1970 Honda CB450 K3 - Grey Ghost Build

[manualofman]

Greetings hooligans. I'm here to start my build log thread and catch you all up on the current work I've done since starting this build 2 weeks ago. I started documenting the build on my blog, so I'm going to copy and paste several sections here just so I can get caught up quicker.

Background:

I’ve had the itch to pick up an old Honda again for several months now. That itch finally got scratched thanks to my good friend Scottie.

During college, I bought a 1976 Honda CB750k6 off eBay for about $500. It was going to be a summer project/straight-up restoration. The eBay listing described the bike in rough shape: it wouldn’t run, or turnover. After I brought it home, all I did was change the battery, spark plugs, and chain and the sucker roared to life. Talk about a quick project. I rode the bike around during the summer and the summer after that. I never got it registered, inspected, or even got my motorcycle license. Don’t tell anyone.

About a year later my friend Scottie picked up a CB450 that he rode for awhile. He found it to be a little too small for him, and since my 750 was pretty much just taking up space in the garage, I sold it to him for the price that I bought it for plus the cost of the maintenance items. I had lost the itch for riding it or doing any further work on it because I lost interest in restoring it and there wasn’t much of a scene for building a cafe racer. But that’s all different now.

I started getting the itch to get a bike again when several of my friends got new bikes last summer. It turned into a blood lust over the winter when I caught an episode of Cafe Racer TV on Velocity. I didn’t realize how big a scene the cafe style had become. I started trolling hondatwins.net, dotheton.com, and subscribing to blogs like motomucci.com and returnofthecaferacer.com.

So, I knew I wanted another Honda CB. What I didn’t know is how much the prices had skyrocketed since 2005. Finding a fully restored and running CB back then would run you about $1,000. Now, people are posting junkers and basket cases for $600 and up! I spent about a month and half checking Craigslist every day. I had all but given up hope of sneaking a sub-$500 bike into the garage, when I found out my buddy still had this 450 sitting in his parent’s garage. My old 750 was with him at his new place in another state, patiently awaiting for him to find time to convert it over (which he’s planning to do).

So I found out he still had the bike on Friday night over pizza and beers. It was at my house within 24 hours.

So today begins my newest ADHD-therapy turning this slugger into a cafe racer:



This bike has a lot going for it and a lot that’s not. In my friend’s defense, this bike is unchanged from the state he purchased it, aside from performing maintenance and putting a new rear tire on it.

To start, the sissy bar and locker-style airfilter boxes had to go. I also removed the battery, both to inspect it and see how the center would look opened up in the future. That made the bike 50% more visually appealing. Here it is after an hour:



The front forks look like they are +/- 4 too long. I don’t know yet if these are the stock forks that were somehow modified or swapped from a different bike or some aftermarket jobber. Either way, it looks terrible and I’m sure is affecting the ride. Both my friends who have ridden it say that it rides a little rough or that something’s wrong with the front wheel. I’m guessing its the absurd rake.  As you can see, basically its just the front tubes that got longer. The triple tree and neck weren’t changed, therefore the whole bike is leaning back. My friend said the bike would also run rough when throttling back, which is probably the angle messing with the carb’s vacuum and fuel mixture.

Leveling this bike is one of my top priorities to get it running properly again. That and checking if I need a new battery or not.

[manualofman]

I’ve had the bike for about 4 days and have begun evaluating and determining my design plans. The problems and concerns have already begun arising so I’m trying to makes heads and tails of my priorities.


Here are my current obstacles and my options or pipedreams.


Front Fork

As I mentioned in my first post on the bike, the front fork tubes are extended to what I believe is +8″ over stock. The tubes are in great condition, good chrome, no pitting around the travel area, and some slight surface rust up near the triple trees. But the raked out front end is the opposite look I’m going for, so these need to go.

I have several options in this matter. I could look out for a decent condition stock fork to pop up on the classifieds or ebay. I run the risk of getting a fork that’s in pitted or doesn’t seal, and am at the mercy of waiting around for one to just show up. Brand new fork tubes go for $150+, most are closer to $250. That’s a big hit to the budget for just new tubes.

