The “OG” 450… V3

EzPete

EzPete

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Joined
Dec 27, 2023
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Location
Texas
Feels like annually something with this bike pops up and spirals into an actual project.

Quick backstory:
Originally garbage (thus the moniker) that I was asked to haul to the recycler the rebuild was kind of all over the place and I was testing things along the way, the harness was an absolute mess of add ons. Since I failed to make it modular it was a real pain when a gremlin would pop up (like the come and go charging issue that left me stranded when it decided to drop below the functional voltage level for the CP unit.

So. Lessons learned from version 1 and the revision… make the harness modular and ditch the push bottom and switch “dashboard”/speedo mount.

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Put a significant dent in the Vintage Connections backstock and started building up a new core harness.

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Back to period-correct handlebar controls
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Now onto taming the spaghetti dragon and figuring out a new speedo mount.
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Finally got a chance to get this mini project wrapped up - we've got our few weeks of riding weather and while the 160 is fun and the CX does just fine - the DOHC needs to get back on the road.

Ran all the control wiring through the clip-ons and out through some repurposed lug boots that I have no idea how/why they were around - worked perfectly to clean up the front end.

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Mocked up the speedo plate to replace the cowl - voltmeter will be milled down to drop right in to the bar mount.
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And there it is - full new wiring harness, eliminated some of the unnecessarily complicated stuff. I'm not the biggest fan of the angle for the clutch cable but it works perfectly fine. Did need to order a new brake line, since I need a 0 degree fitting for the new master cylinder, should be here this afternoon. Now I just need to locate a black clutch lever that matches the brake lever.

Should be good for a test run tomorrow AM - after a chain lube, tire check and basic cleanup.
 
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Perfect morning for a ride. Installed the new brake line, bled them out and it fired right up. Charging issues seem to be gone - putting out 14+V pretty consistently.
 
Maybe it's the angle of that picture, but that sidestand looks suspect and kinda scary to trust. Almost like it doesn't pivot forward enough to safely stand on its own.
 
ancientdad said:
Maybe it's the angle of that picture, but that sidestand looks suspect and kinda scary to trust. Almost like it doesn't pivot forward enough to safely stand on its own.
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It’s extremely suspect. Some of that is the angle/slope of my driveway but it really feels like it’s too short - I trust it about as far as I can throw myself.
 
But I do trust it more than this…

https://imgur.com/a/cb450

Took the 450 out with the intent of checking the charging system and the control changes/brakes.

Not far out, it was cornering oddly and caught one good bump and went completely wild.

I’ve never had a wheel bearing fail on me before. Hopefully the axle didn’t take any damage - although I may have a spare.
 
EzPete said:
But I do trust it more than this…

Took the 450 out with the intent of checking the charging system and the control changes/brakes.

Not far out, it was cornering oddly and caught one good bump and went completely wild.

I’ve never had a wheel bearing fail on me before. Hopefully the axle didn’t take any damage - although I may have a spare.
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No media came through. Hope you didn't crash because of it.
 
EzPete said:
Luckily no wreck. Definitely a pucker moment though. Imgur has been giving me fits lately - let’s try YouTube.
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Wow, definitely not cool. As much as I hammer on my 450 I'm actually surprised I haven't shattered a drive-side bearing like that myself, though it's never happened on any bike I've owned. That must have been quite the experience, similar to a quick flat tire at speed.
 
EzPete said:
Imgur has been giving me fits lately
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Me too occasionally, but the bigger PITA for me lately is the inability to use the "insert image by URL" feature when trying to post parts fiches from CMSNL, the last 15+ times I've tried it just produces the broken image "x".
 
ancientdad said:
Wow, definitely not cool. As much as I hammer on my 450 I'm actually surprised I haven't shattered a drive-side bearing like that myself, though it's never happened on any bike I've owned. That must have been quite the experience, similar to a quick flat tire at speed.
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I’m a little interested in what the autopsy will show. I imagine the spacer could be chewed up as well.

Went ahead and ordered an AllBallz set, hopefully the damage ends there.
 
So one thing dawned on me here that might be impacting this and I may need to go down a parts crossover rabbit hole.

The swingarm on this former pile of parts is a 500T. I haven’t been able to determine if there is a difference in width, but if there is, it could explain the sudden extreme wear and failure.
 
A good thing you were going slow and no get off involved. Glad you didn't get any damage to yourself or to the bike. Someone should be able to confirm the CB450 swing arm width for you.
 
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