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82 CM450e Cafe Racer / Brat inspired

27K views 40 replies 9 participants last post by  acp1 
#1 ·
Hello all, first post for us.
Have been working on this one off and on for a few months (admittedly more off then on).

Picked the bike up for $400.

Rebuilt and jetted carbs

Mismatched rims on it. So we swaped it out with com stars. Using a cm400 front end.

Tank was dented beyond repair...like some one dropped a 20lb weight on it from the top. Lol.
Had a late 70s KZ1000 tank sitting around so we changed up the tank mounts a bit and are using that.

Some trial and error with welding on the cafe racer loop. At first we welded it on where the stock seat sits, utilizing the area where the shock mounts are.
Then after it sat around for a few days I hated the lines, so we welded another loop in line with the bottom of the tank.
Welded on mesh between the two loops, which allows us to hide all the wiring and battery. Masked off "Honda" before we painted it, thought it looked pretty good.
Initially it was built for a brat style seat, then a buyer found us and said they also wanted a cafe racer seat. Made our first one out of fiberglass. We are making it so he can switch the seats depending on the riding he wants to do.
Clubman bars. Smoked led tail light. Resevoir shocks.

In house powdercoated items:
Super durable wet black: engine covers, rims, caliper, fork tubes, upper triple, kick stand, foot pegs
Super durable gold: front caliper mount
Black chrome: tank

Things that are left to do:
Finalize wiring and battery
Powdercoat and mount front and rear fenders
Mount MAC exhaust
Pod filters
Levers
Upholstry
Headlight and rear turn signals
Tank badge
Take her for a test drive ! :D

Lots done and lots left to finish up...will keep the group updated :)
 

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#3 ·
Ebay special from Taiwan I believe. Haven't riden on them yet, so I can't vouch for them as of yet. They were about $125 shipped for the pair.
RFY nitrogen shocks. They are 13.5" to kick up the rear a bit. The rider is a taller guy.
They have a multitude of styles and colours.
 
#7 ·
The tank is actually powdercoated "black chrome". It's a two stage powdercoat. First a chrome layer, then black chrome.

We powdercoat all of our own pieces. I like powdercoat over paint, because I can do it myself, its fairly inexpensive and its durable; the colour range of powdercoat is so vast now...
We started with a roaster oven and a gun from Harbour Freight; it was perfect for engine covers, calipers and other small pieces. We quickly realized the potential and wanted to powdercoat our own rims and frames. So we built our own 4x8 oven out of some scrap metal and scavenged oven elements and upgraded our powdercoat gun. :p

Seat is going to go gun metal grey and painter can't match the finish of the powdercoat...so sadly we are getting the tank painted to match the seat. Everything is going gunmetal gray.
But hey, at least we know that tank will never rust on the outside for many years to come. lol
 
#8 ·
A friends of mines dad owns a shop and does welding and fabrication mostly but also did all my powder coasting for really cheap... I wanted him to do my tank but he was comfortable baking it. I cant blame him... and at least he soda blasted it for me. Pretty sick build.
 
#15 ·
Mini update

Rear end is about finished up.
Turnsignals are mounted, chain guard has been trimmed and rear fender has been mounted.
Front fender has been chopped and all will be powdercoated in black chrome.

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New request for the headlight: dual/twin headlight. Going for a dual projector "eye ball" head light, hiding the wiring will be interesting....
 
#18 ·
The last of the modded and powdercoated pieces have been completed.
Original Front and rear fender: front fender chopped and rounded; rear fender relocated to a tire hugger, cut to allow for the chain guard, cut a star out and placed mesh behind it.
Powder coated black chrome
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Chain guard has been drilled out and powdercoated black chrome
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Lengthened the shifter rod and rear brake pedal have been coated wet black.
Antique tool Handle Metal


Tank badge is the shop logo and its almost finished
Number Font Symbol House numbering Metal


Should be able to mount up the pieces tomorrow.
Eyeball headlights are in and now I need to mount and relocate a whole bunch of wires.