My second option is pulling the tubes out to get them cut and machined down to stock specs. I reached out to Forking By Frank. Unfortunately, he’s not producing these specific forks at present, but would cut them down for $40 + return shipping. I’m reaching out to local machine shops to see if I can do this locally and avoid additional shipping fees, but ill need to find a shop that is experienced with doing this. This is likely my best option if I want to get the bike up and running as soon as possible.

My third option, which would be both aesthetically pleasing but anally paining, is swapping the entire front end for a modern upside down (USD) fork. Its something I want to do, but maybe not up front.

Battery
The battery on the bike is pretty dry. I’ve pulled it so I just need to try topping it up with some distilled water and hook it up to the trickle charger. If it starts, I’m okay for the time being. However, its a big battery and ill be hard pressed to hide it if I want to open up the middle section of the bike for that look. If the battery is dead, I can move forward with buying a smaller form factor battery – making sure it still has the 12v/12amp capability that I believe this bike needs to run all the lights and starter.
I can also consider going to kickstart only, but would still need to run all the lights, which I don’t know if a Battery Eliminator kit can do.

Engine
I plan to pull the engine apart and inspect it. But before I do this, I need to change the oil and start her up with a battery to see what I’m working with. The bike has sat for two years but ran well before then. I run the risk of doing something severe or doing nothing at all. I’m debating which approach to take here.

After that, there’s an indeterminate time that will be spent inside the engine. Inspecting and replacing pistons, seals, and gaskets. The same will need to be done for the carbs. I will also buy new pod air filters and rid the bike of those bulky airboxes.

After all the necessary work done inside the engine, I have the option of polishing and painting the exterior. If ill have it apart, I might as well do it then. That’s additional time and money for polishing compounds (I’ll use a friends bench wheel). There’s also engine paint. Time needed is predicated on how fancy I want to go.

Tank

The right side of the tank has a major dent in it from being dropped. Its bad enough that paint is cracked. Otherwise, the tank is in good condition. I pulled it off the other night and inspected it for internal rust. None. This is good.
I can see if the tank can be repaired, whether by pulling the dent or having it cut and redone. Either way, it will require being repainted. Since I’m going to do a different color scheme, ill need to have that planned and have it painted to that.
My other option is to spend the cash on a new tank, which can be a new design. I have the option of going with a more expensive cafe racer style tank from DCC or the like, or finding a stock CB tank. Tanks go for upwards of a 100 dollars, more and I can also do a cafe tank and seat combo. Which brings me to my next issue:

Seat
I already pulled the sissy bar, that made a big difference. But the stock seat is straight up ugly. I can try pulling the leather, cutting down the foam and have it reupholstered. I want to go with a flat double seat, with possibly a removable cafe style cowl. This will maintain the look while riding solo but give me the chance to ride around with my girlfriend on certain days.

There are a lot of options here, and I haven’t devoted much time here yet since its not a high priority.


So those are the things I’m running with at the time being. There are a few odd setbacks that I’ve come across, but that’s mainly due to my own tool and equipment selection, one of which being getting a hold of a jack and jack stand to put the bike on. I’ve got it on the center stand right now, but I need to prop up the front end if I want to get the wheel, brakes, and front fork tubes out for servicing!

[manualofman]

Looks like the build just got extended. I borrowed a compression gauge from a buddy last night (he’s cafe’ing out his CL360), I found that I’ve got low compression and had a rat's nest in the left muffler (seeds all in the baffles). I still haven't traced back into the header yet, but shining a light in there, it doesnt appear they went much further.


http://www.youtube.com/embed/5UYBTAbrM6A


Compression read 135 in the left, 150 on the right. That's without dropping oil down the cylinder, but just prepping it with a few kicks.

[manualofman]

Tank, battery, and (since taking this photo) the carbs and exhaust mufflers are off.

Fork tubes are being sent out to Forking by Frank to be cut and re-machined down to stock spec.

In the mail are: new fork seals (eBay), Emgo pod air filters (Amazon), and 2 Keyster carb rebuild kits (Outwest Motorcycles).

I’m going to retest compression again after I drop some MMR down the tubes later on.

