[delineator]

So, picked this up in March and done quite a bit of work to her. I am keeping a log of hours work and money spent, and I am at $600 bucks in parts(not including the purchase price of the bike) and 100 hours...so far. Been meaning to post it up here, as its always good to see builds. Plan is to get her mechanically sound and cleaned up then tackle the conversion to a light mean cafe.

Started as a none-runner, none-rolling 99% complete bike. Last tabbed in 1988 with just over 9,000 miles.

Didnt roll because rear drum and brake were in a dozen pieces and all jammed up. Didnt run because the carbs were gunked up. I did make sure it turned over, and there was oil in the case and sparkplugs in the engine.

Even came with 2 keys and a title! and an extra seat that didnt fit as i think it was off a 350.

here she is just after unloading from the truck, if picasa lets me link these...

a few parts cleaned up, brass bristle brushes do wonders with chrome! and blue magic polish...

did a bunch of work, rebuild stock brakes, carbs, general tuneup stuff, tires, clean tank, etc and rode her for a few hundred miles. oh, took the ape hangers and the luggage rack off of course. but noise from the cam chain, and smoke from the breather and 2nd gear popping in and out. I fixed the shift drum detent, but the damage to the internals had already been done and 2nd gear still popped, needs new rings anyway, so i cracked her open.

can see that the shift forks are very worn and maybe even a bit bent, and that the 2nd gear interface has rounded off the nubs a bit. can see why it would pop in and out! getting a doner tranny from ebay to sort this out. hopefully. just opened it up last night. lots of carbon to clean up too.

and all the cam chain noise was because the rubber ring is missing from the left side of that cam. explains the plastic "teeth" in the oil. everything else looks pretty good, but have not dug into the head yet.

if needed, can the valve stem seals be replaced easily or do the guides have to be pulled? any way to know that the torsion bars are still decent? i guess that they are as i have taken her pretty close to redline and no valve or piston damage from them crashing.

more to come.

anybody know what parts honda had in their retrofit kit to fix the 2nd gear problem for the k1-k4 bikes? the tranny i am getting is a k6.

for the shifting problem, does the wear on the end of the shift drum in the picture above look ok? the cam paths and the dowels that follow them are fine, not any noticable wear at all. the wear is probably 1/2 a mm or so at its worst.

 

[Znabb]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

Very interesting to follow your work.

The valve stem seals are not difficult to replace when you have the head off but they are expensive little buggers.

 

[IndieSol]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

Excellent post. I hope to see more updates.

 

[chubbs899]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

where did you get the brass bristle brush from..ive been looking all over for brass wool. but never found any. ive been rubbing my fenders and such down with BROZE wool. and my rims have about the same amount of rust build up as yours and im hoping i can get mine as clean as you got yours!

 

[delineator]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

thanks, and I will have to check on the stem seals and probably replace while I am in there.

chubbs899, the brass bristle brushes I get at Fred Meyer, its the only place I have found the little ones, which is what you need to get into all the nooks and crannies. In the paint section, they are $2 a piece or something stupid cheap. You are looking for ones with a square profile bare wood handle and the bristle section is probably 1 inch long by 1/4 inch wide by 1/2 inch tall. They are great. I probably went through about 6 to 8 brushes to finish the bike. Very good at knocking off all the rust around the pitting. Its actually amazing how good the chrome is under all that crap. Then wash with a blue scotch backed sponge (the ones for delicate non-scratching) triple check that it doesnt scratch prior to using as most of the scotch stuff will scratch just to make sure you have the right one. Then polish to give it the final shine and to leave a protective layer so you dont rust up again straight away. I am using Blue Magic and it works well. Orielly auto parts i think.

the brass will scratch aluminum though.

for the spokes I think I used normal green scotch pad stuff. Cut into a strip maybe 1/2inch to 1inch wide, loop around the spoke and pull it back and forth while working your way up and down the spoke. Worked ok, but they could be cleaner so will revisit that one at some point.

dont buy the little wheels meant to go on a drill that have brass colored bristles. they are not brass and will scratch the hell out of anything they touch. Good luck!

