The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450 - UPDATE! video too :)

[philos1]

Most of this is already on caferacer, but I figured I would show off here too


So here I am with a new to me 1970 CB450. My last one was a 1970 CL450 and I've also had a 78' CB750 and a 1969 SL350. The twins are my favorite.

This one is exceptionally fugly. It hasn't had tags/registration since 1980, it's been sitting (outside) since 1999, and it has all the "cool" shit from the late 1970s. Mini ape-hangers, freeway pegs, 4" over forks, diamond shaped upholstery, and lots and lots of rust!

I think I'm going to call it "el perrito" because it really is a dog right now. Plans call for a full overhaul on the motor, seat and tank, electronic ignition of some sort, clip-ons and rearsets, and LOTS of cleaning/polishing.

I'm thinking mostly black with orange powdercoated rims for a color scheme.

Anyways it's already torn down and I'm sure you all want some pics, so...

 

[philos1]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

Some pics of the tear-down and a couple of the last bike (1970 CL450)


*note the "starter" button on the right side-cover

 

[philos1]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

Some pics of the work so far and of the rear sets I'm gonna use.

They came from a 88' - 90' FZ600


I hammered the tank for my knobbly knees, but I'm still not sure if I'm gonna use it or not...

 

[philos1]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

Got my seat from Ebay.

made some "hoops" for the tail section and removed the air cleaner tabs....

Oh, and I got some polishing done while the motor is getting built by a friend (yeah, yeah, I'm lazy I know)...

 

[sxecafe]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

Starting to look good. Love the Cl too. Very play boy of you to have that ostrich seat wrap! Do you have the shoes to match, cause that would be awesome!

How many of those oldschool boards do you have tucked away in the garage? Those things are rad too!

 

[philos1]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

Starting to look good. Love the Cl too. Very play boy of you to have that ostrich seat wrap! Do you have the shoes to match, cause that would be awesome!

How many of those oldschool boards do you have tucked away in the garage? Those things are rad too!

HAHAHAHA... when I sold it to my buddy, he was SOOOO stoked on the ostrich. made for a grippy seat in any case. Maybe it will come back.

Are you talking about old skateboards or surfboards? I got plenty of both...maybe too many, but don't tell my wife.

 

[philos1]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

Got the forks cleaned and rebuilt today. not much else. Hopefully over the next few, I can have my seat pan figured out - I want it to open like factory on later bikes. We'll see how it comes out.


Oh, and I'm considering having new head-pipes made that tuck under the bike (think Buell) with a more modern type silencer/muffler.... any thoughts?

 

[maskednegator]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

I am also totally in love with your old CL. The ostrich is beyond pimp.

 

[dcmspikes]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

looking good. i have a question. how did you get your fork seals in?

 

[philos1]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

looking good. i have a question. how did you get your fork seals in?

After you take the fork out of the tree, use some snap-ring pliers and take out the ring, then a flat washer. You can then pop/pull the tube from the lower (the seal comes with it). I put a little ATF on the seal after everything was clean and slid it down the tube. Then I used that flat washer and a piece of pipe that was close to the fork diameter to GENTLY set the seal GENTLY back in place. Then re-assemble.

Did I say GENTLY?

good.

 

[dcmspikes]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

i didnt happen to have a handy piece of pipe, but i have a handy machinist brother who threw some tube on the lathe for me. thank you for the reply.

 

[philos1]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

i didnt happen to have a handy piece of pipe, but i have a handy machinist brother who threw some tube on the lathe for me. thank you for the reply.

Word.

A soft hand with a hammer and a wide-blade screwdriver will work too.

 

[dcmspikes]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

A soft hand with a hammer and a wide-blade screwdriver will work too.

i actually started there, but was not getting anywhere. the 175 has 31mm forks so i think the circumference was just too tight for the blade. going to try my pipe later today. hopefully have some pics of a rolling bike tonight

 

[NJWanker]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

I am definitely feeling that ostrich print seat . Very cool.

 

[renegadmonk]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

Yeah that CL is very nice......pimpin big time with the Ostrich.....Dude you definately got some old school boards in the garage I think i still have an old CAL240 skate board buried in my dads basement somewhere...LOL.
I like the idea of the 600 foot pegs.....have been considering them for sometime.

 

[philos1]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

Glad you guys are into the ostrich...

renegadmonk - I'll let everyone know how those sets work out, but it looks like they'll do just fine.

wanker - love the patch in your avatar...




As to updates, I've been working on a SOLID seat mounting setup and I should be done with that pretty soon as time permits.

My motor is nearly ready as well. I'm having a friend of a friend work on it as my time is limited these days. I looked at it after tear-down and all looks pretty clean. I got some new piston rings and piston pins are on the way. Also got a new cam chain and rubbers and that's about it besides gaskets. The original honing marks are still on the cylinders!!!


I'll get some pics up when I have something interesting to shoot.


cheers.

 

[ericngsta]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

I might have missed it, but where did you get that seat? or was it fixed up. I'm looking into getting a seat like that.

 

[philos1]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

If you're talking about the new fiberglass seat pan, it came from Ebay. It was $105.00 before shipping. The seller's name is ROCCITYCAFE. You can just search for "cafe seat" in the parts section. It's a nice seat pan for the money, and the finish is very smooth. Just trim it to fit your application. He ships them Fedex, but it took a long time getting to my place.


The "ostrich" was just new foam/vinyl over the stock seat pan.

cheers.

 

[philos1]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

So, center part of the lower case has a hole in it!!!! Luckily we have a spare from a free parts motor... It should be done in a few more days or so.


I got the rear sets mocked up, the frame hacked up some more and the seat mounting figured out.


Here's some of the seating arrangement. I borrowed a friend's plasma table and his bead roller for the upholstery pan.

and here are some of the frame mods I did to get the FZ600 rear sets to work.

I cut off the passenger peg mounts to the tube, then drilled and set new 1/2" tubing in the space.

Easy P-Z....


enjoy

 

[philos1]

Re: The dog - AKA el perrito. 1970 CB450

Oh yeah, the gap between the seat and upholstery pan is there on purpose. I'll put 1/2" behind as well as in front of the metal so that I can get a thicker looking back portion, as well as to help clear the hump in the seat.