, she was lettered up as the “Hogslayer” and enjoyed blowing off those old shovelheads. Though my drag motor with the big bore kit is still in pieces and will probably never be rebuilt again, I’m running a mostly stock ’76 supersport engine in it now and will probably just enjoy her in her old age just the way she is. Me, you and Neil should get together and compare bikes. Us and the bikes are all antiques and got some hard miles on us all…….