CB450 Wallpaper

Whenever I'm on the hunt for a new bike, the first thing I do is scour the internet for images. Usually, I can't find any I really like, but now and again I get lucky. It always makes me think "Why don't people post photos of their bikes???".

So, with that in mind, here's some "Desktop Wallpapers" of my CB450. Some have a black bar at the side to accommodate desktop icons. If you want a very hi-res copy, email me.

Front Number Plate

I was pretty busy today doing something else, but the front number plate kept popping into my head so I dragged my lazy ass into the garage and took the wheel off. I also removed that fender from America because I just don't like it. It's intended for a 19" wheel and mine's an 18", so there you go!

While it was stripped down, I took the opportunity to have another play with the brakes and when I refitted everything, I spent quite some time carefully adjusting the brakes to get them to be as good as they possibly could be. I'm happy to report that the brakes are really starting to bed in now and are definately getting better!

The other mudguard had already had an application of Kurust on the underside, followed by a liberal application of Tetrosyl Waxoyl, so it was ready to fit onto the bike. Once it was in place, I drilled the holes and mounted the new Number Plate. I think it looks pretty cool. How about a photo with that period crash helmet?

1970 - A Great Year

In 1970, the CB450 K1 wasn't the only gorgeous Honda available. Boy, I'd love one of these. I used to live opposite a Honda car dealer when these were on sale. Beautiful!

Why don't they make cars like this anymore?

.

KANGOL DAYS

Back in the 70's I used to wear a Kangol helmet and I thought it was pretty cool at the time. In the photo on the right, you can see me with my cousin enjoying a tasty beverage and a Park Drive fag. Next to me is my red, white and blue Kangol. The photo was taken in 1976 on the Isle of Man during the TT Race Week. I was riding a CB250.

So, 34 years later, I figure it would be cool to have a Kangol to go with my CB450. I saved a search for one on Ebay and let the clock tick by. Sure enough, 8 weeks later, one came along. You gotta love Ebay!

It's very uncomfortable and that visor makes you glad we have modern visors for sure! Fun though, LOL. I cleaned it up tonight with some visor restorer (for what it was worth).

Cable Guide

At last, my cable-guide arrived from America! I'd waited ages for this thing to get here and it was really bugging me that something was missing from the bike. Only a small detail, but important nonetheless.

New Mudguard (Fender)

Thought I'd share these pictures of my new mudguard. Well, it's obviously not new, it's about 40 yrs old, but you know what I mean! I got this one from the USA and it looked pretty good in the pictures, but when it arrived, I found it to be slightly tarnished. Don't get me wrong - there's plenty would consider this to be in brilliant condition and would gladly fit it to their bike, but compared to the "as new" condition of the existing mudguard, I rate it a "8".

Condition aside, I am concerned that it sits too high above the tyre. If you look at other photos of my bike further down the Blog, you'll see what I mean. I'm wondering if this particular fender came from a CL450 (the scrambler version of the CB450). Anyway, I'll leave it on for a while and see if it grows on me. I must admit though, I do like the rubber mudflap. Once I've decided which fender's staying, I'll fit my curved front number plate.

Forkin Great!

After draining and refilling my forks with 10-30W oil, I went for a ride tonight and I was pleased to find that the forks are MUCH better than before.  Previously, they bottomed out at the slightest hint of a pothole and it was accompanied by a "spring" sound. Now they're fine. Not by modern standards of course, but much closer to how they should be.
.

Fuel Filter Found

In the previous post, I spoke about the fuel-filter being too long for the small gap between the tank and carbs. Well luckily, I've found what might be the perfect solution. It's a very short filter which should fit just fine. They're also very cheap, so I bought a few because you can't clean them - you just replace them. They will filter impurities as small as 150 micron. Only real downside is that they're bright red. Maybe I could paint them before fitting.

Short Test Ride

Rather than drive to work today, I took the opportunity to take the bike instead. It would allow me to assess how sucessful the work on the carbs had been in terms of getting rid of the bad misfire and the "bogging down" under accelleration.

It's only a short journey to work, so I extended it by going over to Chorley and coming back through Rivington. I needed to find some open road to stretch her legs. Once warm, the engine ticked over perfectly, but when blipping the throttle, it doesn't seem "snappy" enough. Anyway, I set off and was more than pleased to find that the bike pulled well throughout the rev-range, right up to 10k. There seemed to be a pleasing amount of power considering it's only a 450 and I knew straight away that I could live with this bike.

One thing that still concerns me though, is the effectiveness of the front brake. It's pretty poor! I'll take a look at it when I'm fitting the new mudguard next week. I tried to buy some front shoes from CMSNL.com but they were out of stock (despite claiming online that they had 4). Looks like I might have to get the originals relined. I also noticed a slight "pulsing" on the back brake pedal, so the drum is obviously out of true. Not a big issue - just a minor annoyance - especially when using the rear brake for slow manoeuvres. The front forks are scaring me a little too! Going over small potholes has them bottoming out all too easily.

Now that the fuelling is sorted out, I'm keen to make sure that the carbs don't fall victim to any crap that's in the tank. I fitted a glass bowl fuel-filter but it was just too damned long. There's very little room between the tank and the carbs and it just wasn't a practical installation, so it's off again. I'll try to find a short-profile filter. I need to!

So overall, I'm pleased with the way that she's running. There's still some fine-tuning to be done and there's still a period of "getting to know you" ahead, but I think it's all gonna be fine.
.

Up & Running!

Tonight I refitted the petrol tank, installed a glass-bowl petrol filter, reconnected everything, fitted some NGK Platinum spark plugs (B8EV), connected the battery and did the static timing again.

Previously, I'd got the timing almost spot on, but it had been bugging me that almost isn't really good enough, so I started from scratch and got it bang on.

Then I replaced the engine oil that I'd dropped last night and fired her up! She idled and revved sweet as a nut! Couldn't keep her running too long because of the noise, but I intend taking her out after work tomorrow. Fingers crossed that the bogging and misfiring has been sorted out with the rebuilding of the carbs and the accurate timing (well, as accurate as static timing can ever be).

Camchain Tensioner

I've not examined my camchain tensioner yet, but when I saw this rare beast on American eBay, I thought I'd better snap it up! I've seen some attrocious ones out there, so this is a great find.
WORN TENSIONER:
I installed my NOS air filter tonight and noticed that it was slightly different to the original one in that it had an extra "wing". I'm guessing it was designed to deflect any water from the rear wheel and is no doubt off a later model than mine. Nevertheless, it fitted without a hitch. After fitting the air-filters I adjusted the throttle cables to ensure the throttle was opening both carbs at exactly the same time.

NOS Air Filter Found!

Having expected to find it extremely difficult to source a NOS air filter to replace my damgaged one (read that as "bodged"), I was pleasantly surprised to look on eBay and find exactly what I was looking for here in England. Whatever next?

Keyster Carb Rebuild Kits

The Keysters arrived from NRP in Manchester today (speedy service from Andy). Went into the workshop and stripped the carbs again. The previous owner's claim to having already done this task was clearly a load of bullshit. They're now fully rebuilt and ready to go back on.