Vintage motorcycle restoration guides
Every IronHead guide, grouped by brand.
Vintage motorcycle restoration guides for every IronHead catalog model — 12 brand sections, 49 model-specific restoration docs with sequenced teardown procedures, factory tolerances, model-year deltas, and a printable PDF for the bench.
Tools for first-time restorers
Ask the Mechanic
Questions grounded in factory tolerances.
Every guide ships an interactive mechanic Q&A grounded in the per-model restoration excerpt — tolerances, wiring, tool specs, and procedure order, so a first-timer can sanity-check their plan before touching a spanner.
Ask the Mechanic on the CB750 guide →Research methodology
How we source and verify every guide.
Our published framework documents the primary sources, four-axis scoring rubric, torque-spec provenance, and quarterly re-verification behind every restoration guide in the catalog.
Read the methodology →Next models
Help us decide what to publish next.
Browse the ranked shortlist of candidate models under consideration, read the demand case for each, and register your interest — the next guide added to the catalog is shaped by who shows up here.
See the candidate models →Every pillar guide
Verticals
Browse by engine family instead of brand — seven verticals (Japanese UJM, British parallel-twin, American big-twin, BMW Airhead, Indian Scout/Chief, Ducati bevel-drive, Norton Commando) covering 47 model guides.
View verticals →Ducati bevel-drive pillar
Brand-vertical pillar for the late-1960s / early-1970s 750 GT / 750 GTS / 750SS / 860 GT / 900 SS widecase era. Factory bevel geometry (88713.0110, 0.10-0.20 mm backlash; 88713.0115, 5-7 mm cam-belt tension), shim-under-bucket valve-clearance procedure, Bologna concours assembly sequence, 1977 12 V polarity-pivot wiring, model history timeline, and parts + tools checklist.
View verticals →Honda CB550 K-series pillar
Brand-vertical pillar for the 1974-1978 Honda CB550 (572cc SOHC inline-four) K0 / K1 / K2 / K3 / K4 family. Factory geometry (SOHC shim-under-bucket + blade cam-chain tensioner 6-8 mm deflection, Honda 14500-428-005 spec), valve-train service procedure + pitfalls, diagnostics flow (cold tick / hot tick / F-mark timing / points dwell / charging rail / oil pressure), K0-K4 year-by-year differences including the K1 (1975) disc-brake transition and the K3 (1977) front-left frame lug harness chafe, wiring-diagram architecture covering the K0-K4 cross-era, and a printable PDF.
View verticals →Honda CB400F Super Sport pillar
Brand-vertical pillar for the 1975-1977 Honda CB400F (408cc SOHC inline-four Super Sport) 400/1 / 400/2 / 400/2 family. Factory geometry (SOHC shim-under-bucket + manual cam-chain tensioner 5-7 mm slack, Honda 14550-422-006 spec; NOT the CB550/CB750 blade-style), valve-train service procedure + pitfalls, diagnostics flow (cold tick / hot tick / F-mark timing 10-14 deg / points dwell 53-57 / charging rail / oil pressure), 400/1 vs 400/2 year-by-year differences including the 400/2 (1976) frame webbing update + bracket-mount points plate swap, the 400/2 (1977) final-year dialed-in spec band, Honda's first 6-speed gearbox in the SOHC-4 line (2.307 / 1.667 / 1.333 / 1.111 / 0.961 / 0.852), Keihin CV 30 mm main 98 / pilot 38 jetting + +/-1.5 cmHg sync tables, wiring-diagram architecture covering the 400/1 + 400/2 cross-era, and a printable PDF.
View verticals →Look up a part, jump straight to its guide section.
Search by part name (e.g. points condenser) or OEM number (e.g.750GT stator,Ducati 73740.900) and we'll deep-link to the matching guide.
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