Honda CB450 K5 restoration. Unbelievable example. WOW!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 พ.ย. 2024
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The CB450 K5 restoration coverage here is a flip/photo album, as with my other restoration uploads it was never my intention to publish them on TH-cam, the photos were taken simply as a reminder of the work done and as proof when the time comes to sell.
This Honda CB450 K5 is a U.S. 1972 model, it was never officially exported to the U.K. from Japan and as with so many rarer Japanese classic motorcycles this one came from the States, I have no official information regarding when this bike was originally imported into the U.K. but suspect from what little evidence there is it may have been 1997?
The CB450 K models are famously known for their DOHC engines as used earlier in the Honda CB450 KO that got the nickname 'The Black Bomber', that model was exported to the U.K. but it wasn't as successful as Honda had hoped but did show the declining British motorcycle industry just what Honda were capable of.
Now about the restoration.
I got this bike in September 2017 in what I'd call a half decent condition for a 1972 Honda, the previous owner paid a lot for it in March 2013 as it was very rare at the time, I have the receipt from the company that sold it to him and the actual 'for sale' advertisement, it wasn't cheap, more recently some rough and neglected CB450 K models have been imported by D.K.'s.
I bought it unseen other than in photos and a phone call chat with the seller, he told me it ran well when he bought it but within a couple of years he had many problems starting and running the engine and admitted it was most likely self inflicted through tinkering with it and just making it worse over the years as it sat in his garage. Seems it was extremely difficult to start and when it did eventually fire on both cylinders that was a bonus, it coughed, spluttered and backfired and refused to rev much higher than 2,000 rpm and that's exactly how I got it, oh and the engine kill switch didn't work as some of the wiring had been butchered at some time.
I like a challenge and that's what I got. First thing was to cover the basics to get it running, some wiring needed replacing as there were some faults and everything reliant on getting a spark to the plugs at the right time were renewed, ignition timing, valve timing all set to manufactures specification, so did that fix it? No, it was better but still not right, next up were the carbs, cleaned these and set them up several times and also made new air filters as the old ones had perished as NOS ones are no longer available. Removal of the resistors in the spark plug caps made it possible to use Iridium plugs, still ran a little rich but it seemed to run quite happily now.
Further twin points tweaking and road tests were positive until I was happy that I couldn't improve the running any further. Not an instant starter after being left for a week or longer but after that initial cold start there would be no hesitation in starting every day, I think it was to do with oil circulation/lubrication letting the engine spin over quicker on the button?
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Someone on-line had a similar experience and suggested that when I put the bike away long term I should run the carbs dry, I did this and after two months standing in the garage it started within seconds, coincidence or a fix?
I started to replace or refurbish any part of the bike that looked tired, worn, suspect or missing, to be honest I think I went way over the top just changing pieces for the sake of it. David Silver was my main supplier of parts throughout this restoration, without him it simply wouldn't have been possible, all David Silver and most other new part receipts have been saved, in fact anything relevant to the restoration has mostly been saved.
Later on I decided to change the timing chain as it may well have stretched over the years, as this was an engine out job I then decided to completely rebuild the engine as can be seen in the photos, without going into too much detail I'm sure you can see and appreciate just what was involved here and appreciate how much it cost but was it all really necessary? Probably not but being a 'perfectionist' everything had to be just right.
The wheels were fully refurbished and as with everything else not mentioned above no corners were cut, yes this was an expensive over the top restoration, the slightly inflated price I paid for the bike plus the added restoration costs is likely to be greater than the bike's actual worth but I didn't restore this this bike for profit, I actually enjoy it.
So why the Honda CB450 K5? Well I just wanted a reliable classic bike I could ride occasionally in the summer months and maintain thanks to David Silver spares and no need to pay the outrageous costs involved when importing parts from the States so importantly I'll never be stuck waiting for that impossible to find part, been there done that and collected the trophies.
Bike sold December 2023.
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Absolutely stunning. The clean (pure?) lines are really beautiful.
If Honda made this *exact* same bike today with ABS on the front and LED lighting they'd sell more than they could make. And I'd be first in line!
Congratulations on the wonderful restoration, and thanks for sharing it.
Thanks, I'm pleased that you appreciate it.
AWESOME!!
Thank you.
Beautiful bike. A credit to yourself and an inspiration for others. Quick question, could you share the sizes of the roadmasters fitted to this bike? Thanks
Sorry but I can't give you a true guaranteed size as I've sold the bike on last December, as I remember the front was standard size and the rear a size up on width.
Thanks Lee. I just fitted Michelin Road classic 3.25 and 4.00 to mine and it does have a similar stance to yours, which I was after.
I had a 1968 and 1970 CL 450 back in the 1970's and 1980's. The 1968 was the first 5-speed of the series. Mine had it's short comings: The cam rollers in the engine crumbled. The cam chain was only good for maybe 20,000 miles. I replaced the slipping clutch plates with Barnetts. Once or twice the clutch rod seal on the primary sprocket side popped-out causing engine oil to be expelled from engine. I made a little fork bracket and screwed it into the lower engine over the seal to stop from ever happening again. I once had the lower part of the engine open. It may have been a case of having broken-off the kick-starter shaft. The starter motor was worthless, even after replacing damaged internal parts. I typically used Castrol GTX 20/50 oil. I suspect that these engines ran a bit hot. 43 HP for the CL and 45 HP for the CB. My best last bike was a 1977 650 Yamaha twin. This was very reliable and low maintenance. It's weak points were the seat, the generator brush replacement every 6,000 miles and a marginal front brake. I had problems with standard 2-filament rear light bulbs failing, so I went with a heavier gauge filament rear light bulb. no more filament failures from vibration. Had some fun times back then and a lot of sore arses as well on 100 mile or longer trips. I got away from bikes around 2000 before I became a statistic.
WOW! Your CL 450 suffered there, my CB 450 has done over 20k miles and I've experienced nothing like that, in fact when I rebuilt the engine to be honest I don't think it was really necessary and would have gone on for many more thousands of miles.
Congratulations super looking bike stunning whats it like one road ?i was toying with the idea of getting one but not sure on the 450 or 350
Rides and handles very well but keep in mind that it's a bike from the early seventies so the brakes are only adequate, everything else is good with no fancy electronics to go wrong, it's more show rather than go for those dry ride outs in the country whilst looking super cool.
They were PHENOMENAL in their time and both CB / CL could be toured on. They were very reliable 👍👍🏾
A very underrated motorcycle here in the U.K., probably because it was never officially imported?
Hi Lee, yes seen it om ebay. Is it a fair price or are they making a swift buck?
Well they're not making anything until it's sold, they have a business to run with overheads and also take P/Xs so it's really hard to say but I got what I asked for and was quite happy with that against the bike I have now a Ducati Scrambler.
BELLISSIMA. COMPLIMENTI PER IL VIDEO.
Grazie.
Amazing!
Thankyou.
Do you still have the bike ?
No, sold it two weeks ago just before I went on holiday, I've seen it on eBay. Why do you ask?
Another one for me?
It's no Stafford show bike Rob, it was never intended to be that, I just got carried away with the restoration by throwing money and time at it just to keep a high standard restored classic Japanese bike in my garage and ride on good days.
No plans to sell it just yet.
What was the model name of the rear shocks?
Hagon shocks, photo 4:02