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1967 CB450K0 Black Bomber Rebuild - By Royhall
MrDavo:
All looking immaculate, Roy, but I know what you mean about overdoing it. Honda alloy never looked like BSA alloy, I’ve resorted to gently using wire wool or P1000 wet and dry to take the shine off things. I sprayed both wheels on the CL450 in situ with ACF50, and used the bike as my day to day runaround- it certainly doesn’t look like a show pony now, but I know it will all clean up lovely if I ever go to a show again.
We always used to say that early Jap bikes were welded at, rather than together. My CL frame is also dog rough in places, but to ‘restore’ it would be to ruin the originality.
My mate has a1970s Ducati 750S, when he finally found the right stickers for the front forks they stuck out like a sore thumb, so he set about them with wire wool. Now they look like they’ve been on forever.
The accidental chrome internals remind me of the saddos you see at car shows, with mirrors under the engine to show you how immaculate it is underneath where you can’t see.
royhall:
Thanks for the kind words Dave. I shall give the over-polished bits a good ACF50 dose before fitting to see if I can dumb it down a bit. I should have been starting the Z1 after this, regretting not buying it now. Hay Ho.
I have managed to move on to other small bits whilst waiting for the paintwork to arrive back. The front brake linkages were going to be the next problem. As you can see in the photo the linkages are rivetted together. The chroming clearly cannot be done like that so I decided to grind off the rivet ends and press them out. When I say press them out I mean a drift and large hammer and some welly.
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This then leaves the problem of how to reconnect the bits after chroming. Once I had the pieces back, I checked the hole sizes and they were just over 6mm but slightly worn oval. After a bit of searching I found a supply of 1/4" stainless Clevis pins available in different lengths.
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Once they arrived I drilled the remaining holes in the brake clevis fittings 6mm them ran a 1/4" reamer through to give a correct size hole and remove the ovality. The parts were then assembled with the stainless clevis pins.
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Before final assembly onto the brake disks (which is held up as I forgot to order new felt dust seals) I shall strip them again and assemble with thick CV grease. The next job will be to fit the new taper roller headstock bearings. I have got an AllBalls kit that comes with seals and a load of different thickness washers. Of course there's no instructions so I shall have to do a bit of figuring out. Unfortunately the lower bearing is a fairly tight fit on the yoke pin so I shall need to get this right first time as the only way to remove it afterwards would be to cut it off. This is a job I have been putting off for a while so I'm going to get it done today.
K2-K6:
Nice work Roy.
I like them more original too, rather than refinished to within an inch of percieved perfection. Something very engaging about a bike close to as it was delivered from production at it's time of manufacture.
royhall:
Whilst still waiting for the remainder of the painted bits to return I have got as many of the sub assemblies done as I have parts for.
The brakes were assembled with new shoes and springs. I didn't need to touch the drums as they were in perfect condition, probably the only bits on the bike that were. (Who's ugly mug is that in the mirror polished alloy)
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The taper roller steering head bearings were a bit of a mystery. They are the AllBalls version and came with four different packing washers and no instructions. It took a fair bit of measuring and head scratching to get it right. It had to be right first time as the lower bearing is a tight fit on the stem and would be almost impossible to remove again without damaging it. If it ever needed changing in the future (highly unlikely with the miles it will do) I would cut it off with the Dremmel.
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Measuring the headlamp ears and fork shrouds it looks like the calculations were correct. When fully tightened the yokes should compress the rubber mounts enough to hold everything firmly in place.
The good news is that the last of the painted parts are finally ready. Only took him seven months. At least now there should be some significant progress.
royhall:
I have finally collected the rest of the paintwork, only things still outstanding now are one exhaust header and the headlamp rim which are both at the chromers.
The first job is to get the forks built up and the front end on. On the old Honda's the fork seal fits into the chrome carrier and held in place with a spring clip. The first seal was a little bit tight but went in okay, the second seal went halfway in and decided to go super tight. As I couldn't get it out again I decided to drive it home, that went badly resulting in a Dremmel removal. Fortunately I just happened to have another seal, no idea where it came from must have been the Angels. After a quick spin inside the carrier with a rotary wire brush the second seal fitted just fine. And I didn't forget to fit a new O-ring seal that is one of the many things in the parts book that are missing.
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The forks were a simple rebuild in, as Haynes would say, the reverse order of dismantling. The hard chromers have done a spot on job of re-plating and grinding the fork tubes and they are a good finish and bang on size. And cheaper the Philpots, they are called Dynasurf and they live in Sandbach Cheshire.
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It was mentioned on another thread recently about not being able to build up the bike due to lack of space. I can relate to that comment as I'm slowly building myself into a corner, would put some stuff in the rented lock up but that's also full of bikes. You can see the problem in the background of the photo's. Hard life eh.
The forks and associated parts almost fitted themselves they went on so easily, glad I spent time working out the packing for the head bearings as it is perfect. I was expecting fun and games from the front mudguard as it's a pattern part from Vietnam. I needn't have worried, except for having to drill out two holes that were done 6mm instead of 8mm it went on a treat. Maybe faith is restored a bit in pattern parts as I have had so much rubbish in the past it makes me nervous to order the stuff.
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At this point of the build it is nice that all the sub assemblies are ready built as the bike comes together quickly. The front wheel went straight in and fitted well, spins freely with no brake binding and the brake works with just a slight pull on the lever. I was going to fit the handlebars but the fork top bolt fouls on it's way out so as the fork oil hasn't arrived yet I shall hold off on that.
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Honda sure liked the big mudguards back in the 60's, they look huge compared to the later bikes. As the bike is still on the beer crate I am not going ti fit anything else to the front end as it's getting a bit front heavy. At some point I need to enlist some help to move the crate to the swingarm so I can fit the centre stand. This is the system I have used many time before and it works well.
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The next job to tackle will be the wiring. I need to fit the new seat to see how much clearance there is underneath as I need to find a safe home for the extra voltage regulator and the control box for the Pamco electronic ignition. I have been summoned to attend a farmers market this afternoon so that will be a job for tomorrow.
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