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146 Posts
Garry here...new to the wonderful interweb world of cb450's. I've owned my '73 K6 for near a decade now but just recently discovered you all on this computer matrix thingy. I am very pleasantly surprised at how much more enthusiasm there seems around these machines than even 5-6 years ago...the first rebuild I did had me sourcing parts from Italy (gaskets),Thailand (some NOS) Australia (used cams, followers, torsion bars etc..) and all over North America for odds and ends and took me over a year to collect parts just to do the top end. I was at my wits end...
Now in just 2 weeks I've found a tranny, clutch basket, oil pump, cam end covers, carb rebuild kits, blah blah blah. It's exciting that people are recognizing the importance of these marvels of engineering and taking the time to keep em running. When I first started all this, I rode with a bunch of guys almost exclusive riding British Iron and I was always the loner riding Japanese. Everyone spoke of machinists next door cranking out readily available new parts for their 50's 60's and 70's machines, Boyer Branston ignitions were falling out of guys' saddlebags, and everyone had spare Whitworth wrenches in every pocket...but I couldn't find cb450 stuff if my life depended on it.
I'm just about to tear down again, split the bottom cases for the first time and fight with my tranny which won't shift out of 2nd gear. I have been plagued for years by the dreaded false neutrals and last fall she finally went tits up on me. Wish me luck. I'm sure I'll need it. I'll try to post a photo...I'm a overworked contractor, mediocre mechanic, and god awful computer technician so we'll see if it shows up.
Now in just 2 weeks I've found a tranny, clutch basket, oil pump, cam end covers, carb rebuild kits, blah blah blah. It's exciting that people are recognizing the importance of these marvels of engineering and taking the time to keep em running. When I first started all this, I rode with a bunch of guys almost exclusive riding British Iron and I was always the loner riding Japanese. Everyone spoke of machinists next door cranking out readily available new parts for their 50's 60's and 70's machines, Boyer Branston ignitions were falling out of guys' saddlebags, and everyone had spare Whitworth wrenches in every pocket...but I couldn't find cb450 stuff if my life depended on it.
I'm just about to tear down again, split the bottom cases for the first time and fight with my tranny which won't shift out of 2nd gear. I have been plagued for years by the dreaded false neutrals and last fall she finally went tits up on me. Wish me luck. I'm sure I'll need it. I'll try to post a photo...I'm a overworked contractor, mediocre mechanic, and god awful computer technician so we'll see if it shows up.
There are plenty here here to help and some like me that'll be watching. Keep us posted with your questions/progress!
