1972 CB450 K5 Hot Mess

The wheels look great, always feels like progress when the wheel are on t and the seat and tank fitted (even if temporary). You'll have to struggle with the brake pedal spring, however, I found it easier to install the brake light switch starting with the spring onto the pedal, then the switch onto the other end of the spring and then just raise the switch enough to insert it into the switch holder bracket on the frame.
 
boddy said:
I found it easier to install the brake light switch starting with the spring onto the pedal, then the switch onto the other end of the spring and then just raise the switch enough to insert it into the switch holder bracket on the frame.
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I will give that a try on the next attempt. like I said I have vague memories of doing this on my 450 I had back in the seventies and like most memories it is the unpleasant ones that stick at least as far as it was unpleasant. After I get this sorted and do a once over looking for any bolts or screws that I missed tightening I will start on assembling the front brake caliper and lines and then see if I can bleed it and it will hold pressure without making a mess.
 
spideypop said:
oooh she's looking good Rob!
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Thanks still some ways to go but spring is looking good provided there are no unexpected setbacks. I got the brake pedal return spring hooked up with very little trouble as well as the brake switch spring. Not sure why I remembered it being a real pain before but heck it was a long time ago. Anyway I have a working brake light! Small steps. :p
 
Took advantage of another warm day and worked on the front brake system. Got the caliper mounting bracket and caliper installed and the lower line and hose. Tightened all the connections (so I thought) and was ready to bleed the brake, using DOT 5 brake fluid. Set up a hose off the bleed valve and a catch pan and added fluid and started bleeding. After a number of pump pump, hold, open and the close the bleeder valve I started getting a pedal (yes I know it is not a pedal but i have done more work on automotive) and a few more cycles of the above I was getting a very firm pedal. Decided to check and see if the brake light would come on which it did but notice a small puddle under the bike. Appeared to be come from the switch and after checking determined it was leaking where it screws in. Nope I had not checked the torque there, found that a 26 mm socket fits nicely and it was a bit loose so snugging a bit stopped the leak. Bled it a bit more just for giggles and calling it good. Got the caliper bracket adjusted so it appears the disc is centered with minimum drag, just spinning by hand but I am sure it will need fine tuned as I ride a bit and the pads break in. Figured enough for the day so put everything away with one last check for leaks and none noted. :)
 
stl360+450 said:
Rob's been saying spring — I'm with you, thinking warm day in January or February.

The tank lining is still on the to do list, right?
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Yes tank lining on the list but after I repair a few small dents with body filler and get a coat of primer on the tank first. I sanded the tank down and found 3 or 4 dings that I hadn't noticed before. After that will be a serious effort on tuning it.
 
Woke up this morning and checked the temp outside and it is 20° F or -6.66667° C (all those 6's seem diabolical to me but that's what Google told me) and considering I still have the crud not going to get any work done in the unheated garage. I realize these temps may be tanning weather for some of members but not for me! Hot coffee for now and possibly a hot tea, honey, lemon and bourbon toddy this evening which I have been told is good for what ails you. For those members in the southern hemisphere enjoy the day and take a ride!
 
RobMan said:
Woke up this morning and checked the temp outside and it is 20° F or -6.66667° C (all those 6's seem diabolical to me but that's what Google told me) and considering I still have the crud not going to get any work done in the unheated garage. I realize these temps may be tanning weather for some of members but not for me! Hot coffee for now and possibly a hot tea, honey, lemon and bourbon toddy this evening which I have been told is good for what ails you. For those members in the southern hemisphere enjoy the day and take a ride!
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I'm with you Rob, not tanning weather here either but you need the rest for sure. Get well brother, the bike will be waiting when you get back to 100%.
 
The weather doesn't matter much when you're not feeling good, but at least you know you're not wasting a fine day, being lazy. 20 degrees is too cold! Even here in the SF Bay area it was only 45 this morning! Winter!
 
wentwest said:
The weather doesn't matter much when you're not feeling good, but at least you know you're not wasting a fine day, being lazy.
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Yeah just enjoying the moment doing a little reading and sipping a second cup of coffee. Wife has her playlist going on the snooping devices (Amazon Echos) and the early morning stuffy and coughing has abated. Good day.
 