As long as there are no last minute additions or changes, this bike should be ready next week.
 
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#19 ·
Quick question - did you cut off the original frame right behind the rear shock mount? I have cm450e that I just picked up and am looking to do a very similar build this winter. I've spent the last few days trying to visualize where to cut, where to add the new seat loop, etc.. I'm not looking to rebuild the entire rear end of the frame and was hoping structurally I could just cut it off right past the shock mounts. Probably going to ride the bike for the summer and then start on the build this fall.

Nice work on this one!!
 
#20 ·
#21 ·
Slow progress, but an update nonetheless

Finally have the cx500 we've been trudging away on completed, which means time to work on the 450 again.

Got the dual eyeball headlight on, and fab'd up two "spoilers" to help fill in some of the open space around the lights.
Of course they will be powdercoated ;) Luckily the wiring is able to be tucked underneath the tank, which will save alot of time.
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Fenders and chain guards are mounted up.
Exhaust is on; powdercoated a chrome tip in high temp black. Time will tell if we still wrap the headers.
Spark plugs are in, oil and filter are in.
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Trying our hand at shortening the control cables to allow for the new handlebars.

Ordered a KOSO new digital gauge. We have some mini speedos, but they seem to be failing, likely due to the vibrations. Even bought a "good" set from one of the big suppliers on the cafe racer scene, and their gauge failed as well.

Long weekend this weekend, so it looks like we will actually get a day off! Plan on working some more on Sunday.
Really want this bike completed so we can work on our next build: cb550 that has been started and stopped many times over the past 1.5 years.
 
#22 ·
Fired up today on the first try. Sounds killer with the straight pipe.
Too hot to powdercoat to finish up some of the new peices, lol. No way am I heating up the oven which will heat up the shop when its near 40 (Celsius) with the humidity.

Looking forward to taking it out for a spin, have the carbs jetted for the exhaust and want to know how it holds up.
More updates to come this week :)
 
#23 ·
Looks like those 'sl' style of pipes are going to really help the oil in that oil cooler stay cool......especially at a stop.
 
#24 ·
Once the pipes are wrapped that should help. The stock headers were rusted to hell, so we ordered this 2 into 1, they are what they are.....
 
#25 ·
LOL........just thought it was worth a mention.
 
#26 ·
All buttoned up and ready for a rip

Well, she's ready for the road.

Getting the mandatory safety done tomorrow, then we can take it out for a proper rip and make sure the tuning is right.

Took it for a quick run up the street and this thing can move :D

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We're calling it "short circuit" ;) [waiting to see who gets the reference]
 
#27 ·
I remember that movie with the robot called 'short circuit'.
Those headlights sorta give it that look.
Looks unique.
 
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#31 ·
This is probably a dumb question but what is it about the straight pipe that is different from simply running without mufflers? How does it maintain backpressure and all that? Also is it superior to aftermarket mufflers (slip-ons and the like)?

I'm new to this stuff and am looking at different ideas for my 82 cb450. The main thing I want to work on now is the exhaust.
 
#37 ·
Nice day = nicer pics

Georgous day out, so we took it down the block to get some better quality pics.

Must say we are very happy with how this turned out, will need to take some more pics with the brat seat still....

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#38 ·
Really nice looking build. I just have a couple of suggestions though.
Looks to me like the Throttle cables should go in front of the right fork tube, or risk raising the engine speed.
That speedo cable is on a wicked 's' run at the caliper.
Very clean looking bike. How does it run with the pods/exhaust combination?
 
#40 ·
Thanks! Speedo is no longer mechanical, its digital so the bends in the cable shouldn't be a problem.
Took it out for a quick rip today and the throttle was nice and steady, but we will keep it in mind for sure.

It's running great so far with the pod/exhaust combo, going for a highway run this week to see how it is at speed. I will keep ya posted on it :)
 
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