SLAM-O-MATIC
It is one of those....one of those deals you come across and you can't simply pass it up for whatever reason. Enter 1976 Hondamatic 750. I am a sport vintage rider, but have had an eye for custom bikes in recent times....and cult bikes as well, like two stroke street bikes, rotaries, and hey, why not automatic motorcycles??......
Poor guy was basically ripped off...not by me! There's a famous old honda shop in the city, and well, lets just say I have gotten a number of deals because that shop told the owner that the bike needed major work, like a thousand dollar engine job...needless to say, none of the bikes had any major problems, except the lack of an honest second opinion. The Hondamatic DID NOT need a new headgasket, as the old one wasn't even weeping, a common occurence in old Honda fours, anyway. It was simply POURING oil out the valvecover. What it DID NEED was a total makeover, both cosmetically and in peformance. The stock bike had a detuned motor, lawnmower cams, tiny 24mm carbs to maximize torque, a super-low stall converter to enable using just two speeds...it a dog awaiting an easy transformation into a cheetah. The Hondamatic "Cheetah" 750. Well, maybe more like "cheater" when you hit the NITROUS button! ........So, this is a linear account of the restoration, and cheetahization of the motorbike, lets see where it gets to! So far, a $400 bike, and paint and acetone.
I was too embarrased to actually take a picture of the bike, because someone had taken silver spray paint ALL OVER the front end, triples, guages, perfect chrome bars, both rims, the entire original 4-1 exhaust, and various oversprayed parts...UGLY. So, round one commenced, that was stripping down the front end, using acetone liberally, then nice black spray with CAREFUL masking, and the front end looks new again! i removed the ugly headlight ears, which were sprayed silver, and went with a cleaner chrome ear look. Who knows what else may pop up that may look more stylish? I decided to run without the gauges, which include a speedo and an accessory gauge that has indicator lights for what gear you're in, fuel level, oil, neutral and turn. Eventually I will fit a tachometer and an oil light.
Now that the bike was worked out in terms of oil dumping and ugly silver spray, it was time for some mods....what good is this bike for, automatic two speed....NOTHIN'! Except a custom drag bike worthy of few dollars of my input....so it needed stylish pipes and a lower look. Since it was a CB750, one of my favorites, it needed to look like one....nothing better than 4-4 pipes to make that look. I happened to have a spare set, and they could eventually flow much better than the small tube 4-1 that was original. Pipes went on with little modification and bending, though the side stand had to be chucked, and the centerstand currently won;t come all the way up, leading to some scraping around sharper turns...to be worked out...I preliminarily cut the front springs, but will be going in the add spacers to limit extension, so I can preload the front to make it stiff, so it won't bottom. In the rear, I devised some steel cable straps, but will be searching out a set of short shocks...which will have to be about 9.5" when all is said and done, and preloaded very high to give little in the way of suspension travel. I don't think I am ready to step up (down?) to a hardtail...
Whats next? LOWER! A set of CV carbs off a Maxim will give better flow than the restrictive 24mm, and will keep the motor from richening and choking out when you do brake stands, a feature of the stock setup. A high stall converter, to get the revs up into the windy 750's powerband. A different cam. Even a stock K model or F model cam gives much better flow...and they are available in my junk pile. How about a 50hp nitrous shot? Should be easy to piece together some jets and a solenoid and tank off Ebay, for the economy go fast system....Stay Tuned for Round 3!!!