CB450 Café Racer Build. IT'S A ROLLER

[jrknecht]

Okay all so this is the start , haha. I have picked up two CB450s a '72 and a '73. The 72 has a title but is in really poor shape and the 73 has a freshly rebuilt engine but it caught fire on start-up (dont ask me how ) and so all the plastics got burned including the wiring harness. The engine though is in great shape. This is My first build so I am looking for all the help and support I can get.

stripped down the frame,

Then had it sand blasted, looks really good ;D

Yesterday I worked on the carbs, cleaning them
BEFORE

AFTER

Still need some polishing but getting there.
Here is a mock-up of the bike I am looking to build.

 

[Sonreir]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

Good progress so far. How much are you planning on buying and how much are you planning to fabricate for yourself? The tank, for instance?

 

[jrknecht]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

Good progress so far. How much are you planning on buying and how much are you planning to fabricate for yourself? The tank, for instance?

since this is my first build I am going to try to do as much of the fab work as I can but it will most likely just be alot of the small things, like mounts and housings. I am learning to weld now though.

 

[IndieSol]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

Welcome to the site from another first timer. I like your mockup. Looking forward to more pictures.

I used to work for a Knecht's Auto Parts when I was in high school. I hadn't seen that name before or since.

 

[jrknecht]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

I used to work for a Knecht's Auto Parts when I was in high school. I hadn't seen that name before or since.

Nice, unfortunately no affiliation, I will get more photos as soon as I can.

 

[Ludacity]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

Nice to see another CB450 build. What did you use to clean those carbs?

 

[jrknecht]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

Nice to see another CB450 build. What did you use to clean those carbs?

Thanks. I used a solvent called "Oops" and polished them with a rotary tool. Still need to polish them a bit more though.

 

[jrknecht]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

So last night I finished up the carbs, they look good. I polished everything I could on them to a nice glossy finish. What do ya think? A lot of work for a little shine hehe .

 

[Sonreir]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

Tell me about it. The first (and probably last) piece I polished on my build was the alternator cover. It took about 4 hours (by hand) before I was done.

 

[kookie31]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

Welcome to the site. Great work so far!

 

[jrknecht]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

@kookie31, Thanks I am so incredibly excited about this build.
@Sonreir, yeah three afternoons to do both carbs, dont get me wrong the end product was well worth the time there just has to me a better way.
Can anyone tell me what I could use for polishing the bigger parts? I have been using a dremel which is great for small parts but would suck ass for the large stuff. Also what are people using to get the fins clean on the engine? I am planning on painting them with high temp paint but just the cylinder fins the others I want to clean up.

 

[Sonreir]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

For the bigger stuff, I've seen guys using small sanding pads attached to air compressors. After you get it down to about 600 or 800 grit, you can move to a buffing wheel with black cutting compound. After the black compound do another run with brown tripoli and you're good to go.

 

[dakine_surf]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

Hey Knecht, you don't have a sister or cousin, named Ashley by any chance do you? From Santa Ynez CA?

Just wondering, she is the only person I know with that last name

 

[jrknecht]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER


Thanks Sonreir, I will give that a go. Any ideas for the fins?

Hey Knecht, you don't have a sister or cousin, named Ashley by any chance do you? From Santa Ynez CA?

Just wondering, she is the only person I know with that last name

Nope, no relation as far as I know. But it could be possible she is related in some way, I have never really looked into my genealogy.

 

[Sonreir]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

I would advise against polishing the fins. Not only because it's going be a massive pain in the ass, but also because it inhibits their ability to shed heat. Polished metal stay hotter than the rough stuff.

 

[jrknecht]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

I would advise against polishing the fins. Not only because it's going be a massive pain in the ass, but also because it inhibits their ability to shed heat. Polished metal stay hotter than the rough stuff.

I see that was going to be another question, but really I just want to clean the metal not polish it, they are all covered with oil, soot and grime from the fire. What would take that off best?

 

[Sonreir]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

Sand blast it and call it done. You can put a coat of paint or clear coat on after.

 

[Flugtechnik]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

Can anyone tell me what I could use for polishing the bigger parts? I have been using a dremel which is great for small parts but would suck ass for the large stuff. Also what are people using to get the fins clean on the engine? I am planning on painting them with high temp paint but just the cylinder fins the others I want to clean up.

I used Simple Green Degreaser and a small tubing brush like this one (whatever will fit between the fins):

I am a homebrewer so I had it lying around. Then I scuffed up the accessible surfaces with fine grit sandpaper and scotchbrite pads. Then I sprayed it off with a gentle pressure washer and dried it with compressed air. Then cleaned it with laquer thinner before priming then painting. Turned out really well, though it is still on the bench so I don't know how it will hold up. (http://www.dotheton.com/forum/index.php?topic=9560.msg195967#msg195967)

You may try making a home-made soda blaster if there is stuff that just isn't coming off. Search the site, there are a couple different variations on here. Or, take it to someone to have it media blasted.

My theory was that if it doesn't come off with simple green and a brush, it isn't going to come off after I paint over it.

 

[jrknecht]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

Thanks guys. The engine is in great shape, I took off all the covers and checked it out after being told "that it had just been rebuilt before the fire" and it looks really good, so I dont want to have to tear down the engine just to clean parts . I thought about sand blasting but can it be done to the engine intact? I know these must sound like stupid questions but I really dont know and I do have a person that sand blasts and is super reasonably priced. I was going to use Simple Green but it really is going to take days maybe weeks it I have to do it by hand. :-\


So can I sand blast the engine intact and if so, what would I have to do to prep it?

 

[jrknecht]

Re: CB450 Café Racer Build. FIRST TIME BUILDER

So after reading some other forums I have decided against sandblasting, they say it is next to imposable to keep the sand out of the engine and we all know what sand will do in your engine ;D . So the tentative plan at this point is Simple Green, Brushes and this

I have never used a steam cleaner so I dont know how well it will work, comments? Also dose anyone have a preferred steam cleaner that they know works well?
Thanks all.