Banjo1974CB450K7
Veteran Member
Howdy folks,
Exciting news for me. I've got three projects now! Not just my 2 DOHC CB450s, but also a 1978 Honda Hawk 400II SOHC as well. I got it from a coworker of mine for free, his dad and him pulled the heads about a decade ago and planned to rebuild and never got the chance. Ended up in his yard for a few years, but the tank and side covers were kept in the garage. It's actually very complete overall, has all the hardware that it should, not too rusted (just the top of the pistons, which were covered but the cover began to leak). The cylinder heads and top end and all were also kept neatly in the garage. From what I can tell this is a great bike, should be easier to rebuild than my DOHCs and in the end will make a great commuter bike.
My plan for it is to take my time and do a proper rebuild, starting with the engine of course. It seems like it's pretty affordable to just swap a replacement into it, but seeing as how this one just has some rust on the tops of the pistons I'm curious to see how deep the water got and how bad things were. It was a good running motor when they started tearing into it, and everything I've gotten from this coworker has been tip top so far so i have a feeling I may be able to save it if I'm lucky.
Next I will pull the drain plug and oil cap and get a look at how healthy the inside of the case is. Probably I'll put some acetone and atf fluid in the cylinders and give it time to work it's magic too. If I see nasty water come flying out of the block I'll probably just change strategies to an engine swap and get one of the compression tested engines on ebay, but if it's mostly oil and I like how things look when I crack the case I think I'd be wise to rebuild it.
Anyhow, here's a picture of it, right now I'm calling it the "Blue Dream" because it's a beautiful color of blue and it's the next motorcycle dream for me. Of course it mostly just ends up being called "The Hawk" because that already is a great name for it. haha
I took a picture of it with the side covers off but the tank and seat balanced on the frame just to give an idea of how it looks!
And of course the ugliest saddest part of the bike, the exposed pistons after I removed the shop towels stuck to them from age with a hole in it.
Exciting news for me. I've got three projects now! Not just my 2 DOHC CB450s, but also a 1978 Honda Hawk 400II SOHC as well. I got it from a coworker of mine for free, his dad and him pulled the heads about a decade ago and planned to rebuild and never got the chance. Ended up in his yard for a few years, but the tank and side covers were kept in the garage. It's actually very complete overall, has all the hardware that it should, not too rusted (just the top of the pistons, which were covered but the cover began to leak). The cylinder heads and top end and all were also kept neatly in the garage. From what I can tell this is a great bike, should be easier to rebuild than my DOHCs and in the end will make a great commuter bike.
My plan for it is to take my time and do a proper rebuild, starting with the engine of course. It seems like it's pretty affordable to just swap a replacement into it, but seeing as how this one just has some rust on the tops of the pistons I'm curious to see how deep the water got and how bad things were. It was a good running motor when they started tearing into it, and everything I've gotten from this coworker has been tip top so far so i have a feeling I may be able to save it if I'm lucky.
Next I will pull the drain plug and oil cap and get a look at how healthy the inside of the case is. Probably I'll put some acetone and atf fluid in the cylinders and give it time to work it's magic too. If I see nasty water come flying out of the block I'll probably just change strategies to an engine swap and get one of the compression tested engines on ebay, but if it's mostly oil and I like how things look when I crack the case I think I'd be wise to rebuild it.
Anyhow, here's a picture of it, right now I'm calling it the "Blue Dream" because it's a beautiful color of blue and it's the next motorcycle dream for me. Of course it mostly just ends up being called "The Hawk" because that already is a great name for it. haha
I took a picture of it with the side covers off but the tank and seat balanced on the frame just to give an idea of how it looks!
And of course the ugliest saddest part of the bike, the exposed pistons after I removed the shop towels stuck to them from age with a hole in it.