I am happy to report that I think I have about beaten the crud thank goodness, Haven't done much since bleeding the front brake but I did notice a few days after that I had some seeps at the banjo fittings. I had used the old crush washers so ordered some new copper 1.5mm thick crush washers and swapped them out a couple of days ago and bled the brakes again. (Really glad I upgraded to DOT 5 brake fluid as it doesn't seem to affect the painted parts). As of this morning I still have a very small seep at the master cylinder fitting and I had tightened about as much as I dare but decided to give the wrench a couple of firm taps with a hammer to torque it and have clean brown paper towel wrapped around the fitting as a leak detector to see if it still seeps after a few hours. If it seeps again then it will be drain, disassemble and anneal the copper washers to soften them and and see if that fixes the issue. I wish I had done that before replacing them the first time so lesson learned.
 
RobMan said:
I am happy to report that I think I have about beaten the crud thank goodness, Haven't done much since bleeding the front brake but I did notice a few days after that I had some seeps at the banjo fittings. I had used the old crush washers so ordered some new copper 1.5mm thick crush washers and swapped them out a couple of days ago and bled the brakes again. (Really glad I upgraded to DOT 5 brake fluid as it doesn't seem to affect the painted parts). As of this morning I still have a very small seep at the master cylinder fitting and I had tightened about as much as I dare but decided to give the wrench a couple of firm taps with a hammer to torque it and have clean brown paper towel wrapped around the fitting as a leak detector to see if it still seeps after a few hours. If it seeps again then it will be drain, disassemble and anneal the copper washers to soften them and and see if that fixes the issue. I wish I had done that before replacing them the first time so lesson learned.
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Yep, DOT 5 is the way to go, totally safe on paint. Good to hear you're getting well again, not having many visitors and not getting out much can have its advantages. It's been years since my wife and I have been sick and we don't miss it at all. :giggle:
 
My biggest worry has been that I will give this crud to my wife but so far she has avoided it. I am praying that continues to be the case as I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
 
On the bright note the extended weather forecast for my area is showing 50s and even low 60s (10-15c) starting next week so I hope to get some some time in the garage and make a little progress.
 
Third time is the charm so they say so hopefully I am done with the disc brake. I was still seeing some fluid at the banjo fitting at the master cylinder and it finally dawned on me to check to see if it was leaking at the piston and running down to the fitting and it was. Considered just buying a new master cylinder and be done with it but I wanted to see what the problem was so drained the system pulled the master cylinder and disassembled. I did find an aluminum metal flake on the piston seal and cleaned the bore a bit more with a rolled up piece of 400 grit and wd-40. Cleaned the bore with brake clean, reassembled and filled the reservoir for third time, bled the system and have a hard pedal. That was about six hours ago and no evidence of leaking yet. I will let it set until tomorrow and if I don't see any issues will wrap a rubber band around the grip and and lever to keep a little pressure on the master cylinder and let it set for another day. Getting down to 13F (-10C) tonight and not much warmer tomorrow so not much else getting done. 🥶
 
spideypop said:
I hear ya Rob...It was 14 here this morning. Thank goodness for wood stoves! As much as I want to take one more ride before rebuilding my carbs, it aint gonna happen. Can't even bring myself to going into the shed today.
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The scourge of good insulation is how it holds the cold in as well as it keeps the heat out. Once my garage gets below 50° it stays there until a significant change in the weather, and we're supposed to get that warming trend here this week and through Christmas according to our local weather guy so hopefully it raises the temp in the garage a little. Stone cold parts and tools are less fun. I rode my bike around the neighborhood a couple days ago and even below 40 mph it was brisk, and the shady areas were downright chilly.
 
At about 7:00 my outside thermometer showed 10F outside this morning although the weather channel said it was 14F. I saw my thermometer in the garages showed 32F when I went in for just a minute to check the brown paper towel I had wrapped around the the master cylinder and fitting as a leak detector and I am pleased to report both were dry. When it does warm up a bit later this week I am planning on installing the air filters and going for another test run to see if I can get it to idle properly and and rev up with no load. Yep another session of Vrooom Vrooom. :D
 
RobMan said:
When it does warm up a bit later this week I am planning on installing the air filters and going for another test run to see if I can get it to idle properly and and rev up with no load.
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So, it's going to be warm, you've got the wheels and brakes sorted, it could be your last opportunity before Christmas, and you only plan to run it under no load??

