1974 Amen Savior CB750
It's always a great thing to find a vintage motorcycle that has just the right amount of patina that shows it's been appreciated yet actually ridden and such is the case with this 1974 Amen Savior framed CB750 chopper from Brandon Paschke. Originally assembled from parts ordered out of the back of an old biker magazine this bike started out as a product of the chopper boom in the 70's and remained true to the style all these years. We caught up with Brandon and his bike at Powell Farms in beautiful Oregonia, Ohio just after the wild party vibes of the Devils Staircase hillclimbs where many bikers make the homage trek with their vintage bikes continuing a tradition of rolling custom machines out to the farm, something that's been happening literally since the 70's when many of the Amen framed bikes were on the rise. From the photos you could honestly look and imagine you were back at Powell Farm in 1974 seeing as how both the farm and the bike have changed so little in almost 50 years. So to get an idea of how Brandon came to own this awesome survivor we picked his brain on the bike and some of the good times he has had with it continuing on with its journey.
So why don't we start with your name and where you are based out of these days?
Brandon Paschke, Cleveland, Ohio
Give us a quick rundown of the make, model, and year of the bike?
1974 Honda CB 750 in a Amen Savior plunger frame with a Fury springer front end. I call it the Slim Jim - with the red/yellow color scheme and it being so long and snappy.....oooohhhhh yeeeaaahhh BROTHER!!!
So from all the key factors that we can see the frame appears to be an Amen savior plunger style frame with a bit of older bondo work in there. What can you tell us about the history of the frame?
Not much other then the body work and paint are original. The bondo is cracking all over but that is just superficial and there is no structural damage to the frame.
Tell us a little bit about how you came to own the bike?
I picked it up off of a friend in Columbus last spring. He did the bare minimum to get it running and riding, then I did just enough to make it road worthy for the summer.
Did the previous owner have any history on the bike? Like what is the bikes back story or perhaps the original builder?
The guy I got it from picked it up on trade and the story he was told is, it was almost completely ordered out of the back of Easy Rider and assembled in dudes garage over a number of years with the help of friends in Dayton during the 70's. The current head lights and foot controls were the only parts on the bike not original to the build when I got the bike.
The Springer front and has got some really cool elements to it, especially those curved lower rocker arms, what can you tell us about the springer? Do you have any idea on who the maker was as well?
Yeah, its got some really cool Aladdin Shoe style rockers on it that put the front wheel way out in front of you. There aren't any manufacturing marks on it, so talking with my buddies and doing just a little bit of research I think it might be a Fury springer.
So the Amen plunger frames are kind of notorious for having some strange issues when it comes to how they ride, especially while cornering, you've put a handful of miles on the bike so far, how would you describe how the bike handles?
Once I made a few changes and worked out a couple of kinks throughout the summer I was ready to put some serious miles on it. Me and a buddy organized a fall ride in northeast Ohio that had many miles of unpaved gravel roads to ride in order to get through multiple hundred plus year old wooden covered bridges and then the following weekend I did mostly highway miles and rode it down to Dayton for the Devils Staircase hill climb. Two back to back weekends with hundreds of miles rode, whether it was sketchy gravel or straight highway, the bike handled and preformed like I expected it. That being said I won't be riding the tail of the dragon or racing anybody around town on this bike.
Brandon Paschke, Cleveland, Ohio
Give us a quick rundown of the make, model, and year of the bike?
1974 Honda CB 750 in a Amen Savior plunger frame with a Fury springer front end. I call it the Slim Jim - with the red/yellow color scheme and it being so long and snappy.....oooohhhhh yeeeaaahhh BROTHER!!!
So from all the key factors that we can see the frame appears to be an Amen savior plunger style frame with a bit of older bondo work in there. What can you tell us about the history of the frame?
Not much other then the body work and paint are original. The bondo is cracking all over but that is just superficial and there is no structural damage to the frame.
Tell us a little bit about how you came to own the bike?
I picked it up off of a friend in Columbus last spring. He did the bare minimum to get it running and riding, then I did just enough to make it road worthy for the summer.
