1970 CB450 - Newcastle, Australia

duds_dudson

New Member
Righto!!!!

So i finally up and bought myself a little slice of nice that I am intending to do a resto/custom job on. I'm Andrew and i live in Newcastle, Australia. Which is a little ways north of Sydney for all you readers from over seas. I've been wanting to get myself an older Honda for years, but have been living out in the sticks where there is little help for the novice restorer. Since moving down here to the city, i've been really blown away by the motorcycle scene here. There's a lot of pretty skilled workers around town that seem to get whatever job done at a pretty good price. I was getting a little bit bored of the more modern bikes that i couldn't really tinker with all that much, so i up and sold my 2003 Triumph Sprint ST 955i and went on the lookout for something a little less reliable........if that makes any sense. To be honest, i almost ended up buying myself a 2010 Honda VT750S that i was going to turn into some sort of mean street tracker. It would have been a reasonably safe bet, but really wouldn't have had a lot of 'soul' about it though. At the 11th hour, i stumbled across a little bike dealer on the web called Central Motorcycles; based out of Melbourne. They specialize in US imports and if you are looking for a new project for yourself, i really couldn't recommend them higher. They delivered my bike to the door within a couple of weeks and they really helped out when i was deciding.....check them out!!! http://www.centralmotorcycles.com.au/
 

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So.... the bike!!!!

It's a 1970 CB450 K3 that was imported to Australia from the US in September. I have next to no history on it unfortunately. There is an old rego sticker on it from the 70's from Georgia, but apart from that there's basically no info on it. If there are any people reading this from the US, do you have any way of tracking old vin numbers or anything like that? I would really like to work out where this thing came from and how it came to be in such good nick...... So condition wise, it's all original. The inside of the tank is basically like new. The paint work has a few marks in it, but is in really good original condition. This 'Candy-Gold' colour was known for fading over time and being particularly bad around chemicals, but i'm guessing that it has been in a shed for some years, or maybe under a cover?????? who knows???? But it is in stunning condition and that's all i care about.
 

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photos
 

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more photos
 

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Here's that Georgia rego sticker......it's slightly out of date now....
 

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So the arrival was a few weeks ago now and i've been pretty busy trying to get it up to scratch and registered.

To date, the engine seems to be in 100% working order and sounds fantastic! The only thing ive really had to do to it was give it a wet sand back and buff it up so that now it sparkles real purty like......
I sourced some pretty cheap tyres from Motorcycle Tyre Warehouse down in Melbourne. So it's running Dunlop K70 in front and Dunlop TT100GP in the rear. I found it next to impossible to get a matching pair of tyres to suit let alone a pair of tubed tyres. It it's running that GP Tubeless tyre in the rear, but it seems to be pretty much spot on. $250 for that pair including shipping which i thought was pretty spot on.......and they came with lollies.......always a bonus...here's their ebay website - http://stores.ebay.com.au/Motorcycle-Tyre-Warehouse
I had it in at Wickham Motorcycle co who pulled apart the carbs, cleaned them and stick them all back together. When it arrived, it was only revving at 500 at idle and was totally out of kilter. It runs basically like new now. The guys in there were pretty surprised by just how good condition it's in mechanically.
Apart from that, it's just been a lesson in rust removal. There's only one or two spots on it where it's bad though. The inside of the mufflers were basically black, but the chrome was so thick that i could attack them with a steel brush so that they came up to scratch pretty quick. The other rusty area was the connector tube between the two air boxes, which i've read is particularly prone. It's in a bastard spot to reach as well. I've hit it a few times with rust killer and it seems to be doing the trick quite nicely.

Other than that, the tasks have just been ordering in new bits and pieces from the US. I've found that if i try and source my parts from only one or two ebay shops that i'm saving hundreds of dollars off the freight.
the most important bits coming are front pads, rear shoes, new chain, clutch and throttle cables and new shocks. I also have a few other pieces such as the little rubber for the kick starter, a few indicator lenses, acorn nuts, fuel tank seal and mount on the way. Stuff like new mirrors and new fork gators were added by central motorcycles before i purchased it.
I'm so surprised by just how cheap all these bits are and that they are all still available...brand new!