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You'll have to forgive the four-into-four exhaust and spelling!. The graphics team could not wrap its head around the idea of a two cylinder motor.
 
Just planning to fire the engine up and see if I can tune it a bit using an IV fuel container. Still haven't worked on the gas tank due to the crud and cold weather so so a test ride is a little down the road. :(
 
RobMan said:
Just planning to fire the engine up and see if I can tune it a bit using an IV fuel container. Still haven't worked on the gas tank due to the crud and cold weather so so a test ride is a little down the road. :(
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Where's that adventurous spirit?? Would the Wright Brothers have postponed the first flight due to cold weather??? :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: (truth be told, probably so)
 
I have to say Rob, you win the “Turtle” award in my opinion. I mean this in the most sincere and admirable way. With the slow and steady approach, the turtle wins the race! It is coming up on 2 years this spring since Tom, myself, and several other VHT members met you at the Hendersonville NC Meltdown. Since then you have accomplished so much with this project all the while detailing the struggles and triumphs within a 24 page and still growing thread. It is quite a testament to your dedication and work ethic! I know a few others have also compiled long and detailed threads here, but I just wanted to take a moment to recognize and congratulate you on what you have accomplished and contributed thus far. Well done sir!
 
Thank you and I do take it as a compliment. Hopefully some of the work I have done and the documentation will help someone else on their journey. I have never really kept a diary or journal before but we did have to keep meticulous records of the work we did on aircraft when I was in the air force so perhaps this thread is a reflection of that. With that said this wouldn't have been possible without this forum and all the admins and members who provide help, advice and encouragement every day.
 
Got up to 50F outside so opened the garage to let the chill out and the warm such as it is in and did a little work. Checked the master cylinder again and found just a slight persistent leak where the lever pushes the piston in. I suppose its possible the seal would have seated eventually with use but I have never been lucky with this kind of leak so ordered a new master cylinder from Amazon for $40. I will give a product review after it comes in.

Garage was comfortable by this time so installed the air filters and connected the IV fuel bottle. Closed the choke, spun the starter for a second, opened the choke and with a touch of the starter it was running right at 1200 RPM. Let it idle and checked headers and both warming up evenly and the pressure feels even at the mufflers. After a couple of minutes did a couple of vroom vrooms and both pipes getting hot so ran it up and held it at about 3500-4000 and sounding fine. Checked battery voltage and alternator is putting out 14 volts at about 3.5K with no lights on and with the headlight on high beam have to run up to a little over 4K to keep it close to 14 volts. Didn't want to run it long with no fan so shut it off. Did have a problem with the right carb leaking a bit from the overflow tube intermittently so not sure if the float is set wrong, sticking or something with the needle and seat. Oh well I am pretty proficient at pulling the carbs so I will pull and disassemble and see if I can spot the problem.

Yes darn it it is hard not to try to sneak a ride around the block with a small tank strapped on! :sneaky:
 
Sounds like a successful second startup!

RobMan said:
Did have a problem with the right carb leaking a bit from the overflow tube intermittently so not sure if the float is set wrong, sticking or something with the needle and seat.
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I would pull that bowl before you disconnect the fuel lines to confirm that the fuel level is too high. If it was above the stand tube, it should be obvious.

If it's not overfilling, then perhaps the stand tube has a small crack that is dribbling fuel.
 
stl360+450 said:
Sounds like a successful second startup!


I would pull that bowl before you disconnect the fuel lines to confirm that the fuel level is too high. If it was above the stand tube, it should be obvious.

If it's not overfilling, then perhaps the stand tube has a small crack that is dribbling fuel.
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Thanks. I am feeling good about the engine so far and the is a great suggestion on the checking the stand tube. I will take a look under a magnifying glass and see if it has any issues.
 
A little warmer today so decided to try my hand at some body work even though I have only used body filler a few times and the last time was over 20 years ago. Mixed up a little Bondo and applied to the big dent and several smaller dings.

I want to try to get a coat of primer on the tank and side covers before the new year. We supposed to have several nice days over Christmas so I want to prime them then. I will wait to apply color until it warms up enough (spring) so I can line the tank with the Caswell and make sure it will hold fuel.

