Honda-SOHC

It was primarily bought for my son. He's a sort of pretend Hells Angel, member of a pub bike club, has a nickname "Joker" badge on the front of a denim cutdown etc. However he has said it's not really his cup of tea and TBH it's not mine either, I just saw it and thought it looked really good, paint scheme suits it, it's got the retro bike look, it's got a black engine and I love black engines, it's got chrome and I love chrome. It doesn't tick all my boxes but it ticks enough that I'll give it a go and see if I like it, if not I'll move it on and most likely make a profit.

Yeah, essentially the same I’d say Steve. Good link though as it’s a UK seller. .

You're too grumpy for a son, a Dad yes 

Lots of people in the UK seem to race the CB450, the apparently go extremely well for such an old engine. It's cheap, it's narrow so no clearance problem like a flat four has, and only having 2 cylinders it's cheaper to service and maintain.

You can see one on the end of the ramp in this video, the storage idea is brilliant but nobody has been able to find out any more details about it yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Z6_4JD8dDw&t=57s

I didn't ever think I'd buy a cruiser but there's just something about this bike that appeals to me. Spotted it on Dave Silver used bikes.





It was a runner in the states and it looks like it's been very well cared for. 59000 miles.

Taking delivery in a few weeks.

Did a massive reply yesterday on my Ipad, was just about to press send when it just went off. 75% battery power and it said the battery was flat. Put it on charge and of course the reply is now gone.

So here goes again.

Test rig. Used my old genuine Honda handlebars, a genuine left hand switchgear and some old but good throttle cables. For the carbs I just used the frame with the butterfly on as carbs are not needed for this. I marked everything up at rest and then remarked when throttle fully open. Check reply 137 on this thread. http://www.sohc.co.uk/index.php/topic,19895.135.html It explains what I did and what the results were.

20 miles would be good to do the test run on the 500 Ted, but hey ho, it's your money and I can see why postage may be better.

Whilst you've got the left hand switchgear open have you checked to see if the throttle clamp is working. This is the large chrome screw under the switch and between the cables, when you wind it in the throttle stiffens up, which I can see you frowning thinking why would I want that, well on a motorway you can wind this screw in as you ride and the throttle will stay open at a set speed, all that pressure of holding the throttle open goes away, in case you need to shut off the throttle you just twist it and the return cable closes the throttle against the pressure of the clamp. The screw should have a chrome spring on but there is an internal ramp? which usually falls out when you open the switchgear and rolls away and you never notice it. Check to see if this ramp is there. It's a very handy bit of kit, can be used to set the tickover at 3000 to check the advance retard mechanism for instance, which is what Honda fitted it for IIRC. The 750 and the 500 got this clamp, the 550 did not. However everything on the 550 switchgear is there except the drilling for the screw, I converted my 550 switchgear to fit one as I use it a lot.