1967 CB450K0 Black Bomber Rebuild - By Royhall

[royhall]

Thanks for the ideas guys all have there merits (especially the one about not mentioning it to SWIMBO). I have decided since it's 52 years since we landed on the moon and you wouldn't get there in a horse and cart it's going to be the Charlies Place unit. I have therefore ordered it through Sirrus in the States. My own stupid fault if it lets me down miles from home, guess the AA will have to get me home. That's the motoring AA not the alcohol dependency outfit.

[royhall]

The spare starter clutch/rotor arrived from DK today. Looks to be in pretty good condition with the sprocket wheel measuring 1.661", so that looks like the size they should be. Happy days.

[royhall]

Just got a spare starter assembly from DK. Cost me £138, I think they have realised the value. He only dropped £5.95 on my offer then just £1 so I bought it. There was already 10 watching and it was only listed this morning. Nice to be first for a change.

DK have defo realised the value of these things, the latest one they had on eBay just sold on an offer for £175. Ouch.

[royhall]

I have finally found time to fit the new ignition to the Bomber (busy time of year for work). It looks like a neat well made little unit so hoping for a result. Firstly, as the mechanical advancer was going back on I stripped it and gave it a good clean. It was then I noticed it had been apart before and wrongly assembled with both the thin washers fitted to the top (why would anyone do that it's pretty obvious). I also fitted new circlips as the originals were stretched past use. All the nice looking home made harness I made for the Pamco was stripped off again (that was a waste of a day making it) and the wiring slightly altered for the new unit.

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It says in the instructions to static time it with a test light and not to strobe it as loosening the clamps with the engine running will loose earth and damage the unit. It took a bit of faffing about to get both sides to time correctly to the marks but got there in the end. The engine started easily and ran well, it just needed the throttle cable adjusting to get the slides lifting perfectly together. As it's not yet street legal all I could do was a quick run around the block. It appeared to run well with four good gears and brakes that work so am pretty pleased for a first run. At some point later I will check the timing with a strobe to check the advance is correct, and also check that the alternator is actually charging the battery.

I haven't cleaned it yet so it's covered in oily hand marks etc, but here are a few ropey pictures of the 99% finished bike.

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I am at present waiting to see what DVLA are going to do about the V5C so I can get on the road. I wont cover that again here as it has already been covered as a question here.
V5C (sohc.co.uk)

I'm really going to have to leave the bikes for a while and get on with getting the driveway done. Looks a real mess in the pics.

[hairygit]

That's looking very nice Roy, there is something very appealing about early Honda's with chrome panels on the tank. I bet the quality of finish was far better than any British bike of the time, and performance. The CB450 should have sounded alarm bells in the British bike industry, but they ignored it, and just a few years later CB750 arrived, and it was too late! Excellent work you've done there, probably the only twin cam bike I've ever wanted.

Sent from my POT-LX1 using Tapatalk

[Laverda Dave]

Fantastic Roy, excellent restoration and it's been a good read.
Post a video when it's running, it will be good to hear it in the flesh.

[royhall]

Thank guys. It does actually sound good. Very distinctive sound and completely different to the Triumph type sound that I was expecting. I will do a bit of a video once DVLA get there collective finger out and send me a V5C.

[K2-K6]

Very nice work Roy, bet you're pleased with that and they're so packed with advanced engineering for that time period.

That ignition looks really neat too.

[mick]

Great looking bike Roy :-)

[royhall]

I also checked the wheel alignment. When I put the back wheel in I lined it up with the marks on the swingarm but it just didn't look right when viewed from behind. Sure enough the alignment was miles out, not sure what the issue is with the marks but I am willing to bet it's been ridden for thousands of miles with the wheels out of line by previous owners. Nothing appears to be bent or twisted so probably a production error all those years ago. I have found a few of those.

[Bryanj]

Honda used to tell us on courses to specifically ignore the marks for alignment but you can move it the same marks each side when adjusting chain

[robvangulik]

Apparently they bettered their ways on later bikes, on my CBR's the marks are spot on

[Bryanj]

On quite a lot of the 70's ones they were as well, they were just saying does treat them as gospel.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Seeing that bike transported me back to 1967 for some reason it reminds me of a friends Honda 303 Sport I think it was - that was only a twin cyliner though. At the time I had a 250 Dream - it might be the chrome tank plates, mudguard curve & the silencers.

It also reminded me of my first Austin Cooper S DJC323E - the fastest S I ever owned - sadly now no longer in existance.
That was the time when the bikes became my second choice of transport mode.

[smoothoperator]

Great looking job Roy, I've been enjoying watching it.