[Richie Rich]

Hello from the UK.

Just picked up my 1988 CBR750 today after doing a ton of research. As someone who doesn't like or ride modern bikes with their rapid depreciation and samey looks, plus I go for rare bikes - I realised that this bike is definitely one to have in the garage for those long distance tours.  The bullet proof CBR engine and highly respected model coupled with Honda's legendary build quality made it a no brainer.

Had to get it shipped all the way from Scotland down to London but it still only cost me £710. Bike looks clean and has done 50K not sure if it is km or miles as clock was changed at some point, but has been sat a while and will need a good overhaul before getting road ready, caliper rebuild, throttle/clutch stiff, front shocks bit spongy,  and tyres worn, the usual u could say - but cosmetically good  I have already bought up some engine spares just in case re crank, cam gears, knowing how rare these will be to find in the future.

I've managed to secure a workshop manual from Japan within days  so here is the link for anyone who wants to buy one. Plus you can find the parts manual here too and the odd part..worth a look for sure

http://global.rakuten.com/en/search/?k=cbr750&l-id=search_regular

Soon as the weather warms up it will be getting much  .

I am hoping many of the 1987-1988 CBR1000F parts fit as they seem to be in far greater numbers here in the UK...

Cheers

[robvangulik]

Hi and welcome on the forum, that bike looks as if with some tlc it'll come allright.
You're right in that engine parts are getting harder to come by, allthough DavidSilverSpares does have the odd hard to get part in stock. For frame and fairing several other Honda models can be used as donors, for brakes and forks the older VFR's and other parts indeed the first CBR1000F, the sc21.
Other Honda's from the same age can possibly contribute too.

And I forgot, the workshop and parts manuals can be found on our homepage too, along with some more technical info. Nevertheless thanks for the link, can be helpful for some

[CRuSHeR]

Hey Richie, welcome to the site and congrats with your purchase.
If you're looking for specific info just browse through the forum, lots of info there and like Rob points out, the manuals are available on the homepage as well 

[xpd153]

Welcome to the site. It seems like yours is rare of rare CBR750 model, FJ(1988, last year production model). Honda discontinued CBR750 in 1988 in order to avoid canibalism with VFR750F.

Don't buy a workshop manual at rakuten global market site. It's overpriced!
Also as robvangulik said, there are workshop manual copies on this site.
If you badly need real workshop manual which is completely written in Japanese, maybe I can help you!
Average price of CBR750 workshop manual at Japanese auction site is $25, not including shipping. But probably shipping to UK is less than $15.
All available workshop manual are second hand, not new one.
If you have big time margin, more cheap method is available.

[Richie Rich]

opps I already bought the manual from ratkuten......but to be fair it seemed pretty cheap to me so I'm happy with it plus I got a couple of GSXR400 85-87 manuals which are also hard to find in the UK. It's another option for these rare grey imports as it is  getting increasingly hard to find bits for 30 year old bikes not officially sold outside of Japan.  I think I need to start brushing up on my Japanese though as it would assist deciphering these manaual having said that  they do say a picture says a thousand words!

by the way guys..don't want to sound greedy but I just bought a second CBR750F on the weekend for £600 with 80km...ok condition engine turns over sounds a  bit noisy but I have a  feeling it has carb and valve issues...largely I got it as spares and it came with original exhausts...apparently back in the 80s some 30 were brought into the UK and about 3000 were made in total, read an article about it and they say Honda built this inline 4 750 as a hedge in case the VFR failed they could start increasing production of a 750 to the mass market but it never happened like that..hence the short but ever so sweet run.

so now I own according to the article 2/15th of CBR750Fs in the UK, if you believe the article..which I am inclined to after all it refers to the CBR750F as the best 750cc sportsbike no-one knows about

Photo to follow

[robvangulik]

Hi Richie, I almost thought you'd forgotten us, but you really have been busy.
Forget about brushing up your Japanese, XPD153 is born and residing in Japan, he does remarkably well in English but his Japanese is even better!
If you can get your hands on an old CBR1000F manual, you can lay it side by side with the 750's manual, mostly only the numbers differ (and the pics ofcourse).

Just 30 750's in the UK seems a bit a low number, a couple of years ago I managed to get insight in the registrations here in Holland and in 2009 there were 89 CBR750F registered in the Netherlands, and the UK is considerably bigger!
 There will be less now, but.....
I put some articles on here myself  long ago, I'll try and find where they went, I'm curious for the info you dug up!