While the forks are out and the carb kits are coming in, I’m planning on sorting out this battery situation. The cells were dry in the battery when I took the bike. It had been sitting for two years, so I’m not surprised its dead and dry. What sucks is that my buddy had replaced this battery. I topped it off with some RO water (it helps working in a lab) and trickle charged it overnight. It runs the headlights but when I go to start the engine, I just hear a click in the rectifier. Before I make any conclusions, I’m going to test the voltage on the battery with a multimeter at work and go from there. Most likely the battery is shot, and I can move forward with replacing it.

Here’s a helpful tip for topping off batteries. I realized I didn’t have a funnel small enough to fit the pour holes on the top of the battery. I decided to use a plastic straw and just drawing liquid and plugging the top with my finger. Reminds me of when I used to drink soda like that as a kid.



When replacing the battery, I can either go cheap and stock and buy a big 12v 12ah battery for $50ish bucks. Or I can go expensive and drop $130 on a Shorai. It would make it much easier to hide, either under the seat pan or down low beneath the air filters. Decisions, decisions.

I’m also going to take a stab at fixing this tank. If I mess up, I’ll need to get a new tank. If I don’t try, I’ll still need to get a new tank. So why not, right? My plans are:

Strip the tank down to bare metal – I’ve got a jug of CitriStrip leftover from another project, not sure how well this will do on enamel paint, but it would save me from having to buy Aircraft stripper.
    Bondo the sh*t out of the dent – I figure if I lay down a thick enough patch, I can get the shape back that I’m looking for.
    Sand, sand, sand – Sand back the stock lines on the tank (which I like)
    Prime – I’m probably going to use Dupli-Color final, so Dupli-Color primer.
    Paint – Still haven’t decided on paint colors yet.[/li][/list]


This should be fun!

[manualofman]

Removed the rear fender and tail lights last night. Tonight I’ll mark out and cut the fender below the seat!



Last night I also put a coating of Citristrip paint stripper down on the tank. The Citristrip stuff is great but takes quite a bit longer than Aircraft stripper. But it doesn’t give off noxious fumes and has a pleasant orangey smell (don’t go huffing it though). I put it on at about 7pm, and checked it at 7am. The paint is beginning to melt, but not fully. I will check it tonight after work. Citristrip’s formulation makes it a gel, which stays wet up to 24 hours!

[manualofman]

While the tank is getting stripped, I've been thinking more about colors.

I'm calling this build "Grey Ghost" because I was inspired by the color scheme of one of my favorite looking flies for fly fishing... aptly called The Grey Ghost... Plus, the name has a nice ring to it.



I like the use of differing shades of grey, black, and an accent color of orange or yellow. Theres also a bit of flash or chrome on the fly. To me, it would make a sweet scheme.

I also noticed pulling into work the other day, the colors of my VP's 2011 BMW 330i, space grey metallic with coral leather seats. It's exactly the color I was looking for.

I then pinged my cousin studying fashion design out in San Francisco for some color swatches centered around  this grey, incorporating orange as an accent color. She sent me back these swatches and also suggested using maroon. Even better, I've now got a seat color!



I'm thinking the 2nd orange and/or either the 2nd or 3rd maroon/red color.

[manualofman]

Progress has slowed down a bit over the past two weeks while deciding on more parts and waiting for others to come in.

Over the weekend I took a stab at my first carb rebuild. Took em apart, cleaned, scrubbed, inhaled copious amounts of carb cleaner fumes and found out it eats through nitrile gloves pretty damn quick! I also found out that the PO had rejetted the carbs and bumped up to 145's. The stock Keihin's took 138's (as those came with my Keyster kits). Since I upgraded the clunky airboxes to some pod air filters, I decided to leave in the 145's and see how they run.

I buffed the crap out of the carb bodies, caps, and bowls with steel wool. I should've ordered one of those allen head hardware kits from DCC, but I will probably throw them in with another order. I've already ordered over $300 in parts from them already (wish I could get my post count up past 50 so I can get the discount quicker!)

The upgrades I've decided to invest in so far are:
Shorai LiFE PO4 battery (couldn't believe how light it was)
Cat Eye LED Rear Tail Light
Tarozzi Low-rise Clip-ons
New clutch, brake, and speedo cables
Fork seals
Fork dust covers (got these from DCC - Chinese made, hard plastic, I'm not very happy with the fit/quality and will probably return them)
Red fuel lines
Black and clear turn signals

I ordered a rear tail loop from Cafegoose for $60 and also ordered the frame slugs from DCC. Once those come in, it will be time to cut the rear end off and get my buddy to weld that sucker on.

