CB450 K7 "Espresso Love"

[CCRider]

Nice! Even have the grease fitting in there.

What's with the filter on the frame where the stock peg mounted? Are you running the engine breather line through that hole?

Good luck with the ride. Take a few beauty shots for us first.

Thanks.

Yeah, that's the breather. That just turned out to be a convenient, out of the way location to mount it.

Just got back from the maiden voyage! Wow, what a thrill. Once around the neighborhood then out on the road for about 11 miles. Everything went great. Runs good, shifts through all the gears smoothly and sounds pretty cool too! The GP shifting was not a problem, but I had to think about it every time I went through the gears. The switch to a 17 tooth primary sprocket seems to be a good upgrade for cruising comfort. I only got it up to about 65, but there was very little "buzz" at that speed (at least compared to my 350). Riding position is a little extreme and will take some getting used to. Felt OK on the old back, but puts a lot of pressure on the wrists and hands.

CC

 

[JRK5892]

ahh man that is AWESOME!!!! i am stoked for you! congrads on the scoot ripping, glad your shake down went well!

 

[CCRider]

ahh man that is AWESOME!!!! i am stoked for you! congrads on the scoot ripping, glad your shake down went well!

Thanks man, it sure feels good after about a year and a half. Especially since I never rode it before I tore it down.

I'll try to get it out and get some good pix of it this afternoon.

CC

 

[Swagger]

That's great to hear man! I'm glad the brake linkage worked out for you, it looks spectacular. Looking at the work you've done, I'd put it up against any "Professional" build....

 

[goodfornothing]

I can't wait to see it all together! Your work is amazing. I wish I had your patience and skill.

I also may have to steal your breather idea....

 

[troybilt]

Congrats man. Looks fantastic! Post up some photos/video real soon!

 

[CCRider]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Now, if I could direct your attention to the " Show 'n Shine"...

CC

 

[JRK5892]

you must still be loading the pics... i just raced over to that section and did not see em'

 

[CCRider]

Today was a MAJOR milestone in the build - I'm legal !!!

I loaded the bike on a trailer this morning and hauled it down to the DMV for inspection by the License and Theft Bureau. Everything went well, although the inspector seemed to be concerned by the fact that the frame and engine VIN numbers didn't match and I was VERY concerned because I had just heard that non-metallic tanks were illegal in NC.

Nothing was mentioned about the tank and in fact he didn't do any inspection of lights, horn etc.

At first he wanted to title it as a 2009 custom motorcycle, but decided that since the frame/engine/drive were essentially stock it should stay a '74 CB450. (seemed like a no-brainer to me)

So with my temp title in hand, I dropped by the insurance agents office to ad the bike to my policy (~$35 per 6 months ), then to the license plate office for my new tag.

I was a little unsure I'd ever get to this point, so you can imagine it's a huge load off my mind.

CC

Very bad news today. Please disregard the above and see: http://dotheton.com/index.php?topic=10815.0

CC

 

[CCRider]

300-Mile Update:

Still no progress on the title issue.

Bike is running really well. I settled in on 145 main jets, which seem to be about right. It is pretty hard to start, takes several kicks to get it going and my starter took a crap (hard short to ground somewhere in the starter motor, haven't investigated yet). Once it gets going it idles very nicely though.

Haven't tried for the ton yet, but got it up to 86 mph GPS verified (showed mid 90's on the clock)

I have developed a pretty severe oil leak, I believe at the seal around the final drive shaft to the primary sprocket. Does not leak when sitting, but after my last couple of rides, there's lots of oil around that area, on my left shoe and transferred back to the rear wheel via the chain (at least my chain's staying well lubed ) I'll order a seal this week and hopefully get that fixed.

I've also decided to fab up a lever and linkage on the shifter side. The GP shifting is not too hard to get used to, but I'm still shifting the wrong way every now and then. Also, it's a bit too far from the footpeg to the shifter.

Later, CC

 

[borzwazie]

I'm pretty sure the cb450 has an auto chain oiler...might be the issue?

 

[Flugtechnik]

Depends on the year. Can't remember which years had it. I think they got rid of it because they had too many problems with it.

 

[CCRider]

Depends on the year. Can't remember which years had it. I think they got rid of it because they had too many problems with it.

Never heard of an auto oiler chain (except on a chainsaw ). Anyway, no indication of one on mine. I ordered a new oil seal from the local Honda shop last week, hope to pick it up and get it installed tomorrow.

CC

 

[CCRider]

Quick update:

The new oil seal did not fix the leak. Finally tracked the leak down to the rubber grommet that the alternator wires pass thru exiting the crankcase. A little RTV gasket maker around the grommet and no more leak. No more big leak that is. Still have a few little oil seeps here and there, but I guess that's to be expected from a 35-year-old engine.

I fabbed up a shift linkage for the left side rearset. Nothing fancy, just a lever with a bearing and push/pull rod to the cut off stock shifter, ala Herm. Still need to paint the linkage rod.

No progress on the title. I did find the NC Title Manual online which says that if you get a vehicle from a non-title state all you need is a bill of sale and previous registration from the seller to get an NC title. So I called the DMV to see what's up. Finally got connected to a supervisor at the License and Theft Division who admitted that the reason that they were requiring the bond was because I got the bill of sale from "Dealer X" who is flagged as a dealer who works with "title service companies" which the state of NC considers fraudulent. Great.

Later, CC

 

[JRK5892]

that looks good! i wish i had that much room for my linkage, mine is so small shifting gears is a work out you have to get your foot under that sucker, with that arm your gears will slide right in... nice work!

 

[CCRider]

Final build thread update:

After almost two years, I just pulled my newly printed title out of the mailbox this afternoon.

What a long strange trip it's been.

CC

 

[sxecafe]

Here's a couple shots of the pieces ready for welding:

Hey Bud,

How did you get the holes cut on the handle bar side to weld up to the 35mm ID tube? I guess I have the same question about the pieces you welded to the 35mm ID to pinch it on to the tubes... was it a grinder? It's too good to be done that way.

 

[CCRider]

Hey Bud,

How did you get the holes cut on the handle bar side to weld up to the 35mm ID tube? I guess I have the same question about the pieces you welded to the 35mm ID to pinch it on to the tubes... was it a grinder? It's too good to be done that way.

I cut the handle bar holes with a combination of a bench grinder for the rough stuff and then cleaned it up with a 1" dia sanding drum on a hand held die grinder. Same for the pinch bolt tubes. I used a tube coping program that prints out a PDF of the hole/groove profile that you tape around the tube to trim to. I think I posted a link earlier, but I try to find it and repost.

CC

 

[CCRider]

The link to the tube coping calculator is on the first page of the thread. I tried it out and it still works.

CC

 

[sxecafe]

NICE! Thanks! So... you just tape that thing down and mark it up with a sharpie? How did you ensure the angle was the same on both handles?