 

[delineator]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

so, while waiting for the tranny stuff to arrive, dug into the head. have to take the camshafts out anyway to replace the rubber rings on them, it all came out fairly easily, perhaps 1 to 1.5 hours of work. Very interesting stuff! I have always wanted to rebuild an engine, and here we go. Everything looks pretty good, so probably just going to replace the valve stem seals and the rubber bits around the cams for the cam chain. And maybe shine up some of the engine covers while I have them all off and replace fasteners with stainless socket heads. And a new gasket kit going in.

anybody know where to get the hollow nuts for the rocker clearance adjusters? mine are rusty as anything.

 

[Znabb]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

The nuts are not available at David Silver or CMSNL but I think the part no is 90011-283-000.

 

[delineator]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

Thanks, yes, doing a search for that finds it!

http://honda.beavertonmotorcycles.com/f ... &fveh=2926

not sure if they actually have them in stock, as I am able to add anything and everything into the cart... including torsion bars and other obscure things that I thought were hard to actually find...

 

[delineator]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

A much delayed major update here, about 200 hours of work later, we are at Phase 1 complete, ie, mechanically sound all parts cleaned up (except for the tank, still not sure what to do there, kinda liking the vintage look of it) will still be continuing the transformation with tank seat fenders etc, but will be keeping all the current items original so that I can swap them back when my mood dictates.

so total hours in is about 300 and just over a grand not counting purchase price.

I guess I will post each bike area as a new post

here are some engine cleaned up shots, I also did a mild porting on both intake and exhaust and a mild exhaust polish:

pistons cleaned

exhaust cleaned and ported a bit, mostly just mold markings

head cleaned

intake port cleaned up

vacuum tap ports installed for carb balancer.

overall engine cleaned, I didn't go too crazy with the polishing, just the cam covers, tensioner, will do the valve covers and maybe the left and right outer case covers at some point.

engine in frame, much easier to put the frame over the engine, but then its much harder to get the swing arm and wheels on! had to rig up some slings to the ceiling to hoist it up.

 

[delineator]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

and now frame work and painting. I spent about 40 hours just on the frame, mostly because I cut off all the spot welded flanges and butt welded them. And I wrapped every place that Honda didnt weld. All done with TIG, would have been difficult with any other type of welding I think, though I am no expert. And cut off passenger pegs and put on threaded studs for rearsets and removed all tabs, center stand brackets, etc. Removed bracket from under stearing stem. Weight of frame reduced from 45 pounds to 41 and I am certain it is stronger and stiffer now. I did not cut off the back of the frame or the seat hoop.

frame before.

passenger brackets gone and frame blasted. not cleaned up yet.

had some nice dents in the front tube, so bondo, which then prevents the use of powdercoat which is unfortunate as its a lot tougher than spray paint...

some of the bits I cut off.

setup for welding on the threaded rearset points.

the rearset points, there is a little hole through the bottom so that the weld doesn't burp as I complete it.

below the steering stem after welding. should be stiffer now and got rid of that bracket that ruins the profile of the bike along that tube.

flanges cut off and butt welded, rest of it closed off as well.

top tube welded up, the flanges cut off of the "coil tube" and butt welded as well.

my garage converted to a paint booth. i used VHT epoxy paint, which seems good, but I should have done more coats, its covered perfectly but thin. total of 4 or 5 coats is what I did.

sprayed.

 

[delineator]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

here are the side cover brackets. I couldn't decide if I wanted to run sidecovers or not and if not, I wanted these brackets gone, so I decided to make them removable by welding a metal tab to the back and a little piece of tube to the inside of the top of the frame so that I can bolt them back on. I stamped the letters of where each goes as each one is slightly different. the bits of tube also come in handy for my stainless strap battery box and will eventually help me secure my cafe seat. they get in the way of the stock battery box though. but making my own allows me to get the battery so it will clear pod filters properly.

tabs off

tabs themselves

tab on, you can see the little bolt holding it in place works great!

top side, little bolt heads at front of battery go down through the pieces of tube, and the 2 at the back at the ends of the alum plate do as well, this holds the rectifier and starter solonoid, and is no longer on the bike as starter system is pulled and rectifier replaced with radio shack tiny one.