First layer of filler and touch up layer after after sanding with the jitter bug a bit.

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The finer points of body work are the hardest, and I gave up doing it long ago myself because I don't have the eye and feel it takes to get a truly smooth surface. I had a tough standard to live up to though, my father had all the tools needed to do the job at a really high level. Good luck on it, @Danager4792 proved it can be done really well with little to no previous experience.
 
Rob it is coming together and sounds like it is running well for a first startup without any tuning yet. Regarding painting I prefer the cooler temps, as the paint flows out and lays down better for me. I have painted in the 14 - 16 Celsius range with humidity in the 60% area. Primer is no problem at those temperatures for sure.👍
 
Received the new master cylinder from Amazon yesterday afternoon and installed it today so want to provide my initial product review. It is the M Mati and cost $39.99 from Amazon and out of the box it had good weight, finish and everything appeared to be threaded properly. It looks identical to the one for sale at 4into1 by comparing the pictures and they want a bit more. The filler caps do not interchange which is a bummer as I wanted to use original cap but no luck. I also wanted to use the brake lever I already had as it has the black dipped end. I had to drill the bolt hole out slightly to make it fit the new hardware. The good thing is it helped a potential rattle as it fits more snugly than the lever that came with the M Mati happy with that, I also had to use the banjo fitting bolt that came with the new one as the OEM bolt is a bit too long and I used the rubber sealing washers that came with the new one as well.

After I got it on it took about twice as long to get it to bleed and while it seems OK I liked the feel of the original better. There may still be some air in the lines so I will try bleeding it again later but I will need to get some more DOT 5 fluid. I will have to wait to give it an actual braking review but I think it will do the job. I will hold on to the original and may try another rebuild kit down the road. The kit I used was from 4into1 and seemed like good quality but will try another brand if I try to rebuild again.

A couple of caparison shots.

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stl360+450 said:
I would pull that bowl before you disconnect the fuel lines to confirm that the fuel level is too high. If it was above the stand tube, it should be obvious.

If it's not overfilling, then perhaps the stand tube has a small crack that is dribbling fuel.
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Thanks to stl360+450 I found this post just after my right carb began leaking out the overflowtube...I pulled the bowl before disconnecting the fuel line and the level was not too high, but the stand tube had a crack in it that I hadn't noticed before. A bit of flux and silver solder and that stopped the leak!
What a great body of knowledge we have here....
 
Beautiful day here in Burlington NC so decided to do a little more work on the fuel tank, sanded out a couple of high spot, cleaned the paint around the filler neck and some other spots and then and cleaned the tank with some lacquer thinner.Temp was almost 70 degrees so went ahead and shot the primer and overall turned out well. In a quick look I noticed one spot of filler that will need a little more blending in, a small dimple in the center of the top of the tank that will need some spot putty as well as a couple other small defects but over all please so far. I have it hanging in the garage to dry at the moment. The next 3-4 days are supposed to be nice as well so considering trying to line the tank so it can cure for a couple of weeks.

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Thank you for the complement and we will see how it goes. If it looks good at 10 feet going down the road then its all good. I am not going to go stock paint color light ruby red but decided to spray it with Honda Milano Red. I was looking at @Richard Pitman 175s that he painted that color and I really like it. @EzPete's thread Post 79 here.

Twin 160's - since you can never have too many projects

From what I can see, they don’t use a grommet in the center exit? I take it the hole is just chamfered to avoid abrasion then. May add one just because. Yeah, none of them had grommets in the exit for the wiring, but the stock bars were chamfered. Still sharp enough to cut stubborn, stiff old...
www.vintagehondatwins.com www.vintagehondatwins.com
 
Lined the tank today and I believe it is a success but only filling with fuel will tell the tale. There are a couple of things I should have done such as not priming the tank before lining the tank as I needed to flush it with acetone to get it cleaned out before lining. You can see where there are some streaks from the acetone in the primer but not bad. I also should have added a little lacquer thinner to the liner mix to thin it a bit per the instructions as it was pretty thick and I had a hard time to get it coat the tunnel hump. I ended up having to use a long handled paint brush to poke in the filler opening and brush the liner around but I think it is all covered. I am planning on letting it cure for a few days as it is cool but the test sample is already hardened up so looks good.

Draining the excess liner and enjoying a frosty reward.

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