My First 1974 cb450: Tabasco! [SOLD! "FIGHTER" THREAD UP!]

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!

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

It looks like you got a great deal. I think you will be happy with your purchase and you will learn a lot from this bike. I like the idea of getting it running before you do anything else. good luck.

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

Welcome and good luck with your project. I'm just getting started on a '71 CB450. It is also my first motorcycle and project like this. Other than a scooter I built up last summer. A mini motorcycle I guess. ha ha. I can tell you I also had trouble getting the thing on the center stand the first couple times. With the seat off it makes it easier to lift up on the brace that connects the two sides of the frame together. I'll keep an eye on your thread to see how things are going. I need to get some pics taken tomorrow of the few things I've done to at least update my build thread.

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

Thanks guys! I'm looking forward to working on this bike as soon as more funds come in. I'm currently trying to save right now for Valentine's Day for my gf . I should practice getting the thing on the center stand at least.

CThor, I'm going to check out your build right now. Keep me updated!

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

great deal on that bike, i have a 74', and 2 71s, they keep breeding, great bikes they got quite a roar,

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

Nice!

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

Thanks again guys!
Another thing I forgot to mention, the seat lock doesn't work. In place of it, the owner before me made a makeshift latch and hinge mechanism, it works well, but I also want to replace this. I'll be posting a lot of pictures as I work on the bike as well. Keep checking back!

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

My build thread only consists of a pic of it in the back of my truck. lol Since then I've removed the tank and seat. I just got my new seat and finished removing tabs and grinding yesterday. While you're waiting for more funds I'm sure you could do some general clean up and rust removal fairly inexpensively.

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

goodfornothing said:

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!

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Push down on the center stand, and don't try and pull on the back. Hold the grab bar at the rear to keep it steady, and force all your weight on the stand to lever it up. Takes a bit of finesse, and practice.

How long has it been sitting? Dump that old oil & change it. Hopefully there isn't any old gas in the carbs, because they could be varnished up pretty bad if it's been sitting for a few years.

After electrolysis, the tank will flash rust pretty quick. Might want to coat it with Por15 or a similar product (last thing you want is rust in the carbs.)

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

matt365 said:

Push down on the center stand, and don't try and pull on the back. Hold the grab bar at the rear to keep it steady, and force all your weight on the stand to lever it up. Takes a bit of finesse, and practice.

How long has it been sitting? Dump that old oil & change it. Hopefully there isn't any old gas in the carbs, because they could be varnished up pretty bad if it's been sitting for a few years.

After electrolysis, the tank will flash rust pretty quick. Might want to coat it with Por15 or a similar product (last thing you want is rust in the carbs.)

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! When my friend and I tried putting it on the center stand, we were only pulling from the back lol.

The scary part about the bike is that it's been sitting for about 9 years. Yikes! There's still a wee little gas in the tank, which I'm sure caused the rust. I don't think the carbs are going to be any prettier either. It'll most likely need a rebuild and the fuel lines will need to be changed. I've read on Beli's build that he used Red-Kote in the tank and I was thinking of using a similar product.

I'm waiting to do everything fuel related (tank, carbs and petcock) at the same time before trying to get it started again. For now, I'm going to change the oil and clean/strip some parts.

I have a question, after doing electrolysis, where would I dump the rust tainted water?

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

welcome, tis a fine find there, and a good price too

first off get a manual, i have a 1972 cb450 and that was one of the first things i bought after buying the bike,i got a clymer manual from ebay for less than $30 shipped, i would suggest new coils and new spark plugs too, at least new spark plugs, preferably ngk plugs

does your bike not have the side stand ? if it does have a side stand than it is a hell of a lot easier to use, i weigh around 120 ish and i cant even think about putting my 450 on the center stand the bike is a bit easier to work on when it is on the center stand though

check out your local advanced auto parts for motorcycle batteries, i just bought one from them for less about $35 and i am going to put it under my bump stop

a company called por15 makes cleaner and sealer for motorcycle tanks, i have heard very good reviews about there products, i have some stuff to clean and coat my old gas tanks from my land rover, and the cleaner has worked great, but i have not had good enough weather to seal the tanks yet, it has to be above 70 degrees to seal the tanks

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

I happened to get a Clymer manual with the bike. I do have the side stand, but for the sake of the center stand, I want to learn how to use it. Like you said it's easier to work on the bike when it's on the center stand.

