goodfornothing
Spicey!
Hey there guys and girls!
Since this is my first post, I'll introduce myself. My name is Adam and I'm currently 19 years old. I'm a college student so hopefully I'll have time to work on this beast. I'm basically a motorcycle virgin; first motorcycle and first time doing this. I don't have my motorcycle license yet, but I plan to take the MSF course and get my license as soon as I get this bike running. I used to be into cars but it got old. I've always wanted a bike before and was planning on getting a Honda Shadow VLX, however I found this forum and gained a lot more knowledge about cafe racers. Love at first sight? Maybe.
Here's a little info about the bike: It's a 1974 Honda cb450. I found it on craigslist last week and officially bought it yesterday, February 7th, 2009. It has about 17k miles on it with a clean title, which will be under my name this Tuesday . It was previously registered in 2000 and still has the original plate. Awesome! I got for $300 and the guy was a great seller. Very polite as well. So my buddy and I went over to Inglewood at 8:30, miraculously figured a way to load the bike onto his truck using 3 planks of wood we found in an alley and headed home. My first impression of the bike, "This thing is HUGE!" It's quite heavy as well. My friend calls it a beast lol. He's a little shorter than I am, and when he sits on it, he looks little haha. I never expected it to be that big. I'm always amused when things turn out to be different than when you expect them. Kind of like a blind date.
I took some pictures using my sidekick. Here's one of the bike loaded on the truck.
And sitting in my garage.
Here's a couple of pictures that the guy sent me.
As you can see, the tank has a lot of rust in it. The bike was in decent condition: Has the usual rust, but it's currently not running. The bike kicks all the way through, so the engine isn't seized. The guy told me that the bike has been accidentally dropped twice on it's left side, hence the dent on the tank, which his father bondo'd, bent left turn signal, and bent/loose shift lever. The battery was dead as well, so no way of checking the turn signals or headlight. Or horn. Honk honk.
Here are a few issues with the bike that I know of in its current state:
- Rust, although not much, it's still rust.
- Petcock leak
- The gearshift lever is loose and bent. It can be shifted into first, neutral, and second, but it seems like it can't go past that. I vaguely remember getting to up shift more though. Anyone know what's up or what I can do?
- Bent pieces that will most likely be replaced.
I've been greatly inspired by Beli's build. So here are my plans:
- Get the bike running first and foremost. I'll start out with rebuilding the petcock then I'll do some carb cleaning.
- Tank rust removal using electrolysis. Stripped, knee indents, bondo'd and then painted. I'll do this the same time I rebuild the petcock.
- Fabricate a seat just like Beli did.
- Clubman bars
- Chop the front fender and either chop the rear or get rid of it
- I'm not sure if I feel confident enough to strip the whole bike down and totally clean it up. I don't want to do a half-assed job either, so in the end I'll probably strip it down, clean and repaint the frame and bits and pieces. I'll need your guys' help and encouragement along the way.
Those are my plans for now. But first I have to save up and buy a battery haha. I was thinking about getting one from Walmart for $35 haha. I'm very giddy about this project. It's going to be such a great learning experience and I'll get to learn a lot about the bike before I start riding it. I'm looking forward to getting to know you guys/gals as well.
I have another embarassing/newb thing to share with you. Since the bike is friggin' heavy, my friend and I had trouble getting it on the centerstand. We had success at the 5th attempt. Is there like a certain technique to it? Or am I not eating enough spinach?
God Bless!
Since this is my first post, I'll introduce myself. My name is Adam and I'm currently 19 years old. I'm a college student so hopefully I'll have time to work on this beast. I'm basically a motorcycle virgin; first motorcycle and first time doing this. I don't have my motorcycle license yet, but I plan to take the MSF course and get my license as soon as I get this bike running. I used to be into cars but it got old. I've always wanted a bike before and was planning on getting a Honda Shadow VLX, however I found this forum and gained a lot more knowledge about cafe racers. Love at first sight? Maybe.
Here's a little info about the bike: It's a 1974 Honda cb450. I found it on craigslist last week and officially bought it yesterday, February 7th, 2009. It has about 17k miles on it with a clean title, which will be under my name this Tuesday . It was previously registered in 2000 and still has the original plate. Awesome! I got for $300 and the guy was a great seller. Very polite as well. So my buddy and I went over to Inglewood at 8:30, miraculously figured a way to load the bike onto his truck using 3 planks of wood we found in an alley and headed home. My first impression of the bike, "This thing is HUGE!" It's quite heavy as well. My friend calls it a beast lol. He's a little shorter than I am, and when he sits on it, he looks little haha. I never expected it to be that big. I'm always amused when things turn out to be different than when you expect them. Kind of like a blind date.
I took some pictures using my sidekick. Here's one of the bike loaded on the truck.
And sitting in my garage.
Here's a couple of pictures that the guy sent me.
As you can see, the tank has a lot of rust in it. The bike was in decent condition: Has the usual rust, but it's currently not running. The bike kicks all the way through, so the engine isn't seized. The guy told me that the bike has been accidentally dropped twice on it's left side, hence the dent on the tank, which his father bondo'd, bent left turn signal, and bent/loose shift lever. The battery was dead as well, so no way of checking the turn signals or headlight. Or horn. Honk honk.
Here are a few issues with the bike that I know of in its current state:
- Rust, although not much, it's still rust.
- Petcock leak
- The gearshift lever is loose and bent. It can be shifted into first, neutral, and second, but it seems like it can't go past that. I vaguely remember getting to up shift more though. Anyone know what's up or what I can do?
- Bent pieces that will most likely be replaced.
I've been greatly inspired by Beli's build. So here are my plans:
- Get the bike running first and foremost. I'll start out with rebuilding the petcock then I'll do some carb cleaning.
- Tank rust removal using electrolysis. Stripped, knee indents, bondo'd and then painted. I'll do this the same time I rebuild the petcock.
- Fabricate a seat just like Beli did.
- Clubman bars
- Chop the front fender and either chop the rear or get rid of it
- I'm not sure if I feel confident enough to strip the whole bike down and totally clean it up. I don't want to do a half-assed job either, so in the end I'll probably strip it down, clean and repaint the frame and bits and pieces. I'll need your guys' help and encouragement along the way.
Those are my plans for now. But first I have to save up and buy a battery haha. I was thinking about getting one from Walmart for $35 haha. I'm very giddy about this project. It's going to be such a great learning experience and I'll get to learn a lot about the bike before I start riding it. I'm looking forward to getting to know you guys/gals as well.
I have another embarassing/newb thing to share with you. Since the bike is friggin' heavy, my friend and I had trouble getting it on the centerstand. We had success at the 5th attempt. Is there like a certain technique to it? Or am I not eating enough spinach?
God Bless!