Hi Scotty! I want to get into riding motorcycles, and am taking practice courses while working towards my license. I’ve heard people say that the older Honda cb’s are good starter bikes due to their relatively low cost, reliability and ease of riding. There’s a 1979 cb750 10th anniversary for sale near me with 14,000 miles on it. Assuming it gets the thumbs up from a mechanic, would it be a good starter bike? Thanks!
The carbs on those can be temperamental. They do not like sitting. Even with fuel stabilizers during the winter your gonna wanna make sure you start it at least once a week and run it for a bit. My first I was young and didn’t have a climate controlled garage to keep it in, had to rely on a cover. Ended up taking the battery out and kept it in the house utility room on a trickle charger then putting it back in to start it. And still had to pull the carbs once a year and flush them. All that said it’s a good stable bike to learn on, especially handling and balancing at lower speeds. If you have a garage that’s climate controlled to store it in I think you’ll be ok. If not look for something in a CX or other VTwin model. The VTwins are a little less picky and require less hand holding mechanically IMO. I had an 82 VTwin also when I was younger. I could park it in a shed all winter, throw a charger on it come spring and it fired up every spring with no issues.
Thanks for the response! The seller mentioned that the bike sat for a while indoors, but has had the needed maintenance done to get it running well again. New tires, tubes, battery, air filter, oil, and carbs professionally cleaned. As far as temperature goes, the bike and I are both in Southern California, so it’s big news if the temperature gets below 50 even in winter here 😀
750 is a bit much as a starter bike, but otherwise they are great old bikes.
I loved my 1979 CB750K for about 15 years. I never had a problem with this bike. Routine maintenance was critical. Getting the carbs off the bike for cleaning without tearing the rubber boots is a serious pain, but if you use a lot of WD450, it works out. The gyroscopic effect of the 4 cylinder bike makes it very stable, Just remember, to go left, push the left handle bar and to go right, push the right handle bar. It is counter intuitive. Have a blast!