Did the previous owner have any history on the bike? Like what is the bikes back story or perhaps the original builder?
The guy I got it from picked it up on trade and the story he was told is, it was almost completely ordered out of the back of Easy Rider and assembled in dudes garage over a number of years with the help of friends in Dayton during the 70's. The current head lights and foot controls were the only parts on the bike not original to the build when I got the bike.
The Springer front and has got some really cool elements to it, especially those curved lower rocker arms, what can you tell us about the springer? Do you have any idea on who the maker was as well?
Yeah, its got some really cool Aladdin Shoe style rockers on it that put the front wheel way out in front of you. There aren't any manufacturing marks on it, so talking with my buddies and doing just a little bit of research I think it might be a Fury springer.
So the Amen plunger frames are kind of notorious for having some strange issues when it comes to how they ride, especially while cornering, you've put a handful of miles on the bike so far, how would you describe how the bike handles?
Once I made a few changes and worked out a couple of kinks throughout the summer I was ready to put some serious miles on it. Me and a buddy organized a fall ride in northeast Ohio that had many miles of unpaved gravel roads to ride in order to get through multiple hundred plus year old wooden covered bridges and then the following weekend I did mostly highway miles and rode it down to Dayton for the Devils Staircase hill climb. Two back to back weekends with hundreds of miles rode, whether it was sketchy gravel or straight highway, the bike handled and preformed like I expected it. That being said I won't be riding the tail of the dragon or racing anybody around town on this bike.
The paint is a really cool yet subtle feature to the bike, not too flashy but definitely looks period correct, is the paint all original?
The paint and bondo work are original and have the perfect amount of patina to show its age. It's one of my favorite features of the bike.
So what did you have to do to the bike once you got it did it need any fab work or motor work, etc?
While the bike was running when I got it, after a quick safety check, it needed a through once over before riding it. I did all the things you would expect on a old barn find chopper...replaced/adjusted breaks, cleaned and rebuilt what was needed in the carbs, oil change, added some fuses to the wiring, checked the tires for dry rot and a few other miscellaneous things. Then some minor changes and fabrication were needed. Started by replacing the rear rim and switching from a 17" front rim to a 21". The foot controls were extremely wonky and had to be reworked and mounted properly. I needed to have a custom backing plate made for the KZ bread box air cleaner to better fit my CB. A few minor adjustments to the kick stand and exhaust were necessary. Also added a spring chain tensioner after a throwing the chain while highway cruising at 60 mph on one of the many shake down rides.
Did you add anything on to the bike when you got it, such as a seat or a Sissy bar anything else or was it mostly all original when you got it?
The bigger front rim and a new seat are the only things I changed for this first season of riding.
What is a couple of your favorite parts about the bike?
Pretty much everything about the bike. I really like the idea that the original builder had and didn't want to change that much, just enough to add a little bit of my personality to it. Obviously the plunger frame is such a unique chopper item that I've been interested in since the first time I saw one. I also own a big twin plunger frame for a shovelhead or early evo and I've been collecting parts for a few years now with big plans of building something one day.
What drew you to this bike in general and is this one of your 1st vintage Japanese choppers?
I'm into all kinds of motorcycles, this is my second CB chopper, the first was in a hardtail Amen frame that I sold to a friend in order to pick up this bike. Here in Cleveland I have a bunch of buddies that own or have built unbelievable custom CB choppers. The look of Japanese choppers are so unique and they sound insane, especially with multiple bikes riding together. I also have a few other bikes in different styles...an 82 Honda XL 250 for learning wheelies and causing trouble, an 83 Yamaha XJ 550 cafe racer, my daily rider an 04 XL 1200R with some custom fabrication and engine work, and a project bike I'm slowly piecing together.
Many of the old Amen choppers had an electronics box on top of the motor just underneath the carbs but we can see that this has some type of custom box in between the frame instead is that where all of your electrics are now and is this kick only or electric start?
Yeah, its a kick only bike and there is some crazy stuff going on with the wiring. Everything currently works so I don't really want to mess with it but I'll most likely end up rewiring it and possibly switching to an electronic ignition from the points.