The only thing i'm having trouble with (and which i was going to ask everybody's opinion of) is the rear sprocket. They stopped making the original in the 80's and it looks like everybody has run out of the one they brought in to replace it.........so i'm left kind of high and dry it seems. It's a 35 tooth sprocket which isn't all that common...and that's the problem. The one that's on there isn't too bad, but i would prefer to just replace it seeing that i'm replacing the chain too. The plan right now is to order in a JT sprocket from an 80's honda CM400 and machine out the internal diameter from 70mm to 74mm. The mounting holes look to be about the same, it's just that internal diameter on the CB450 that stuffs it. Has anyone else on here had any experience with these? I'll post a couple of pics. One of my sprocket and a diagram of the CM400 sprocket.

I'll write up another post when the parts start to come in!
 

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Nice bike! Looks to be a heck of a lot better starting place than mine was that is the color I want too. :mad:

35 tooth? As far as I know stock rear sprocket should be a 36 tooth and just looking on ebay there are at least 10 pages of US venders that sell them. People did change gear ratios on them because they tended to vibrate right at the RPM that you would cruise 65-70 mph at.

On my bike I kept the stock rear count and changed the front sprocket to a 17. Drops RPM out of that area at cruising speeds and technically makes it a 130 mph bike if it could get there.

I have the k70's front and rear on mine, went with a 4" rear instead of the 3.75" think that is factory. Works absolutely fine makes for a great matched set. I like them and will be buying them again.

A little info, you have the model before mine, which aside from the air cleaner covers, are pretty much identical. Any 69-71 450 should be pretty much the same as yours mechanically. They actually share a lot in common with the 750 bikes, the front ends are direct swaps for instance.

I have loads of digital information and pdf shop manuals if you need or want anything just PM me and I'll see you a download link.
 
Hi mate. Yeah next time i get tyres i'll try out the 4.00 K70 in the rear......i was eyeing that one off to be honest, but in the end i thought i'd just play it safe and get the GT.

The 1970 model all came with 35 tooth rear sprockets (from my research at least, and i stress that i am a novice). It sounds really weird i know, not many kicking around with 35. That photo of mine there you can see down the bottom (upside down) it has 35 written on it. I'm pretty sure this one is original and from the looks of it, it hasn't done all that much work......
Here's the part on CMS
http://www.cmsnl.com/honda-cb450-super-sport-450-k3-usa_model451/41200346000-sprocket-35t_41201283000/#.UmmGwvmmiSo

..but if i'm changing up the chain, i'd better change the sprockets too. From what i've read, new chains on old sprockets don't tend to last as long.
I'm now on the hunt for that 36 tooth rear sprocket.......but it looks like most of them are either too narrow on the internal diameter or have the wrong bolt hole configuration.......i'll keep hunting. With your 17 tooth front sprocket, how do you find you go around town? Is it a little slow on the take off? so you have a 17-36 config yeah? At the moment my bike has a 15-35. I was thinking of doing a 16-35....but haven't really been able to find any info about anyone else who has done it.

Mate, i will definitely PM you about those PDF manuals...i need all the help i can get.....lol
 
I will get those file links to you here in a few I have to make sure the machine they should be on still has them. I have my own little web server space since I work for an internet provider. ;D

I know there were a lot variations between many of the models as far as some of the specs. I do know that from 71 to 74 the sprockets were 16-36. Common mod even back in the day was to take the front to a 17. Yes its a little slower on take off but I've never really noticed it. I live way out in the sticks and very rarely see any continuous below 45 mph riding except for the first and last 2 minutes of my rides. Even the 16-36 should be much easier to find than the 15-35 combo.

I'm pretty sure I got the sprockets off ebay, which I know with shipping might be a little much from the US for you but you should be able to cross reference part numbers with some of these and find what you need.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=honda+cb+450+sprocket+71&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.Xhonda+cb+450+sprocket+70&_nkw=honda+cb+450+sprocket+70&_sacat=0

As far as chains, I go to my local farm store and buy #50-1 roller chain in 10 foot lengths. I can get 2 chains out of it for the price of one from the MC store and its pretty much the same stuff.

Search the venders here as well, there is a fellow, forget who exactly, that makes specialty chain/sprocket kits. Uses the narrower sprockets and o-ring chains.
 
GAH!!!! Thanks for that eBay link mate! Those results weren't popping up on eBay Australia.....even when i put up 'Worldwide" on the search parameters....... I reckon i'll look into a 16-36 ratio....

These guys are looking the best bet for parts! http://stores.ebay.com/Lytle-Racing-Group
 
So this is a pic of the sprocket those ebay stores think will fit my bike.......but from the looks of it, all the bolt holes seem to be in the wrong place. None line up directly opposite from another, so i doubt that it's going to fit......here's a pic.....thoughts?
 

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today's efforts ......before
 

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