the bike i'm working on in this thread is an '86 CB450SC nighthawk that last ran 13 years ago. it sat outside for 5 years before i got it in 2008, then spent 8 years in my shop before i got motivated to work on it.
fast forward to 2016: the carbs were cleaned, tank cleaned out with apple cider vinegar and flushed, and oil changed prior to it's first restart. amazingly, after just a few cranks it came to life and after 5 minutes of choke idled down nice and smooth. i couldn't believe it.
my vision was to create a cruiser type full fender, solo seat bike something akin to the Honda American Classic Edition (A.C.E.) and inspired by a recent visit to the Indian Motorcycle Museum in Springfield, MA the original home of Indian Motorcycles. an amazing place to visit.
the rear subframe was removed and i found 4" shorter shocks from a Honda Rebel.
found a steel front fender blank the correct width and diameter but had to create a couple "dents" to fit between where the forks flare out at the dust seals.
with a little heat and the correct diameter pipe ...
the rear fender is going to be mounted to the swingarm, so it's diameter needs to allow for some wheel movement during chain adjustments.
i'm positioning the fender with the rear axle in the center of it's range of adjustment.
then the seat, a Drag Specialties solo seat with the little suspension springs. not sure if i will use them or not.
i'm visualizing the upper shock mounts having a cross member between them to support the seat, but still have to work out those details.
next is to widen the frame hoops a bit for the upper rear shock mounts to be the same width as the ones on the swingarm. the inside of the swingarm mounts are 9.25" and the inside width of the frame hoops is 8", so to become parallel, a little heat and some persuasion to adjust each hoop .625" to the outside should work.
i'll be heating and bending these two spots at the same time.
that's it for now! please post any suggestions you might have. ~ thanks.
fast forward to 2016: the carbs were cleaned, tank cleaned out with apple cider vinegar and flushed, and oil changed prior to it's first restart. amazingly, after just a few cranks it came to life and after 5 minutes of choke idled down nice and smooth. i couldn't believe it.
my vision was to create a cruiser type full fender, solo seat bike something akin to the Honda American Classic Edition (A.C.E.) and inspired by a recent visit to the Indian Motorcycle Museum in Springfield, MA the original home of Indian Motorcycles. an amazing place to visit.
the rear subframe was removed and i found 4" shorter shocks from a Honda Rebel.


found a steel front fender blank the correct width and diameter but had to create a couple "dents" to fit between where the forks flare out at the dust seals.

with a little heat and the correct diameter pipe ...



the rear fender is going to be mounted to the swingarm, so it's diameter needs to allow for some wheel movement during chain adjustments.
i'm positioning the fender with the rear axle in the center of it's range of adjustment.



then the seat, a Drag Specialties solo seat with the little suspension springs. not sure if i will use them or not.



i'm visualizing the upper shock mounts having a cross member between them to support the seat, but still have to work out those details.

next is to widen the frame hoops a bit for the upper rear shock mounts to be the same width as the ones on the swingarm. the inside of the swingarm mounts are 9.25" and the inside width of the frame hoops is 8", so to become parallel, a little heat and some persuasion to adjust each hoop .625" to the outside should work.

i'll be heating and bending these two spots at the same time.

that's it for now! please post any suggestions you might have. ~ thanks.