1965 CB77 restoration

[Brian Foose]

Hi everyone!

My name is Brian, and I am starting to restore this 1965 CB77! it is not my first restoration, and not the most complex bike I've ever worked on either, but I will undoubtedly come up with a million questions as i get this awesome machine back on the road!

First, some background: I am a machinist, Licensed Aviation Mechanic, and lifelong motorcycle enthusiast. i currently have about 20 or 21 bikes, most of which are 60's hondas and other japanese bikes... a couple yamahas, a suzuki, and even a bridgestone. they all run and drive, save for a few i didnt quite get to this year.

THIS bike was a birthday present from my father about 8 years ago. he found this gem for $400.00! i took the motor off the frame so i could clean it up at home, as i didnt have room in the garage for another whole bike at the time, so the frame has been in a shed collecting even more dust since then....the last inspection sticker on it is from 1980/81.....i was BORN in 1982!

while disassembling the motor, ( i dont even know why i went this deep into it) the cylinder sleeves FELL OUT of the aluminum casting!!!! i had never seen a casting and sleeves do that, and everyone i talked to about 8 years ago agreed: this is not desirable in the least, and will probably lead to a locked up motor since it wouldnt be transferring heat properly.

we went back and forth on a solution for a while. one gentleman who i talked to on the phone swore by two coats of rustoleum on the cylinder, and while its still tacky, and with the aluminum cylinders heated up in your kitchen oven, you press them together and "youll get good heat transfer then!"

and while it is unlike me to pass by the advice of an elder, this repair still didnt sit right with me. so i thought about it some more, (for 8 years) and eventually ordered up some cast iron and had a friend lathe out some cylinders! the inner bore is the standard 60mm, while we made the outer diameter a little bigger so we could press-fit them into the original aluminum casting like it was a brand new part!

so that basically brings us to right now....the bike made it out of the wood shed and back to my garage, the motor is in my basement ready to be re-assembled with its fancy new cylinders, and i am here making an introduction, ready to start cleaning and restoring!

like i said, i will have ALL the questions in the world, but first i need to head over to bill silver's site and get that CB77 document he put together...it looks to me like hes got so much information over there that it wouldnt surprise me if he had a picture of my bike when it was new!

so thanks to everyone ahead of time! i will talk to you soon!

Brian