1969 CB450P Project

[Mish]

I just acquired this great condition, original K2 that came with a front faring. I've already sourced and purchased the lights and a brief box. I don't plan on a full restoration as the chrome is near perfect and only small specs of rust on frame are visible I just want to enjoy it as is. However, it doesn't run and will need a full electrical/mechanical tune up to work out the presumed bugs. Was the brief box original to this model? I don't see many images with it installed?


If anyone knows where I can find all the siren parts let me know I'm searching hard!


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[ancientdad]

I'm not much help on these as I never worked on one in my time at the dealerships, but there are many members here who have a lot of knowledge on them and will weigh in soon.

[Mish]

Just getting to know the bike today. I found the original tool kit super cool! I have really wanted this bike for a long time but it was 1000+ miles away and I couldn't even get a quote for shipping. Luckily I have good friends and we tag team drove over 2100 miles in 2 days to bring her home. Hit a severe ice storm at the beginning of the trip and wasn't sure we were actually going to make it.... transitioned from 70 degrees F to 1 degree F temps. Basically I'm just expressing my dedication to acquire this bike!

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[ancientdad]

THAT is dedication, congrats on your perseverance. You were rewarded with a rare find in the purchase of these vintage Hondas, so great to get the original tool kit with the bike.

[LongDistanceRider]

Here's a Japan auction site that has stuff sometimes, none today but the auction only live for 7 days so it pays to check every 3-4 https://www.jauce.com/search/cb450p

[RayfromtheUK]

It looks a great bike in original and nearly complete condition and should be an easy fix.

[Mish]

Parts have started arriving in from all over the world. I'm still searching for the siren bracket and rear swing arm bracket and the cables would be helpful if anyone has any leads.

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Siren Drum.jpg

[RayfromtheUK]

Hi Mish,
Pleased you are finding bits for your bike. It can be a long slog. It looks like you have the siren which is probably the hardest bit. I did have some extra siren brackets made up from the original. They were cast in the same way the originals were for me by a classic car restoring company. Have never sold one. If it helps you can pm me. Have just put one on my 65 360 degree restoration.

[Randall]

I'd love to see the progress on this bike,

[Mish]

Progress? Well my wife decided she wanted to start her own business this year so I’ve been busy building the brick and mortar location for her at our local airport where they already have a large playground, restaurant, and museum right next to the taxiway. I may host a vintage bike meetup out there though in the future.

I just finished my blue K1 last week that’s been waiting for almost 2 years so this police bike is up next.

[ancientdad]

Progress? Well my wife decided she wanted to start her own business this year so I’ve been busy building the brick and mortar location for her at our local airport where they already have a large playground, restaurant, and museum right next to the taxiway. I may host a vintage bike meetup out there though in the future.

I just finished my blue K1 last week that’s been waiting for almost 2 years so this police bike is up next.

I knew we hadn't seen you in a while, good to hear from you. Hosting a vintage get-together would be a lot of fun, if you do you'll need to post some pictures.

[Mish]

It's Alive!

Started right up for the first time today and sounded amazing! What an awesome fun bike! The electric starter is the best I've had on any old Honda. I finally found time to work on it over the past 3 weekends and found lots of problems. Valves adjusted wrong, butterfly throttle valve installed backwards (so it wouldn't close fully), bad coil, cracked overflow in carb bowl, and still have lots of wiring issues to track down. However, I got the basics covered along with a full tune up so I can ride it around. The fancy new Charlies Place electronic ignition helps a lot too!

Many thanks to RayfromtheUK!! I now have all the parts I need to finish the siren connections when I get some time. For now I'll just cruise around the neighborhood.

I'll try to upload a video of the bike running soon.

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[ancientdad]

Nice to hear you got it together and it looks good in the picture. It's a shame we couldn't see things along the way, but I'm looking forward to the video.

[Mish]

You're right, I get so wrapped up when working on these bikes I forget to take time to bring everyone along. I did take some pictures along the way so let me grab a cold one and see what I can do:

First thing
Valve adjustment indicator pointing toward center of engine instead of away. I adjusted all valves and I set them slightly looser than spec to .003
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I've never seen one of these installed backwards but during my process of carb rebuilding when I bench sync the carbs I try to set them so you can just start to see the first idle fuel hole. When I wasn't able to get this one butterfly valve to close I realized the issue.
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Someone bypassed the old fuse and also appear to have had some ground wires reworked (I assume these 2 issues may run hand in hand). I installed a new inline mini fuse using proper bullet connectors of course :)

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This was my first time using Charlie's Place ignition. Overall I was happy the only hard part was removing the circlips holding the advance mechanisms on to remove a very small spacer so the new magnet rotor would fit properly. Both of my clips flew across the garage and are lost forever (even after trying to use a rag to stop them). Luckily my local hardware had plenty in stock for me to continue progress.