Got a heet of 14g steel from Tractor Supply to start mocking up a seat pan once that's done.

[SloKrt]

Looks like you Have your work cut out for you.  It seems that you are taking the right approach though, making lists, checking them with your priorities, and deciding accordingly.... this is an absolute necessity when funds are low (like all of ours are these days) and goals are high. 

personally I like to do as much work as I can, not just to keep costs down but because to me that is part of the fun. 

Keep up the good work, and great writing.  oh yeah, dont forget the pics!  Ill deffinately be watching to see how this turns out. 
 
Subcribed

[manualofman]

Thanks SloKrt! It's definitely a battle between doing everything right versus just trying to get the bike on the road again!

I got my front fork tubes back from Frank's last week, they were cut down to 22 1/4", the stock length for a K5 front fork. Since my bike is a K3, the PO had put on these later model and the extended forks. I have yet to get them all together and drop the bike down off the stand to check the stance. I'm praying that the ride height is corrected. Mary over at Frank's is one sharp little lady, she was the one that picked up on the fact that these were NOT K3's just from seeing the tubes.

Just fyi, Frank's charged me $40 to cut and remachine the bottoms, plus to and from shipping. All in all, it came to about $75. Not a bad deal if your tubes are in good shape. Turn around time was a week exactly from the post office and back to my front door.

One problem I've run into was when I was trying to reassemble the forks, I've overtightened the bottom damper bolt and can't get it free. From my Clymer's manual it said this bolt needed to be torqued to 47-58 lbs. Does anyone else torque this guy or do they just Loc-tite it? Either way, while I was torquing it, I realized it wasn't stopping. Now, the inside damper just spins with the bolt when I try to loosen it.

I've tried compressing the springs, but the damper rod spins independently from the bottom damper too. I read elsewhere that an impact wrench should do the trick, because the burst of torque will free it? Here's hoping that works when I borrow my buddy's air wrench next week.

[manualofman]

I'm also going to post this in the $50 mods thread, but I came up with a cheap DIY plier tool while changing out my fork seals. I don't know if anyone else has done this, but it worked like a charm, especially when I didn't feel like going out to Home Depot to drop more $ on a plier tool.

You basically cut the head off and smooth out a finishing nail to fit in the two clip eyes. Then bend it 3 times to make a two prong fork looking thing. Insert the two legs in the clip eyes and compress with a pair of pliers. Voila. Goes back in just as easy. I doodled up how I did it because I was on a roll while in the garage.

Hope it helps:

[Ease]

Gotta love garage ingenuity.

[Mr.E]

Looking like a good start so far man. The title of your project caught my attention too. "The grey ghost." I realize it is linked to fly tying and a color scheme, but it jumped out at me because my grandfather served on an LST in world war 2 called the grey ghost. He said it was called that because the captain refused the camouflage paint required for his unit, and kept it grey. As a result, they avoided a lot of grief from shore batteries because they did not stick out like other ships. Throughout the war, the grey ghost was regardedt as a very lucky shipthe by crew and cargo alike. I hope your project bears the same for you man. I love a good 450.

[manualofman]

Looking like a good start so far man. The title of your project caught my attention too. "The grey ghost." I realize it is linked to fly tying and a color scheme, but it jumped out at me because my grandfather served on an LST in world war 2 called the grey ghost. He said it was called that because the captain refused the camouflage paint required for his unit, and kept it grey. As a result, they avoided a lot of grief from shore batteries because they did not stick out like other ships. Throughout the war, the grey ghost was regardedt as a very lucky shipthe by crew and cargo alike. I hope your project bears the same for you man. I love a good 450.

Wow, that's a great story. Thanks for sharing that, man. Hopefully I'll do this right, if this bike is going to bear the same namesake!

[SloKrt]

glad to see your making progress.  I like the fact that your taking care of the little stuff as you go.  you will be much happier with the end result. 

As a budy of mine always says, "creativity is only limited by the crap you have laying aroung!"

keep it up!

[DesmoBro]

Cool little project Glad I read your little cartoon write up that is gonna come in handy! Thats also cool you have your colors mapped out that's proving to be difficult for me