I was able to shift my bike to 3rd or 4th I think. The problem with it is that it's loose. I learned when shifting up, the lever needs to go back to midpoint before shifting to the next gear. I'm glad that worked out .

I'll give you guys an update this coming week. I start spring semester tomorrow so hopefully I'll have time to start tearing at the bike.

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

Hey guys I have a question:

When I bought the bike, I took the old battery with me anyway. As I said before, the bike's been sitting for 9 years so I'm pretty sure the battery is just as old. If I buy a battery soon I might have to buy a battery maintainer as well because it might take some time to get the bike back running. So I was wondering if I can jump the old motorcycle battery using my car battery (car off of course) just to check if the lights, horn, starter, and spark plugs work. Would I be able to do this and how?

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

It'll still be a 12 volt system, so you can just hook it up to a car battery with some jumper cables and it should at least turn over, don't do it from a running car though.

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

Centerstand - 75% technique and 25% power. I find it hard to explain but it's more about pushing down on the stand than pulling up on the bike.

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

matt365 said:

It'll still be a 12 volt system, so you can just hook it up to a car battery with some jumper cables and it should at least turn over, don't do it from a running car though.

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Would I just hook it up like I was jumping a dead car battery?

Anyone know an answer to my question about dumping rust tained water?

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

My current bike doesn't have a center stand, but if I remember right from my old CB400, you kind of have to roll the bike backwards a little bit to give it some momentum to pop up on the centerstand. I would push down on the centerstand with my foot and pull backwards with my right hand, holding it steady with my left hand on the bars. It takes some practice to do it without feeling like it is going to fall over.


I cleaned my tank out with CLR from the hardware store then coated it with WD-40 to keep it from flash rusting. Worked better than I expected.


The shifter is loose? There is a spring in the mechanism that returns it to the "midpoint"

Yes, just jump it like you jump a car.

You should be able to dump the water from the electrolysis down the drain. I don't think iron oxide (rust) is an environmental contaminant. Also, there really shouldn't be any rust in the water. I think it all gets redeposited on the anode. What is the stuff you have to put in the water though? Baking soda or something? It should be fine.

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

I tried hooking up the old battery to my car battery to see if the lights would go on but no luck. The battery is 9 years old so that explains it. But it was worth a try. I tightened the shifter but it's still having trouble going through all gears. I want to start on the bike already but my funds are saying no right now lol.

I plan to PB blast all bolts and nuts then replace the one's that look like they're almost stripped. But I just want to get the thing running!

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

You tried to do what? Charge the bike battery from your car? Just jump your bike like you would jump a car. Get some jumper cables and hook the positive to positive and negative to negative. Most people will tell you to connect the good negative to the bike frame, but that's really just so you don't ignite some battery fumes which I don't really think is possible anyway.

Once you've hooked the bike to the car battery with the jumper cables, the condition of the bike battery doesn't matter, it should be running off of the car battery. You could actually take the bike batt out and just connect the jumper cable to the battery leads on the bike and it would still work because you've simply replaced the bike batt with the car batt. If it still doesn't work, it is the bike (although the battery is probably bad).

When I bought my bike, I talked the guy down $300 because it wouldn't start when I came to look at it. I took it home, put some new plugs in ($8) and jumped it from my car and it fired right up.

Re: My First 1974 cb450: Cafe Project!

I'm going to try it again. Here's what I did: Positive terminal jumper cable on dead connected motorcycle battery to Pos terminal to car batter, Neg Terminal to car battery to Neg Terminal of dead grounded motorcycle battery terminal. I switched the car to on, then turned the motorcycle ignition key and the lights didn't go on. Nothing. I have a feeling there's something wrong with the bike and it's not a battery issue.

Any idea?

Flugtechnik said:

You tried to do what? Charge the bike battery from your car? Just jump your bike like you would jump a car. Get some jumper cables and hook the positive to positive and negative to negative. Most people will tell you to connect the good negative to the bike frame, but that's really just so you don't ignite some battery fumes which I don't really think is possible anyway.

Once you've hooked the bike to the car battery with the jumper cables, the condition of the bike battery doesn't matter, it should be running off of the car battery. You could actually take the bike batt out and just connect the jumper cable to the battery leads on the bike and it would still work because you've simply replaced the bike batt with the car batt. If it still doesn't work, it is the bike (although the battery is probably bad).

When I bought my bike, I talked the guy down $300 because it wouldn't start when I came to look at it. I took it home, put some new plugs in ($8) and jumped it from my car and it fired right up.

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