Outride a Crisis - Honda CB450

[thearcticsea]

I've always loved bikes and have been riding since I was 13 off-road, and got my first motorcycle (A Honda Rebel 250cc) when I was 16. I'm 27 now and still love bikes.

So a few years ago I bought a new Bonneville and love it. It's a great bike. I spent a couple of years doing the usual mods and whatnot, as well as painting. I did all the work myself (IE Everything!) and it was a terrific learning experience.

Here's a before and after shot of the Triumph.

PURCHASE DAY

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MODS COMPLETE (Although I want to repaint and put on better rear shocks)

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When I had turned my Triumph from what it was into what I wanted it to be, I decided I was ready for a real classic machine that needed a full rebuild. I love the parallel twins, so I went with a CB450 that I found back in 2009 in New Jersey for $445 bucks. That's one dollar per cubic centimeter!! Not the best deal, but not bad!

It's been a couple years and I've made steady, if not slow, progress in that time. In this thread I'll catalog the project with photos and videos. To start things off I'll show how the bike was when I got it into my garage. You'll also see that over time the garage has evolved from an ugly, unfinished frame into something that's relatively clean, modern, and nice!

Here we go.

CHEESY SELF-PORTRAIT FOR POSTERITY

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450 AS IT SAT FOR A FEW MONTHS

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Okay, there will be more to come later tonight. Just have to go through the photos and get things in order.

I'll be painting a bunch of parts this weekend, so if you're interested in this thread stay tuned. I have about 2 years worth of work saved to show off.

 

[thearcticsea]

Re: Project restart CB 450

So I spent some time getting the bike to run and taking various photos. This was some time ago.

Then it was time to just rip the thing apart.

Started on the typical polishing routine that everyone seems to go with. What can I say, I like shiny things. The polished bits include the motor covers, valve covers, upper triple tree, lower forks, carburetor parts, etc. Had to strip the painted parts with chemical stripper. I used the citrus based stuff because I didn't want to kill my pet rabbit with fumes (he lives in the garage).

Polished up some of the motor covers, but I wanted to keep the rest of the motor looking old. It's not bad.

Rebuilt the carburetors.

And rebuilt the front brake.

More coming up.

 

[thearcticsea]

Re: Project restart CB 450

Okay, so then it was time to rebuild the forks. This was easy and fun. I honestly really enjoyed this part of the project.

The original fork tubes had serious pitting and corrosion and were beyond repair. I decided to buy new ones.

No real shots of the process, but once they were reassembled they look great.

Polished the hubs and installed new wheel bearings. This was stressful, but now is simple.

At this point I had a frame and a bunch of components sitting around that needed to be painted. So I wanted to strip everything really well and this required bead blasting. I didn't want to send out the parts, as I wanted to do everything myself. Looking at prices for large bead blasters, however, it became immediately clear that I wasn't going to be buying a cabinet. So I decided I could probably build one myself.

My friend Bruce (can you tell we're Bruins fans around here?) hangs out a lot and I get him to do labor on the cheap (pizza).

We stripped all the painted parts that needed to be refinished with the bead blast cabinet.

Once everything was stripped I primed the pieces myself. These include frame, swingarm, brake retainer rod, lower triple tree, motor brackets, etc. I also rebushed the swingarm.

I also blasted and primed a CEV headlight bucket that I'm planning on using on the build.

There are, of course, lots of parts that aren't very exciting but nevertheless need to be restored. I place everything that's finished into drawers or cabinets awaiting paint and reassembly. Things like the front brake fluid junction, brake lines, stickers, lever, controls, etc. Just the odd and ends.

I also got a bit bored the other weekend and decided to "restore" an old pipe-vise that I found at the scrap metal place. I bead blasted it, primed it, and painted it "Laguna Seca Blue", a color BMW used on one of their older M3's.

Got to keep mixing it up. Sometimes you just aren't feeling working on the bike, right?

I cleaned up the garage to make sure I could fit my car as well as my wife's car and all my other crap when the inevitable Massachusetts blizzards start rolling in.

I realized I was looking at all of my favorite things (possessions- not the important things) and decided to snap a picture.

Alright guys, thanks for letting me waste some of your time. I'll be posting photos of the reassembly process in the next week or so because the project is moving along nicely and I've still got a lot of backstory here.