Well in closing, what do you plan to do with the bike now? Will you change anything on it or will you just ride it as is?
I'm gonna keep it and ride the hell out of it. There's a few things I'd like to change if I can find the right stuff, like a taller sissy bar and a slightly different head light set up.
Do you have any fun trips planned in 2021 that you'll be riding it on?
Sure do, after my first attempt last year with friends was so rad, I'm gonna make this years CB Run open to anyone that wants to come ride the back roads of northeast Ohio starting in Cleveland and ending at the local biker mecca Geneva on the Lake. The CB stands for the covered bridges were riding thru and the Honda CB choppers me and my buddies ride, but all bikes are welcome. More info to come
The paint and bondo work are original and have the perfect amount of patina to show its age. It's one of my favorite features of the bike.
So what did you have to do to the bike once you got it did it need any fab work or motor work, etc?
While the bike was running when I got it, after a quick safety check, it needed a through once over before riding it. I did all the things you would expect on a old barn find chopper...replaced/adjusted breaks, cleaned and rebuilt what was needed in the carbs, oil change, added some fuses to the wiring, checked the tires for dry rot and a few other miscellaneous things. Then some minor changes and fabrication were needed. Started by replacing the rear rim and switching from a 17" front rim to a 21". The foot controls were extremely wonky and had to be reworked and mounted properly. I needed to have a custom backing plate made for the KZ bread box air cleaner to better fit my CB. A few minor adjustments to the kick stand and exhaust were necessary. Also added a spring chain tensioner after a throwing the chain while highway cruising at 60 mph on one of the many shake down rides.
Did you add anything on to the bike when you got it, such as a seat or a Sissy bar anything else or was it mostly all original when you got it?
The bigger front rim and a new seat are the only things I changed for this first season of riding.
What is a couple of your favorite parts about the bike?
Pretty much everything about the bike. I really like the idea that the original builder had and didn't want to change that much, just enough to add a little bit of my personality to it. Obviously the plunger frame is such a unique chopper item that I've been interested in since the first time I saw one. I also own a big twin plunger frame for a shovelhead or early evo and I've been collecting parts for a few years now with big plans of building something one day.
What drew you to this bike in general and is this one of your 1st vintage Japanese choppers?
I'm into all kinds of motorcycles, this is my second CB chopper, the first was in a hardtail Amen frame that I sold to a friend in order to pick up this bike. Here in Cleveland I have a bunch of buddies that own or have built unbelievable custom CB choppers. The look of Japanese choppers are so unique and they sound insane, especially with multiple bikes riding together. I also have a few other bikes in different styles...an 82 Honda XL 250 for learning wheelies and causing trouble, an 83 Yamaha XJ 550 cafe racer, my daily rider an 04 XL 1200R with some custom fabrication and engine work, and a project bike I'm slowly piecing together.
Many of the old Amen choppers had an electronics box on top of the motor just underneath the carbs but we can see that this has some type of custom box in between the frame instead is that where all of your electrics are now and is this kick only or electric start?
Yeah, its a kick only bike and there is some crazy stuff going on with the wiring. Everything currently works so I don't really want to mess with it but I'll most likely end up rewiring it and possibly switching to an electronic ignition from the points.
Well in closing, what do you plan to do with the bike now? Will you change anything on it or will you just ride it as is?
I'm gonna keep it and ride the hell out of it. There's a few things I'd like to change if I can find the right stuff, like a taller sissy bar and a slightly different head light set up.
Do you have any fun trips planned in 2021 that you'll be riding it on?
Sure do, after my first attempt last year with friends was so rad, I'm gonna make this years CB Run open to anyone that wants to come ride the back roads of northeast Ohio starting in Cleveland and ending at the local biker mecca Geneva on the Lake. The CB stands for the covered bridges were riding thru and the Honda CB choppers me and my buddies ride, but all bikes are welcome. More info to come
Well we cant thank you enough for letting us share this awesome bike with everyone.
Photos and words by Mike Vandegriff