1965 Honda CB77...sweet or not?

[Hank]

Ok guys, I need some advice on purchasing not only my first bike, but my first project bike and my first vintage bike. I've found a 1965 CB77 that untill today I was pretty gung-ho on, but a buddy of mine at work who owned one had a few things to point out about it that made the deal look a little less sweet. I'd like to see if you all agree. Here is the link for the ad on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 3AIT#v4-34
His opinion was that first off these bikes have a tendancy to strip thier gears, and in order to fix this you must split the cylinders apart to service the transmission and access those gears. Is that right? Also, he noted that the pipes had been chopped off, the battery is missing, the air cleaners are missing, the kickstart is disassembled, the chain is off, the engine is open and exposed to the elements....etc. - you may even find more problems just by looking at the photos like he did. What are your thoughts? Another thing he had to say was that this bike is heavier than it looks - this concerns me a lot because I am a petite female trying to buy a first bike! I want something light that can handle real well to build confidence and skill on. So maybe this isn't the one I don't know, that's why I'm looking to you guys. Any advice would really be appreciated, and thanks in advance for your time!

[rustywrench]

Hank,
First things first, Welcome and you did come to the right place.
The pics on flee-bay pretty well spelled it out for me. It would be a pretty hefty project for even a rusty old wrench lurking in these parts. To me the fun in these things is taking an old bike like that one and bringing her back to life. I've done it three times in my life and in the case of these old bikes, it takes time and money just to get them road worthy.
Tinker, tinker, tinker is the norm with these and as much as I hate to discourage you, your stated budget may get in the way.
My advice, find yourself a good sound runner you can ride and not have to spend all your time working on. IMHO RW

[Hank]

Well, thank goodness for people who know what they're doing because I looked at that thing and thought "jackpot!" I do want something that requires some work and I have a pretty good crew to help me...if I could score something like this for, say, $200 then would it be worthit or do you still think it's too much work? Again, I won't deny we're dealing with a bunch of amateurs here but you gotta start somewhere I guess...
I think my gut's agreeing with you though, rustywrench. Thanks for your advice

[LOUD MOUSE]

For what it may be worth I wouldn't add that thing to my Bone Yard (just what's left) for that $$$$. ........lm

Ok guys, I need some advice on purchasing not only my first bike, but my first project bike and my first vintage bike. I've found a 1965 CB77 that untill today I was pretty gung-ho on, but a buddy of mine at work who owned one had a few things to point out about it that made the deal look a little less sweet. I'd like to see if you all agree. Here is the link for the ad on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 3AIT#v4-34
His opinion was that first off these bikes have a tendancy to strip thier gears, and in order to fix this you must split the cylinders apart to service the transmission and access those gears. Is that right? Also, he noted that the pipes had been chopped off, the battery is missing, the air cleaners are missing, the kickstart is disassembled, the chain is off, the engine is open and exposed to the elements....etc. - you may even find more problems just by looking at the photos like he did. What are your thoughts? Another thing he had to say was that this bike is heavier than it looks - this concerns me a lot because I am a petite female trying to buy a first bike! I want something light that can handle real well to build confidence and skill on. So maybe this isn't the one I don't know, that's why I'm looking to you guys. Any advice would really be appreciated, and thanks in advance for your time!

[Vince Lupo]

I think this particular bike isn't very good, but the SuperHawks in general are excellent bikes and very reliable (there is another recent thread on the Forum concerning reliability). As far as them being heavier than they look, they weight 350 lbs wet, and they aren't at all hard to handle or maneuver (don't really know how heavy they 'look'). As far as them being a good first bike, I think once you've found a well sorted one, they are great bikes, but for a first bike, I'm kinda on the fence about that. I'm thinking more of a '70s CB350 for some reason.....

[superhawk305]

In my opinion....I would steer clear of this...it's missing a lot and needs a lot of work to complete. Even the tank alone looks to have been shaved and painted, so the chrome tank panels wouldn't mount if you were to get some. I myself just recently bought a Superhawk for a little bit more than that ebay listing. But I am also determined to restore it and put in a lot of work/time to do so. I think it really depends on how far you want to take a project bike? Like Vince Lupo said maybe a 350 would be a good start. They are not nearly as unique or rare as a Superhawk, but for a first bike that will give you a chance to learn how to ride/work on I think a CB350 would be the way to go. I think you would feel awful if you put a lot of work into a Superhawk and then laid it down...I personally wouldn't feel too bad about doing that to a CB350 over a Superhawk....but like I said it's all up to you.

[Hank]

Thanks so much for the advice everyone - you've been really really helpful! I told that guy no thank you...
As for the CB350 I'll have to be a little more serious looking into those because I do come across them pretty often in my endless searching. Thanks again for all the help!