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Finally just when I thought I had everything figured out here comes the fuel dripping out of my float bowl. The bowl is currently waiting on the JB Weld to cure over the brass tube to be put back into service.
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[Mish]

This coil showed signs of overheating from the yellow gunk showing on the outside of the coil. Based on past experience I assume this is from overheating and replaced the coil with new. I accidentally left the key on one of my other bikes years ago and found this same yellow substance dripped all the way down the header pipes.....I'll be the first to admit we all make mistakes.

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[ancientdad]

First thing
Valve adjustment indicator pointing toward center of engine instead of away. I adjusted all valves and I set them slightly looser than spec to .003

Good catch on the adjuster orientation, leaving it the wrong way can cause some long-term damage. I understand why people vary from the factory spec of .0012" for the valve adjustments, but there is no need - despite what some videos on the internet may claim about excessive wear - to set the valves at over double the factory clearance spec. Since even .0015" feelers are hard to come by, we typically set them at .002".

[LongDistanceRider]

Actually you can find the .0015" feeler on Amazon but it's a bit pricey.
Setting the valves loose can cause the valve stem tip to mushroom from the hammering effect. Since spec is .0012", going to .0015" is as far as I would go loose.

[Mish]

Tough crowd...however, you are all correct it's probably best to follow the Honda specs I won't argue there.... .003 was the smallest gauge I had. However, the engine was very quiet not making any loud valve noises (at least I didn't set my valves with engine running by ear), I'll have to report back in 50 years when I put 5-10k more miles on the bike to see if anything happens :)

[mike in idaho]

I think, even at .003 the rockers are still meet the cam lobe on the take up ramp, shouldn't hammer the gear gear any more than normal. I've always thought a bit looser clearance leaves a bit room for a thicker oil film, and that rocker will be surfing on just a wee bit more oil when it comes off the base circle and meets the cam lobe.

[12ozPBR]

Looks fabulous! I can’t wait to see it in person. You should bring it here next month.
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[Mish]

Hey 12ozPBR! Great info on the meetup that's just a couple back roads from my house maybe I'll swing by. I'm not very confident in these tires I couldn't seem to decipher any sort of date code on them but I assume they are not suitable for anything over the 20mph I did riding my kids around the neighborhood this weekend. BTW thanks for setting out those carb parts I needed outside the other day!

I decided today when I got home from work I would figure out why my rear tail light wasn't working (so far all I had working for lights was a headlight). To my surprise when I turned the key the tail light came on and brake light was working??? Guess the vibrations from riding made some contact happen. That was easy!

[Mish]

so I have come up with a few questions.

1. What is the proper front turn signal on this bike as I have none? CMSNL show a mount coming from the headlight bucket which I do not have and other images online show a chrome bar that appears to hold the turn signals?

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2. The patrol lamps. How should these flash? Do they have a relay like the turn signals and both flash together or do they each flash opposite each other? Right now mine do nothing but before I start tracking down issues I should understand what should be happening

[ancientdad]

Our most knowledgeable members on the CB450P will have to weigh in on those questions. It might be a little bit since there isn't much activity in this section, as I'm sure you've noticed.

[Mish]

Had a great time this weekend at the G.A.S. vintage motofest. I definetly didn't expect my bike to bring home a trophy!!! Huge thanks to 12ozPBR for the invite can't wait for next year!

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[12ozPBR]

I am glad you brought your police model 450 to the show! I can’t wait until you get all the remaining bits in place to make it complete. It’s such a cool, rare model and I was excited to check it out in person. Congrats on the win!
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[LongDistanceRider]

Congratulations on the win

[Mish]

I got another cb450! It's a vintage matchbox set I've been eyeing for over 5 years and since I finally organized my garage and have some display room I decided to purchase it! My son had a matchbox truck that seemed to fit the bill for a tow vehicle and it worked out good. Overall it's a really fun addition and it even has a working center stand!

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[ancientdad]

^^^Now you just need some miniature tie-down straps fir it.