 

[delineator]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

here is head light bucket and gauges and fender underside painting. headlight bucket had a chunk taken out where the top of the headlight is meant to catch, so I bent a bit of strap to create a new latch that then gets bolted in, and used jbweld to fill in the missing chunk of bucket. worked great and is holding up really well.

bucket before with chunk missing

bent metal tab as seen from inside bucket and chunk filled with jb weld.

as seen from top without headlight on, all you see is the buttonhead fastener.

ready to paint bucket, gauges, horn cover (it was dented) and "honda" writing on left case cover

fender before

cleaned up and painted undersides.

gas cap before and after

 

[delineator]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

and upper and lower triple trees, stripped both, decided to clear the bottom steel one, and was going to polish the top one, but for now it is just stripped, got tired of polishing.

after many coats of clear.

and yes, this is the top triple off of a 500T, the original was cracked across both fork tube clamps. all the same but this has the hoop for putting your key up here, but the 450 ignition doesnt fit, maybe I will put a clock in their??

 

[delineator]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

my original headlight ears were in terrible shape, so ditched them. didnt like my options for aftermarket ears and like to make my own, so a couple of pipe hangers and a little triangle of alum plate, and there we go. I had to do serious work on the top of the fork tubes to get rid of corrosion and make them presentable. the tops are now painted black.

 

[delineator]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

oh, here is the new radio shack rectifier next to the old one.

just a little smaller, eh? works flawlessly.

 

[delineator]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

forks all taken to bits, I took the clear off of the lowers and just gave them a brushed finish, no more polishing for me!

look at the 2nd photo, my tubes are different! no clue, but one must be from a different year, one has 2 holes, the other only 1, and the clips are at different heights. they seem to work fine together though but if anyone knows what the heck is going on there, let me know.

 

[delineator]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

mounting new rubber, found this trick somewhere and it works great! cinch down just enough to pull the sidewalls together with the tube in there, dont reef on them too much might stretch the sidewalls or something, and then with a bunch of lube, you can push the whole thing onto the rim without tire irons with near ease. and then simply pull the straps through.

I went with avon roadriders, 90/90 19 front and 100/90 18 rear. if I did it again i would go 100/90 front and 110/90 rear, as they seem a little small.

 

[delineator]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

got rid of 40 year old brake lines, went to a single braided line (dark smoke color, no bling please) from master cylinder to caliper. rebuilt both as well. replaced original brake line switch with a banjo bolt sensor from amazon for 13 bucks. thanks to whoever on here gave me that tip! works great!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039ZTQEO

they have 2 thread types, be sure to get the one for "Nissan" brakes.

original system.

new system. cable is ~34 inches long. banjo bolts right into top of caliper, and the line is thin enough to go between fork and fender stay no issues.

so, its lighter, has fewer connections, and it works way way better.

had a local place do the line up for me. $50. braking is much much better. much better.

I dont have a picture with it installed, will have to get one.

 

[delineator]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

replaced all starter stuff with a plug. weight loss of ~ 8.6 lbs. starter wasnt working well anyway, and bike starts very easy with the PAMCO ignition in there.

stuff removed.

plug front and back. turned it from a bit of aluminum 46mm diamter for the plug part.

installed, simply tapped in with some hondabond around it.

 

[delineator]

Re: '71 CB450 None-runner, none roller.

PAMCO ignition installed, it is wonderful see the "PAMCO IGNITION" thread. I was lucky enough to be a beta tester for this unit. I don't have enough good things to say, steady idle, pulls harder, stable spark timing throught rpm range, better mileage, etc, etc. well worth it.