[Richie Rich]

Hi there robvangulik,

I most certainly haven't forgotten you guys ! I have had a hectic number of months from last July/August I have been non-stop collecting bikes. You see I am a collector of mostly 80s sportsbike typically Suzuki GSXR400 Mk1,3,5 (A Mk4 GSXR400 is my avatar and favourite looking bike of all). I got a 750 slabside 1986 and a couple of 88s 750J slingshots. I am big on the design looks and for me that period of bike really does it for me, also being a child in the 80s I have fond memories of the time so I think it is also a nostalgic thing I have about that period (and they also make good investments now the bank returns 0% interest 30 year old bike in 10 years time will become vintage and exempt from road tax so another reason to buy an old bike now)   I also own two Honda CBR600F after reading more into Honda and their legendary build quality and great versatility of the CBRxxxF model, which is all things to all people.   I then learned reading an old 80s mag about the high tech grey import super aero CBR400F with its aluminium frame and gear cams, which then lead me onto the CBR750F with its gear cams, which I like the sound of after hearing and experiencing the Honda cam chain rattle, gear cams appealed.

So I liked the look of the bike first and foremost (it has a great presence about it) it meet my criteria i.e. 1988,tick, it was rare, tick and it was a grey import, tick, plus I started thinking about needing a comfortable touring bike with more grunt than a 600 and as I am never going to buy a modern EFI bike, (just not me) this was the bike for me bar none so I had to have it simple choice really.

I have already bought a 1987-1988 CBR1000F parts book and a VFR750 one so I can crosss reference parts as people have suggested. I have also got a number of spare parts for the engine including a nice  condition cam shaft and gear cams - really so I can own and ride this bike for as long as I can ride....it's like you know when you know you've stumbled across something special and pretty much just like my TU250X  (another bike I consider perfect for what it does) I don't need to look for something else to fulfil the the role of the Hurricane 750

So very much I will be back to this forum with plenty of updates as to my progress with the Hurricance as soon as the weather in the UK warms up and we hit spring !

ps.
I could scan the magazine article and upload, would that be allowed re copy right and all, can't see it doing much harm I mean we are few in numbers...and the publication in question is all about keeping 70,80,90s bike alive

[robvangulik]

All info is welcome, like you wrote, we're just a few enthusiasts without commercial intentions.
The number of CBR750's are noticeably dwindling around the world, probably because the bikes are, despite their age, still very usable and modern in feel, which makes them more prone to accidents and wear and tear than most other rare and collectable bikes, that are kept behind lock and key.

[Richie Rich]

My other Hurricance and my 1987 GSX-R400 as per my avatar also equally a rarity from the same period !

The Hurricane on the right has done 85Km and sounds a bit rough but it should prove a valuable parts donor in time as this is one bike I want to ride as a regular all weather bike once I manage to get round to sorting it out..

[Richie Rich]

Not my words but from another website. But of interest I feel enough to share....

The first CBR750's left the factory at the end of 1986 and production was stopped in mid 1988. Frame numbers started at RC27-1000001 for 1987 and RC27-5000001 for 1988 (if I'm not mistaken). Mine had number 1000253 and was one of the first series. The CBR was solely produced for the Japanese market, so all your bikes must have once been owned by some Japanese. In 1987 it cost 789000 yen, something like 7500 euro at the time. A clear family member of the CBR-series and filling the gap for the Japanese rider in the class up to 750 cc. The driver's license in Japan is segmented into 4, for which you have to do exams respectively (up to 250, 400, 750 and over 750 cc). Taking into account that one exercise is to lift up a bike when it has tipped over and it explains why the 250 and 400 cc class are very popular in Japan... Anyhow, the CBR750 was introduced at the same time as Honda's in-house competitor, the VFR750. Both bikes were positioned similarly, so naturally one would be taken off of the market to keep production costs low. You probably know the desastrous story of the early 80-ies VF750F with bad cam shafts resulting in thousands of claims. Honda payed a high price but developed the V4 further with a cam gear train, which was also introduced in the CBR750. Maintenance-free, higher accuracy of the valve-timing and reduced wear of the engine. Unfortunately the CBR750 never became as popular as the VFR750, probably due to its higher pricing and slightly less performance. Also, the Japanese police placed a huge order for VFR's not CBR's, so the choice for Honda was easy: the CBR lost and the VFR is nowadays recognized as one of the best all-rounders that money can buy. Who knows which bike could have gotten those credits, if the CBR was kept in production...

[robvangulik]

 Where does that quote come from ? That owner should be a member here!
Or is it not recent, I have an inkling I've read that earlier somewhere ...

[Richie Rich]

Hi there, I got it from visordown.com on a thread about the cbr750. I still promise to upload that article on the CBR750 !!

Rich