Thanks again.

 

[session101]

Re: Project restart CB 450

omg bad ass! and your homemade spray box is the best!

 

[megawatty]

Re: Project restart CB 450


Subscribed. Looking forward to this one. You look like a real perfectionist mate.

Cheers Mega.

 

[thearcticsea]

Re: Project restart CB 450

Thanks for the interest. I'll be posting up some more progress soon.

 

[1976cb356]

Re: Project restart CB 450

This is going in a good direction. I was soo close to getting a 450...makes my stomach hurt thinking about it....and you think I am kidding

 

[1976cb356]

Re: Project restart CB 450

and BTW that blue looks sexy on M3, especially e46's. BMW has some awesome colors, heilrot, docker yellow, and this blue. Nice work

 

[Kanticoy]

Re: Project restart CB 450

I really enjoy the bike shots you're showing.....but that pipe vise is what won me over! I too restore old American made tools and that made my day.

 

[thearcticsea]

Re: Project restart CB 450

Thanks guys. Funny that some of you are into the pipe-vise. Most of my friends (we're all 20-somethings) look at me like I'm bat-shit crazy when they come by and I show them my "restored vice" or "vintage restored cast iron shelf brackets".

They just don't get it. Glad you people get it.

I'll be toying with my freshly primed frame tonight, and painting this weekend, so stay tuned.

Thanks!

 

[thearcticsea]

Re: Project restart CB 450

So my frame, swingarm, lower triple tree, and other miscellaneous brackets and bits are at the powdercoating shop.

I decided to start attacking my tins.

Woke up on a nice, warm Sunday morning and before I was even dressed the dog had co-opted my bed.

Okay, out to the garage. I got a new toolbox for free from my high fallootin boss. He bought a bunch of stuff at auction and I got some freebies!

It's the black one on the left.

I love a well-supplied toolbox.

So I'm rebuilding a CB450, but I'm not crazy about the stock fuel tank. I like the looks of the angular 1969 CB350 SS tank, but they're pretty rare it seems. At first, I found one with knee pads. It was way too rusty to use, however, so I scrapped it and found another on ebay. This one has some rust inside, but it's not bad at all.

I know some people will get bent out of shape about this, so "sorry" in advance, but I needed to hack off those pad brackets.

So once I removed the brackets I had to sand off the welding points. I used a grinder and a sanding block.

Once that was done I used a product called metal rescue, and filled the tank with it. Within four hours the tank interior was shiny, beautiful, and rust-free!!

Now I have to bead blast the tank, fill the dents and divots, and prime for paint.

I can't wait to get my powdercoated parts back so I can start reassembling the bike!

 

[Cafe Redneck]

Re: Project restart CB 450

Very nice Triumph, by the looks of the work you've done on the Honda so far, it'll be just as nice.

 

[deepwaterimports]

Re: Project restart CB 450

looking good mate, look forward to seeing the build

 

[thearcticsea]

Re: Project restart CB 450

Got my powdercoated parts back and am starting to reassemble.

The color is Dark Blue Pearl. It's so dark it looks black, but in sunlight or under flourescents it has a really subtle blue pearl to it. The camera I used made it look more purple, but it looks really nice anyway.

The tank and sidecovers and fenders will use this color as an accent and then Steel Blue Pearl as the main color on the bodywork.

 

[wab]

Re: Project restart CB 450

Hi great stuff so far, I really like the frame colour. Can I ask if you are taking your pictures with the ipad? I'm impressed if you are, might have to snag one of those.

 

[thearcticsea]

Re: Project restart CB 450

Hi and thanks.

No I was taking pictures with a DSLR. I have the older ipad without the camera. I was using it to follow a guide for putting the steering bearings in.

 

[wab]

Re: Project restart CB 450

Aah that explains the cool pics.

 

[JustinLonghorn]

Re: Project restart CB 450

Alright, I am on board.

 

[Maritime]

Re: Project restart CB 450

nice work, I like the vice too! I have a few old tools like that I will be restoring when I get some shop space again. I like the colour scheme you chose for the bike too.

Cheers,

 

[sxecafe]

Re: Project restart CB 450

That color on the frame and bits is pimpin.

What size tank are you using to power that blaster?